Leadership development Archives - Etech Global Services

Overcoming Organizational Adversity with a Servant Heart

Most team members appreciate a leader who is committed to helping them grow and achieve their personal and professional goals. A leader who is heavily invested in this mindset, also called a servant leader, helps team members develop & build upon their strengths which in turn will make the team and organization stronger. When your organization experiences a setback or something goes wrong, these leadership skills get put to the test. You may be tempted in these times of stress to adopt a more dictative or authoritative stance to maintain controls, however, a servant leader will remain consistent with serving the needs of the team. The best way through a rough patch, is the same way you built a strong team to begin with – by being a servant first. Lean on the Skills You’ve Honed Consistency is a leadership quality that most team members appreciate. It communicates stability and focus. Maintaining the servant leadership skills you use during times when everything is going smoothly can reassure your team and lets them know that although there may be some turmoil, everything around them is not going to change suddenly. In fact, some of these very strategies can help pull your organization out of a slump: Adaptability – Adjusting a process that is not working as well as you planned can often resolve major problems. By modeling this tactic to your team, you show them that you are able to be flexible. You also demonstrate that you are willing to lead by example by re-examining something that is not working well. The humility and maturity required to adapt to solve problems can increase your team’s confidence in you. Reinventing continuously with your team demonstrates that you value adaptability and creativity, and you are there to support them through the process. Connection – During times of adversity, it is imperative that you maintain your connection with your team and support their collaboration. You may be tempted to withdraw and figure out the problem on your own. On the surface, this may seem like a good way to save time. In reality, though connecting your team with the decision-making process can help everyone get on board with it more quickly. It’s easier to implement a solution that the whole team created together than it is to convince others to try something new that they have no ownership in. Leaders skilled in servant leadership understand the importance of listening to their team members. This type of collaboration often leads to the best solutions. A servant leader is one who is focused on ensuring the best ideas win, not being a hero or proving they have all the answers. Selflessness – One quality of a good leader that tends to rise to the surface during hard times is a willingness to put the team and the business ahead of selfish concerns. A servant leader understands the priority is to take care of the team and help those they serve achieve their personal and professional goals. You must be willing to support those you serve through giving of your time, creating opportunities, and by ensuring the necessary resources are available. You may not have to go so far as to take a pay cut to raise everyone else’s salary but you must be willing to put everything on the table to support your team’s long term success. You cannot achieve long term success without ensuring those around you have what they need to be successful. This may require putting some of your own personal goals on hold to get your business back on track and safeguard your team in the process. Continue Pursuing Professional Development Goals Putting your own goals on hold does not mean that you should stop growing, in fact, the opposite. Growth requires growth, and to grow your team you must continue to grow your own skills. Failure to do so could stunt the growth of your team members. As much as 87% of millennials, likely the largest portion of your workforce, consider access to professional development opportunities as one of the key factors in engagement. Always remember that one of the main goals of servant leadership is to empower people to take your place. No organizational problem is large enough to justify a lax approach to leadership development and thoughtful succession planning. You need to continue to take steps to further your development as well as that of your team: Make regular appointments to discuss goals. Each member of your team deserves to have time each month to discuss their professional goals and get advice on how to pursue them. These check-ins don’t have to be lengthy, but you should set aside enough time to discuss their strengths and learn about the skills they want to work to improve. Suggest professional development opportunities. Once you know where someone wants to take their career, it is easier to find learning opportunities that help them get there. Keep up this practice during difficult times to remind team members of their future potential. Set a realistic timeline. A common struggle for people who want to advance their careers is knowing when they’re ready to take the next step. Loyal team members may feel stuck when the organization is not growing at a pace they expect or they do not see a clear roadmap for growth. Continuing to discuss goals in the context of their unique professional growth can put their minds at ease. A servant leadership management style can increase team members’ level of commitment to the organization even through adversity. Credibility is tested during these times. Employing the leadership skills that work well during times of growth when there are setbacks reaffirm your commitment to your team and will help you set your organization on a stronger course. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

Are You Coachable?

