Chances are, whether you have direct client contact or not, you and your team members are providing some sort of customer service. You may not be dealing with outside clients, but in almost every situation you have some sort of internal client (another team, accounting, human resources, etc). Regardless of who your client may be, you need to have the customer service skills necessary to make your customers happy.

But how do you offer great customer service, from a management standpoint?

• Start by hiring a great group of people. We’ve spoken quite a bit about interview skills – so use them. Make sure you aren’t only hiring people who can get the job done, but who can get the job done while remaining friendly and interested in their work.
• Make sure you outline a clear set of customer service standards for your team members to follow. They should dictate how they speak to customers, how they act in the presence of customers, and how they respond (in both attitude and time frame) to the needs of their customers. Once you’ve set the standards, hold your team members to them.
• Ensure your team member are getting the training they need. Believe it or not, most people aren’t born working in customer service industries and, as such, the skills needed to deal with people do not come naturally. Ongoing training will support your cause.
• Develop an incentive program through which those who go above and beyond the call of duty can be  rewarded for their efforts. Sure, you should be paying well, but you should show your team members a bit of respect by acknowledging their hard work from time to time as well.
• Take criticism seriously. People who are unhappy with your business aren’t likely to tell you about their experiences – they’ll tell everyone else they know instead. If someone has something to say – listen. Others probably have the same sentiment.

The happier your team members, the more their attitudes will rub off on their customer interactions – guaranteed.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

I have met very few people who were not nervous about public speaking – especially the first time they were faced with the concept of standing up before a crowd to talk. Some get over it and enjoy future speaking engagements while others simply remain nervous and frazzled every single time.

If you are in the latter group, there are a few things you can do to conquor your fears of public speaking while improving your communication skills. It’s really all in the way you prepare yourself for a speaking engagement. Here’s how to get started:

1. Research your subject. Hopefully you won’t really need to research your subject. In a perfect world, the subject you are preparing to speak on should be something you’re already familiar and comfortable with. If not, though, do a bit of research so that you can gain an understanding of the basics.
2. After you research your subject you’ll definitely need to research your topic, which is what you are going to talk about specifically. This involves making sure you know the details, inside and out, whether you’re talking about a new product or service or a future organisational plan.
3. Put it in writing. How you do so is up to you, but if you aren’t a fan of speaking in public you should at least have some notes in front of you. The drawback of writing out the entire speech is that you might try to read it (boring!), but the drawback of only writing out a few notes is that you may become confused and forget what you’re trying to say. Figure out which works best for you.
4. Practice makes perfect. Seriously. Practice in front of a mirror, watching your facial expressions and body language first. Then find a friend, family member, or impartial coworker to listen to you rehearse. Whatever you do – practice until you feel confident.
5. Finally (for today), take a moment to figure out what you’re going to do with your hands while you’re speaking. You might speak with your hands (if you don’t do it through the entire speech, that is) or you might simply rest them on the podium. What you don’t want to do is spend your entire speech twirling your hair, with your hands in your pocket, or picking at your nails.

Practice with confidence and you’ll give a confident speech. You don’t have to love public speaking – you juts have to get to a point where you can speak in public!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

I know I’ve given you activities similar to this before but I’d like you to take some of the new information about honesty and ethics into consideration as you think about today’s question.

You have two resumes on your desk. One is from a bright, young college graduate with no experience. His college major is in line with the work you do within your organisation and – even better – he graduated from the same university you went to and has the same fraternity ties!

The second resume is from a man with a college education as well. He has about 20 years experience in the industry and has been relatively successful.

They’re both good candidates, but how will you choose?

Will you look at their experience levels? The younger candidate has very little but he’s mallable – you can mold him the way your organisation wishes him to be. He’ll also present a fresh, modern viewpoint when it comes to new developments. The second candidate is older – true – but he has all the experience. Will he be difficult to work with or will that experience add value to your team?

Or – will you hire the younger guy because you have common interests?

Oh – you didn’t think people made unethical decisions like that? Well, they do. And the funny part is that many of them don’t even consciously realize they’re choosing one person over another for an unethical reason. They’re justifying their decisions with concrete points that simply aren’t as strong as they could be in order to cover up the real reasons.

So which candidate would you hire? I’d love to know!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Now that you understand the importance of having a mentoring plan in place it’s time to start building one. In order for any mentoring plan to be successful two things have to happen. First, you employees need to realize they are responsible for their own levels of success. Second, you must have support from upper management in the development and implementation of your plan.

Once you have commitment and support you can start building a mentoring program for each of your employees. You have a choice. You as a manager can do the mentoring work or you can hire a third party who will focus on mentoring full-time. No matter what you choose to do you must make sure your organisation understands the following points:

• Your employees need to be able to clearly identify the paths they want to take in their own careers.
• Your employees must feel like a valuable part of the overall team.
• Your organisation must be ready to spend time on training your employees so that they can reach their individual career goals.
• Your organisation must be willing to look internally when it is time to hire for new positions rather than immediately looking to hire from the outside.
• Your employees must feel as though the company cares about their futures.

Is your organisation willing to make a few changes in both mindset and procedure in order to help foster the growth of your current employees? They should. After all, it costs less to keep an employee than it does to hire a new one. Keep that in mind.

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

The other day we took a look at some of the main principles of team building and how they effect the success of a team from the inside out. Today I’d like to share a few more concepts in the hopes you’ll be able to apply them to your next team building (or team growing) experience.

Do the members of your team understand the context? In short, do they understand not only the main purpose of the team but how the work the team completes will help the organization reach its ultimate, long-term goals? In short, your team members should feel as though their team is important to the organization.

Does the team feel as though it has the tools it needs to perform competently? Most team members, when asking themselves this question, aren’t looking for materials but are looking at the other people on the team. Do they feel as though everyone in the group is capable of getting the job done. Are they kowledgeable and skilled?

Does the team have control of the project? Have you given the team the power it needs to get the job done while setting boundaries and limitations that will prevent them from going over budget or missing their deadlines? Control is good. Having to redo a project because the team members let the power associated with the work go to their heads is bad.

Is everyone communicating? Communication is key in any venture. Are all members of your team encouraged to give feedback and express their honest opinions. If not, they may be wondering why they are a part of the team at all.

Does your team understand that their work comes with consequences? Do they understand that they are accountable for what they do and do not accomplish and that if the job does not get done there will be consequences? Likewise, will they be rewarded for getting the job done on time and within budget?

Choosing a group of people to participate in a team is easy. Making sure those people are happy, can work together, and actually get the job done is another. You’ll have to work on the team from the inside out but I guarantee once you’re done you’ll have a highly functioning group you’ll be proud to have under your wings.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”