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FCR: Define It, Then Measure It

Start with the letters Start with C before F and R. C has changed the most over time. F is usually accepted as First but with some caveats. R, or Resolution, is the simplest and most binary to define and measure. Years ago, life when business was simpler, defining FCR was simpler. It was quickly defined as First Call Resolution. That was it. Did your phone representative resolve the Customer’s issue It was resolved for the Customer during the call without transferring them to someone else or having to follow up later. One call to solve it all. Business gradually became more complex and often required transfers to supervisors for take overs or other departments because agents became specialized within their organization. First Call Resolution sometimes became more difficult to measure as well, after all, the Customer only made one phone call and even though they had to talk to more than one person their issue was still resolved with that one event. Now, with the internet Customers can connect with businesses in many ways be it email, chat, social media, and even still by phone or fax. These channels are sometimes not even in real-time but have moved into the world of asynchronous conversations. FCR has evolved with it with the C often changing to Contact or Conversation depending on the channel being evaluated because sometimes it’s just not mechanically possible to answer something with the first response to a Tweet or Facebook message. We have yet to imagine what the future holds for communication and that will continue to evolve C. C has been defined (Call, Chat, Contact, Conversation) for what works best for you. Next, we define F and R. R is generally accepted as resolution and is a pretty simple binary measurement. For an interaction, if your agent resolved the issue without transferring it, they get the check. If they didn’t, no check. You can add this into your workflow to get confirmation from the Customer during the interaction. R can become more complex if you add a measure of correctness to the resolution during a quality review but doesn’t have to. F, or first, should also be simple to measure. Was this the first time the Customer contacted you about the issue, and was the interaction transferred? In the simplest iteration of F, we only consider the interaction being monitored, we discard future or past calls from the Customer regarding the same issue, and we also don’t consider if the Customer reached out across multiple channels. Define the point of view measured There are two views to consider when measuring FCR; the Customer side and the internal side. A Customer may not be concerned with being transferred several times within a call since to them it’s still one call. It is also generally understood that channels like social media may need more than one interaction in a chain, so C lends itself to Conversation instead of Contact. This doesn’t mean their level of effort doesn’t go up with each transfer or message but that is not what we are directly measuring with FCR even if it the former is impacted by the latter. On the other side, FCR has an impact on your business’s bottom line. FCR means you typically had to pay one agent to resolve an issue with the Customer without having to have a first-level agent do some probing then escalate the issue to a specialist to resolve or a supervisor to deescalate unhappiness. Additionally, a high rate of FCR can reduce the number of contacts your agents have to support because Customers only must call once. FCR can also give you insights to the complexity of your business or your service recovery process. If your agents must transfer to someone else, you can begin to look at training opportunities for agents or create a better self-help interface for your customers. You might even be able to use the insights to iterate your product itself based on the intelligence you gather. All too often businesses don’t or can’t leverage their contact centers in this way, but the best ones find a way to do just that. How do you measure FCR? Now that we have some good definitions for FCR and which side of the conversation is being considered for measurement, how do we do it? With simple definitions FCR is a checkbox measurement: Was this the first call from the Customer, did the agent resolve the issue without transferring? We can add time variables and accuracy of the resolution if we want to get a more robust measure for FCR success. What if the Customer calls back in 24 hours about the same issue? How about 36 hours? 48? What if your agent gave the Customer the wrong resolution but it seemed right in the moment? Let’s start with a simple example, a Customer calls about a balance inquiry for their account. Did your agent give your Customer the correct answer they needed at the time during the first call without transferring? If yes to both, get the check. It doesn’t matter if the Customer calls back to ask the same thing because the interaction is transactional. Simple and clean. Here’s an example of how complex FCR can get if you don’t take the time to get clear definitions. It has been decided that FCR is measured by the agent confirming resolution during the call with the Customer and the time chosen is 24 hours. Your Customer calls in to get a password reset. They called the right department from your phone tree and your agent was able to help them. The agent confirmed that verbally with the Customer. The call checks the box for FCR if the Customer does not call back within the next 24 hours. Except the Customer calls back a few hours later because they locked themselves out again. The password gets reset and resolution confirmed. The second call gets the FCR check, but the first

The Impact Of Altruism On A Servant Leadership Culture

Servant leadership is the backbone of many leadership development programs today. While the leadership philosophy is too complicated and involved to learn by glancing over an article, it is possible to identify servant leadership’s ties to altruism and how that connection can help in boosting servant leader culture. Altruism Defined Altruism is the practice of putting others before your own interests, even if that means putting yourself in danger or at risk. However, despite Darwin’s own definition, altruistic behavior should not be confused with benevolence or pro-social behavior because these mentalities seek reward for a kind action. For example, helping a stranger find their lost dog or an elderly person cross the road can present sacrifices and risk to yourself, but if you are only doing these things to make yourself look better to someone else, then these behaviors are considered pro-social and not altruistic. Pro-social behavior is defined as doing something kind or good with the expectation of an external reward, like recognition or money. Pro-social behavior, however, also should not be confused with benevolent behavior, which seeks an intrinsic reward for doing good. For example, someone might donate all of their cash to a charitable organization, which is self-sacrificing, but they do it because they know it will make them feel good, not purely to help. Therefore, how you perceive a situation or kind act is what deter- mines the mentality behind the decision Altruism, then, is synonymous with selflessness to a degree. It is about putting the needs of others above your own without expectation of reward or gratitude. In terms of servant leadership and organizational culture, altruism is the concern for the growth and development of the company without the added agenda of self-interest. In other words, a servant leader’s focus is on the company and others. This ambition is driven by the desire to grow the company and others first, not by the want or need for personal recognition, promotion and compensation. Altruism and Leadership Skills and Development The scientific study of altruism identifies an evolutionary drive toward compassion and selfless behavior, though this does not mean that such behavior will manifest as dominant. In several studies, researchers noted that people often feel the need to help or make others feel better, even if it means sacrificing their own interests. For example, imagine two children sitting on a park bench, each with their own ice cream cone. One child drops their ice cream on the ground and begins to cry. The other child observes the situation and then gives their ice cream to the other child. In children, altruism is often a reactionary practice—it is not guided by substantial debate over the pros and cons. However, as people age and higher intrinsic value is placed on material things and emotional balance, altruistic tendencies become less dominant. Yes, some people will still hand over an ice cream cone without considering how it affects their life, but many others will not. Does this mean altruism is dead? No Altruism, while part of a person’s conscious makeup, is still a skill or ideology. Therefore, it is something that needs to be honed and practiced. Similar to servant leadership, which comprises many inherent traits and philosophies, such as empathy, listening and community, altruism is a learned skill. Altruism and Servant Leadership What does servant leadership mean to you and your organization? While often used to define a company’s leadership quality, the term is frequently mischaracterized or used to describe a plethora of management skills, which dilutes the meaning of the phrase. How should servant leaders be described and why? Servant leadership is, by definition, altruistic. However, that also depends on how you interpret the definition of altruism. For example, while servant leaders have a deep desire to help others and the company with- out expectation of personal gain, they do also require employees to perform! Does that limit their altruistic nature? Sometimes self-sacrifice is necessary for the good of the team; other times, it is counterproductive. Therefore, can a servant leader be truly altruistic? I believe that they can, and there are several reasons why: Desire to serve a greater goal Drive to help others succeed Compassion and empathy Not motivated by external or intrinsic reward Altruism and Martyrdom Many professionals will describe the quality of a good leader by listing those traits that make servant leadership such a sought-after management style—empathy, listening, fore- sight, etc. However, one term that is often left off of the servant leader list but tacked on to altruism is “martyr.” This tie to martyrdom is likely the reason that some business execs do not like to be classified as altruistic because they feel it makes them appear soft. Therefore, is martyrdom a requirement of altruism and by association servant leaders? No. While altruism is defined in terms of selflessness, it is not necessarily the same as self-sacrificing. This is especially true in the world of business and communications. Sometimes a leader must take the blame for certain mistakes made by their team, often in an effort to help the team grow. However, when one team member makes a mistake that compromises the whole, it is necessary to think of the good of the group. Therefore, while selflessness is an essential element of helping employees grow and develop, self-sacrifice is not always needed. Altruism and Organizational Success Servant leadership is not only about management style, but it is also an ideology dedicated to the development of an altruistic culture with a focus on organizational success. The idea is that, as employees experience managers who are compassion- ate and involved in employee development and corporate growth and excellence, those principles will rub off and develop future leaders and further success. Altruistic principles help to propel corporate culture forward by demonstrating the importance and contribution of every employee. However, servant leadership goes beyond internal culture and communications. It can also be used to boost brand loyalty through customer service and representative interactions with consumers and clients.