Even Michael Jordan had a coach, coaching your team is important if you want to drive continuous improvement. Effective coaching is a two-way street, where the coach offers to guide the individual and that person must cooperate and follow through. Essentially, the Coach helps the Coachee to come up with the solutions by highlighting performance improvement areas. We have looked at coaching on several occasions but from the coaches perspective. As I considered this topic, I realized that not much has been said about the Coachee and that relationship cannot work without both parties active involvement. As an employee, are you ready to for coaching? What should you do to ensure that the coaching sessions are successful? Here are my thoughts on how the Coachee can make the coaching successful. 1: Have A Willing Heart A willing heart is a first and most important point. You should be willing to accept the coaching with your manager. Given the nature of coaching where you come up with the solutions to the problems, a willing heart will make the process smoother. A willing heart means that you can take criticism and direction from someone else, and be flexible to use it for the benefit of the company. It will also benefit you as an individual and your career growth. Without a willing heart, the process will be an uphill battle that can lead to hating the job or your manager instead of improving your performance. “Where the heart is willing, it will find a thousand ways: where is unwilling it will find a thousand excuses” Arlen Price 2: Be Committed Coaching is a process that requires commitment, and when you are under fire or criticism, it is easy to give up. Complete commitment means believing you are worthwhile in terms of who you are and what you do. Your coach cannot make you commit to the process; it has to come from within. Allowing yourself and our cause to have sufficient psychological and material resources to achieve your career goals is self-commitment. Without it, you will sabotage yourself by giving all sorts of excuses and negative self-talk. Commit to the coaching process and the outcome will be great. “Nothing will work unless you do.” John Wooden 3: Have Inner Strength Your inner strength will take you miles ahead. When faced with a hard situation at work, how do you respond to it? You can react in two ways, meet with it head on and get a solution or break down. Having inner strength is your ability to control your emotional responses when under pressure and be able to concentrate on what is important. For example, you are an account manager and you lose a key customer. This huge loss will make the leadership ask questions. Your immediate boss will call you for a meeting to figure out what went wrong and how can that customer be won back or how to improve what the company did not to repeat the same mistakes. That is a coaching session, and your inner strength will help you put it together, look at every interaction you have had with the customers and come up with solutions to win them back. Without it, you will not even see where the problem is and the session will be futile. 4: Take Full Responsibility Yes, take full responsibility for your actions and reactions. Remember that at work, when you are being coached, it is more of giving you directions and pushing in the right way. However, you cannot go anywhere if you do not acknowledge your mistakes and successes. When you perform well, accept the applause’s, and when you perform poorly, own your mistakes and be the first to correct it. Your coach will be there to highlight your weak areas, and you can find the best ways to improve them. Taking full responsibility requires you to be humble. 5: Respect your coach Whose advice do you follow? The one you respect or the one you do not? I believe you will listen and follow someone that you respect. To benefit from the coaching, you need to respect your coach. Do not confuse respect with fear. When you fear someone, you will not be open to him or her. When you respect someone, you will be open and have constructive conversations. In summary, when you have a willing heart, you are committed, you have inner strength, you take full responsibility and you respect your coach, the coaching will successful. Remember you are the beneficiary of the coaching. Enjoy and be coachable! This blog was written by Jim Iyoob, Chief Customer Officer for Etech Global Services. If you would like to learn more about Etech, please contact us at info@etechgs.com.

TEAMWORK: 4th in the Series of Etech’s 12 Character Commitments

Today I’m submitting the 4th blog in our Character Commitment Series. I’ve spent the past several months writing a blog on each of Etech’s 12 Character Commitments that form the foundation of our organization. I’ve welcomed this opportunity to take the time to sit down and write about each trait. For me, it’s been a little bit of “getting back to the basics” as I’ve found myself renewing my own personal commitment to these traits and not just on the job, but in my personal life as well. Getting back to the basics is always a good thing to do and today’s character trait is the very basic one of Teamwork. Teamwork is one of those words that has the potential to become very “cliché”. We hear it so often from coaches and managers but let’s take a look at the definition of TEAMWORK. Noun: cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interests of a common cause. That’s a pretty simple and straightforward definition, isn’t it? A group of people working together for a common interest or cause. It sounds so simple, but when there is a lack of teamwork, be it on an athletic team or in the corporate world, the results can be disastrous. On the other hand, coming together and being committed to a common cause or goal can yield amazing results that can be far-reaching in their benefits. But how do you do this? What are some key elements of building teamwork? I came across an article recently that identified ten principles of teamwork. You can check out the full article here, but I’d like to highlight what are the top five for me. The team understands the goals and is committed to attaining them. This, to me, is the foundation of team unity. The team must understand what the goal is and that everyone is equally committed to attaining it. Communication is open, honest and respectful. When people feel that their opinions matter and that they are heard, unity on the team is nurtured and maintained. Team members have a strong sense of belonging to the group. When a team has spent time together developing relationship guidelines, this enhances their overall commitment and sense of belonging. Team members are viewed as unique people with strengths and abilities they bring to the table that are unlike anyone else’s. Innovation, creativity and differing viewpoints are expected and welcomed. No one fears their ideas will be dismissed. These particular traits of teamwork emerged as my favorites because they place value on the individual and their gifts, ideas and opinions. That is the foundation of teamwork: everyone is valued equally while their individual gifts and abilities are recognized and esteemed for what they bring to the team. When these elements are in place, the sky is the limit as to what any team can accomplish. As the great Packer Coach Vince Lombardi stated, “Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” This blog entry was written by Matt Rocco, President and General Manager of Etech Global Services. If you would like to learn more about Etech and our contact center technology and service solutions, please contact us at info@etechgs.com.

