Customer care, like hospitality, is at the heart of making people feel they matter.
Efficiency, especially in an era of changing employment patterns, relies heavily on staff retention - which makes customer care among colleagues at all levels in the workplace essential for smooth operation.
Is there anything worse than being ignored? Try making eye-contact with a poorly-trained shop assistant. In most cases it's merely a matter of manners. In commerce and industry it can be a serious problem demanding swift resolution.
Focus for Change http://www.focus4change.co.uk/ hears frequent case-studies of inter-personal disasters aired among delegates to its customer care workshops, one of the company's extending portfolio of interactive seminars conducted for organisations in both the public and private sector.
The causes are many and varied; staff shortages leading to short cuts, the increasing use of casually-crafted emails - or people in just too much of a hurry.
A highly-regarded musician friend opened a letter the other day from the human resources department of the university where he has been an eminent tutor for many years to be told the library ticket essential to his work would not be renewed. Shocked, he was told that so far as the bureaucrats were concerned, he was no longer employed!
An extreme case of cumputer error, worsened by the lack of a ready apology. He had a long wait for confirmation that he did indeed remained employed by the university where he has worked for 22 years.
The other side of the coin presented me with a textbook example of customer care, successfully achieved and without a public relations consultant in sight!
It happened on a hot day in Croatia at Pula's small and under-developed airport. We began boarding the plane for home, but were turned back to the departure gate. There was a delay, the public address system announced, baldly. Why and for how long we asked among ourselves. Rumours quickly spread among anxious families quietening children.
Then the captain arrived and called us round him like a Scout leader addressing his patrol. A bird had been struck by one of the engines on landing, he explained. Initial tests registered no damage, but he decided to stay on the safe side and call for a specialist inspection. He had been advised the nearest engineer was hours away in Istanbul, but had been able to locate suitably qualified inspectors much closer.
He apologised profusely. He added he wanted to get home for the weekend too and won the sympathy of passengers earlier in classic grumbler-traveller mood.
We reached our destination safely, everybody had a bird-strike story to tell the folks back home and the charter airline collected congratulatory messages on its crew's oustanding customer care.
Put into the picture in that spartan waiting-room, everyone knew that we mattered.
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Thursday, 17 June 2010
Thinking the Unthinkable
It's only a few weeks since David Cameron, beating the drum for a Conservative revival in the face of economic meltdown, declared that we're all in this together.
Depending on your politics, this was a Henry V moment - " God for David, Britain and St George" - or "typical Tories: 'I'm all right Jack'"
Cynicism is all very well when it comes to playing politics but surely scepticism is the healthier choice. There's not much doubt that the country has responded, if not exactly rallied, to a leadership claiming positively to tackle a situation which all agree is pretty dire and which is bound to have a significant effect on our cherished standards of living.
Recognition calls for a change of attitude; hostility, no matter how deep-seated and tribal, is purely negative and so is not an intelligent option.
In a way the example has been set by the Lib-Dems with their decision to share the pain of implementing the necessary financial stringencies agreed upon as the best way out of the current crisis. Of course agreement on the present coalition model was a pragmatic move to create an alliance many of its culturally left-inclined footsoldiers find unpalatable. Time will tell whether such apparently uncomfortable bedfellows will togther accomplish in times of economic turmoil the 21st century equivalent of what Churchill's coalition achieved in wartime 60 years before.
Their leaders, today given a share of government - a taste their predecessors could only dream about, have thus far responded with fitting gravitas in terms of the national interest. Cometh the hour, cometh statesmanlike responsibility?
While work remains in progress in Westminster, at the coalface where the majority of us labour it is just as important to recognise the part each of us have to play - employee or boss. Focus for Change http://www.focus4change.co.uk/ continues to support many whose careers are being forced into new directions in the economic storm.
Outplacement and accompanying career counselling provide a valuable and effective rescue package at a time when prospects look bleak. Delegates from public and private sector organisations find in our workshops and seminars that refreshing cvs and redirecting skills and experience opens the door to new and exciting possibilities.