Go Beyond Net Promoter Score To Measure The Customer Experience Effectively

Forbes defines the Net Promoter Score (NPS) as an index used to determine how willing customers are to recommend a brand, product or service. Most brands rely on software developers, such as Zendesk, to create this poll. The answers create a popular metric used to evaluate the customer experience. Customers rank the probability of their recommendation on a scale of zero to 10. Companies then convert this into an index that ranges from -100 to 100. Not surprisingly, NPS has played a strong role in call center environments over the past two decades. Even so, managers now want more answers about what it measures, what its shortcomings are and more effective alternatives. What the Net Promoter Score Measures The Net Promoter Score specifically helps companies to categorize customers into groups based on how likely they are to recommend the company. Using the scale of one to 10, they identify the following: Detractors at scores zero to six Passives at scores seven to eight Promoters at scores nine and up Some companies further simplify the process by classing customers who give a score of eight and up as their promoters and seven below as their detractors. Whichever route a company takes, it helps to identify how satisfied a particular customer is. When companies convert the scores into the index range, they can see how well they rank against their competitors in satisfying customers Some business owners also use NPS to manage the customer experience and ensure satisfaction. They do this by following up in person and online shortly after interacting with customers. If the score provided is less than desirable, customer service representatives can then take action to rectify the situation. Shortcomings of Relying on the NPS Score A study by customer experience advisory firm Walker found that, by 2020, customer experience will become a bigger differentiating factor than the product or its price. When this happens, customers will have an even greater impact on what drives a business. Companies will then need to focus on improving this experience to earn loyal customers and their referrals. NPS does play a role in gauging and managing the customer experience. However, it barely scratches the surface. Here are some of the shortcomings that business owners identified over the years: It may encourage service staff to push customers to say they would refer the company rather than exhibit behaviors that would naturally make the customer do so without prompting. It fails to consider consumer demographics. Younger customers are more likely to refer a company than older customers. It may provide no explanation for why a customer would or would not recommend the company. Effective Ways To Measure Customer Experience Some managers believe that it is time to retire NPS altogether. Others believe that supplementing it with other effective measures may enhance the data it provides. Whichever metrics you choose, the important thing is to start with a strategy. Managers often collect data for the sake of collecting it. They then rely on the most popular metrics to measure their own company performance. A much better approach is to start with a strategy. Consider the company’s mission, vision and goals. Then, choose the metrics that align most closely with goals, while also evaluating the customer experience. It is also important to focus on that experience. Too often, businesses begin and end their strategies from their own perspective. To create a better experience, businesses have to first understand the current experience. What is it like to use your own product or service? What is it like to speak with team members at the contact center? Do customers enjoy using your website or app? These are essential to understanding how customers experience your brand and what metrics you should monitor to help you improve it. The following are some of the metrics you should consider First-Contact Resolution: As a well-known metric at contact centers, this determines the likelihood of a customer resolving their issue the first time they reach out to a company. Customers who get rerouted to multiple team members or who have to call back after realizing that the issue has persisted are more likely to become frustrated. To calculate this, divide the number of incidents resolved on the first try by the total number of incidents. The higher the FCR, the higher the customer satisfaction. Average Resolution Time: This is another popular measure of the customer experience for call center managers. As the name implies, it determines the average time it takes for team members to resolve issues that customers may call, email or open a chat to rectify. The longer the resolution times, the more frustrated customers become. However, keep in mind that some industries naturally have longer resolution times than others, so it’s important to compare apples to apples when looking up competitors. Customer Churn Rate: According to an eBook published by CX Network, the customer churn rate identifies how many customers unsubscribed from your service or stopped buying your products during a specific period of time. Managers calculate this by dividing total customers lost at the end of that time period by the number of customers the company had at the start. Remember not to include new sales in the calculation Cart Abandonment Rate: If customers feel that you ask for too much information or you don’t provide the payment methods they prefer, they may jump ship. Hidden shipping fees and taxes may also turn some people away. Cart abandonment is a strong indicator that something is unfavorable in the customer experience. Forbes recommends creating new strategies to make both the website and mobile experience more user-friendly. Social Listening: This is an often overlooked metric. As it is qualitative, it requires more interpersonal skills than analytics. It monitors what people say about your brand, product or service on social media. This often includes information customers may not share directly with the brand itself. Companies then have the opportunity to jump in and rectify the situation before it escalates.

8 Easy Tips To Boost Your Immunity During Pandemic

While the World is facing paramount difficulties because of COVID19, living a healthy lifestyle is extremely vital. There is no playbook for this unprecedented moment in time. Not even the experts know how it will eventually play out. The only way to stay safe is to practice social distancing when out of your home and adopt a healthy lifestyle to boost your immunity. It is paramount that we take care of our bodies and supercharge our immune system. We can do this by staying active to ensure we remain healthy and fit. Hence, it is necessary that we feed and treat our body in an appropriate manner. Here are 8 tips for increasing your immunity and keeping yourself in shape and protected against COVID19. Get A Good Night’s Sleep It is necessary for all of us to get an adequate amount of sleep. According to The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the nation’s leading medical research agency: “Immune system activation alters sleep, and sleep in turn affects the innate and adaptive arm of our body’s defense system.” Experts suggest that we must sleep more than seven hours per day. Besides that, your sleeping schedule should remain steady. Therefore, we must have a consistent bedtime and wake time for healthy sleep hygiene. Develop Healthy Eating Habits A healthy stomach leads to a stronger immune system. We need to eat a complete, balanced meal in order to strengthen our immune system. Each meal should consist of vegetables, lean meats, and healthy fats. A diet rich in probiotics, such as yogurt or fermented foods like kimchi, miso and sauerkraut, helps reduce bad bacteria in your stomach. Probiotics are made up of good bacteria which helps your body fight illness and inflammation. Making good food choices can help you stay healthy in the months to come. Stay Active Staying fit is so important, now more than ever. With more people working from home, it’s vital to continue exercising. Going for a daily walk, bike ride, or swimming are great ways to remain in shape. Exercising creates sweat that releases toxins from your body. A constant regime of exercise improves mental health, strengthens bones and muscles while also helping you to get a good night’s sleep. Experts suggest dedicating at least 30 to 45 minutes a day for keeping fit. Make it fun by changing things up day to day. Go for a walk one day and ride your bike the next. Walk a different route and enjoy the scenery. People who exercise daily tend to get sick less often. Therefore, something as simple as going for a walk after a meal or early morning exercises can do a lot to keep you sharp and fit! Say No To Alcohol and Smoking Since COVID19 is a respiratory disease that damages the inner lining of the air sacs in the lungs, you should take extra care to keep your lungs healthy. People with existing lung conditions are more vulnerable to COVID19. This is the perfect time for people to quit smoking, especially since it causes shortness of breath, reduced lung function, irritation, inflammation and mucus build up. People that live with chronic lung diseases may find it much more difficult to fight off the effects of COVID. As with smoking, alcohol can affect your overall health. Drinking alcohol can put your immune system and health in jeopardy, causing high blood pressure, liver scarring (cirrhosis), stomach ulcers, as well as anxiety and depression. Studies show it is better for your overall health to avoid or at least cut down on alcohol consumption. According to the 2015-2020 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, “If alcohol is consumed, it should be consumed in moderation—up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men—and only by adults of legal drinking age.” Talk to your doctor if you need support to stop smoking or drinking. The right support can make all of the difference when making an important lifestyle change but the benefits are worth it. Don’t forget your Health Supplements Nutrients are essential for boosting your immunity. Health supplements like vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, and elderberry positively impact your immune system. Consult your physician to discuss whether you should take supplements and how much you need to stay healthy When taking supplements, be sure to drink plenty of water. As per studies, drinking water maximizes physical performance, flushes your system, prevents and treats headaches, relieves constipation and provides other health benefits. Stay Connected With Friends and Family Due to COVID restrictions, it can be difficult to visit with your friends and family, especially those who live far away. But that shouldn’t stop you from connecting with each other. Find creative ways to reach out. With today’s technology, a phone or video call is just a fingertip away. If things have slowed down, this could be the perfect opportunity to link up with people, that due to your previously busy schedule, you weren’t able to connect with that often. Make the most out of your down time. Visits with family and friends may not only reduce feelings of loneliness and despair but also can have a health benefit of regulating cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone and is used by the body to balance out stress, sugars and can help you feel better and fight infections. Happier people are healthier people, so it’s important to cultivate the relationships that matter most while also keeping us healthy. Reduce Stress There is so much stress in the world right now. If you absorb the stress around you, it can have adverse effects on your overall health. Stress increases cortisol levels in your body, which can impact your sleep, increases blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Giving into stress and overthinking a situation can result in health problems and a lack of sleep. It can also create a domino effect, leading to bad decisions.

How to Rebuild Trust in the Workplace?