10 Leadership Qualities of an Etech Leader

Etech’s vision – “To make a remarkable difference for our people, our customer and in our communities.” Our ability to make a remarkable difference rises or falls on the shoulders of our leadership team. Etech invests many hours and resources developing leaders with a desire to serve! I recently read an article by Justin Tarte where he highlights 10 leadership qualities that all great leaders must possess. Below I have captured these qualities and how they apply at Etech today. An Etech leader will stand up for his/her teammates. They will praise and support in public, and will correct and advise in private. An Etech leader trusts you to do what you were hired to do. Without trust there is no relationship. A great leader hires well, ensures proper training and they encourages their team member to do what they were hired to do while coaching them up each and every day. An Etech leader knows lifting others up will be far more effective than tearing them down. They will value other by being consistent, approachable and supportive. An Etech leader makes you better and puts you in positions that align with your strengths. They make you better by including you and seeking your input and ideas. An Etech leader knows there is always something more to learn. They do not hesitate to say ‘I don’t know.’ An Etech leader knows that being teachable and a life-long learner is an important commitment. An Etech leader he/she doesn’t have to be right all the time. In fact, being wrong is a worthwhile and humbling experience great leaders don’t fear. A great leader focuses on winning the war, not on winning the battle. An Etech leader will never hold you back or prevent you from growing and developing. A great leader isn’t afraid of the success of others; a great leader takes pride in the success of others. An Etech leader isn’t afraid to make a decision when a decision needs to be made. A great leader doesn’t shy away from difficult situations, they learn from the opportunities that come out of difficult situations and capitalize on the moments. An Etech leader will have the courage to take risks. They will be creative but not reckless in their problem solving. An Etech leader is always looking for a person to replace them. A great leader isn’t just worried about the organization at present, but also in the future and beyond. This is some great stuff from Mr. Tarte! It is important to know that leadership is not defined by a title. I consider each and every one of Etech’s 2,500+ team members a leader. Leadership is about influence, nothing more, nothing less. I challenge you to assess where you are with these 10 qualities and I encourage you to take the necessary steps to improve daily in each area. This blog was written by Matt Rocco, President and General Manager at Etech Global Services. If you would like to learn more about joining the Etech team, visit our career section.

How Responsible Leaders Achieve Extraordinary Results with Accountability and High Performing Work Environment?

Your team has the skill and the desire to succeed, but they need leadership. As a leader, your job is to shape your call center’s individual employees into a highly effective team that exceeds all expectations. Good leaders know the importance of accountability, it is actually one of Etech’s leadership commitments. Effective leaders know that accountability applies to both themselves and their team, I cannot hold others accountable if I do not hold myself accountable! Here are steps accountable leaders take to develop their teams. Start with A Plan Call centers are fast moving environments. You don’t always have time to stop and untwist a mess that throws off the normal routine. You need a plan to keep processes moving and to help you get back on track when things go askew. Start by establishing a goal for your department that is tangible and measurable. Assess the skills and abilities of your team. Consider strategies that meet your goals. Break those strategies up into smaller steps. Prepare contingencies for inevitable problems. It isn’t enough to imagine a plan. Instead, write your plan down, and make it accessible to everyone. Share your plan with your team, and ask for input. This plan is a tool that you can use to keep yourself accountable to the standards of success that you have set for your department. Refer back to it often. It will help to guide your conversations towards productive outcomes, and it will help to relieve pressure when your team questions your motives or techniques. Be an Inspiration for Your Team Excitement sells. It’s normal to associate selling with the end user or customer, but you also must sell your ideas to your team. It is much easier to get things done when your team members buy into the plan, own the plan! Ask for their input, incorporate their ideas if appropriate. Ask for their commitment. Once the team is committed, implement the plan with enthusiasm & optimism! Follow your own plan. Once you have set a standard, you need to be the first one to adhere to it. Never try to enforce rules that you are not willing to follow yourself. Your employees can see right through duplicity, and it will make it harder for you to secure their cooperation. An accountable leader accepts criticism and is the first to try to improve. Share the success. Job satisfaction is one the reasons employees stay in their careers. When they feel like they have accomplished something, it encourages better performance. Celebrate wins with your team and, give your people the credit they deserve. Get Your Point Across Communication is a critical skill for any effective leader. Great communicators are aware of the signals they send beyond just the words they speak. Your team picks up on more than just what you say. They observe your tone and body language and then make assumptions about your intent. Effective communicators are also great listeners! Speak clearly and directly Avoiding overly complex phrases and technical jargon Use visual presentations in meetings to clarify meaning Graph out ideas to build associations. Use definitive measurements like timelines or production goals Ask for feedback from your team Confirm each team members understanding and expectations before moving forward In addition to getting your point across, you also need to follow through on the things you say. Failure to execute on what you have committed to damages your credibility and makes it harder to communicate. Meet Individually with Your Team Your team is a group of individuals. They each have different strengths and weaknesses. Sit down and meet with them separately. This gives you the opportunity to find out more about the dynamics of your team. Oftentimes an employee will share with you when no one else is present. The insights you gain in these meetings will assist you connecting with your team better. Use these meetings to set clear expectations for all your employees. Coach up individual’s opportunities while encouraging each team member to maximize their strengths. Document a growth plan for each individual team member that is actionable, measurable and time sensitive. Develop an Objective Metric of Evaluations In most cases, employees report that evaluations are nearly meaningless. Not only do your team members have their own ideas about their performance, your management team does not always provide feedback that is consistent. Use an objective evaluation of employee performance. Use sales figures or work output that can be measured Reference employee attendance records Show positive changes in habits and highlight positive outcomes Show positive changes in habits and highlight positive outcomes Show completed projects and the impact they have had Demonstrate mistakes and the costs Discuss changes in the employee’s training and career growth These objective measurements should be standardized. All members of the leadership team need to know how to provide the same feedback for your team. It will help to identify problems and reduce the frustrations that your employees feel when criticized by someone who does not use the same standards. Balance Meetings and Emails Email is a wonderful tool of communication. You can quickly send a string of instructions to different team members or update the entire team with one memo. Emails also track communication. Team meetings are another great communication tool. Getting everyone together to talk about the department’s goals is more than just an opportunity to share your ideas. These meetings provide you with feedback from your team. They are a team building exercise as well. Be careful to use both tools wisely, and strike a careful balance between email messages and meetings. Depending too much on emails disassociates you from your team. Spending too much time in meetings is wasteful and frustrating. Learn to run an efficient meeting, and keep your emails concise. Accountable leaders get results. They know how to create, lead, serve and inspire high performing teams! By implementing these important accountability traits you will be on your way to developing highly productive and accountable teams!

