ten traps to avoid on the frontline (2) [read-only] · 2016-04-12 · tips and practical...

Your State Association Presents

Ten Traps to Avoid on the

Frontline

Program Materials

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Wednesday, April 13, 2016 Presenter: Janice Branch

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by Janice Branch

[email protected]

� Stay focused

� Take notes

� Discuss with others

� Commit to using 1, 2, 3 ideas

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� 10 Common Traps Frontline Staff Want to Avoid◦ Thoughts, attitudes and behaviors

� Tips and Practical Suggestions to help you Avoid the Traps

� How to Become More Efficient, Confident and Prepared to Tackle Daily Responsibilities


� Frontline staff hold the key to the success of the institution

� The institution needs each staff member to be independent contributors

� As well as, valuable team players


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� Any and all jobs can become routine over time

� Creates mindset that leads to behaviors that can limit, halt or bankrupt a career

� Such as


� At the very least, lead to miscarriage of institution’s mission to deliver an exceptional experience for their customers


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1. Ignoring Reputation Destroyers

2. Relying on a Single Skill-Set

3. Deferring to Someone Else to Solve Issues

4. Slipping into Unprofessional Behavior

5. Resistance to Double-Checking Work and Decisions


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6. Failing to Correct Critical Thinking Errors

7. Teamwork Hiccups

8. Being Too Rigid or Too Lax

9. Buying Into Prejudice or Stereotyping

10. Blind Spots When it Comes to Customer Service


� On-line and Social Media Posts

◦ Blogging about your boss, customers, coworkers or work

◦ Facebook posts involving copious amounts of alcohol or pictures displaying inappropriate behaviors


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� Email

◦ Hitting “Reply All” on purpose

◦ Misinterpretation missteps

◦ Poor communication skills

◦ Replies that are terse, caustic, or cryptic


� Being too assertive at meetings

◦ New on the job

◦ Driven by ambition, wanting to be seen as a contributor may be seen as aggression

◦ Too eager, quick responses may not be seen as helpful


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� Failure to keep the supervisor informed

◦ Irregularities, suspicions, daily stats and activities

◦ Under-communicating can lead to rework, time wasted and create a situation where the boss questions your judgment


Ignoring the importance of the “-ilities”

◦ Humility

◦ Reliability

◦ Likability

◦ Dependability

◦ Responsibility

◦ Accountability


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� Task-focused only

◦ Letting the work speak for itself only

◦ Under-socializing, standing apart

◦ Too generic, don’t stand for anything


� Taking on too much, too soon

◦ Ambition and overestimation of one’s abilities can lead to taking on too much, too soon making you look like you can’t deliver


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� Forgetting it takes a team to make things happen

◦ Your success is dependent upon colleagues as well as supervisor

◦ Should you become leader, may be perceived as lone ranger


� Challenging the supervisor

◦ Interrupting or correcting the supervisor

◦ Can embarrass the supervisor if done in front of others


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� Thinking and acting like the customer is an interruption

◦ Don’t have to say a word to send this message

◦ Leaves lasting impression on customer


� We have strengths; we have limitations

� Strengths will always be strengths

� Limitations will always be limitations


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� We feel most comfortable in situations that utilize our strength

� However, the institution needs us to excel in many job functions, in many different situations


� Know Who Knows

� Basic Knowledge

� Working Knowledge

� Proficiency


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� Accuracy

� Money counting

� Computing

� Persuasion, influence

� Security Minded

� Decision-making

� Follow procedure

� Friendly, social, engaging personality

� Listening, verbal and written communication

� Patience under pressure

� Problem solving

� Adaptable


� Interacting with many personality styles

� Confidentiality

� Teaming

� Selling

� Reasoning

� Action planning

� Time management

� Determination

� Organization

� Assertiveness

� Attention to detail


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� Benchmark current strengths and limitations

� Utilize Assessments

◦ Employability

◦ Personality

◦ Aptitude


� Build muscle in “limitation” skill-set areas

◦ Write out a plan

◦ Specific actions

◦ Set a begin date

◦ Determine what resources needed


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� Seek opportunities in non-strength areas

◦ On the job

� Assist in other areas, departments or job functions

◦ Off the job

� Join a speaker’s group, acting group, etc.