“Trust is the glue of life. It’s an essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”- Stephen Covey When I think about significant relationships in my life, some of the most important ones began in the workplace. The book, The Trusted Advisor, by Charles H. Green and Andrea P., however, teaches us that “Trust requires Trusting and Being Trusted.” What this means is for trust to exist; someone must do the trusting (think risk), and someone must be trustworthy. Trust, therefore, is a choice. The moment you trust another, you choose to believe them. Merriam Webster defines trust as a firm belief in the character, strength, or truth of someone or something. When it comes to our workplace, it is essential to be trustworthy regardless of your role. Trust validates your leadership. We have all seen examples where people are sought out for their feedback because they are trusted. You will often see team members validating information from one another v. supervisors. Why? Because they have a trusting relationship. Leaders can destroy the trust of their team by: Promising what is not possible and cannot be delivered Withholding information or lack of clear communication Not showing trust on their team member Prioritizing process over coaching and development which build relationships Manipulating the truth or leaving out crucial information Not swiftly resolving conflict within the team If you do any of the above, it can lead to your employees mistrusting you. Knowing leadership is based on trust; it’s essential to nurture and protect trusting relationships. If you feel trust between you and someone you lead has been compromised or might be at risk, it is critical to take immediate action. Below are four practical strategies that can help you start your journey of rebuilding trust with your team members: 1: Promise only what you can deliver You should not promise anything that cannot be provided. It’s crucial to make promises you can keep. You have probably heard the phrase under-promise and over-deliver. This applies when it comes to building trust, although be careful not to take even this to the extreme. When you are deliberate in your words and actions, you can build trust. The bottom line is to do what you say and do it consistently. 2: Believe in your team Remember, trust is two way. If you trust your team, it will encourage them to trust themselves and you. If you have a lack of confidence in your team, it can manifest through unnecessary micro-management. Set clear expectations and guidelines around checkpoints, so there is clarity, and your team can meet your expectation while feeling trusted to do so. When delegating an assignment, you should give your team enough room to make their own decisions in the best way so that they can achieve the goals that are set. When you show your team members, you have faith in them and their ability to take care of business; it will increase confidence and help rebuild trust in you as their leader. 3: Accept your mistakes There are times when things don’t go as planned, and you may have to communicate tough messages to your team. If you made a mistake, you must lead by example and own the mistake. In my leadership journey, I have learned that by accepting mistakes, we reflect humility, and most importantly, our team understands that we are all human, and making mistakes is a normal part of life. By accepting your mistakes as the leader, you are showing respect and care for your team. Your staff will understand your sincerity and believe in you because you have spoken the truth. Nobody is right 100% of the time. 4: Solve problems with your team members It’s not possible to avoid conflict 100% of the time, nor do you want to as conflict can be healthy, even productive when handled effectively. The secret lies in how you handle conflict. If you find yourself in the middle of a heated situation with differing opinions and emotions, you must work to bring people together. Lead with an apology to the team for your part in the conflict and let everyone know you are there to help the team navigate through the conflict constructively. Next, acknowledge everyone’s emotions. You cannot move past tension if you are not willing to validate how others feel. Think of it like acknowledging the elephant in the room. Your team will also get a chance to see where they were wrong and take ownership for their part in the conflict. Once this is done, you can refocus the group on the common goal and viable solutions without all the pent-up emotions that can often cloud our judgment. You may not get 100% buy-in initially but stay the course. Your actions will go a long way toward rebuilding respect and trust and set the tone for how to handle disagreements productively in the future In a Nutshell Trust is a critical currency that can define your leadership effectiveness. Neither you nor your team can achieve much without it. If trust is lost, take swift action to repair it using the strategies outlined above. It may take time to mend fences, but in the end, both you and your team will be stronger as a result.

Four Tips For Leading A Healthy Lifestyle During COVID

Creating a healthy lifestyle is a multi-faceted aspect that involves a deep connection to one’s body, mind, and spirit, as well as to the community and the world. While we are all progressing through this global pandemic and it seems like so many things are out of our own control, choosing to lead a healthy lifestyle is in our control. This relates to finding balance in our lives. It is always important to be mindful of the choices you make for your personal health and wellness, as taking care of both your mind and body are as important as ever during these challenging times. Considering our bodies work so hard for us, we need to do our best to keep them well-rested, healthy and refueled. From taking the time to relax, to watching what you eat, exercise, rest, and managing your condition (if you have one) to prevent complications. Living healthy means making wise choices every single day. 1.) Nutrition All people require a nutritious diet for optimum health and wellness. It’s an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle as it results in increased energy levels, sharper mental focus and weight moderation. Unhealthy eating habits have contributed to the obesity epidemic in the United States, as well as major health risks that contribute to illness and even death. These include cardiovascular disease, cancer, kidney disease and diabetes. The cornerstone of a healthy diet is taking steps to replace processed foods with real foods whenever possible. Making changes to your diet by eating food that is as close as possible to the way nature made it and cutting back on unhealthy fat are extremely beneficial. 2). Exercise As more people adopt a sedentary lifestyle, the culture of exercise is often forgotten. Establishing a culture of activity and exercise is essential to your general health and wellbeing. Not only can it help a person maintain an ideal weight, but it also builds muscle, improves mood, boosts energy, promotes better sleep and combats many health conditions and diseases. Gentle group exercise at the beginning of the day could be a great way to improve social interaction and foster a culture of exercise. A well-rounded exercise programs that entail aerobic activity, strength training, flexibility training, and balance exercises is a great way to start. Each of these physical exercises benefit your body in different ways. 3.) Relaxation and Rest We all get bogged down with stress, but how you react to it determines its effect on you. While we can’t evade all sources of stress, we can develop healthier ways of responding to them. Often times, we fail to realize the many ways that relaxation can increase our stamina, calm our thoughts, improve mood and allow us to be more productive. Deep relaxation techniques, like meditation, yoga, Tai Chi and breathing when practiced regularly, restore energy and encourage a more positive sense of self. Quality sleep is also crucial in maintaining overall health and wellness, although sometimes it’s hard to get. Making time to rest, relax and be mindful is true nourishment for both the body and soul that gives us a great balance so we can better focus on our lives, the people in our lives, and our work. 4.) Positive Attitude Maintaining a positive mindset can help you live a healthy life. Numerous studies have established that people who are generally optimistic about life enjoy better health and quality of life than those who aren’t. Positive thinking doesn’t mean keeping your head in the clouds and naively ignoring life’s unpleasant situations. It just means that you approach such situations in a more positive and productive way. Surrounding yourself with positive people, pushing back against negative thoughts, being open to humor, doing things that bring pleasure and following a healthy lifestyle are some of the ways of boosting a positive attitude towards life. As we focus on all these elements and become conscious of mindful living, we become healthier and more intimately aware of our present life experience. Make yourself and your happiness, health, wellbeing a priority and stay safe.

How does Social Media Boost Customer Experience?

Those of us who are in leadership understand how important the customer experience is and the potential ripple effect that can take place due to a satisfied or unsatisfied customer. Today’s business environment is full of tough competitors. Offering an excellent customer experience is an effective way to compete in the market and stand out amongst competitors as a valued brand to do business with.

Why is Effective Communication Crucial to Become a Servant Leader?

Servant leadership can be defined as a leadership philosophy that focuses on service as the primary objective of a leader. This is contrary to traditional leadership where the success of an organization or company is the leader’s primary concern. Therefore, a servant leader puts the needs of his or her team members first, helping them develop and perform their best. It is also important to note that effective communication is at the center of every successful servant leader. Below is a rundown of some aspects of effective communication and how they can help you to develop and become a better servant leader. Understanding Yourself Self-awareness is an integral part of effective communication. If you don’t understand something yourself, it would be unfair to expect your team to understand something you do not. As a servant leader, you must be aware of your inner monologue. This will go a long way in preventing you from becoming frustrated with other team members, appearing unsure, discriminatory, or assuming other people can read your mind. It is also imperative for you to be fully aware of what you would like to achieve from each of your interactions with your team, in order for you to tailor your message accordingly. Understand Your Team Effective communication develops when properly understanding the people you are talking with. As a servant leader, you need to understand your team members in terms of the things that motivate them while also understanding their preferred learning and communication styles. These understandings have the effect of enabling you to adapt your message in a way that makes your communication more effective. Creating personal connections with your team members also facilitates empathy, which consequently makes it easier for people to build trust. However, you need remember that such connections must be genuine and not exploitative in nature. Being Respectful and Positive This may sound like a no-brainer, but sadly, that’s not always the case. As a servant leader, you need a strategy for cultivating loyalty which will in turn, boost the performance of your team. Being respectful and positive in your communication is one of the most important things you must do. Avoid holding your status over members of your team or using fear and coercion to get things done. Instead, incorporate an ego-less, positive, and honest attitude when leading your team. In other words, you will get better results as a servant leader if you serve as a cheerleader as opposed to serving as an autocrat. Focusing on Non-Verbal Communication In some interactions, you can learn more from what is not said than from what is said. In other words, the importance of non-verbal communication in servant leadership cannot be overemphasized. Non-verbal cues, such as posture, hand movements, eye contact and facial expressions can all play an important role in determining the effectiveness of your message. Therefore, as a servant leader, you need to pay attention to your own body language and that of the people you are talking to. You need to ensure that your non-verbal cues are consistent with what you are saying verbally. This will go a long way in helping you to become a trustworthy communicator in addition to portraying integrity by showing that you believe in your own message. Listening Carefully Modeling active listening is one of the most effective ways of encouraging honest and open communication in a team. As a servant leader, you need to pay attention when a member of your team is speaking to you. To demonstrate that you are really listening, ask follow-up questions. This can also help you to minimize the chances of miscommunication. It is beneficial to come into conversations with an open mind and be thoughtful when responding to what people are saying instead of responding to their suggestions with kneejerk reactions. This goes a long way in helping build rapport between you and your team, which will enable you to establish yourself as an ideal servant leader. Being Direct and Concise Being able to deliver clear-cut messages in a concise way is an important aspect of effective communication. As a servant leader, you need to communicate in a way that makes it easy for people to understand what you want to achieve. That means your instructions need to be clear, with no room for misinterpretation. In this way, you will be in a great position to get your team to accomplish the goals set with maximum efficiency. The Takeaway As we can see, servant leadership is an effective way of getting your team to perform optimally and meet its objectives in the most efficient way possible. Explore Etech’s blogs to learn more about other integral aspects of servant leadership. No doubt, it is clear that knowing how to effectively communicate with your team members is one of the most important skills you can have, as a true, servant leader. If you would like to become an ideal servant leader, it’s important to consider these steps of effective communication when leading others to reach their goals, achieving personal and corporate success.