3 Ways to Help Others Develop Valuable Leadership Skills

Leadership skills do not come naturally to most people, but almost everyone will need them at some point. Most people will inevitably be faced with situations that require them to exercise leadership skills in various aspects of their life ranging from personal to professional. As a leadership coach, it is important for you to understand the various stages of the leadership journey. Once you understand what it takes to become a leader, you will have an easier time helping others develop valuable leadership skills that will help them throughout their lives. According to Blanchard’s Situational Leadership® II model, people who are learning a new task or skill go through four predictable phases. They start in the Enthusiastic Beginner stage then make their way through the remaining stages until they are Self-Reliant Achievers. Those who have made it to the latter level feel confident in their current roles. Due to the level of comfort and familiarity they have achieved in their current positions, they often have trouble adjusting when they take on leadership roles for the first time. As a leadership coach, it is your job to turn Self-Reliant Achievers into confident leaders. Here are three ways you can utilize your coaching skills to help new leaders get past their initial nervousness and uncertainty until they develop the leadership skills they need to succeed. Set Realistic Expectations One of the most common problems new leaders run into is setting unrealistic expectations for themselves. As a coach, it is your job to reinforce the fact that developing new skills takes time and effort. Once individuals in leadership roles realize that each attempt they make is a step towards success and greater experience, they will see their professional journey in a whole new light. Leadership skills don’t just pop up overnight. They must be learned and developed before they can be mastered. Put Knowledge Into Practice You can’t learn a new skill unless you put your knowledge into practice. Even if you fail, you still grow and learn something new from the experience. One of the most important things a new leader can do is try over and over again until they get it right. Accept Help When placed in a new leadership role, it may feel like you are expected to know everything right from the start. However, the best leaders are those who know how to ask for and accept help from others when needed. Most people will not look down on you if you ask them for their advice or expertise. In fact, they are more likely to be flattered at the opportunity to share their knowledge with you. There is no need to try and do it all alone when you have helpful resources all around you. Collaborating with others is also a great way to enhance organization culture and improve interdepartmental cooperation. Becoming a successful leader is a difficult process that can be painful at times. However, with perseverance and proper coaching, anyone can accomplish their goal. Great leaders become invaluable assets to their companies and communities and enjoy rich rewards for their hard work.