� Volunteer in the community

� Start your own business; turn a hobby into income


� Referring customers to supervisor too readily

� Not looking for your own errors or correcting your own mistakes

� Holding on to a “that’s not my job” attitude

� Not researching the procedure


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� Not owning, or denying your behavior choices

� Encouraging or asking a co-worker to step in or to take over

� Results in: your self-confidence, reliability and abilities are called into question


� Seek to help customers without refusing access to supervisor

� Ask to be told about and shown all errors

� Correct your errors and mistakes◦ Helps with skill set enhancement

◦ Call the customer, apologize, let them know what done to correct error


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� Build job aids to find answers quickly.

� Adopt an attitude of “If the customer comes to me, it is my job.”

� If you did it; own up to it.

� Ask for help, but insist they let you do the work.


� Poor communication, grammar or spelling

� Failure to address customer concerns

� Personality conflicts with coworkers

� Failure to support leadership

� Consistently questioning or judging other’s actions


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� Complacency around standards

� Failure to maintain professional knowledge and competence

� Flirting, sexual innuendo, profanity, racist jokes


� Whining, complaining

� Gossiping

� Letting personal life difficulties affect work

� Not seeking assistance or making referrals, when warranted


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� Not sanctioning social media posts

� Making fun of coworkers, customers, management

� Drinking too much at company functions or community functions while representing the institution


� Seek feedback about behavior and areas to enhance

� Take a communication course, join a speaker’s bureau, use spell-check

� Don’t be a carrier of tales, problems or complaints


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� Become a customer advocate

� Seek and give feedback to coworkers; don’t allow conflict to develop

� Don’t engage in gossip or fun at another’s expense


� Stay up to date on industry issues, changes to policies, procedures, regulations, systems, etc.

� Get clear about standards and your ranking

� Practice compartmentalizing personal issues until a better time to deal with them


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� Holding the attitude that accuracy is a by-product

� Belief that 100% accuracy is unachievable

� Giving instructions, answers or suggestions without full knowledge and consequences

� Circumventing a process for expediency or to avoid conflict with a customer


� Challenge yourself to increase the percent of time your work is 100% accurate.

� Analyze your knowledge level before you give information, or verify it first.

� Follow processes as outlined.


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� What is Critical Thinking?


• Relies on reason rather than emotion

• Requires evidence, does not ignore evidence and follows evidence where it leads

• Concerned more with finding the best explanation (solution) than being right

• Takes into account individual assumptions, prejudices, biases, or viewpoints

• Remains open to alternative interpretations

• Avoids snap judgments

• Weighs all evidence

Critical Thinkers Non-Critical Thinkers

� Recognizes much of world is gray

� Sees many right answers

� Realizes issues are complex and linked

� Sees things as black and white

� Sees questions as Yes or No only

� Fails to see linkages and complexities


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Critical Thinkers Non-Critical Thinkers

� Recognizes the relevance of alternate perspectives

� Challenges their beliefs and analyzes competing evidence

� Thinks only their facts are relevant

� Their perspective is the right one


Error Error

� Ethnocentricity◦ Attitude: my way, only

way

◦ Every problem is someone else’s fault

� Resistant to change◦ Stifles creativity

◦ Makes impartial judgment impossible

� Conformity (doing what everyone else is doing)◦ Causes dependence on

others

◦ Reduces creativity◦ Reduces sense of

responsibility

� Face-saving (Ego)◦ Blocks growth of self-

awareness

◦ Obstacle to clear thinking


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Error Error

� Rationalization◦ Begins with conclusion

you want and then finds evidence to support it

� Stereotyping◦ Forces us to choose sides

◦ Causes competition that is destructive, alienating, and uses narrow thinking

� Faulty common sense◦ Disregards better option

◦ Lacks evaluation

◦ Doesn’t ask, “Why?”