4 Golden Contact Center Quality Monitoring Trends of All Time

When we speak to contact centers about what’s happening in their organizations, Quality Monitoring (QM) and Quality Assurance (QA) are the two challenges that they often mention. Although you can find there are several effective strategies of quality monitoring available on the internet, not everything makes sense. Instead, there are some ideal ideas and trends that are based on solid principles and drive great results. Being into the contact center business for more than a decade now, we, at Etech, believe that the below golden trends for contact center quality monitoring have helped us deliver effortless customer experience over the years. Dissection of interactions   To break down a interactions into different parts and grade these respectively is a smart tactic rather than reviewing and scoring a interactions as a whole. Here’s the idea – You need to start with the standard welcome or greeting. Examine how a specific agent is delivering how most of the customers respond to it. Also, look for whether this approach has the desired effect. Next, you should assess product knowledge. Are the agents prepared to face the customers irrespective of whether it’s an order, a complaint, or a question? Do the agents put the interactions on hold to acquire the required information? Are they following the script? Are the agents speaking with a tone of courtesy and support? Does the agent have developed skills specific to the type of interaction? Lastly, you should review the closing of the interactions while examining what sort of the last impression the agents made on behalf of his/her company. This strategy might be a basic one, but many contact centers don’t practice dissecting the interactions into sections and, in turn, fail to 100% monitor the actual quality of the interactions. It’s worthwhile to note that a solid send-off reduces repeat contacts and improves first contact resolution. Feedback is a Gift Whether your contact center determines the quality performance based on internal scoring and KPIs, accumulated data, or solely on satisfaction measurements like NPS, CSAT, one impacts the other. In the end, the only thing that matters is the customers opinion and assessment of how they have been treated. Many times there is a disconnect in what managers think is the most crucial factor and what customers truly care about. Have the courage to let customers define quality of your contact center’s quality management program based on a frictionless and positive customer experience. Use of Speech Analytics In the contact center industry, it fields approximately more than 50 million interactions every day. Hence, even if they are all being recorded, is it possible to monitor all of them? Quite Impossible! Isn’t it? Here, the Speech Analytics comes into the picture. This technology helps generate automated alerts triggered by voice data. While being alerted to these interactions in real-time, managers can react in time to impact their outcome. It defines the difference between keeping and losing a customer. Additionally, with speech analytics being integrated into a interactions recording solution, it’s easy for contact centers to link customer feedback with specific customer interactions. Hence, you will not end up working from a random sampling. Instead, you will work with a subset of interactions that have been flagged as crucial because of the keywords or phrases that customers have used. AI powered speech analytics takes all the unstructured, valuable data in your interactions and makes it easy to organize, analyze and act upon. Analytics also helps deliver better marketing intelligence in diverse areas at a lower price than the traditional methods. It further impacts the contact center compliance with data protection regulations. Thus, if there is one trend in contact center quality monitoring that will remain consistently useful for years, it is nothing but the speech analytics. The critical business intelligence that speech analytics generates can amplify both agent performance and customer experience. The Importance of Kaizen Mindset The Kaizen Mindset is a business consulting practice that says prioritizing the quality part of any process in everything a company does and making little changes over time can eventually add up to the significant organizational improvement. It requires every employee to identify what are the areas of concern, identify the reasons behind the issues, develop, communicate and implement countermeasure strategies, and examine the results, to achieve success. When it’s followed right, the Kaizen Mindset can make a real difference irrespective of whether it’s an auto manufacturing plant or the quality management department of a contact center. With this strategy, you can embed quality through small incremental improvements in the interaction monitoring approaches, and it will finally help you achieve fantastic results. We, at Etech Global Services, believe that technology is just an enabler; it is the humans that create a remarkable difference. Our quality management department, i.e., Etech Insights, follows the above strategies and team up Artificial Intelligence with Human Intelligence so that they can listen to the customers, identify and analyze the unstructured data, generate actionable insights, improve the processes, and predict better approaches to make the most out of the customer insights. If you strive to implement the best of contact center quality monitoring, contact us today.

Why is Leadership Training Important at the Organizational Level?

What makes a great leader? Although there is no one single answer to this question, there are some crucial qualities that ideal leaders should have in common. Great leaders should be secure in their role and in their ability to inspire others and do their jobs. They must be able to play the roles of not only advocates but also mentors and coaches. How can leaders get to this point? Leadership Training is the answer! Leadership training not only benefits team members, but it is also essential to the organization. When you decide to promote someone to a leadership role, you’re probably already well aware of their abilities, work ethic, and their drive for success, but how much do you know about their leadership skills and preparedness to lead a team? It’s really difficult to tell if they haven’t been in a leadership position ever before. Your team members that excel in their current roles may fail when it comes to leadership. Even the team members that have the best intentions and all the potential to succeed as a leader are going to struggle in their transition and question themselves of whether they have what it takes to be a good leader. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t promote new leaders, but that you need to ensure you do everything you can to prepare them for their leadership roles and give them guidance through the transition. This is where leadership training at the organizational level is crucial. You must equip your new leaders with the knowledge and experience to start them off on the right foot, and this can be achieved with training. Leadership training will help them understand the role of a leader, let them become accustomed to the responsibilities and duties of being a leader, and identify what truly makes a great leader. Even more great reasons why leadership training is vital in today’s organizations: To Increase Productivity If you train your leaders in practical leadership skills, it will enhance the productivity of your workforce. Transitioning to a leadership role can come with a steep learning curve, but leadership training can significantly diminish this curve. A leader that comes into their role with knowledge and confidence will have a positive influence on the efficiency and effectiveness of their team. Empowered leaders can provide direction to team members and ensure they are performing at or above expectations. Leadership training also sharpens problem-solving skills which means your trained leaders will be able to better handle assessing the problems that arise, managing conflicts, and providing practical solutions. To Nurture Future Leaders Leadership training is crucial at the organizational level to develop future leaders. . Ideal leaders are meant to be the powerhouse to which team members and associates turn for advice and direction. The abilities of leaders to communicate well and inspire and encourage team members increase their productivity while providing people with a more enjoyable environment to work in. So, it’s important to train and nurture future leaders with progressive leadership training. You want to provide adequate training to your people so that they develop the skills they need to fit the leadership roles that become available and take on those positions effectively. To Improve Risk Management Organizations worldwide know that an element of risk is always present in every business. So, it’s a smart idea to train future and current leaders in risk management so that they are able to tackle the demanding situations that come unexpectedly. . Critical situations require quick action and strategic thinking. A leader that has training and preparation on how to handle these circumstances will know how to approach the issue and take it step by step, resulting in a much better outcome than a leader with no or very little training in risk management. To Develop Better Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is one of the crucial personality traits that make a truly great leader. . The right understanding of how emotions affect others ensures people lead in an efficient and considerate way. So, it is recommended to put a strong emphasis on the element of emotional intelligence while conducting leadership training programs because it directly influences the performance of team members and leaders. To Foster Project Leadership The sufficient level of project leadership skills is crucial because without that, leaders will likely struggle to handle the different aspects of a project and its overall success of implementation. It’s easy for a project to get off course, over budget and miss deadline after deadline without the proper training or experience in project management. This could result in a substantial loss to the business. And it will also affect the morale of team members because of misguidance and magnified stress. Don’t underestimate the importance of empowering your leaders with the development of project leadership skills. ; It will help them better manage their teams and close projects efficiently on time. On the organizational level, the increased efficiency will lead to an enhancement of the company’s overall productivity, resulting in higher profits. To Improve Team Members’ Retention Today’s organizations can improve the retention rate of their people by providing leadership training that focuses on developing great leaders. And great leaders are those who team members want to follow. If your people don’t feel connected, recognized, or appreciated at their workplace, they will eventually move on. These negative perceptions are directly related to the leadership around your people. According to Forbes, a Harvard Business Review survey reveals 58 percent of people say they trust strangers more than their own boss. Moreover, Global studies revealed that 79 percent of people who quit their jobs cite ‘lack of appreciation’ as their reason for leaving. In addition, Forbes has further put forward that according to The Conference Board, 53 percent of Americans are currently unhappy at work.” These alarming statistics clearly reveal where organizations are failing when it comes to retaining their people. So, it is the responsibility of employers to develop leaders who know how to communicate with and