4 Tips for Reducing Attrition in the Contact Center

High turnover is a challenge for a contact center and especially the recruiting department whom need to ensure that the companies has sufficient staff to meet all the customers’ needs. A majority of the agents in the contact center are aged between 18 years to 35 years. These are the famous generation Y, and their working culture has seen its fair share of negativity. Generation Y employees expect instant results and success, and will move to another job without blinking if they will reach their goals faster. That makes the contact centers all over the world have the highest turnover rate according to statistics. It is inevitable for employees to leave your company, but that should not discourage you. You can try working on these four tips to reduce churn at your contact center: Engage the employees Employee engagement is very important for you to reduce churn. When your employees feel engaged and involved with the company, they will be more productive. A high-performing employee is recognized for their hard work, and this motivates them to do more. To engage the millennial employee, think of utilizing technology, as they have grown up with technology and work well with it. For example, you can introduce electronic games that they can play during their breaks, and can compete as individuals or teams. At the end of the day, your goal is to have highly engaged employees who will be satisfied with their roles and not want to leave as soon as they start working. Create a supportive working environment An agent is under a lot of pressure. The management expects him or her to meet certain KPI’s, and the customer expects to receive the best customer care. Being the link between the two parties, at times it gets tough, for example, when dealing with frustrated customers. Why and how the customer is angry is not under your control, but you can ease the burden for the agents by creating a supportive working environment. Let them feel your support and motivation on a daily basis. Allow your agents to escalate extremely difficult issues for them to resolve and you can give the customers a solution as well as teach the agent how to deescalate at the same time. Ensuring their working spaces are clean and habitable will also help employees to be comfortable as they work. Add meaning to their jobs Another reason that generation Y employees quit their jobs is if it doesn’t create some meaning. They don’t want just to work for the sake of it; they want their work to be meaningful. You can create meaning by involving them in charity work or volunteer opportunities. They get to interact with the communities around them and feel they are giving back to the community they live in. You can also ask them to give suggestions of the charities they want to support. Such opportunities get them involved and interested in their job as it gives them a chance to influence the company decisions. Acknowledge their Performance Finally and importantly, you need to acknowledge their efforts. Motivation fuels the desire to do better even when the going gets tough. As a manager, you need to appreciate your agents and show them that they are doing well. A simple “Thank you” for handling a customer well, for bringing in the highest sales, or showed the best improvement will go a long way in motivating that agent. They will feel appreciated and valued. Therefore, they will continue giving their best to work not searching online for the vacancy announcements. Remember to commend even the ones who are trying to reach the top, not just those who are already there. Working with a highly motivated team will reduce churn in your contact center. In summary, to reduce churn in your contact center, keep you employees engaged and motivated. They will derive satisfaction from their jobs and not be quick to look for something else. This blog post first publish on LinkedIN

How Do You Build a Team That Goes the Distance?

A team that lasts is a great team and a great team is built by a great leader. Nothing is more frustrating for a leader than to have constant turnover among his or her team. Constant turnover makes it difficult to develop a smooth working team because the leader or manager is always having to hire and train new team members. Constant turnover also takes a toll on the other team members. An essential component of developing a strong team is having team members who get along well and have a good rapport with one another and this can’t happen if the staff is constantly changing. So how do you develop a staff that stays together and will go the distance? Here are some tips: Know your Team Members I don’t mean to simply know their names, but to KNOW them on a personal level. Know what is important to them and their families, and know what their goals are. As their leader, taking the time to get to know them builds trust and confidence resulting in a team that is loyal and thriving. Define and Assign Roles One of the major benefits of developing a knowledgeable staff is that it guides you in placing them in roles that are suited to them. Knowing their strengths and placing them in roles where those strengths can be further developed will ensure their success. Promote from Within The hope of career progression is a win-win for the company and the employee. When employees see that there is a chance for advancement they are far less likely to look for new opportunities outside the company. When possible, it makes much more sense to promote someone who already has a working knowledge of the organization than to hire from the outside. Communicate Effectively Open communication rather than a top-down style is much more effective and communicates to your employees that their opinion and ideas are valuable. Celebrate Together Celebrate victories as a team, celebrate birthdays as a team, and do things that will further develop team rapport. These go a long way in building a team of happy satisfied employees who don’t feel the need to leave their current job in hopes of finding something better. These make for a leader that everyone wants to follow and builds a happy and satisfied team that goes the distance.