� Oversimplification◦ Causes fear of

complexity,

◦ Seeing only what affects us, and

◦ Intellectual laziness


Error Error

� Hasty conclusions◦ Judgment arrived at

before sufficient evidence is obtained or analyzed

� Unwarranted assumptions◦ Unexamined conclusions

which we take for granted

� Wishful thinking◦ Formation of beliefs and

making decisions based on what might be pleasing to imagine rather than based on evidence or reality


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� Gather and analyze much evidence before drawing conclusions

� Evaluate common assumptions for flaws

� Question why things are done a certain way



� Ask for the reason behind a procedure or policy

� Embrace change

� Listen openly to ideas different from your own

� Allow space for others to be who they are

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� Don’t judge

� Adopt an “It’s okay to be different” attitude

� Learn the skill of self-evaluation

� Stay in the real world

When we harbor these. . .

� Attitude: ◦ I don’t need anyone else

� Thinking: ◦ I do this job better than anyone else

◦ They don’t do enough

◦ They don’t pull their weight

It leads to. . .


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� Behaviors such as: ◦ Failure to Share or Pass along Information

◦ Isolation or Disassociation from the Group

◦ Placing Judgment, Tattling, Gossiping

◦ Limited Social Interaction with Coworkers

Which results in. . .


Consequences: ◦ Conflict

◦ Miscommunication

◦ Distrust

◦ Loss of Focus of Business Objectives

◦ Setting Others up for Failure

◦ Destruction of the Team


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� Examine thoughts, feelings, beliefs about team members

� Realize that not everyone works to the same level of competence

� You won’t always like everyone, but you are expected to be professional and work with everyone


� Evaluate your actions that are not within good teamwork standards

� Commit to helping instead of hurting the team

� Clean up any conflict between you and a coworker and vow to stay current with each other


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Too Rigid Too Lax

� Follows policies and procedures to the letter—no bend—ever

� Expects, insists, or demands customers, coworkers, supervisors behave in a certain way

� Laissez-faire attitude toward policies, procedures, regulations

� Will not take any extra steps to verify data, ID, signature, etc.


Too Rigid Too Lax

� Meets sales goals, but does nothing more

� Sees insults and prejudice in much of what others say

� Will not make suggestions or give options to customer

� Careless handling of transactions, paperwork, customer requests, etc.

� Sees work, lunch and break schedules as suggestions


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� Gain Professional Maturity

◦ Challenge your beliefs

◦ Change your thinking

◦ Adjust your behaving


� Customers

� Coworkers

� Management


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� Creates Injustice

◦ Denies dignity and individuality

◦ Denies people's achievements


� Destroys cooperation

◦ Embarrasses people

◦ Triggers fear in people

◦ Creates suspicion and blame


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� Destroys happiness

◦ Victims are degraded

◦ Perpetrators lose touch with reality and their fears grow

◦ Our social impulse is curbed–one of our best sources of enjoyment is lost


� Examine what you believe about people

� Ask yourself, “What evidence makes me believe this?”

� Commit to eliminate judgment of others


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� Confidentiality breaches

� Body language or tone of voice that indicates annoyance

� Not doing anything beyond necessary to make the customer’s day


� Service level determined by how busy, the day of week, whether it’s the lunch hour, if you’re short-handed, etc.

� Failure to recognize the importance of accurate written communication, good grammar, common courtesy


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� Failure to follow up to be certain errors and mistakes are corrected

� Not looking at issues through the customer’s eyes

� Forgetting the customer is the reason we have a job


� Analyze and evaluate how you interact with customers in different situations and circumstances. Seek feedback.

� Be mindful there is always someone watching and listening to you. Act in ways that enhance your reputation with the customer!


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� Commit to providing a quality experience for the customer every time.

� Seek feedback about your body language and tone of voice when annoyed, busy, stressed, relaxed, happy, sad, etc.

� Use a system to follow up when a mistake or error should have been corrected to make sure it has been


� 10 Common Traps to Avoid on the Frontline

� Enhancement Tips to help you avoid or get out of the Traps

� And in so doing, help you become more efficient, confident and prepared to tackle your daily responsibilities


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� [email protected]

� www.interaction-training.com


ten traps to avoid on the frontline (2) [read-only] · 2016-04-12 · tips and practical...

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