When you have a specific event or decision to communicate, make sure you’ve included all the elements of a good communication plan.
Download the ‘Tips for Building a Communication Plan’ Cheat Sheet, Audio, and Slides
Tips for Building a Communication Plan
Download the ‘Tips for Building a Communication Plan’ Cheat Sheet, Audio, and Slides
Succession Planning – An Introduction
Join Jed and Bob as they discuss why managers should bother to worry about succession planning, and how to get started doing so.
Watch the ‘Succession Planning’ Video (16 mins 40 sec):
Download the ‘Succession Planning’ Cheat Sheet, Video, Audio, and Slides
Setting Expectations
Join Jed and Bob as they discuss the do’s and don’ts of how to properly set expectations with your people.
Watch the ‘Setting Expectations’ Video (15 mins 00 sec):
Download the ‘Setting Expectations’ Cheat Sheet, Video, Audio, and Slides
Great Customer Service
Join Jed and Bob as they discuss the good and bad practices for customer service that apply in all industries. A focus on service is not merely the concern of those in retail.
Watch the ‘Great Customer Service’ Video (16 mins 16 sec):
Download the ‘Great Customer Service’ Cheat Sheet, Video, Audio, and Slides
RACI Analysis – Responsibility Charting
Join Jed and Bob as they explore how to use a RACI Chart in any organization.
Watch the ‘RACI Analysis’ Video (17 mins 26 sec):
Download the ‘RACI Analysis’ Cheat Sheet, Video, Audio, and Slides
“I Told That Guy That!”
Why don’t your people do things the way they’re supposed to?!? It may be because you didn’t set clear expectations in the first place. Learn how to set expectations that are crystal clear, and use them as a tool to manage performance. Become a Wily Manager member today and get the full story from Bob and Jed. Is that clear?
Many managers having uttered the words, “I told that guys that!”, become truly amazed when people don’t live up to their expectations. There are hundreds of reasons why leaders end up being disappointed when their expectations aren’t met, but here’s our list of the top five:
Thinking you can tell people something once. You may have “told that guy”, but if you haven’t done it multiple times, by multiple media, your job isn’t yet done. Much like teaching your children new habits, it takes time and effort to integrate new expectations into consistent behaviors.
Thinking that expectations last forever. You also need to periodically remind people about expectations. I once worked for client that had very specific expectations for travel expenses. As months and years passed without any consistent reminders or reinforcement of those expectations, people deviated substantially from the policy. When a new manager came in and called people on their expenses, he had an uphill battle. For years people had done what they wanted, and now this new guy was trying to hold them to account for expectations that were set long ago.
Acting Inconsistently. “Do as I say, not as I do…” doesn’t work. A former client made the decision to move to an open office concept from enclosed offices because they wanted to set an expectation of an open, accessible corporate culture. It all went horribly wrong as soon as the senior leaders locked themselves behind closed doors, after creating the expectation that everyone should embrace the idea of the open concept. There is also no faster way to eliminate any credibility you have as a leader than to say one thing, and do another.
Having a laundry list. If you hand people a list of expectations that numbers in the hundreds, you are asking (if not begging) to be let down. Public sector organizations are famous for this. Due to their risk aversion, they want to cover off any and all contingencies, so they create expectations for things that could not be more impossible. Keep your expectations clear and manageable – and never hand your people a laundry list.
Assuming people understand. Sometimes people say they understand when they don’t. Much like the English-speaking tourist in a foreign country who simply yells louder at the nodding cab driver, you’re still not going to get what you want if the other person doesn’t understand. Part of setting expectations is to ask clarifying and confirming questions to ensure the other fully understands.
If you are regularly disappointed when people don’t perform according to your expectations, perhaps you aren making one or more of these common mistakes. Avoid this unnecessary frustration – watch this week’s video about Setting Expectations.
Become a Wily Manager and get instant access to more than 100 leadership videos and cheat sheets. We add a new one every week. Next week Bob and Jed will show you how to smoothly handle an employee who says they’ve been offered more money elsewhere. You won’t want to miss out – become a Wily Manager member today.
Setting Expectations
Members Click Here for Additional Tools
Get Instant Access to 200+ Cheat Sheets, Videos, and Other Immediately Usable Tools for Busy Managers – Try Out a Wily Manager Membership Today!
Setting Expectations is a key leadership skill that is often executed poorly. Below we talk about the following aspects of how to Set Expectations:
- Why Leaders Need to Set Clear Expectations
- Different Media to Set Expectations
- The Do’s of Setting Expectations
- The Don’ts of Setting Expectations
Why Leaders Need to Set Clear Expectations
- Quite simply, you can’t hold people accountable for things they didn’t know they were responsible for.