6 Tips to Increase Your Leadership Proficiency

They say you get better with age, but does it just happen? As I thought about this and evaluated my own leadership journey, I realized it does not just happen. You can be growing older but not getting better. It requires deliberate effort to get better at whatever you commit to do. As a leader, you most likely started out as an entry-level employee, rose to a supervisor, to middle-level management level and then to senior management level. This journey takes time and character adjustments. You need to grow from a personal level to grow your organization. As Jack Welch quoted, “Before you are a leader, success is about growing yourself. When you become a leader success is all about growing others” I believe each level requires new skill sets but here are six tips that can help you increase your leadership prowess to take you to the next level: Engage in Personal Development: You are as good as you believe you are, and thus act in accordance with your beliefs. As a leader, therefore, you can only increase your competencies by being in touch with whom you are and your potential and aspirations. You can enlist the help of an executive coach or a life coach to make this process shorter and more effective. Be a life student: Readers are leaders however, as Harry S. Truman put it, “Not all readers become leaders, but leaders must be readers” the difference is in what you read. Read material that is helping you grow to be the leader you want to be. In today’s competitive market place, the leaders who stand out are the ones who evolve quickly with the trends. The fastest way to keep evolving is through reading your industry reports. However, do not leave it at that put into practice the new methods of doing things that you learn. Be authentic: The people you are leading can tell when you are being real with them or not. Always be honest when interacting with every employee to the biggest customer. Being honest includes owning your mistakes; every so often, you make a wrong decision. When you push the blame to others, you lose credibility with your staff. However, when you are open, you build trust with your staff; you know that without trust, you will have no followers. Be a Visionary: This means you do not accept the status quo and are open to new information. A visionary leader has a vivid imagination and can paint the future today. When you have the ability to visualize the future and write it on paper as a vision. Then inspire others to work towards it, you set yourself apart. Do not be afraid of taking risks as long as you believe in your vision. As a visionary, you should not only take big risks but also calculated ones. Therefore, you will put together your action plan with a specific strategy in mind. Be a good Communicator: You can have all the right strategies to propel your organization forward, but if you lack good communication skills, they will remain as ideas. Cultivate your communications skills, both verbal and written. The result will be a team that knows exactly what the vision is and how to go for it. Good communication is not one sided, you need to be an active listener. Listening to your staff is important because they have ideas that will contribute to your vision and make it larger. With open communication, your team will reach great milestones faster. Mentor others: Your expertise and achievements puts your name out there. Did you do it all alone? Chances are you didn’t but worked with a support system of your staff and fellow mentors. Your expertise comes together when your team is right behind you, moving when you move and halting when you halt. However, after it all, you will pass the mantle to someone else. The best thing to do is to mentor others. Through mentorship, you can inspire them to become the best version of themselves and learn from your mistakes. In conclusion, step out and be the leader that you are meant to be. Incorporate the above six tips into your growth plan and enjoy the ride to top management. What tips have you used before that improved your leadership expertise? This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

How Do You Handle Failures?

Occasionally we fail even after careful planning. Nobody likes to fail I know I do not. However, failure is a part of our life. Have you ever failed? Most people fail before they experience success. The differentiating factor is what you do after the failure. You can sit there mourning and sorrowful, or you can rise up, wipe off the dust and keep moving. It is all up to you. It is personal! Here are tips that can help you be a success after failure; Own your mistake When you fail, take responsibility for your mistake. Before you point to someone else, look within and acknowledge how your actions or inaction led to the failure. If you are in a leadership position, it is important to take responsibility. Your subordinates will respect and trust you more. It is not an easy thing to do especially if the mistake is huge, but it shows your maturity and responsibility. Besides, you will learn more from it after owning it not the other way around. Share it with someone There is a high chance that after a failure, you will withdraw from yourself. Maybe you will bottle up your emotions and punish yourself daily. Talking to someone will help you to experience success by going beyond failure. Share your pain and frustrations with someone. Take caution however with whom you share your true feelings. You need to talk about it with someone who can motivate and encourage you to take the lesson and move on, for example, a mentor. Learn from the failure Thomas A. Edison quoted “I have not failed, I just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” This mental ability to see the benefit of a devastating experience will bring you success. It is not an easy thing to do, but it is essential to do it. To lighten it, expect to win some and lose some, that way you are ready for what may come. Not to mean that you do not give your best shot, no! There is a valuable lesson to learn. For example, early in my career, I rolled out a marketing campaign that failed miserably. It was such a huge mistake, with no results at all. I was like I need to go find another job and get out of this business. However, my mentor at the time gave me the above advice, and I sure implemented it. I learned that my lack of proper planning and research led to the failure. I did a much better job in my next campaign and from then on have been learning every day. Separate yourself from the incidence See the failure as a separate incident and not your identity. Most of the highly successful people failed at some point. Their ability to separate their identity and their failure made them reach their goal fast. The actions taken after the failure also define them as success or failure. Important to remember is that failure is something that occurs not something that you are. Take action Take the initiative to correct the failure. A common problem that tends to hold many people in a failure state is worrying. Worrying is like a rocking chair; you will move but make no progress. Do not let worrying and fear of making the same mistake enslave you. Face your fears to realize your potential. In conclusion, to succeed after failure, you need to own the mistake, share it with someone, learn from it, separate yourself from it and take action. I believe the bigger the failure, the more significant the success you will have after applying these tips. How have you handled failure before? This blog was first published on LinkedIn

