Civility in the Workplace Part 3

It’s worth noting: civility goes beyond mere good manners.

Civility is about effective self-awareness and effective social awareness.  You can’t be an effective practitioner of civility until you recognize your place in the general scheme of things and you develop an appreciation for the unique contribution of all else around.  It’s a delicate balance between pursuing self-interest and practicing self-control in order for others and the organization to pursue their interests well.  For this reason, effective programs on civility must be prefaced by training on attentiveness to self and others.

Dealing with Difficult Personalities

A huge source of stress at work is the need to adjust to different personalities.  Each person is unique, and even when you’re dealing with a responsible and emotionally-mature co-worker, friction is inevitable simply because the other person will never be 100% similar to you.  However, the stress of interacting with co-workers is multiplied when the other person doesn’t just have a different personality but also a difficult one.

Until next time...

 




Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Effective Complaint Handling Part 8

• The Complaints Handling Process is a business critical component and as such needs to be validated through testing   This can be achieved through:
• Dummy complaints being followed through the process
• Mystery complainers who will have their experience documented and provide feedback
• Examining the level of knowledge of the process within the organization
• The process testing will be made more effective by:
• Process mapping the stages involved
• Identifying the critical points within the process
• Checking that they are functional under a range of conditions - both internal and external
• Making recommendations for improvement and implementing them in the process. This can be achieved through the PDCA cycle
• Auditing the Process:  check your process for
• Ownership / Responsibility are clearly defined
• Adherence to standards
• Completion of activity
• Implementation of findings
• Communication - both internally and externally
• The complaints handling process should be audited  This would allow:
• Problems to be highlighted
• Best practices to be praised
• Improvements to be suggested
• External validation of the process
• To audit the process you can:
• Question staff re: their knowledge of the procedure for handling complaints
• Review past complaints
• Document review
• Customer feedback
• The audit may be carried out by:
• Internal auditors who work in the organization
• Customers who wish to see how the process has been working
• Third party auditors who are auditing to check performance in terms of compliance with a recognized quality standard such as ISO9001

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Effective Complaint Handling Part 7

• The overall responsibility for those involved in the Customer Complaints Handling Process is to ensure that
• The Customer is satisfied
• Action has been taken to prevent the complaint from occurring in the future
• The roles and responsibilities will be bounded by a set of objectives which are:
• Specific to the handling of complaints
• Measurable in terms of input and results
• Achievable - in terms of capabilities and expectation
• Relevant - in relation to the overall business goals of the organization
• Time-bound - so  that the personnel involved have a time scale to work within
• Training:  To ensure that ownership lies with those who are operating the process it is important that they are trained with regard to:
• The importance of handling complaints
• The organizational impact of poorly handled complaints
• The expectations of customers
  And finally
• The actual process itself
• Measurement: Key performance indicators may include
• Customer Satisfaction Rating
• Close-out time
• Document audit non-conformance levels
• Understanding of system by personnel
• Improvements implemented as a result of a corrective action identified in the process

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Effective Complaint Handling Part 1

A professional approach to the handling of complaints in an organization can deliver benefits in terms of increased customer satisfaction.  How customer complaints are handled reflects on the organization in terms of the value placed on the customer, the ability to support products and services, and the value of the product and service.  There is now a greater focus on how complaints are handled by organizations as focus changes from being product driven to being customer driven.  The business environment has become more competitive.  Service has become the main differentiating factor.

A complaint will arise because a product or service is ‘faulty’ and does not function correctly or a product or service does not meet the expectations of the customer.

• Complaints handled well may lead to:
• Maximum customer satisfaction & loyalty
• Building of customer advocates for the business
• Opportunity to utilize new learning for improvement of the business processes
• Increase in loyalty
• Maintenance of customer base
• Increase in profitability
• Handling a complaint badly may lead to:
• Customers leaving due to dissatisfaction
• Competitors using the failure against you
• Loss of revenue / profit
• Demotivation of personnel involved in the process
• Loss of an opportunity to learn & improve
• If a complaint can be handled and resolved at a point of first contact for the customer, several benefits emerge:
• Customer confidence in the organization is significantly increased
• Organization benefits through the elimination of additional contacts
• The responsibility for handling the complaint lies with the first contact
• The complaint handling time is reduced
  

