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3 Benefits Of In-Country Customer Service

One of the most common complaints for customers (who are evaluating the customer service they receive from a company) is a lack of understanding caused when calls are redirected to an offshore call center. Customers have admitted to choosing the services of a company based largely on where their customer call centers are based. This applies to industries from telecommunications, to banking, mail order shopping, and home energy; customers across the board agree that a call center based in their home country counts in favor when they’re choosing a company.

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10 Tips For Balancing Career And Family

Balancing a career and family is a common concern for most individuals. However, it’s important to realize the smallest of changes can produce the strongest of impacts. I’ve often worked jobs that required evening and weekend hours. The question is: What can we do?

1. Morning Gratitude Moment

When you wake up in the morning, don’t jump out of bed for your workout immediately, or drag yourself to the washroom. Sit up straight, relax, and close your eyes. Say to yourself, “I am grateful for those who supports me, believes in me and is always there for me.” Say this with a deep breath in between each time you say it, and I recommend saying it for a full five minutes. When you open your eyes and look at everything around you – keep that moment of gratitude with you, throughout your day, reminding yourself how you can’t wait to get home to your loving family.

2. Workout Partners

Begin your day by stretching with your family and doing some physical activity together. All you need is 10 minutes. You’ve accomplished a two-for-one: physical activity and family time!

3. Family Playlist

On your iPod, iPhone, or MP3 player, make a playlist of your family’s favorite music. When you take a break at work or feel a negative moment getting the best of you, listen to that music, think about your family and re-gain your focus. Music is a powerful voice and has the ability to affect our mindset: your family playlist will energize your mood.

4. Daily Phone Call

At least once a day call your significant other or your kids and repeat Stevie Wonder: “I just called to say I love you, I just called to say how much I care.” Let your family know they are always in your thoughts. Even in the face of a big deadline or an important meeting, that moment will relax you and make your family smile!

5. Clarify Your Work Hours & Expectations

Discuss with your boss her/his expectations of you in regards to your time and your position to foster mutual and clear understanding of your role. Should your role involve evening/weekend hours, and tasks such as answering e-mails, working from home, or extra time needed for special projects, establish a strategy and discuss with your boss how to meet these expectations, so you don’t feel overwhelmed and pulled between your family and your job. If you are a new parent, have family that requires special needs or have personal circumstances which require attention, bring these up as necessary, so if you have to leave early, there is an understanding of why this is the case.

6. Socializing At Work

It’s common for colleagues to hang out after work. Say yes when your significant other and/or kids are also busy. This will balance things out more. There are times to have beers with colleagues but there are also times to go home, relax, rent a movie, and simply have fun with your family.

7. Buffer Moment

We all deal with a lot at work and at times might get irritated or annoyed. Remember you are a human being, not a robot and thus it’s acceptable to have a buffer moment for these feelings. Take a deep breath, zone into your happy space that involves your family, think about how your energy can be used towards something else and move on.

8. Yoda Philosophy

As Yoda put it, “Do or do not, there is no try.” Don’t try to leave at 6:00 PM or 5:30 PM just do it. Allocate the last half-hour of your day to do the following and leave at 5:30/6:00 PM:
  • For two minutes, take deep breaths, in and out, looking away from your desk, feeling the moment of gratitude you felt in the morning- turn back to focus on leaving to see your family at home
  • Organize your e-mails, based on what is to be reviewed, what requires follow-up and what needs a response after your breakfast/snack meal- your e-mails are e-mails: not a to-do list.
  • Write-out your to-do list, priorities, goals, and key items for the next day
  • Double-check that you have enough water in your bottle and healthy desk snacks
  • Organize your desk so that:
    • Your to-do list is in front of you;
    • Papers for review are next to your list; and
    • Keep a pen ready with blank paper to jot down extra notes, don’t rely always on your computer- rely on yourself and your mind.

9. Cell And TV-Free Dinner

At the dinner table leave your cell and the television away from the dinner table, and put on music (like Zero 7 or Maroon 5! Ha ha – that’s just me). Focus on your family, not on work, and use this as time to bring all your energy, your aura and your being in the moment with the people who support and believe in what you do, and love you for the ability to do what you do.

10. Your Work Journal

Keep a two-week work diary: try to track every fifteen minutes of your work time. After that, analyze for, and attack any inefficiencies! This will import balance in your day and yield a well-deserved coffee break, a breath of fresh air and time to make your daily family phone call! Does e-mail control you and take you away from your priority list, and thus your work-life balance? Organizational skills are an important factor in how you balance your day, affecting your work-life balance. Get organized and get happy! Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Improving Communication In The Workplace

Improving communication in the workplace can be difficult in large companies as there are lots of people to communicate with, potentially on different floors, but is equally as problematic in small businesses. There are many ways to overcome this.