I Have Got Problems

It is an undesired still an undeniable fact that there many problems that we all continuously face within our work and life. Sometimes, it seems we never have enough time to solve each one without dealing with some adversity along the way. The problems in our lives keep mounting so fast that we often look for shortcuts to alleviate the tension points temporarily – so we can move onto the next challenge. But, this process doesn’t help us solve the core of each problem that we are dealing with; thus, we continuously get into a never-ending cycle that doesn’t lead us to any real resolutions. Sound familiar? However, speaking about the leaders like us, problem-solving is considered as the critical essence of what we exist to do. As leaders, one of our primary goals is to effectively work through the problem and learn along the way. I believe a solution-oriented method provides us with enough courage to tackle them head-on before circumstances force our hand. We must remain resilient in our quest to create and sustain momentum for the organization and the people we serve. But the reality of today’s workplaces is that we must often deal with people that complicate matters with their corporate politicking, self-promotion, power-plays and ploys, and envy. Still, to become a great leader, we must overcome these obstacles and rise as an efficient problem solver. Great leaders are patient enough in work and life to step back and see the problem at-hand through broadened observation; a 360-degree vision. They see around, beneath, and beyond the problem itself. They see well-beyond the obvious. In today’s world, most effective leaders approach problems through a lens of opportunity to create a significant impact on their teams and families both. As a leader, we should never view a problem as a distraction, but rather as a strategic enabler for continuous improvement and opportunities previously unseen. However, there is a common misconception that leaders merely manage creative efforts; rather than become active participants in the process. But the reality is that leaders, it seems, play a crucial role in the creative problem-solving process. The critical leadership skills that they possess can significantly affect the quality of the innovative outcome. Consequently, as organizations increasingly depend on new products and processes to fuel their future, creative problem-solving stands as a critical leadership skill. It helps leaders have a clear idea about the problem to be solved, which makes it easier for team members to produce potential solutions, and a leader can effectively evaluate the quality of those solutions. To evaluate proposed solutions usually ignites leaders’ creative thinking, and they begin to generate additional ideas, discover alternative perspectives, and redefine the original problem. When they share their alternatives, insights, and additions, it stimulates team members to continue with solution generation and development. In this blog, I would like to discuss an interesting problem-solving method that has proven to be immensely helpful in my leadership journey. It’s called I BEET! I like to think of it as I BEET you can solve this problem. I BEET we can figure this out together. I BEET we will have victory over the issue at hand. I – Identify the Problem What are things like when they are the way we want them to be? If scenarios would have turned out the way we want them to happen, how will that look like? If someone was doing what we want him or her to do, what would he/she be doing? We need to ask ourselves these questions to find the standard against which we’re going to measure the problematic situation we are in. The next important question that needs to be in your mind is how much variation from the norm is tolerable? There lies the problem! You might have very little tolerance from the practical perspective, but there can be more tolerance if you think from a behavioral perspective. You might conclude that it’s fine with me when this person doesn’t do it exactly as I say because I’m okay with him/her taking some liberty with this. However, in case of some other issue, you may need 100% compliance. So, it depends on the problem that you are facing at the moment. It’s also important to ask a lot of other important questions like what caused this problem? Who is responsible for this problem? When did this problem first emerge? Why did this happen? Where does it hurt us the most? How do we go about resolving this problem? And can we solve this problem for good so it will never occur again? Having the answers to these questions is very important so that we can ensure we know the root cause of a specific problem. It will help us come up with practical solutions that people can use for a long-term benefit, rather than dealing with the same issues again and again. B – Brainstorm Problem Solving Ideas Undoubtedly, there are always more solutions to any problem than the one that you might have thought first while planning to deal with it. So, it’s best to take your time and think of different alternate ideas of solving a problem and develop a list of them instead of just jumping into a conclusion instantly. If it’s a problem for your entire team, all of you need to sit together and brainstorm different ideas to solve that, and it will help ensure that you and your team can assess and decide which one will be the best for solving that specific problem. E – Evaluate the Ideas After you are aware of some compelling ideas for solving a specific problem that your team or the organization is facing, the next step is to evaluate those alternatives relative to a target standard. You need to remain unbiased while evaluating the options and make sure you and your team are analyzing both proven and possible outcomes of that. It’s important to state the selected alternative problem-solving ideas explicitly and consider different

Fighting Against the Covid-19 Outbreak Empathetically

“Nothing lasts forever … pain and troubles included.” — Paulo Coelho, author and lyricist Can you believe that 2020 is almost 50% passed? I imagine that when we celebrated the beginning of the New Year back on January 1st none of us imagined it would be like this. To say that the first six months of 2020 have been challenging would be putting it mildly. I have heard many people say, “Let’s just give up this year and move on to 2021.” Here is the thing to remember, we still have half a year or 6 months to go! We are only at halftime. Growing up playing sports, I remember many times coming into the locker room at half time after having gotten beaten up pretty bad. I remember my college coach, Gene Evans, challenging us by saying “Guys, we may be losing right now, but we still have a whole second half to turn this around. Get out there and don’t focus on the scoreboard but instead focus on your efforts this half.” Matt Rocco = #54 Coach Evans was right, he was always right! We can’t write off the next six months of 2020 and wish our way into 2021. We can’t just give them up. Time is too precious. You are too valuable. So today I encourage you to embrace this moment as you begin your second-half comeback. Today I challenge you to find a way to make this year a little better, for yourself and for others. Many people have suffered heartbreaking losses this year and need support. Let’s support them. Many people are struggling with isolation and loneliness. Let’s reach out to them. Many people need someone to talk to and share with. Let’s be there to listen. Many people simply need to be encouraged to press on and ensured that this will not last forever. Let’s encourage them. At Etech, we may look different, talk differently, have different beliefs and live in different parts of the world, but we are all in this together. Yes, we’ve gotten our butts kicked in the first half of 2020, but we’ve still got the second half to go. We encourage each one of you out there not to count the days of Covid-19, but instead strive to make each day count for each other and for those in your community who need you to be there. Until next time, may you make a remarkable difference in the lives of the people you touch each day.

How Can a People-Centric Organization Reach New Heights?

Richard Branson said, “If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your clients.” It used to be that the only type of corporate culture that existed was centered around the company, where profits were number one, but the value of team members was overlooked and underestimated. Now that a company-centric culture is no longer the only option, the currency of these companies has greatly diminished. The culture that today’s companies have is significantly different from the past. We have moved away from the dogma where organizations, worship profits but undervalue their people. We have reached the point where being people-centric is clearly the effective philosophy to embrace. Interestingly, Branson, while building the Virgin Group, a multinational conglomerate overseeing his several ventures, adopted an engaging approach in which he decided to put the customers second and his people first. This compelling strategy has helped him earn a yearly revenue of more than $ 22 billion! How does a People-Centric Company Culture Work? The bulk of team members in today’s organizations are millennials, and with that, we have started to see a philosophical shift. Team members have gradually come to know their worth, which creates a highly competitive environment for the top-tier talent that’s available. Many companies have realized this change and have come to the conclusion that the best way to attract talent is to adopt and embrace a culture focused on their people. Imagine that you were working for a company in which you had to continually sacrifice the things that mattered to you, such as opportunities for career development or time missed with your family because of the constant demand to work after hours; All this because you always had to put the needs of the company before yourself. Would you grow to resent that company? How soon would you be looking for other options in your career? Those who resent their workplace are often a ticking time bomb. They may be driven away seeking out a better environment to work in, or simply going through the motions of each day demotivated and apathetic towards their work. It’s even possible for resentment to grow so much that it leads to malicious acts against the company. Whether they decide to leave or stick around, it’s a detriment to the company’s morale, culture, and overall success of the business. On the contrary, if team members know that their company is looking out for them and cares about their success as an individual as well as the company’s, it means team members will give their best to the organization and do all they can to help the organization succeed. In this scenario, a positive morale and work environment are thriving; People are motivated and enjoy working for the organization. A People-Centric Work Culture Drives Business All businesses function via sales in one form or another no matter what the industry, which means all businesses have customers. Interactions that customers have throughout their journey with a company are crucial, and your people are the key to this equation. Team members are the direct line to your customers. They make up the front line, back line, and everything in between, whenever and wherever your customers are. Everything that you put into the culture of your company and the way you treat your team members reflects in the way they work and interact with your customers. When you have a people-centric culture present in your organization, you will find newly motivated team members who are eager, curious, passionate, highly productive, and who never think twice about giving their best to you. When you invest in engagement and development for your team members and their quality of life, your organization will reap the rewards. How to Become a People-Centric Organization? Depending on your company, you should decide how you can implement a culture that values team members over customers and profits. There are different ways to make your people feel valued and ensure that they thrive in your organization. For example, an interesting approach that Google has implemented for a few years now is providing a luxurious lunch to its team members free of charge. Another example is Apple offering stock buying options and extra days off to their team members. Additionally, when it comes to a people-centric work culture, it is always crucial to keep in mind that your people are empowered with a sense of autonomy and responsibility. If you allow them to be creative and approach problems in their own way, the solutions that they come up with are likely to be much more effective and efficient than when in a limiting or controlling environment. If you want to create an environment where team members can shine and give their full potential , you should find out how you can best create a conducive workplace experience for them. More often than not, there are little things you can do, that make a big impact for them. The best way to figure out how you can help them is by asking. Engage your team members and discover how you can make a difference for them. The Final Note Being people-centric is all about how your organization creates a meaningful experience for your team members. Company culture is a cycle. At Etech, we believe our people are our asset! Click here to explore what we believe is the right way an organization can deliver great customer experience while empowering its team members. If you want your organization to be a customer-centric business, you should be centered on your team members first. Strive to build your organization from the inside out, and as your team members thrive, your company will also succeed and be able to reach new heights.