Different Media to Set Expectations
There are many ways that managers Set Expectations with their people. Some of those methods are:
- Job Descriptions
- Performance Reviews
- One on One Meetings
- Articulation of clear Goals & Objectives
- Development Plans
- Performance Contracts
- Discussions
- Emails
The Do’s of Setting Expectations
- Refine, Reinforce and Repeat the expectations you have of others.
- Use multiple media to Set Expectations.
- Have a few, key important objectives rather than a laundry list.
- Use One on One meetings to ensure clarity of Set Expectations.
- Describe standards or parameters of the expectations that you set.
- Describe how success will be measured.
- Describe how the expectations you are setting fit into the big picture
- Set SMART Expectations:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time Bound
The Don’ts of Setting Expectations
- Use General “HR Speak”.
- “Have good organizational skills”
- “Other duties as assigned”
- “Extend courtesy and project professionalism”
- Think that one conversation is adequate.
- Set Expectations without asking questions to test for understanding.
- Set Expectations once, and then forget about it.
3 Things to Remember About How to Set Expectations:
- Time invested up front to articulate clear expectations pays back many times over.
- Asking good questions is a key skill in setting expectations.
- Be SMART when articulating expectations
Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about Setting Expectations (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):
Looking for the Full-Length Podcast/Video? …
Get Instant Access to 200+ Cheat Sheets, Videos, and Other Immediately Usable Tools for Busy Managers – Try Out a Wily Manager Membership Today!
Weekend at Bernie’s
Providing great customer service is important even if you’re not in a retail industry. Become a Wily Manager member and you’ll get instant access to Bob and Jed’s discussion about good and bad customer service practices you can apply to any business.
Recently there was a story in the news about two women who were arrested in the UK for allegedly trying to get a dead person aboard a plane. The deceased was propped up in a wheelchair with sunglasses on, and passed off as “sleeping”. Of course, this is both hilarious and troubling on a variety of levels.
One of the questions few seem to be asking about this bizarre case is, “what would compel someone to attempt such an outlandish feat?” My own theory is that they needed the departed’s mortal remains to be somewhere else, and the red tape and bureaucracy involved in making the transfer was only slightly less complicated than bringing back the dead to make the move, and then returning him to the hereafter.
This case was both amusing and personal for me as I dealt with a death in my own family. My dad was a client of a mobile phone carrier that shall remain nameless (Bell Mobility). About a month after his passing, I called to cancel his mobile telephone. I can only conclude that my father was the first one of Bell’s customers ever to have died. Perhaps we should all be advised to become a Bell customer to enjoy the benefits of immortality.
The condensed version of the story is that after four calls to their call center (each lasting over 30 minutes each), and five requests from the agents to speak with the account holder (apparently the off-shore call centre folks had never heard the English words “dead”, “deceased”, “expired”, or “passed away”), I was given a fax number to put my request in writing, along with a Death Certificate to have the phone discontinued. Of course, the fax number was wrong.
I tried a retail location for Bell, but was told that it was their job to sell the phones and the plans, and for all other “services”, I needed to contact the call center.
This a great example of how many companies conduct their customer “service”. I know that if Bell can’t get this right, that I could never trust them to do anything complicated.
Organizations end up in this unfortunate space because they are not willing to hire or develop employees capable of consistently making good decisions. Instead, they have thousands of rules and regulations that they think will protect the company from losses, when in fact they make those losses worse.
I have no doubt that the decision makers in this organization will point to how much money they save by off-shoring their call centers, and how they monitor calls to ensure quality.
I hope they’re saving a whole lot of money – they’re going to need it.
Providing great customer service is important even if you’re not in a retail industry. Become a Wily Manager member and you’ll get instant access to Bob and Jed’s discussion about good and bad customer service practices you can apply to any business.
Great Customer Service
Members Click Here for Additional Tools
Get Instant Access to 200+ Cheat Sheets, Videos, and Other Immediately Usable Tools for Busy Managers – Try Out a Wily Manager Membership Today!
Below, we talk about the following aspects of providing Great Customer Service:
- What is Great Customer Service
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- Good and Bad Customer Service Practices
What is Great Customer Service?
“When the service delivered exceeds the customers’ expectations.”
| A 2012 JZ Analytics survey of over 1500 companies based in the United States produced this list of great customer service experiences and poor customer service experiences. Note that the same industries are represented on both lists, reinforcing the viewpoint that customer service is more a function of the management of a business rather than the conditions or environment a business finds itself in. | |
The Good
|
The Bad
|
Good Customer Service Practices
Customer service is highly situational, but there are some practices that transcend industry and geography:
- Know your customer and act accordingly. In some parts of the world, for example, using a customer’s name might be a welcome, personal touch. In other places, it would be the height of rudeness to be so familiar. Know your customer, and don’t make global service standards without considering differences.