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Organizational Structure Part 4

• Models of Organizational Structure
• Bureaucratic
• Specialization
• Division of Labor
• Hierarchical Arrangements of Position
• Impersonal Relationships & Rules
• Vertical
• Key Characteristics
• Traditional Organizational Structure
• Power is Centralized
• Employees have less autonomy
• Formal Policies and Procedures
• Strict Reporting Lines
• Job Description Based
• Horizontal
• Key Characteristics
• Flatter Organizational Structure
• Less Hierarchical
• Power is located with owner manager
• Employees have broader span of responsibility
• Similarly skilled experts
• Departmentalization
• Business Function
• Product
• Matrix

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Managing Difficult People Part 1

One of the aspects of managing conflict is identifying difficult people who contribute to conflict. To successfully manage conflict, HR professionals and managers need to learn how to deal with difficult people. In this course, we learned about types of difficult people and strategies for preventing and managing conflict with difficult people.

Types of Difficult People

• The Steamroller
• The Nitpicker
• The Obstructionist
• The I-Didn’t-Sign-Up-for-That
• The Gossipmonger
• The Defeatist
• The Slacker
• The Faultfinder
• The Whiner
• The Martyr
• The Self-Criticizer
• The Blamer
• The Handle-With-Care
• The Microscope

General Coping Strategies

• Recognize that an attitude problem exists
• Acknowledge any underlying causes for the negative attitude.
• Help the difficult person take responsibility.
• Replace negative, inappropriate reactions with different, more acceptable ones.
• Instill positive attitudes in others.

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Communicate Openly and Directly Part 5

The Passive- Aggressive Style
This style of communication combines the desire to avoid face-to-face interaction (passive) with the desire to "win" and control the outcome to get one's own way (aggressive).  It is usually done behind the other person's back and is seen primarily as deceitful and dishonest.  This communication is almost always done "undercover" and secretively with an intent to manipulate people or teach them a lesson.  It is damaging and dangerous because it destroys the team environment and the trust and respect needed to facilitate assertive communication.

The person who uses passive-aggressive communication/behavior incorporates some or all of these tactics:

• May not offer ideas or opinions in order to control or hide information
• May tattle or gossip about others
• May seem supportive on the surface but actually criticizes people and their ideas behind their backs
• Enjoys seeing others' ideas fail
• Likes to get people to take sides against another person, policy, or idea
• Is the exact opposite of the open, honest communicators that organizations need today 

In Conclusion

• We can now recognize the communication styles and behaviors that we and others are using.  We can also choose the style we want to use in each situation and commit to building skills for more open, honest, and assertive communication.
• Most people communicate without much forethought or planning, content to say whatever comes to mind.  Unconscious communication is about "reacting" rather than about making proactive, conscious choices.
• We all need to take greater responsibility to think about the best way to demonstrate assertive communication and behavior in both our personal and professional lives.

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Leadership and Delegation: Essential Steps Part 2

WHAT DO LEADERS NEED TO DELEGATE EFFECTIVELY?
Leaders must have confidence and trust in their team members and their abilities in order to give them responsibility for tasks and projects.  Leaders must also ensure that team members receive the necessary training, guidance, resources, and authorization to do the job.  Team member readiness for a task is also crucial.

TASKS TO DELEGATE

• Routine Jobs
• Tasks that others can do or learn as well or better than you
• Tasks that will challenge and develop staff

TASKS NOT TO DELEGATE

• Confidential Matters
• Employee Appraisals
• Disciplinary Matters
• Rewards and Recognition

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Work-Life Balance: Part 4

What needs to exist in your personal relationships?

• A "calm center" in life allows effective functioning on the job.
• The self confidence to admit your problems.
• Strength to ask for help with those issues you cannot resolve by yourself.
• Good, solid, loving relationships to help you when times are difficult.
• The ability to separate the big stuff from the little stuff

You will be in charge of your personal life when you do these things:

• Make decisions even if you're struggling with difficult choices.
• Try to keep your performance level high at work despite stressful situations in your personal life.
• Take responsibility for solving your own problems without complaining at work 
• Don't use your problems as an excuse to do a poor job.
• Maintain high self-esteem.
• Separate the big stuff from the little stuff.
• Get the help you need when you have a problem.
• Strive to maintain excellent customer service while working to solve a problem.