Servant Leadership: The Ultimate Way to Connect Effectively with Your People

As leaders, we find honor and inspiration in what we do. However, that might not always be the case with all of our valued team members. According to a survey by Hays, 43% of people in the US claim that an inspiring corporate culture is the main reason for their search for a new job. Many people prefer to leave a job because they don’t feel valued by their immediate leader. In the book, Managing from the Heart, the authors address five-time tested habits that true servant leaders possess. It was very encouraging to me to see how these activities aligned very nicely with Etech’s leadership character commitments. I encourage leaders of organizations reading this piece of writing to examine your consistency in these areas and to ask your peers to give you feedback as well. If you need to make some improvements then get after it, the sooner the better! You will be glad that you did. Hear and understand It is almost impossible to really listen to someone and not be preparing a mental response as they speak. When we do this, we miss all that is being said! Next time you are in a discussion with a peer, team member or customer, focus on listening to understand first, and then responding. Even if you disagree, don’t judge them wrongly One thing is for certain in the fast paced world of BPO, construction and hospitality companies, etc., mistakes will be made! Peter Luongo, the retired president of the Berry Company once told me, “You are going to make 100 decisions in a week, if you get more than 50% of them right, you are doing okay!” The fact is that all of us will make mistakes. Mistakes should be addressed, corrected and the learning captured. What we must not do is judge the person. What we have to do is coach the behavior. Acknowledge the greatness within all Our job as a leader is to fix what is broken. The fact is that we spend 90% of our time fixing things. However, it is just as critical that we find ways to recognize the greatness in others. Greatness is not isolated to our top performers, there is greatness in everyone! Your responsibility is to look for it and recognize it! Maybe you have a team member who is always there on time, maybe someone who encourages others on the team when they are down, or maybe you have a team member who is great at cooking brownies or banana pudding on pot luck days. Whatever the greatness, find it and embrace it. Remember to look for good intentions Unless negatively influenced by their environment, people will tend to do their best. But remember, everybody’s best is not the same! Great leaders understand “will versus skill”. The will is the intention. We can and always should work with team members who have good intentions (or will). Even if they fail on one campaign, we have enough diversity of programs within our centers that we should be able to find them a good place on a different program. Tell the truth with compassion Confrontation is a necessary part of coaching and it should never be needlessly delayed or avoided. It should, however, be conducted with genuine concern and compassion for the team member. This can be accomplished in three basic steps. First, speak directly to the person; do not talk about them to others. Second, after addressing the behavior, listen to understand their side. Third, discuss and agree on a plan of attack to fix the behavior and then inspect daily to ensure that the plan is working. In order to continue to grow your business and be in a position to impact more lives, you must find a way to do a better job of keeping your good ones. I do not believe that there is one single fix out there. I do believe that it will take everyone in an organization being committed to doing all things (big or small) in a way that reflects the leadership commitments. If applied, the ideas listed above will take your organization one more step ahead in the journey. Until next time, may you continue to make a remarkable difference in the lives of the people you touch each day.

Effective Use of Contact Center Quality Monitoring Metrics: Which Should You Focus on Now?

Whether you’ve utilized a contact center for your business needs, contacted one as a customer, or worked as a contact center team member, you have an idea of what to expect when it comes to measuring quality monitoring metrics. Some global best practices are aligning with what many people may think of when considering how contact centers and their team members are rated for effectiveness. Some standard metrics utilized in contact quality monitoring include how long a customer waits before their call is answered, the duration of the call, and how satisfied customers are with these interactions. While many of these recognizable metrics have been relied upon by contact centers for years, the importance of some should be reconsidered if businesses want to continue growing, evolving, and providing unbeatable customer experience. The demand for streamlined and uncomplicated customer experience continues to grow, and companies making this their focus when it comes to the benefits of contact center quality monitoring. The Importance of Deciphering the Right Metrics   Often, the reason why monitoring contact center performance doesn’t result in both team members’ efficiency and happier customers is that the right quality monitoring metrics aren’t being measured. Sometimes the results aren’t focused on as closely as others, or they are underutilized. Many contact centers rely on quality assurance managers to evaluate and score team member performance based on the average handle time of their calls or the average speed in which calls are answered. There’s no doubt these particular quality monitoring metrics are essential. Still, too large of a focus on them results in rushed calls where customer issues are left mostly unresolved on the first go-round. Focusing mainly on the speed of interactions serves to ensure things that are immensely important to customers are missed, such as displays of empathy. When a company is reliant on data gained from the wrong metrics, numbers shared on the inside may look like they’re hitting their marks while on the outside, customers feel unheard and dissatisfied. What Metrics Should Be Your Company’s Focus?   First and foremost, if you consider a good company to be made up of well-trained and valued team members serving satisfied customers, then the goal should be to focus on quality monitoring metrics aligning with that vision. Ultimately, the right parameters for gaining continuous improvement depend on your particular company, its needs, and the overarching business goals. This means there isn’t necessarily a one-size-fits-all kind of answer to which ones should be chosen for every company. However, no matter which metrics your business decides on, it’s essential to take the data provided through technology and intelligence, optimize it, and put it into an actionable plan. While focusing on metrics relaying the length of call times may be less than stellar for overall customer experience and satisfaction, they can be great for team efficiency and can’t be banished altogether. Instead of doing away with them, companies should pay equal attention to customer satisfaction-centric metrics when it comes to quality monitoring. To be effective at monitoring and providing appropriate feedback for the continued development of team members, managers must review calls and note displays of empathy and the willingness of team members to take the interaction above and beyond the basics. Some points for managers to consider may include if team members are great listeners for their customers and if they are knowledgeable and capable while working to resolve issues. Once metrics are chosen, putting the results into an actionable plan is essential to getting the most out of the time, effort, and money put into collecting data from quality assurance metrics in the first place. Reviewing team member and customer interactions, providing timely feedback and putting appropriate plans in place is how you make a change and gauge overall effectiveness. Trust Your Company’s Strengths and Rely on Experts to Fill the Gaps   Looking toward the near future, Forrester predicts more companies will feel compelled to operate their in-house contact centers rather than relying on outside partners. They also predict this could be incredibly detrimental to many businesses. Many companies will benefit from continuing to focus on what they do best. If that doesn’t already include operating and managing their contact center and customer experience, it’s likely best to seek and rely on already established experts. When seeking contact center and quality monitoring services, take into consideration what’s offered and how data is derived and disseminated. A company offering a combination of advanced technologies, artificial intelligence, and continuously developed team members ensures your company benefits from extensive data, corresponding actionable plans, and team members ready to serve customers and provide exceptional experiences. If this sounds like the type of partnership that would benefit both your business and your customers, check out the difference that Etech has to offer. Contact Etech today for additional information.