Quality Metrics — Unveiling the Strategic Information for your Business

It is often said that if something cannot be measured it cannot be managed or improved. Some aspects of a business are easy to put into measurements – sales or revenue per hour, conversion rate, contact rate, etc. These key indicators are critical to determine sales success. Inbound channels have additional standards to ascertain the level of service being provided the caller – Service Level, Average Speed to Answer, First Contact Resolution to name a few. However, other areas of a business are more difficult to measure. Do you have a way to measure the impact of leadership development classes? Can you track emerging leaders who’ve participated in development courses to see if this investment made an impact on their team’s sales performance or attrition? What about Quality Assurance? Most track agents’ QA scores over time to observe changes but what other metrics can be used to track the customer impact of your interactions and more importantly, how does this effect your business? A metric is a verifiable measure stated in either quantitative or qualitative terms – ie; 95% quality monitoring score or as evaluated by our customers, we are providing above average service. A verifiable measure, metrics capture performance in terms of how something is being done relative to a standard. It allows and, actually, encourages comparison. In quality assurance we use metrics to translate customer needs and satisfaction levels into company performance measures. These metrics can be used to: spot trends both positive and negative identify necessary changes and then track performance of those changes predict future performance based on past results and outcomes The wealth of data that is contained in customer interactions can provide critical vision into the future strategies of the business. However, this data has to be transformed into measurable metrics in order to analyze the results. Once metrics are derived, the analysis must include actionable insights that can be communicated and turned into process improvement plans to drive any needed change. Quality metrics can also help you determine the break points in your service. Break points are used to determine the levels where improved performance will likely change customer behavior. For example: Waiting on hold for a customer service agent – How long will the average customer wait on hold before becoming dissatisfied? 2 minutes? Wait longer than 2 minutes — customer is dissatisfied 1-2 minutes — customer is satisfied less than 1 minute — customer is extremely satisfied Based on these findings, what steps should the company put in place to meet this expectation? How much is the company willing to spend (add more customer service agents, etc.) to meet this expectation? Will the higher customer satisfaction result in more revenue and offset the additional cost? In this example, understanding the break point will come in three steps: A trained analyst listens to calls and captures the customer feedback Sample data is transformed into measurable insight (metrics) Measurable insights are turned into actions For the most meaningful metrics, the sample size should represent a decent percentage of the interactions. As with survey and poll results, too small a sample may skew the findings. By transforming data into metrics, analysis will provide strategic information for the direction of a business. “We best manage what we can measure”. Click here or send us an Email to set up a meeting with the Etech team at Call Center Week 2016, June 27 – July1.

Live Chat Etiquette: Making It Work

Giving and getting help via a live chat doesn’t have to be awkward. In fact, the experience can be an overwhelmingly pleasant one with the right etiquette. Fast and painless communication is made significantly easier when the chat operator and guest have overlapping goals. Here are some basic guidelines for operators and customers to follow for a smooth live chat support experience. Tips for the Operator As an operator, your main objective is to help a customer in need, whether they’re seeking assistance with troubleshooting, placing an order, or something else entirely. One of your priorities should also be to gain customer satisfaction. There are many ways to add value during the live chat experience, including: Super fast responses Friendly attitude One-stop service Unexpected extras Achieving Customer Satisfaction There are many different tactics for creating the perfect customer experience, but it boils down to excellence in three different categories: Knowledge: Know your offer, product, or service and be prepared to discuss in great detail. You should also know what your other resources are for telling customer about products, like where they can go on your website to learn more. Behavior: Be calm, clear, honest, and polite. Expect to listen patiently as find out what the root problem is so you can focus on solving it. Don’t panic if you need to transfer the customer to another agent; simply reassure them that all of their details will also be transferred. Technical: Simple is better. Refrain from using technical jargon and make sure to use proper spelling and grammar. Be sure to use a real photo as well as your real name in order to build trust.By honing in on these three core areas, you’ll be able to wow customers as you solve their problems. Tips for the Customer As a customer using live chat support, your main objective is to get your problem resolved. While you are relying on the operator for support, there are several actions you can take to simplify the process and make it easier for the operator to help you. These include: Knowledge: Gather any information that may be useful during your chat including order numbers, items purchased, or technical glitches encountered. Behavior: Follow all of the operator’s instructions and don’t hesitate to ask for clarification. Remain calm and patient as you wait for assistance. If you had a positive experience, it’s good etiquette to express gratitude to the operator. Technical: When it comes to troubleshooting, the details matter. Provide as many as you can and ensure that they are accurate. Answer questions honestly and be ready to elaborate if needed. It’s also considered a common courtesy to rate the assistance you received, typically in a follow up survey. Creating a Win-Win Experience The bottom line is that, when it comes to creating a perfect live chat experience, both parties should do everything in their power not to make things more difficult for the other side. By staying positive and trying to reach a common understanding, you’ll be on the fast track to live chat support success.