Start Improving Communication In The Workplace

Occasionally, sharing information and having it received and understood accurately can be a problem. Poor communication can mean wasted time and money, wrong assumptions, missed deadlines, and unhappy employees, clients, and customers.

Vision

Make sure everyone knows about the company’s vision and goals for the future. People get excited when they have something to work to, or a challenge to achieve or overcome. On the other side of the coin, if employees don’t know what’s expected of them, then they will become afraid for their jobs and stop communicating with their superiors and colleagues. Create a handbook detailing the company’s policies and make it available for all of the employees. This way everyone will be on the same page and will be able to find out any information they might need.

Training

Train staff on effective communication so they are able to be direct when sharing information and can active listen when receiving it. Hiring people with strong communication skills to begin with can be implemented in the selection process, using recruitment agencies such as corporate communications jobs London can be a practical way to achieve this. Active listening is one of the most important things you can do when communicating, as it isn’t a one way street. Taking the time to actually listen to what someone is saying can really make a difference.

Team Building Exercises

Everyone groans when you mention team building day, but the truth is, if done right they can be very effective. It will improve the camaraderie and encourage those you don’t know each other well to communicate and enhance their relationship.

Keep It Regular

Both formal and informal regular meetings need to be implemented. Formal meetings work best if they are structured, with a little leeway for unanticipated issues. This way, everyone gets a chance to speak, but it doesn’t go on for hours and hours at a time. Informal one-to-one meetings give an opportunity for employees to raise any issues they feel they can’t in front of everyone. This also creates a sense of value for the employees. Regular reports by all employees mean that everyone knows what has been done, and what needs to be done. Regular communication also means that things won’t get forgotten as more and more time passes and more important things happen. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

How To Improve Employee Morale In The Workplace

There are many reasons for low employee morale in the workplace, and with employee morale often linked with productivity, good managers have realized that creating a program to improve employee morale can benefit the organization in many ways. Here's how to improve employee morale in the workplace in three tips. 1. Facilitate Communication Between Management And Employees Understanding what makes your employees tick can be the end up being the best time spent by yourself and your organization. Find out the issues that are important to them in their job. The questions and issues an employee may raise include flexibility around their family life, recognition in their job, or absence of other benefits such as a gym membership. 2. Ongoing Training To Keep Up With The Latest Trends And Developments Staying on top of employee training is another way to improve employee morale. A lack of training can signal to employees that you are unwilling to invest in their training and professional development, and can result in low morale. This also has the added benefit of having a more competitive workforce that is ahead of the game in your field. 3. Lastly, Bring Fun And Enjoyment Into The Workplace There any many things that can make an employee workplace a fun and pleasant environment to work in. Try recognizing employees’ birthdays and personal accomplishments, for example. How about setting up an office party as a great way of getting employees together to socialize outside work? This also a great way to recognize accomplishments of individuals. Improving employee morale is a great way to improve the retention of any organization. A high retention rate benefits the organization in terms of efficiency and productivity. A way of bring out the best in managers is to investing in training in managers, companies such as Right Track Consultancy offer management skills training. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Age Discrimination In Recruitment

Equality in employment has always been a bit of a battle, and has been for more than the last 20 years. Race, gender, and religion have all been the subject of reform, and equality in pay and opportunities is always a tough area to cover. These days, age discrimination has become a major issue in recruitment. In comparison to how it was before the recession in 2008, the job market is now incredibly competitive thanks to a number of factors:

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How To Land A Job In Sales

If you have strong communication skills and enjoy building relationships, a job in sales might well be the perfect job for you! If you have ‘the gift of the gab’ and are able to tell the story of a product and/or service in a way that builds trust as well as impressive presentation skills, read on...

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3 Tips For Finding An Accounting Job

If you are fresh out of university with little actual work experience and few industry connections, looking for a job as an accountant can be a daunting prospect. However, there are a few things you can do to make the task of finding an accounting job an easier one:

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5 Rules Of Office Gift Etiquette

Many of us spend as much time with our co-workers as we do with our family, so when a member of the team is celebrating a special occasion it is only fitting to present them with a gift. There's nothing wrong with that as long as you follow the basic office gift etiquette. The last thing you want is for your token of appreciation to become the next inter-office scandal that leaves behind a trail of hurt feelings and jealousy.

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