A Different Kind of Gift

When we conduct our Napkin Melon Monkey Book Clubs, the CSRs have plenty to say about Aha!#3: Problems can be gifts in disguise.”

Usually the reps recognize right away that if customers didn’t call them with problems, they wouldn’t have a job. But, what they don’t often think about is the hidden opportunity within each customer call.

The supervisors, (trained to facilitate the Book Club meetings) invite their reps to look at angry customers in a new way. Instead of viewing frustrated, disgruntled customers as an unpleasant aspect of their job, the reps are asked to consider another possibility — that every call they receive from a customer in distress presents a unique opportunity for them to show their best self. To show compassion for another human being.

Over the last couple of months one of the call centers within Integrys, an energy utility company located in the Midwest, has been conducting their NMM Book Clubs. After each session, the CSRs are invited to write additional thoughts about the Aha!s discussed in the meeting. (We don’t ask for their name.)

(–> This photo from their first Book Club meeting in which each CSR was given a “gift.”)

Examples of some thoughts the CSRs had about Aha! #3.

Barbara Burke

PS Good news for those readers waiting for the DIY (Do It Yourself) version of the Napkin Melon Monkey Book Clubs. Learn more….

Copyright 2011 Barbara Burke. All Rights Reserved.

If you don’t tell ‘em, they’ll make something up.

Has this ever happened to you? A rumor gets started, picking up steam with every passing day until it penetrates the entire organization. It didn’t matter that the rumor was untrue. For employees, perception became reality.

A few months ago, I saw what happened when the employees in a large contact center believed a false rumor. The company is a large outsourcer that takes inbound customer service calls for several U.S. utilities. Word spread among the front-line reps that their biggest client was unhappy and had decided not to renew their contract. Once the rumor mill kicked into gear, it wasn’t long before the reps were spinning multiple worst-case scenarios. Convinced that there was going to be a major lay off, employee morale tanked and so did their performance.

Luckily, the center’s manager was an old hand at dealing with rumor-generated panic. She understood that Nature abhors a vacuum. Absent the facts, it is natural for people to speculate about what could be true. Enter the rumor mill.

The manager also subscribed to my “Rule of Five.”

• If you want a group of employees to really “get” an important message, delivering it once is never enough.

• The same message should be delivered at least five times via five different communication channels.

• If the message is extremely important, make sure you build in one or two live meetings with management so employees can ask questions and get clarification.

• Even if you do deliver your important message multiple times, you’ll be lucky if 70% actually “get it.”

As it turned out, when the employees learned that the client wasn’t going anywhere and had, in fact, just inked a new multi-year contract, they breathed a collective sigh of relief. Confidence was restored. Performance scores shot up and service levels went back to normal.

The Lesson: The best way to prevent damaging rumors is timely, factual information. If the information is important, be on the safe side and follow the Rule of Five.

Be happy. Enjoy your week.

Barbara Burke

2011 © Barbara Burke. All rights reserved.

(Look for the next Monday Aha! on 12/19/11)