- Offer money-back guarantees, and make it easy to execute. A guarantee is a great way to win a customer. A great way to lose one is to offer a guarantee, and then make it difficult to collect on.
- Talk directly to your customers. Market research firms have their place, but as the leader of a business, or a department in a business, you need to talk directly to your customers. Some businesses such as Disney and Kroger require their senior leaders to work on the frontlines a certain number of days per year so they can interface directly with customers.
- Train and retain your staff. Some people treat customer service jobs as entry-level or unimportant roles. When you consider that that whoever has the contact with the customer is the face of the company, it may add a level of importance to such a role. This is true whether providing internal or retail customer service.
- Fix mistakes. Just about everyone will forgive a mistake. What is not forgivable is failing to correct that mistake quickly and properly.
Bad Customer Service Practices
- Outsourcing Customer Service. Only the most routine transactions should be outsourced. Anything that requires discretion or judgment must be maintained close to the organization where it can be proactively managed. Any money saved by outsourcing customer service is usually lost several times over when things start to go wrong. The cost to obtain a new customer is generally recognized at being ten times greater than the cost to maintain a current customer – a consideration often forgotten.
- Not being able to talk to a real person. A certain amount of customer interface can probably safely be automated. Anything complicated or sensitive needs to be handled by a real person. You also need to provide access to a real person quickly, and not send people through 30 minutes of automated voice response.
- Employee turnover. Businesses need to find a way to hang on to those employees that are good a interfacing with customers. The cost of employee turnover is particularly high if new or inexperienced employees are driving away customers.
- Over selling. You need to carefully manage customer expectations regardless of what industry you are in. The old adage of “under-promise; over-deliver” will serve you well.
- Deliver. Make sure your business infrastructure is able to deliver on the promises being made to you customers. Don’t allow your sales people to promise things the business will never be able to execute.
3 Things to Remember About Providing Great Customer Service
- Know your customers’ expectations and plan to exceed them.
- All businesses are contact sports – do not build barriers with customers.
- Train and retain good people.
Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about providing Great Customer Service (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):
Looking for the Full-Length Podcast/Video? …
Get Instant Access to 200+ Cheat Sheets, Videos, and Other Immediately Usable Tools for Busy Managers – Try Out a Wily Manager Membership Today!
My Two Brains
Like many people, I seem to have two often competing, and sometimes complimentary hemispheres to my brain. When I did my undergraduate degree, I had the rather strange combination of a major in Business Administration, with a minor in English Literature. This typically meant I annoyed my Business Student peers by pointing out their dangling modifiers; and annoyed my Liberal Arts peers by continually questioning the economic utility of the arts.
Overall, it meant I was generally someone to avoided at cocktail parties.
Once I entered the work world, the correlation between the disciplines of Business and Liberal Arts became much more tangible. There are many business people who have had their careers derailed by not being able to construct a coherent sentence, or by being too linear in their thinking. Likewise, those who fail to move past “art for art’s sake” usually condemn themselves to a career of leaning out a drive-through window, wearing polyester work clothes with a bright nametag, and asking their clients if they’d “like fries with that”.
So with that preamble, I going to attempt to demonstrate a key business problem by using art as an example.
Imagine yourself spending thousands of dollars to go to London or New York to take in major theatre production. When you get in the venue and seated, you notice there are no sets, props, or costumes – just an empty stage. The actors are sent on stage not knowing anything about the story they are trying to tell. There are no writers to give them any lines.
Being an optimist, you may think this in an improvised production, but the performers don’t do anything – they just stare blankly at each other. Eventually, you feel confused and cheated, and you just give up and leave the theatre.
This is the equivalent to what many organizations do when it comes to role clarity. They spend thousands of dollars to hire and onboard talent. They then send them to the stage (in this case to an office or workplace) without any idea what the story is about. People are not told about the vision, mission or values of the organization, and how that might guide their work on a daily basis.
There are non-existent, or poorly written job descriptions and other feedback mechanisms that help people refine what they do. This is the business equivalent of not having any written lines.
There are no training or developmental opportunities that will help sharpen the skills to better perform in their roles – a parallel to no sets, costumes or props.
In such organizations, shareholders feel confused and cheated, and abandon the production, much like the theatre patron above would. One of the simplest things we can do to help people be successful is to help them define and refine their roles – yet it is often left undone.
Creating a RACI Responsibility Chart is one simple but effective way to clarify workplace roles. There’s no confusion when everyone is clear about their responsibilities. The ‘RACI Analysis’ Video and Cheat Sheet was just added to the membership area. Become a member and get instant access– it’s truly risk-free.