Corporate Social Responsibility Trends to Watch for in 2020

Undoubtedly, 2019 proved to be an active year for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), covering many issues like sustainability, globalization, advocacy for social issues, and multiple natural disasters at the forefront. Some of these issues have continued to exist in 2020 and companies are striving to build remarkable Corporate Social Responsibility strategies that align core business objectives with solving relevant social problems as well. In this article, we will discuss the popular CSR trends that companies are following this year. Time to Get Back to School Today’s workplaces have become more involved with issues like combatting sexual harassment, promising pay equity, promoting sustainability, etc. Leaders of organizations are seen more in training classes, peer-to-peer dialogues, and formal classroom settings, perhaps virtual, so that they can keep abreast of changes and effective practices in governance and accountability. In 2020, there have been more formal classes in corporate social responsibility and sustainability, like various executive education courses at Harvard Business School and the Wharton School of Business. Also, there are more facilities for emerging professionals now, which include the Institute for Corporate Social Responsibility at John Hopkins University, co-sponsored by the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Education. Engage Team Members on All Levels Today’s organizations continuously strive to ingrain the significance of corporate social responsibility in their people through education, re-education, and training. This is important to address issues like stagnation, inequality, and lack of social responsibility. Companies are conducting education programs to ensure every team member is aware of the company code of ethics and how it is related to different social causes that the organization supports. Coaching team members on corporate social responsibility, emotional intelligence, proper communication, etc. has become an essential part of the corporate culture. One positive result of adopting these things into your corporate culture is team members feeling socially connected when they are at the workplace. The best way to start this is by getting leaders and management on board, introducing them to the training first, and then instilling these changes from top to bottom. Taking Part in Disaster Relief is Crucial There are a growing number of natural disasters impacting all parts of the world now. So, organizations are rethinking their approach towards disaster relief and the efforts they put forward for the recovery. Many companies are seen assisting victims of natural disasters through cash grants and product donations. It is expected that more and more organizations will embrace this proactive approach. This will encourage the process of helping communities become a resilient cause for years to come. Even though we can’t prevent all natural disasters from occurring, the detrimental impact they have on people’s lives can be minimized especially if the corporate sector comes forward and gets involved in better urban and rural planning. Volunteer Team Members’ Time When it comes to corporate social responsibility, volunteering time is one of the most beneficial things that can be given. There are several ways to go about it. The most common approach organizations are taking is asking their team members to volunteer a portion of their time each week to a noble cause or charity. Another option that organizations are widely embracing is letting a part of their team members’ work hours serve as volunteer hours. This is a rewarding benefit for team members because it allows them the opportunity to give back without having the burden of their paycheck being docked or being forced to use vacation time to volunteer. It is also positive branding for both the team members and for the community. Hire for Diversity and Equality Diversity and equality are two significant factors in any organization and hiring with the intention to achieve diversity has several benefits. Companies are striving to hire people from different walks of life, which thus, increases creativity, cultural exposure, and likely out-of-the-box ideas for corporate social responsibility in the office. Diversity has been a critical element of corporate social responsibility for more than 15 years, and it holds true today. Summing It Up All of these 2020 corporate social responsibility trends require organizations to strategically think through their core business values and which types of corporate social responsibility trends can be naturally integrated with those values. What are you waiting for? Join our team to become a part of an organization that has 2020’s corporate social responsibility trends in its DNA.

Improve your Growth Potential by Improving your Coachability

Think about some of the biggest victories you’ve had personally or professionally. Graduating from college, paying off a big loan, or getting that promotion you longed for, are all great examples. As you reflect on these special moments in your life remember the time and effort they took to achieve and who helped you along the way to make your goal a reality. Whether it’s a personal win or a professional victory, there are likely a few fundamental similarities. The bigger the accomplishment, the greater the sense of achievement and the grander the investment of time, effort, money or perhaps all of the above. Each of these wins required personal commitment, effort over time, and support and guidance along the way. Just as every great athlete has a coach to help them hone and improve their skills, we too can benefit from having a professional coach to support our growth and help us on our journey to achieve our goals. Most coaching will come from a direct supervisor although the role of coach can often be played by others, such as peers, trainers, and mentors. What does not change is the effort we must put in, to make the coaching a success. We have learned about coaching on several occasions but mostly from the coach’s perspective. When it comes to coaching effectiveness, it’s a two-way street. The coach and their ability to provide feedback for improvement is important. Equally critical is our decision to receive the feedback and do the work to make the improvements. The best coaching in the world won’t help us unless we have a willingness to learn and ultimately follow through on the feedback by listening, practicing, and implementing the feedback consistently. Are you ready to be coached? How can you ensure the coaching sessions are successful? Below are 4 tips to help you in this journey. 1. Be Willing to Get Coached A willing heart is essential during coaching and greatly affects the outcome of it. Coaching aimed at solutions rather than problems, paired with a willing heart, makes all the difference. What does a willing heart mean in a real sense? It is when you can accept constructive criticism and direction from someone and become flexible enough to leverage it to improve, resulting in a benefit for you, your customer, team &/or company. As you progress this will undoubtedly help you in your current role and may even support your career growth goals. Being teachable is an attribute commonly sought after by hiring managers. If you don’t have a willing heart the process can end up being an uphill battle that will likely lead to little or no improvement in performance, frustration, resentment and poor customer and job satisfaction. Conversely, the better we become at things, the more enjoyable they become. With enough practice we may even find ourselves in a position to add value to others by teaching them what we’ve learned. “Where the heart is willing, it will find a thousand ways: where it is unwilling, it will find a thousand excuses,” said Arlen Price. 2. Remain Committed Progress doesn’t come without commitment. If you feel criticized, it can be easy to give up, unless you are truly committed to growth and achieving whatever goals you have set for yourself. To be thoroughly committed means believing what you do is important to your success and the greater good of those around you. Remember why you started down this path to begin with, what is in your control, and know your ability to follow through on what you set out to do. All these things can help you remain committed to the process. You are important in terms of your identity and what you do. Your coach can’t make you commit to the process; it must come from within you. To allow yourself to have sufficient psychological and material resources so that you can achieve your career goals you must self-commit. If you don’t, you will sabotage yourself with all sorts of excuses and negative self-talk. If you truly commit to the coaching process, a successful outcome is inevitable. “Nothing will work unless you do.” John Wooden “Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard.” Tim Notke 3. Be Solution Focused When there is a trying situation at work, how do you respond to it? Do you meet it head-on and get a solution, or do you make excuses to rationalize? To have a solution focus is nothing more than your ability to control your emotional responses when there is pressure and focus on what is in control to have a positive impact on solving the problem. Let’s discuss an example. You are an account manager, and you end up losing a major account from one of your company’s most valuable customers. This huge loss will result in questions from your leadership team. Your immediate leader will ask for a meeting where you both can discuss what went wrong, how that customer could possibly be brought back, and how the company can improve so there is not a future repeat of the same mistake. Tough questions will be asked. Think of this as a practical coaching session. When you are solution focused, you will be able to pull yourself together, recall the interactions you had with the customer and what led them to this decision. Through this exercise you can come up with some practical solutions to rectify the problem, potentially win the client back, improve your services, and prevent a similar situation in the future with this customer as well as others. If you get stuck focusing on what is out of control, or making excuses (rationalizing the situation), you will limit your future potential to prevent the same problem from happening again. Don’t do it. Think about what can be learned from your current situation. Answer the tough questions, make adjustments and fail forward. This is where real growth happens. 4. Be Accountable It’s important to take full accountability

Succession Planning: What are the Crucial Steps to Make it Successful?