And come to agree that perhaps redundancy - and the necessity for thinking the unthinkable - was not such a bad thing after all.
Depending on your politics, this was a Henry V moment - " God for David, Britain and St George" - or "typical Tories: 'I'm all right Jack'"
Cynicism is all very well when it comes to playing politics but surely scepticism is the healthier choice. There's not much doubt that the country has responded, if not exactly rallied, to a leadership claiming positively to tackle a situation which all agree is pretty dire and which is bound to have a significant effect on our cherished standards of living.
Recognition calls for a change of attitude; hostility, no matter how deep-seated and tribal, is purely negative and so is not an intelligent option.
In a way the example has been set by the Lib-Dems with their decision to share the pain of implementing the necessary financial stringencies agreed upon as the best way out of the current crisis. Of course agreement on the present coalition model was a pragmatic move to create an alliance many of its culturally left-inclined footsoldiers find unpalatable. Time will tell whether such apparently uncomfortable bedfellows will togther accomplish in times of economic turmoil the 21st century equivalent of what Churchill's coalition achieved in wartime 60 years before.
Their leaders, today given a share of government - a taste their predecessors could only dream about, have thus far responded with fitting gravitas in terms of the national interest. Cometh the hour, cometh statesmanlike responsibility?
While work remains in progress in Westminster, at the coalface where the majority of us labour it is just as important to recognise the part each of us have to play - employee or boss. Focus for Change http://www.focus4change.co.uk/ continues to support many whose careers are being forced into new directions in the economic storm.
Outplacement and accompanying career counselling provide a valuable and effective rescue package at a time when prospects look bleak. Delegates from public and private sector organisations find in our workshops and seminars that refreshing cvs and redirecting skills and experience opens the door to new and exciting possibilities.
And come to agree that perhaps redundancy - and the necessity for thinking the unthinkable - was not such a bad thing after all.
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
Home and Away - Coping with the Cup
The butcher is advertising 'World Cup Sausages'
And we did order the 'Pizza of the Champions' when out for an Italian; although it was hard to forecast any results from the toppings - not even Italy's!
Now Focus for Change http://www.focus4change.co.uk/ does not include among its many and varied workshops anything relating to cooking. But it does take sensible eating seriously, just one small but very important aspect promoting health in the retirement programmes it conducts for organisations on clients' premises as well as for senior executives in open courses at Westwood Park in Essex, the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall and in Park Street, Mayfair, where the next is due to take place on June 24th (places still available).
To return to football, is it 2,000 or 20,000 fans said to be making tracks half-way round the world to wave the flag of St George? However large the British division of the barmy army, can it be true that each supporter has life so arranged as to enjoy freedom from the work lasting up to three weeks away?
Can there really have been so many complacent housewives happy to forgo the family holiday and condone the expedenditure of so much hard-won cash in the face of the hard times promised just around the corner?
The mystery surrounding where these travelling fans find the funds for jaunts to exotic away stadia is a bit like asking where flies go in winter-time. What is certain that while the flag is being bravely waved away, back home Great Britain plc's most important fixture revolves around the means to fill the places left empty, however temporarily, by absent sporting envoys. Could be some companies, already coping with smaller teams of fewer people are even now ready to fly a red cross - as a sign of distress.
Absenteeism does nothing to help companies fight their way through the recession and even without the periodic hype of football - the religion of a dysfunctional society - it's a problem departmental managers face no matter what the season.
Focus for Change workshops throughout the year successfully address the underlying symptoms of absenteeism in the workplace, making a real difference both in the public and private sector.
Note to bosses: After the World Cup - Wimbledon fortnight!
And we did order the 'Pizza of the Champions' when out for an Italian; although it was hard to forecast any results from the toppings - not even Italy's!