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Work-Life Balance: Part 2

A Healthy Environment

Your coworkers may be working with you for a long time.  They do not need to know – nor do they want to know – everything about your personal life.  Everyone in your organization needs to see you as an emotionally stable, reliable, and strong person.  They want to know that they can trust you with their products, services, and customers and that they can count on you to do your job well.

Your personal life reflects your current and past experiences.  Many of your adult feelings and behavior stem from early childhood experiences.  There are generally two types of environments: healthy/functional and unhealthy/dysfunctional, although families and workplaces can sometimes be a little of both.

We all have the ability to choose the environment in which we place ourselves.  We can choose to stay, leave, change it, or accept it.  It is up to you to make your environment healthy and functional.  It is up to you to make a conscious decision and effort to be with people who enable you to create a healthy environment, challenge you to improve, and help you develop both personally and professionally.

People who seem to be the happiest and most satisfied in life have made a conscious effort to be in a healthy/functional environment in both their personal and professional lives. They assume responsibility for making good choices about the people with whom they spend their time.

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Listening is Hard Work

What makes a good listener?

Listening is the ability to accurately perceive a message conveyed by another person.

Our attitude does affect our listening.  If we truly want to learn or understand, we will listen much better.  Listening does not come naturally to most people.  It is not passive but active, demanding a lot of effort and work.  To be a good active listener, you must look for underlying messages and meaning.  This is done by observing non-verbal cues, sensing feelings, putting yourself in the speaker's place, and trying to understand what he/she is really trying to communicate.

Active Listening Steps         

• Create a Safe Place      
• Become Actively Involved      
• Avoid the Temptation to Evaluate      
• Search for Meaning
• Confirm Your Understanding  
• Bring Closure

Listening is hard work.  Take responsibility to understand the content as well as the feelings that are being communicated to you.

Until next time...

Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Take Responsibility!

Responsibility has to do with the choices we make about the realities of our lives. People who exercise personal responsibility see how their choices, more than external realities, determine their fate.  It is the difference between being a victor rather than victim in life.

The Responsibility Ladder shows how the meaning of responsibility and the way we make choices changes as we evolve from one paradigm to another.

The Responsibility Ladder  
Integrity:
I am the author of the outcomes of my life through my choices.  
Achievement:
I exercise choices by setting goals and trying to improve.  
Duty:
I exercise choices by fulfilling my obligations  
Fear:
I am reactive and a victim of events, circumstances, and other people.

Common Ways We Avoid Responsibility  
Waiting:
Many people live their lives waiting for something to happen or change to experience happiness or success.  
Excuses and Self-Justification:
We learn to make excuses to avoid punishment.  
Blame:
This has been institutionalized into our justice system which teaches people to feel and act like victims.  
Being Dependent:
We are passive about asserting ourselves or taking care of our own needs.  
Reactive Language:
"You make me mad."  "I can't help it."  "I have to..."

Understanding our Choices
There are three primary reasons we make the choices we do:
Ignorance and programming. 
We are unaware of our choice-making or that other options are available to us.
Payoffs.
We are rewarded for the choices we make in the short term, even when the long-term consequences of those choices are painful.
Prices.
There is a price tag associated with new choices. We haven't yet decided to pay the price of making new choices.

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Managing Change Resistance and Developing Resilience

Managing Resistance

When change occurs, people feel like victims or owners, losers or winners. They adopt an attitude of either resistance or resilience.  In managing resistance, observe people and then ask yourself, "How am I reacting?" "How are they reacting?" 

Focus on the reaction before you decide on a solution. This will help ensure that the solution is the right one. Act like a doctor: observe, diagnose, prescribe, and encourage practice for future retention of problems.
 
To Help Others Develop Resilience:
 
- Remain as positive as possible about the expected outcome   
- Be prepared to address concerns  
- Share as much information as possible  
- Encourage employees to ask questions  
- Make yourself visible and accessible  
- Model resilient behavior for other employees  

Until next time...







Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/