4 Tips to Rebuild Trust in the workplace

“The glue that holds relationships together – including the relationship between the leader and the led – is trust, and trust is built on integrity.” Brain Tracy Some of the most significant relationships in my life began at the office. However, even the friendships I forged in my personal life were all based on one thing; trust. Trust is that thing that makes you believe what the other says, and it is two-way, when you trust the other person, you believe them. You get along with them regardless of the situation. Merriam-Webster defines trust as a firm belief in the character, strength, or truth of someone or something. To bring it closer to today’s topic, in the workplace, trust validates your leadership. Have you ever experienced a situation where an employee takes another employee more seriously than the appointed leader? The reason may be they trust him/her more. I recently saw this happen at work. I know you may ask how does this happen? In my opinion, I think a leader can destroy the trust the employees have in him/her by doing any of the following things; Overpromising and not delivering. Under communicating. Not demonstrating trust first. Worried more about processes than coaching and developing. Spinning the truth. Having personal conflicts with employees. Any of the above could make your employees mistrust you, and that leadership is based on trust, if you lose it, you lose your credibility. All is not lost if you are in such a predicament, because slowly but surely you can rebuild the trust and fulfilling relationships you once enjoyed. Here are four tips that can help you start the rebuilding journey: 1 Promise and Deliver If you had a habit of over-promising and under-delivering, you can redeem yourself by making promises that you can keep. A common saying in the business world that I think works well in personal matters is, it is best to underpromise and over-deliver. Don’t mistake the under promise to mean any promises. To rebuild your trust, you need to be deliberate in your words and actions. For instance, if you are planning to reward the best sales representatives, and someone is still not helping you get what was promised, constantly inform the sales reps, and when it is ready, reward them in public. 2 Trust Your Staff As mentioned above, trust is two-way. If you show your employees that you trust them to do the right thing, they will trust themselves and you. Lack of trust in your employees manifests itself through micro-management. Now the employee must also show their willingness to trust their leader as well. When you delegate an assignment, give the employee room to make their own decisions on the best way to achieve the set goals. Showing them that you believe in them and their ability to take care of business will increase their confidence and rebuild the lost trust they once had in you. 3 Own your mistakes At times things don’t go as planned, and you have the task of communicating hard messages to the staff. If either you made a mistake or misinformed each other for whatever reason, you need to come forth and admit that you were wrong. In my experience I have seen by owning my mistakes it shows humility and more importantly shows your staff that you too are human. By owning your mistakes, you are showing them respect as adults and that you are remorseful. Your staff will see that you are sincere and can believe in you once more because you have told the truth. Show me a person who said they don’t make mistakes and I will show you a person who has not grown as a leader. 4 Resolve Issues with Employees Due to group dynamics, you cannot avoid conflicts completely. The secret is how you handle them when they arise. If in the past, you got into a nasty conflict and tempers flew all over, you can be the bigger person and call a meeting. In the meeting, apologize to the employee and make peace. At the end of the day, your working relationship will improve because there will be no more tension. The employee will also see where they went wrong. Even if you do not get along 100%, you will start rebuilding the lost respect and trust. In summary Trust is the currency of leadership; you cannot get anything or anywhere without it. Practice these four strategies- promise and deliver, trust your staff, own your mistakes and resolve conflicts with employees- to win back the trust of your employees. It might take you time to mend fences but you will enjoy the results. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic and how you dealt with it.

The Importance of a Leader’s presence on Social Media

CEOs and other company leadership often serve as the public face of their businesses. This is increasingly true in the tech and start-up sectors, where businesses are smaller and company owners are required to do more diverse jobs. With this in mind, it may come as a surprise that so few CEOs maintain a social media presence related to their businesses. A 2012 poll conducted by IBM found that only 16 percent of CEOs use social media, and the number of CEOs who use these services for business rather than personal purposes is even smaller. Maintaining a cultivated social media presence is an important part of building a company brand, and there are few people better qualified to do that the company CEO. Here is everything you need to know about becoming a social media leader for your company and beyond. Use the Full Range of Social Media Getting your name out there on Facebook is a good first step towards developing a social presence. However, there are lots of other options for those looking to get on social media. You don’t have to be on every social media network, but do make an effort to get on several that are used by many members of your customer base. Remember that there are different rules for each social network, so don’t hesitate to get a consultant to show you the ropes if you’re unsure. Be Visible and Authentic When you are on social media as the CEO of your company, your social presence should be professional and polished. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t have a little fun while you’re there. In general, social media is less formal than other types of corporate communications, so you can feel free to joke around a little or let your personality shine through. If you make friends on social media, you can also chat with them, especially about industry topics. Building relationships in a public social media platform makes your business seem more friendly and approachable to potential customers. Stay Connected to Others in the Industry Social media is also a great place to network, without the hassle of handing out dozens of business cards. You can connect with other professionals in your field who you have heard of but haven’t had the chance to meet. Social media is also a great way to keep an eye on emerging talent and make them an offer quickly before one of your competitors does. Finally, once connected, you can more easily follow trends in your industry. Cultivate a Public Persona While there is a lot of room on social media to be yourself, keep in mind that you are still acting as the face of your company. Keep any jokes clean and avoid taking stands on political and social issues that aren’t directly related to your industry. If you can’t live without discussing your views on social media, consider making a separate personal account that can only be accessed by friends and family. For help building your social media brand, contact one of our knowledgeable consultants today. This blog was written by Jim Iyoob, EVP Customer Experience for Etech Global Services. If you would like to learn more about Etech, please contact us at info@etechgs.com.

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