Now Focus for Change http://www.focus4change.co.uk/ does not include among its many and varied workshops anything relating to cooking. But it does take sensible eating seriously, just one small but very important aspect promoting health in the retirement programmes it conducts for organisations on clients' premises as well as for senior executives in open courses at Westwood Park in Essex, the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall and in Park Street, Mayfair, where the next is due to take place on June 24th (places still available).
To return to football, is it 2,000 or 20,000 fans said to be making tracks half-way round the world to wave the flag of St George? However large the British division of the barmy army, can it be true that each supporter has life so arranged as to enjoy freedom from the work lasting up to three weeks away?
Can there really have been so many complacent housewives happy to forgo the family holiday and condone the expedenditure of so much hard-won cash in the face of the hard times promised just around the corner?
The mystery surrounding where these travelling fans find the funds for jaunts to exotic away stadia is a bit like asking where flies go in winter-time. What is certain that while the flag is being bravely waved away, back home Great Britain plc's most important fixture revolves around the means to fill the places left empty, however temporarily, by absent sporting envoys. Could be some companies, already coping with smaller teams of fewer people are even now ready to fly a red cross - as a sign of distress.
Absenteeism does nothing to help companies fight their way through the recession and even without the periodic hype of football - the religion of a dysfunctional society - it's a problem departmental managers face no matter what the season.
Focus for Change workshops throughout the year successfully address the underlying symptoms of absenteeism in the workplace, making a real difference both in the public and private sector.
Note to bosses: After the World Cup - Wimbledon fortnight!
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Let's Hand More Help to the Jobless
We knew it was coming. Ever since the recession began to bite, the repeated word from Westmintser was that jobs have got to go.
Private sector employers, fighting to maintain their markets, continue to pare staff numbers already cut to the bone. Now begins the equally painful and inevitable process of culling throughout the public sector.
For a workforce engaged in local government, traditionally sheltered from economic storms, the prospect of across-the-board redundancies is fearsome.
But the support of outplacement services can really make a difference, offering hope in place of despair, crucial in alleviating the pain pointing to positive outcomes for staff seeking new employment opportunities.
Yet a recent survey of public sector employees conducted by Hays' Career Transition Services and reported in HR Magazine http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/ finds nearly 75 per cent of those questioned said there was no current support from their employer when they are being made redundant or help from management in beginning their search for another post.
No wonder they agree that outplacement services should be compulsory. After all, such expert and sensitive assistance not only provides a lifeline to affected staff, but colleagues holding on to their jobs are reassured to know their employer cares.
Focus for Change http://www.focus4change.co.uk/ working with many public sector organisations including local authorities, the NHS, universities and colleges, offer counselling and advice on cv and interview preparation as well as establishng outplacement support.
Over the years the company has a proud record in helping countless people from all kinds of occupations with all kinds of skills back into the workplace.
Private sector employers, fighting to maintain their markets, continue to pare staff numbers already cut to the bone. Now begins the equally painful and inevitable process of culling throughout the public sector.
For a workforce engaged in local government, traditionally sheltered from economic storms, the prospect of across-the-board redundancies is fearsome.
But the support of outplacement services can really make a difference, offering hope in place of despair, crucial in alleviating the pain pointing to positive outcomes for staff seeking new employment opportunities.
Yet a recent survey of public sector employees conducted by Hays' Career Transition Services and reported in HR Magazine http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/ finds nearly 75 per cent of those questioned said there was no current support from their employer when they are being made redundant or help from management in beginning their search for another post.
No wonder they agree that outplacement services should be compulsory. After all, such expert and sensitive assistance not only provides a lifeline to affected staff, but colleagues holding on to their jobs are reassured to know their employer cares.
Focus for Change http://www.focus4change.co.uk/ working with many public sector organisations including local authorities, the NHS, universities and colleges, offer counselling and advice on cv and interview preparation as well as establishng outplacement support.
Over the years the company has a proud record in helping countless people from all kinds of occupations with all kinds of skills back into the workplace.
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