ATTRIBUTES OF GREAT MENTORS

PROFESSIONALISM

WHAT IS PROFESSIONALISM?

One word:

ATTITUDE

WHAT IS PROFESSIONALISM?

Professionalism is how you SPEAK. Professionalism is how you LISTEN. Professionalism is how you FOLLOW THROUGH.

QUALITIES OF A PROFESSIONAL MS ASSOCIATE

Courteous Respectful Dedicated Thorough

QUALITIES OF A PROFESSIONAL MS ASSOCIATE

Courteous Cour·te·sy (Noun) the showing of politeness in one's attitude

and behavior toward others Tone is crucial; all clients respond to a polite tone of voice

QUALITIES OF A PROFESSIONAL MS ASSOCIATE

Respectful Make clients feel well-regarded Relate to customers’ needs during calls Treat your colleagues the way you want to be treated!

QUALITIES OF A PROFESSIONAL MS ASSOCIATE

Dedicated Get the job done, and do it well Make sure you are meeting project goals, or client

expectations

QUALITIES OF A PROFESSIONAL MS ASSOCIATE

Thorough Follow up on support requests and make sure issues get

resolved Check for errors in all work; especially emails to clients! Look beyond “Band-Aid” solutions to wider customer

concerns

TAKING CLIENT CALLS PROFESSIONALLY

• For clients, what matters is RESPECT• Callers should leave the call feeling like

their concerns/frustrations were understood

• Avoid “blame” words or phrases (i.e., “you missed it”)

TAKING CLIENT CALLS PROFESSIONALLY

• GOOD: “I would be happy to help you with that. Would you mind telling me what you see on the screen right now?”

• NOT GOOD: “Ok, I don’t see that. You aren’t in the right place. Don’t you know what your course is called?”

PROFESSIONALISM WITH COWORKERS

• Key word: COURTESY!• Help your fellow MS’ers with projects

and other tasks• Be aware of environmental factors, like

noise levels during meetings• We’re all in this together!

GUIDANCE

InquisitiveKnowledgeableResponsiveFocused

THINK OF YOURSELF AS THE GUIDE.

YOU’RE GUIDING THEM TOWARDS THEIR DESTINATION

INQUISITIVE

Always ask clarifying

questions!

Ask Clarifying Questions:

What do you need help with today?

Describe to me where are you on the site?

Have you done this before?

Are you helping someone else as well?

What’s your timeline?

Are you working from Taskstream or BB, Angel, etc.?

HOW TO ASK

KNOWLEDGEABLE

Always be eager to improve your knowledge-base

RESPONSIVEIf possible, have a follow up system outside of SalesForce or Outlook

Have a waiting-for list.

Follow up daily, then weekly

FOCUS Help the Client get to the point

Focus on one problem at a time Repeat the question in your own words to

the client Use Common Language for newer users.

WARMTHENGAGEMENTFRIENDLINESSPATIENCEREASSURANCE

GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START

First impressions are really valuable – they allow you to set the tone for the interactions you will have with the customer for the rest of your relationship.

"If I read you a long list of spices, you would remember the ones at the beginning and at the end. That's how people remember customer service.“ – Micah Solomon

Author, The Secrets of Building a Five-Star Customer Service Organization

PHONE TIPSSmile when you’re talking!

Don’t interrupt if you can help it.

Don’t let silences go on for a long time, whether you’ve put the customer on hold or are just researching while the call is live.

WHAT IS WARMTH?EngagementFriendlinessPatienceReassurance

CLIENT ADVOCACYPillars of Customer Service

EMPATHY FOR CLIENTS Many of the clients we talk to aren’t experts on computers but we

shouldn’t hold it against them. All of them are trying to get some kind of degree, get a better job and,

hopefully, get a better life.

BEING A CLIENT ADVOCATE

Be Attentive to each Client’s Situation

PRO-ACTIVE ADVOCACY

Be a Pro-Active mentor—solve problems. If the 9th Floor is taking a long time to resolve your bug, you need to call/email the person handling your bug. If that doesn’t work, time to get a supervisor involved.

BENEFITS OF CLIENT ADVOCACY

Our clients are literally Taskstream’s future. Many of our clients will go on to be teachers and will work at

different schools. With a positive experience, they can recommend Taskstream to them.

Many of our teachers will go on to work at other schools, who may be interested in Taskstream as well.

ONE MORE THING Client Advocacy is about asking yourself, “What’s one more

thing I can do for this client?” Whether it be an email, a Quickstart Guide, a phone call, an

extra call to the 9th Floor to check on a bug…what’s one more thing you can do?

It’s not the Extra Mile, it’s part of the race.