Support your teammates by showing your appreciation …

Tools, tips and tactics for the frontline customer service professional

September 2017, Vol. 41, No. 9

This Month in Customer Service

Communicate with coworkers

A service team can only be effective if its members communicate well with each other. September is One-on-One Month, making it a good time to practice those one-on-one skills by communicating more directly with those you work with every day.

Talk to your coworkers about recent customer experiences, about resources that you have found to be helpful on the job, about challenges and successes that you have encountered in your work -- and about personal issues like family, pets, plans, and hobbies.

But whatever the subject, keep the conversation positive. If you are the speaker, express your ideas clearly and concisely. If you are the listener, listen actively to understand and appreciate the message. And when talking about work-related issues, be constructive, and balance any criticism that you might have with some positive suggestions for improvement.

For more help and advice on communicating with coworkers, go to and click on "Web Extras."

Support your teammates by showing your appreciation

Everyone needs to feel valued and recognized for their contributions and accomplishments.

Expressing appreciation to others for their help, support, and good work is a powerful way to build a positive and productive team and a more supportive work environment. That appreciation can be especially powerful when it comes from a teammate or coworker.

So don't hesitate to show your appreciation says, Dr. Paul White, a psychologist and author of The Vibrant Workplace: Overcoming the Obstacles to Building a Culture of Appreciation.

People may hesitate to show their feelings for any of a number of reasons, but as White tells Customer Communicator, it's important to show appreciation. "Anybody can make a difference, regardless of where they are in the organization. Even if you are a frontline worker and don't supervise anybody, you can still make a difference in your relationships with the people that you interact with day to day. And that effort can grow and make a difference in the organization as a whole."

Show coworkers that you care

"One of the things that we have learned in our research," says White, "is that employees don't want to hear positive things just from their supervisor, or their manager. They like that, but they also like to hear appreciation and encouragement from their peers."

Interestingly, there is no one-size-fits-all form of appreciation. It should be authentic, of course, but it should also be appropriate. "It's important to remember that not everyone feels appreciation in the same way," White says.

There are five basic ways to show appreciation in the workplace, or as White calls them, five "languages of appreciation."

1. Words of appreciation. Some people respond well to positive words of thanks and praise. Or consider a handwritten thank-you card or note of appreciation. Most people don't take the time to do this simple act.

Keep an "encouragement file"

Page 2

Can we learn from calls that go badly?

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Make yourself stand out in the workplace

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? 2017 Alexander Communications Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Navy Federal Credit Union Edition

2. Time together. Other people respond to spending time together. This might mean stopping by to see how a teammate is doing, or going to lunch or on a break together.

3. Help and support. For some, helping them out when they get swamped or fall behind in their work is meaningful.

4. Thank-you gifts. Others enjoy symbols of appreciation -- even something as simple as a Starbucks coffee, a favorite donut, or a magazine related to the person's personal hobby -- can help to express appreciation.

5. A careful touch. And sometimes it can be as simple as a physical touch, like a fist-bump, a high-five, or a slap on the shoulder when someone solves a problem or does something special.

White adds that frontline reps can use these same techniques to show appreciation to customers whether it is for their understanding in a difficult situation, their loyalty, or just because they brightened your day. Though he cautions that such gestures are probably more appropriate when dealing with repeat customers that you have had a chance to build a relationship with.

Three tips to show appreciation

Whenever you are showing appreciation, says White, "to be authentic it needs to be specific." And that means, instead of saying something like, "Hey, you are a great help!" it's better to say "Hey, Jim, thanks for taking that customer call for me while I was in that meeting. It was really important to handle that issue right away."

White's research also shows that "one of the compliments that people don't like to hear is, `Good job.' And that's because it is too vague," he says. "It could

Service Note

Keep an "encouragement file"

Even when there haven't been any recent high-fives or other expressions of appreciation, you can remember the good times and the support that you have gotten previously, says Paul White, by keeping a record of them.

"I myself keep an `encouragement file' where I have over the years placed notes of thanks and encouragement or printed out emails and texts with encouraging comments," he says. "When I need some encouragement, and no one else seems to be giving it to me, I pull out my file and read comments from others from the past to remind me of how people have appreciated what I've done."

be directed to anybody. So be specific."

And the more specific you can be, the better. In fact, White offers a three-point formula for making one's demonstrations of appreciation more specific.

? The first point is to use the person's name -- and if you are writing it out, spell the name correctly.

? The second point is to state specifically what the person did that you valued or appreciated.

? And the third point is to say why it was important -- either to you, to the organization, or to the customer.

Another part of showing authentic appreciation is being timely. Most people aren't going to be too moved by an expression of gratitude in December for something that they did back in April. "This is especially important for younger-generation coworkers," White says. "It really needs to be done in the first 24 to 48 hours after they have accomplished something. Otherwise it is sort of history."

Promoting a culture of appreciation

Through their actions, customer service reps can create a

culture of appreciation in the service center. And when that happens, everyone benefits. As White says, "when people feel appreciated, and feel valued, absenteeism and tardiness decreases, productivity increases, there's less conflict, and customer satisfaction ratings go up."

The first thing you can do is to set an example by showing appreciation to those around you in the workplace. "Try it out and see how it goes," White says.

It's also helpful to share the idea of showing appreciation with others. Talk about it with coworkers: "I heard about this concept of a `culture of appreciation' and maybe we could talk about this as a group." Think about starting a book club to read up on appreciation and other workplace culture issues.

"That's generally the way it gets started in an organization," White says. "Somebody gets interested, they share the idea with friends. It goes well, and then other people hear about it, it goes up the chain of command, and spreads across the company. It doesn't have to start at the top." TCC

2 | Customer Communicator | September 2017

Service News

A monthly roundup ...

