Inter-Office Odyssey

Making the Most of Customer Complaints

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article recently on making the most of customer complaints. The point of the article is that how a company handles customer complaints is just as important (if not more so) than customer service in general. (There is the anomaly of the "recovery paradox," in which customers can be more delighted by a skillful service recovery than they are by service that was failure-free to start with.)

The article states:

Customers are constantly judging companies for service failures large and small, from a glitch-ridden business-software program to a hamburger served cold. They judge the company first on how it handles the problem, then on its willingness to make sure similar problems don't happen in the future. And they are far less forgiving when it comes to the latter. Fixing breakdowns in service - we call this service recovery - has enormous impact on customer satisfaction, repeat business, and, ultimately, profits and growth.

Service recovery should be a mission that involves three stakeholders: customers who want their complaints resolved; managers in charge of the process of addressing those concerns; and the frontline employees who deal with the customers. All three need to be integrated into addressing and fixing service problems, according to the article.

Ask a Working Woman

If you're a working woman, participate in the AFL-CIO's 2006 Ask a Working Woman Survey, and your input will be presented "to every U.S. representative and senator as well as state and local officials around the country on Labor Day."

[ via Fast Company Now ]

Cubicle Beautification Project

Fine, you're stuck in a slate-gray cubicle for the foreseeable future. That doesn't mean you have to settle for tacked up snapshots and your Rolodex for decoration.

Just ask Seattle-based lifestyle expert Kelley Moore, author of the new book Cube Chic. Her extreme makeover ideas range from the Zen Cube (lots of bamboo) to the Pub Cube (complete with bar stools as visitor chairs) to the Hip-hop Cube (faux graffiti, naturally).

But even if you're stopping short of a total overhaul (or Joy and Karen are stopping you anyway), there are plenty of ways to improve life in the box.

"The key is finishing your design and décor instead of thinking of it as 'Okay, my whole cube is a bulletin board.' Think of it as a room in your home," Moore says.

Happy Monday

"It's a beautiful day, I'm around beautiful people, I love what I do and this is a great place to work. It doesn't get much better than this."
~ A Whole Foods employee, responding to the pleasantry: "How are you?"

I feel the same way. Happy Monday! ;)

[ via Worthwhile ]

The Culture of Winning

In today’s Wall Street Journal, the Atlanta Braves general manager explains how and why the Braves have won 14 straight Divisional Titles. The five tips for transforming a culture of losing:

1. Gather everyone, communicate the plan and preach it daily.
2. Constantly remind them it works.
3. Don’t be afraid to get rid of people who don’t buy in.
4. Make the lowest level employees feel as important to success as the top level executives.
5. Show trust in everyone to do their jobs well.

[ via 800.CEO.READ blog ]

A job for life may not be such a myth

People are spending more time than previously thought in their jobs, effectively dispelling the myth that employees no longer want a "job for life".

A new book on the future of the workplace, which draws on a wide range of research to predict the state of employment in the next 20 years, shows that the average time spent in a job is rising and that career aspirations are longer-term.

Five ways to build your value at work

Every day people go to work and wish their job were better. Besides better compensation, they want more challenging assignments so they can feel useful and fulfilled.

But too many times the possibility for better assignments is hindered by not engaging some fundamental actions and attitudes that catch the bosses' attention in a positive way.

This article from management-issues offers five characteristics that often separate those who get better opportunities from those who don't.

How healthy is your desk?

You may want to rethink eating at your desk. In a recent study about germs in the workplace, the average desktop was found to harbor more than 20,000 germs per square inch. The five most bacteria-contaminated spots are telephones, desktops, water-fountain handles, microwave door handles and keyboards.

To be safe, clean your desk once a day with a disinfecting wipe or solution and wash your coffee mug with soap and hot water - using a paper towel instead of a communal sponge or dishrag.

Good Mistakes

David Balch has an article in the American Society of Association Executives' Executive IdeaLink that had some great points in it.

It's good to make mistakes some times. Why?

1. Mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things.
2. When you are making mistakes, you are learning. Edison failed 10,000 times before he perfected the light bulb. When asked how it felt to fail that many times, he remarked that he hadn't failed 10,000 times, but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn't work.
3. When you make a mistake, you are that much closer to success.

Only by embracing and using your mistakes in this way can you make significant advances in your organization and your career.

There is an old axiom that goes, "If you're not making mistakes, you're not trying hard enough." So go forth and make mistakes.  And learn. And grow. And prosper.

After running a full-time home business for 22 years, David Balch changed his career after caring for his wife during her battle with breast cancer. He is now a full-time speaker and author; in his program "You Can Handle More Than You Think You Can," he helps others cope with their own challenges by sharing what he learned from his experience. E-mail: dave@theppp.org

(c) Copyright 2002, Dave Balch.

Six Distinct Profiles Found in Modern Workforce

Radical changes in workers' attitudes have substantially altered conventional concepts of the American worker, according to a year-long analysis of the American workforce. A collaboration of top workforce consultants today announced their conclusions from a massive survey of 7,718 U.S. workers in every industry about the current and future profile of the American workforce, identifying six distinct categories of workers whose differences derive more from attitudes toward work and life circumstances than age, gender, race or ethnicity.

The study identified six major segments of the workforce:

    Self-Empowered Innovators (14%)
     The most engaged segment of the workforce is also the smallest.
     Hardworking, entrepreneurial, well educated and self-empowered, they are
     looking for work that continues to empower and stimulate them, enables
     them to continue to learn and grow, and has greater social purpose.  For
     them, work is about building something with lasting value.

     Fair & Square Traditionalists (20%)
     A slim plurality of the workforce consists of highly reliable, loyal,
     traditional workers who seek traditional rewards from their work. With
     below-average educations and above average incomes, they seek stable and
     secure environments, have the longest average tenure and are highly
     engaged. The study characterizes them as "hard workers and good team
     members."  For these employees, work is about the American dream - a
     steady, predictable path to success.

     Accomplished Contributors (17%)
     With an emphasis on contribution, this group sees itself as loyal,
     hard-working, reliable, capable and typically very experienced. They seek
     personally stimulating work that allows them to learn and grow. They have
     a very positive view of their employer, workplace and colleagues. Hard
     workers and great collaborators, they view work as an opportunity to be
     part of a winning team.

     Maverick Morphers (15%)
     Confident, intellectually curious workers with a high-energy drive and
     unending ability to raise their personal achievement bar, this group
     continually brings innovation to the workplace.  Members seek new ways to
     work or new technologies that increase productivity and communication.
     Successful but always needing that next challenge, they are most often
     found in smaller organizations.  Morphers seek lives filled with change
     and adventure -- work for them is one of multiple opportunities to
     achieve these goals.

     Stalled Survivors (19%)
     The youngest workforce segment looks for employers who can make it easier
     to cope with what they perceive to be stressful lives with too many
     demands.  Many of them hold out hope for a more productive and successful
     future, but for now, this group wants the full menu of company benefits
     and work environments that are fun.  For them work today is a source of
     livelihood but not yet (or not currently) a very satisfying part of their
     lives.

     Demanding Disconnects (15%)
     This group holds the distinction of being the least satisfied and least
     productive segment of the workforce. Although they demand a wide range of
     benefits, they bring very little energy or commitment to the table. These
     are often mid-career professionals who feel dead-ended and want their
     employers to step up and make things better.  Individuals in the group
     view work as generally frustrating and see its value largely in terms of
     near-term economic gain.