“Succession planning helps build the bench strength of an organization to ensure the long-term health, growth and stability” – Teala Wilson The concept of succession planning has attained a lot of traction in the past few years. It is the process to ensure your company is prepared for the future. So, if any of your key team members leave, you already have someone in mind to fill their position. Succession planning is an effective way to keep your business moving forward during the inevitable changes that every company has to face in its journey. You should make succession planning an ongoing effort at your organization. It’s not possible to study your organizational chart sitting in a meeting for just two hours, and then go back to regular classes and forget about it. When it comes to the best succession plans, they are always reviewed and refreshed daily. Here’s a guide on how to get started with Succession Planning at your organization: Know Your Organization’s Identity Succession planning is not a one-size-fits-all process. To get the maximum benefit from succession planning, the top management of your company must begin with identifying who your company is so that its future can be planned appropriately. For instance, if we discuss the examples of an electric company versus Tesla, the electric provider is a company that offers consistency and reliability to its customers. However, Tesla’s constant focus is on hard-charging and best-in-class performance. Obviously, there is no right or wrong here – it just means different types of companies seek various types of leadership. If you understand “who” your company is, you can better identify the potential new leaders it has. Analyze Your Entire Organization Next, you should assess the current workforce of your organization to identify the key positions and team members it has. In such a scenario, you should remember that often the key team members might not be in the top leadership, but in support positions. You should never ignore a succession plan for your shop foreman who never met a problem that he couldn’t solve or the customer service representative that your customers love and ask for by name. Just like you need succession plans for the C-suite level, prioritizing succession planning for supporting roles is also crucial. A successful succession plan should be based on how you look at all of your team members and ensure you haven’t missed any critical person or position. Determine the Best Succession Planning Strategy for Your Company You can go about succession planning in different ways. The best succession plan is the one that fits well with your organization. If you want to determine what works best for your organization, you should consider the below questions: Do you want a succession plan for every position and team member in your organization? Or, does your organization require one that covers only the leadership positions in upper management? Will your managers’ performance reviews involve identifying and grooming the successors? Is there any vulnerability like the presence of a large percentage of retiring team members in a particular division of your company? What is your final goal? What outcomes are you expecting? Ultimately, any succession plan is all about focusing on how you can be proactive in preserving the wealth of institutional knowledge that helps your company’s productivity rise. Identify Your Heroes After you have identified the critical positions in your organization, you should identify two to three team members who would make great successors for all those vital roles. Having this in mind, you must look at team member performance objectively without personal attachments involved. Often, your extrovert team members get promoted more, but they might not be the most influential performers. That’s the reason why you should carefully consider every successor for both emotional intelligence and skills. The highest-potential team members of your organization will always be life-long learners who are both self and socially aware. They will also be great at problem-solving, adaptable, and able to take on more responsibilities. When it comes to promotion, you will want to avoid the team members who are inclined towards office drama, resist change, and also spread negativity. Handle Tough Decisions and Discussions In succession planning, you need to have conversations with team members in the organization to identify their career goals, how they see themselves in the future, and what kind of development they want to accomplish their objectives. While doing so, be prepared to find that some team members that you might have considered to be a high potential for advancements might not be interested. That’s completely fine. You need solid performers who can make a remarkable impact at every level of the organization. If succession planning is done right, it can be a powerful recruitment tool that can help your organization improve retention and company culture. However, to enjoy the benefits, you should communicate the “hows” and “whys” to the team members who have been tapped to move up. Succession planning does not only help you build the future of your organization’s promotable team members; it can also be the right approach to expose the team members who are not promotable at least during a particular time. However, you should be prepared to talk through the tough decisions you have made to those who are not slated to be promoted – and have what may be difficult discussions with some of the team members at your organization. In a Nutshell While development plans and succession charts are not promises, they are often communicated as such and can lead to frustration if they are not realistic. The bottom line is you shouldn’t jerk around high performing leaders with unrealistic development expectations. Instead, only give the promise of succession if there is a realistic chance of it actually happening in the future! At Etech, the five crucial steps of succession planning discussed above have remarkably helped us shift our organization’s focus from planning to development, achieving increased depth in our bench strength. Come and join

How Can Servant Leadership Lead You to a Successful Career?

The idea of servant leadership is a timeless concept that has been around for centuries. It, however, just has become prevalent in management in the last few decades, with more and more top executives and supervisors exploring the concept in their work. Becoming a servant leader is a great way to advance your career as it shows you can prioritize the organization and its team members, and it clearly demonstrates your desire to support and care for others. – A true leader is defined by such strengths. Empowers the Team A servant leader is driven by the desire to make sure that the needs of others are being met before their own needs. These types of leaders come to work thinking about what they can do for their team to help them be better, so they can provide the team with the necessary support to help them achieve their goals and expectations. By focusing on the wellbeing and development of your team members, providing the right resources, a productive work environment, and all the assets and information they need, they will become more empowered to succeed in their roles. Once your team is successful, you will be successful too! Opportunity to Lead by Example Servant leaders lead their team by example. A big part of their responsibility is leading their team with their own actions. Being the example of greater discipline and drive not only encourages those who follow to adopt a higher standard, but it also motivates you to play on a higher field. Furthermore, if your team knows that you are willing to do whatever you expect from them, they’ll likely do everything possible to help you achieve your goal. By choosing to lead by example, you will be seen as a better leader, capable of creating a sense of purpose and pushing people forward with credibility, inspiration, trust, and vision. Inspires Team to Follow The will to lead from the point of service has a significant effect on employee commitment to a supervisor. Your job is to serve the people who follow you. They persuade others with inspiration and aren’t concerned with using force or power to make team members act. By so doing, such a leader is followed willingly instead of forcefully. Such a leader will not have to worry about loyalty or poor customer service. As you can imagine, this creates a more inclusive work environment, has a positive impact on your work relationships, makes your team more successful, and boosts your career as well. Improves Talent Retention As opposed to traditional leadership, which focuses more on accumulating, hoarding and exercising power by the one at the top of the pyramid, servant leaders want to share power with their team and help them develop and perform as effectively as possible. They recognize that everyone has something unique to offer, and that builds confidence and contentment in people. They are humble and generous, giving credit where it’s due, as well as recognizing talents and rewarding them to show them that their contributions are valued. This can play a huge role in preventing valuable skills and knowledge from walking out the door, which is not only beneficial to the company but you as well. Improves Decision Making By asking questions, listening, thinking ahead, and considering every factor, servant leaders can anticipate the needs of the business and guide towards an outcome that places the company in the best position to achieve success. Everyone brings a unique perspective to the table, and when you’re open to listening to the talent around you, you can truly embrace every possibility and potential to achieve success. Encourages Innovation Studies have shown that servant leadership promotes employee innovation and creativity. Such a setting encourages individuals to do their best and take on new challenges. For some, team members are given opportunities to work on projects outside their scope, solve problems, etc. By believing in team members and giving them the opportunity to learn and grow, you might be surprised how much they can accomplish. With the freedom to get creative, your staff may not only enhance their contributions but also make yours better. Having soft skills, in addition to the right job qualifications, is key to climbing the corporate ladder. As a servant leader, you’re setting the tone for the advancement of your career. It’s clear that by building strong inter-team relationships through servant leadership, you create a greater level of productivity, which greatly impacts the success of your team, your organization and yourself. In view of all this, it’s important to keep in mind that being a good leader takes time. While some people are naturally inclined to be servant leaders, it’s really something anyone can learn and improve upon. Are you looking for more tips for career growth? Etech has got you covered! To learn more about servant leadership and how this exemplary leadership style can help boost your career, check out our blog section.

How does Human Resources Impact Customer Experience?

When customer experience is delivered right, brands can increase their revenue remarkably, simultaneously creating happier customers who enjoy using their products and services. All the big brands worldwide continuously strive to make things easier for their customers and provide excellent customer service. Those who are truly able to do that, their customers return to them again and again and even become their brand advocates. So, organizations must know how to get the customer experience right in this on-demand, fast, and digital world where we live today. Also, it’s a common belief that the secret to a great customer experience lies in employee performance and operational excellence. However, the department of Human Resources is often overlooked, but it plays a primary role to take an organization’s customer experience to the next level. How? Read on Impact on Employees’ Attitude The attitude of your people who face customers is vital for your brand to deliver an excellent customer experience. At the strategic level, the culture of your organization tends to be a huge factor in developing a positive attitude among employees. The attitude towards customers is also impacted by the personality and professionalism of the individual. So it’s clear that the Human Resources department should be on board with the customer experience strategy of your organization. It will help if you keep in mind that when hiring, the right competencies of the candidates are adequately screened. Making People Knowledgeable Your customer-facing employees must have expertise in product and industry knowledge. Here, the HR department can play a significant role again as their relevant training programs can bring new employees up to the desired level and also keep the experienced employees updated on recent developments in the industry. An effectively managed CRM strategy that has HR as an integral part, can also be helpful concerning the prospect and customer knowledge. Fostering Employees’ Skills The HR department of organizations can provide state-of-the-art sales and product training. It can help empower the company’s frontline employees to develop the skill of listening, which gives them the ability to put their customers’ needs before their own. Listening is a mission-critical skill that directly impacts the degree to which your organization is customer-focused. A Constant Support for Employees Just like the operating systems like Linux and Windows are not often highlighted since they operate behind the scenes, your employees also need support from other departments that are not always obvious to the customers. For example, the way that the Finance department supports car dealers or how personal trainers support athletes. Here, the organizational culture comes into the picture; a collaborative culture at the corporate level can help deliver effortless customer experience. Similarly, the HR department can empower employees to create an environment so that they can deliver effortless customer experience all of the time. It will truly help the company to emerge as a customer-centric one. Recognition of Customer-Focused Employees Recognizing positive behaviors and achievements of the employees is one of the great ways to boost the internal culture of an organization, driving people to become more customer-oriented. Employee recognition is a powerful motivator that can altogether turn around your organization’s customer experience efforts. Human Resources can play a vital role here to appreciate the employees who strive to improve the company’s customer experience. When they are recognized more, they eventually perform better. It has been observed that people who feel recognized find more purpose in their work. When the HR department engages employees in rewards and recognition events, employees feel directly tied to the organization’s success, remain motivated to perform even better, and never fail to deliver a memorable customer experience. Final Words It’s essential to stay committed. The more an organization’s HR department can drive employee engagement, the stronger the impact it will have on the success of the customer experience strategy. At Etech, we continuously implement the best practices to keep our workforce engaged, and this has tremendously helped us to deliver an effortless customer experience for more than 20 years now!

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