Ask customers for feedback Customer service reps are

probably the best source of customer feedback available, says Jeannie Walters, a customer experience consultant. Frontline reps should ask questions, be observant, and have a way to record customer feedback and share it with the rest of the organization.

blog.

Stay happy at work Some days, working in

customer service can get you down. But Adam Toren says that these simple techniques can keep you feeling upbeat and motivated. 1) Set daily goals for yourself so you can check them off, see your progress, and stay motivated through the day. 2) Start each day with something that you enjoy, whether its a hot cup of coffee, a favorite song, or a morning jog, you'll start off on a positive note. 3) Stay organized, from your desk, to your work deadlines, to personal commitments.



Three ways to engage customers

Engaging customers is one way to turn routine transactions into something more memorable, says Jeff Toister, author of the Service Culture Handbook. Here are his suggestions for building engagement: acknowledge customers when they praise your brand on social media; keep a list of special requests, favorite products, and other things that customers are interested in; look for ways to stretch the interaction beyond a simple transaction.



Q.Ask the Panel

Can we learn from calls that go badly?

Every rep handles a call badly now and then. What can you do to learn from these calls and to make sure that they are handled more effectively the next time?

A.Adopt a learning attitude Every mistake, or potential failure, can be reframed into a learning opportunity. I ask myself three questions:

What can I control? The answer is always "myself." You cannot control the actions or thoughts of others. You can only regulate yourself.

What are my options? We all have two choices. In a bad call scenario, the options could be "let it affect me negatively" or "learn a lesson to apply to the future."

What is the worst-case scenario? If you prepare yourself for this situation, most likely, the ultimate outcome will not be as horrible as you imagined. Megann Wither Navy Federal Credit Union

A.Don't take it personally There will always be that customer that can't be satisfied. No matter what you offer to do, it will never be enough. You just have to learn not to take it personally.

After the call is done, you need to shake it off so that it doesn't taint the rest of your day, or calls. If you let it, it can and will do so. So take a deep breath, shake it off, take a quick break if possible, and get back in there and service the customers that call. Jo Sprowl SKF USA Inc.

A.Take ownership When these types of calls happen, don't let them take over your entire day. Take ownership of what happened during the call. If you start the blame game of why this or that happened, you don't learn from the experience. Let yourself process what happened and take note of the things you know you did badly. At times, we don't always know just exactly how the call took a turn for the worse. Look to a mentor or a supervisor that you can talk through the scenario with to get insight from an outside perspective. Rachel Dillon Assurant Specialty Property

A.The gem is in the details As much as we try, we can't please everyone all the time. It's not fair to your next caller for you to bring the emotions from your last call into their situation. I always ask myself the same question after every bad call: What could I have done differently on this call? In my opinion, when you don't place the blame for the call's outcome on the caller, but rather look for ways you contributed to the call's outcome, it tends to highlight opportunities within the call where you could have done things differently. Jerrard Gates Navy Federal Credit Union

Read more from the panelists at answers.php.

September 2017 | Customer Communicator | 3

Refreshers, quick tips, and quotes ...

Discuss workplace stress solutions

One of the best ways to deal with stress in the workplace is to open the subject up for discussion with your coworkers either informally at lunch or during breaks or more formally during team meetings. Focus on interactions that have caused you the most stress, including specific stress triggers, and exchange views on how to deal with those situations and triggers.

You should also consider ways that you and your colleagues can support each other during stressful situations -- by providing help in some situations, by stepping in to handle a situation that you might be more practiced in, or simply by providing sympathy and feedback in the aftermath of a stressful encounter with a customer.

Make yourself stand out in the workplace

Looking to move up the career ladder in your organization? Here's some advice from Keith Emerson of management consulting firm Lee Hecht Harrison:

? Assess your current standing in the workplace. What's your reputation? Do people respect you? Do people come to you for answers or suggestions? Identify your weaknesses and take steps to correct them.

? Volunteer for added responsibility. If you are a good problem solver, offer to serve on

a company task force. If you are a good teacher, volunteer to train or coach new service reps.

? Listen carefully to others. Direct your attention toward identifying underlying problems and concerns and suggesting solutions.

? Communicate openly and honestly. Be open about what you can do and what you expect from others.

Put your best ear forward

"When you do not listen effectively, it can be tough to respond to customers effectively," says Ren?e Evenson, author of Customer Service Training 101. Here's her advice on listening more effectively:

? Listen to the customer's opening statement. This will usually tell you the reason for the customer's call. But you'll miss it if you don't focus on the call right away.

? Make note of key points. Write down the key points of what the customer has to say, including their name.

? Listen without interrupting. Interrupting a customer mid-sentence is only going to add an element of aggravation to the interaction.

? Give the customer your full attention. "When you pay attention and listen to the reason for the call, you can begin finding the best solution for the customer," Evenson says. TCC

"The lack of genuineness in communicating appreciation may be the single biggest barrier " to positive workplace relationships. -- Dr. Paul White, author of The Vibrant Workplace

4 | Customer Communicator | September 2017

Heard on Twitter

@StellarCX We all have the power and vision to improve the customer experience, because we are all customers some of the time. Empathy is key!

@StephenRCovey "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose."

@ReneeEvenson Want to be a better listener? Be curious.

@johnrpatt We are called to qualities like sincerity and respect in true customer service.

@georgebioletto Old time rules -- the customer comes first. TCC

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Customer Communicator

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Customer Communicator? is published monthly by the Customer Service Group, which provides management and training materials for customer service executives, managers and representatives through its newsletters, books, support materials, and website.

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