Web Extras – Skill Sharpener

Take a physical approach to intense encounters — Share this yoga handout with your team. The exercises were excerpted from the publication, Yoga at Your Desk.

Banish negativity at work — Replace negative mottos and cartoons on office walls with our motivational mini-posters.

Creating a positive work environment — Read about successful recognition programs, which include daily recognition, informal recognition, and formal recognition all focused on the goals for the team.

Meeting customer expectations — Read an interview with Author Michael Levine who suggests that organizations can often meet customer expectations by fixing small things.

Keep political talk low key — Encourage your team to avoid political talk with Conversation Cards. Available in a variety of formats, Conversation Cards can spark conversation and encourage people to learn more about each other.

Five small things that make a big impression on customers — Reinforce key points in the article with a colorful glancer that reps can post in their work areas.

Help your reps to focus on the customer on every call — A lot of companies claim to have a customer focus. But it most often falls to the customer service rep to live up to that claim. Here is some advice from customer service consultant and author, Shep Hyken:

• A blog post  on how the employee experience contributes to the customer experience.

• A video presentation on how to use customer service to stand out from the competition.

Create a positive work environment for your team — A positive environment contributes to better service, happier customers, and customer service reps who are more confident about their service skills. The following resources will help:

• Suggestions from JoAnna Brandi on how to  “pivot” toward positivity.

• Advice from Brandi and other experts on making a positive impression on customers. Handout.

• Our Frontline Spotlight Award, a low-cost way to recognize and reward reps for maintaining a positive attitude.

This month service leaders showed reps how to stand out and make a difference. The following resources will help you recognize those efforts and ensure that your entire team stands out.

• Information on our Frontline Spotlight award, a low-cost way to recognize stand-out reps.

• A blog post by Jeff Toister on the importance of developing a service culture.

• A radio broadcast with Shep Hyken and Gigi Butler on how to stand out from the competition.