Best Recipes Ever

Category: Employee Development

  • An Attitude of Gratitude

    Today is International Women’s Day. This is a day where women all over the world are celebrated for the many roles they play – mother, daughter, wife, aunt, chef, general director, receptionist and so on. Women are everywhere, you could argue the same for men and I would agree. My question is why are women only given formal recognition on one day of the year? Why 8th March? The answers to my questions will be many and varied depending on country and culture, your level of acknowledgment of this day and so on. But underneath the meaning of this day is appreciation and gratitude. Both worthy actions to show someone, whether male or female that you value them and that you are grateful for what they do and how they contribute to your life.

     

    Gratitude and appreciation are the foundations to showing employees whether male or female how much they are valued and how much you appreciate what they do within their role in your organisation, however large or small. Gratitude is for both large and small actions that contribute to the collective outcome of achievement of goals, to teamwork and to organisation profitability. As in the April 2022 Oak Engage report, “Not feeling valued is the top reason for unhappiness.” Therefore, it is safe to say that feeling valued is the foundation to happiness in the workplace and that according to an Oxford University 2023 study, “Happy employees are 13% more productive”.

    https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2019-10-24-happy-workers-are-13-more-productive

     

    Who is responsible for giving appreciation and showing gratitude in an organisation?

     

    Gratitude when coming from a boss makes employees 50% more successful”.  (Forbes, April 2022)

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2022/04/24/how-to-create-a-culture-of-gratitude-at-work/

     

    As in the quote above from the Forbes April 2022 report, the obvious answer to this question, is the supervisor, manager and direct boss. If they want to lead and manage a motivated and inspired team of individuals, showing appreciation regularly is a top priority. That can be a simple “Thank you for…….” given directly to the person with presence showing authenticity through facial expression and body language as well as words used, or more elaborate in the form of “Employee of the month,” or other similar award. In all cases the person needs to recognise what they have done and the value it brings. Sometimes we might refer to appreciation as giving positive feedback on the spot, rather than in a formal situation, such as performance appraisal or other form of performance management.

     

    Is it just a manager that is supposed to or can say “Thank you” and show appreciation? Actually not. Fostering collaboration within teams is based on appreciation of the role that each person is responsible for and how that person takes responsibility to meet deadlines, commit to and fulfil actions and tasks, jump in to support or cover when someone in the team is struggling, share ideas, help developing those who are not as experienced and encourage fellow teammates in achievement of the goals ahead. We can all share our appreciation of each other by saying a “Thank you” and meaning it whether directly to the person or in a regular meeting where the opportunity is taken to show appreciation and give gratitude in front of the rest of the team.

     

    When we show appreciation and give gratitude, we create an environment that thrives on support of one another. It is positive, warm and fuzzy, like drinking a mug of hot chocolate in your pyjamas, while still being focused to the job in hand. It is an environment that thrives on individual employees who want to go to work because they love what they do, feel supported and valued. And the benefit according to Forbes 2023 report found that, “Happy employees are 20% more productive.”

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/12/13/promoting-employee-happiness-benefits-everyone/

     

    How does working in such an environment help organisation performance?

     

    There are many research papers and reports that show positive outcomes for all concerned, for example,

     

     “Highly engaged teams experience 59% less turnover compared to their disengaged counterparts.” (Gallup, November 2023)

     “Highly engaged teams experience 59% less turnover compared to their disengaged counterparts.” (Gallup, November 2023)

     

    Companies that actively engage employees have customer loyalty rates 233% higher.” (Aberdeen group, 2015)

    https://www.verint.com/Assets/resources/resource-types/white-papers/aberdeen-employee-engagement-paving-the-way-to-happy-customers.pdf

     

    5% increase in employee engagement can lead to a 3% jump in revenue.” (AON, 2015)  5% increase in employee engagement can lead to a 3% jump in revenue.” (IN, 2015)

     

    Doubtful that I need to add anything further to answer this question as the quotes above do this vividly. I hope that by joining the dots and making genuine appreciation a regular occurrence and making a habit of giving gratitude that you and your organisation will discover and see the list of positive benefits for both the individual and the organisation when you make “An attitude of gratitude” common place.

     

     

    References:

    https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2019-10-24-happy-workers-are-13-more-productive

     

    https://www.oak.com/blog/employee-satisfaction-stats/#:~:text=1.,employer%20as%20the%20main%20reason.

     

  • 5 Ways to Create a Great Customer Experience

    Great customer service and a great customer experience is the foundation to any business.  It does not matter whether you are in the frontline serving customers or not.  Any member of a team is always either serving the customer directly or serving someone who is serving the customer.  The Ritz-Carlton company motto perfectly sums this up “We are ladies and gentlemen, serving ladies and gentlemen.”  In other words, there is no difference between the real guest coming from outside and buying products and services and an internal guest – a fellow team member.  Offering a level of service that wow’s the customer has to come from every corner and every level of the company.  It is like an orchestra, everyone has to play their part, in time, to the correct standard to present a well-orchestrated piece of music that creates maximum enjoyment for each and every audience member.  When the orchestra is playing well customers want more of the same and will bring friends along with them, thus organically growing your business.

    It is normal and natural that customers will be annoyed when a product or service does not meet their expectations. However, the way it is handled will either build loyalty to the brand and company, or completely destroy that relationship, losing that customer and potentially several more depending on who they tell.  In today’s world in most situations the customer has a choice, if they do not get what they are seeking in the holistic sense with you, they will go elsewhere.

    5 ways to create a great customer experienceCustomers who love your company, not because necessarily the product is the very best, but because your personnel know the customer and make them feel individual and welcome in each and every interaction, irrelevant of who serves them.  Customers who receive this level of service will always be loyal, giving you whatever business they can within their remit.  Not only that, if something slips in the product, when the service is consistently exceptional, and the mistake addressed in the same manner, they will in most cases overlook the product issues and give a second chance to allow you to get it right. This is the foundation to a strong and loyal customer base.

    Just as important, personnel who enjoy working with customers get so much more with each interaction, which increases their level of job satisfaction ultimately leading to an inspired happy and joyful workforce who want to be at work and who in turn share this joy with everyone else in their lives, including your customers.

    We have all had times either in a store, or online, when we’ve had a very poor customer experience. Since the onset of Corona virus, sadly these experiences are increasing, individual staff members very often hiding behind the phrase “Because of Covid we cannot do……….” it is incredible what the onset of Covid has enabled companies to get away with?  I have heard the excuses of “I can’t send a rescue truck, (to collect a car that has broken down), because of Covid”, “Because of Covid chicken is off the menu.” In my local supermarket when asking for the customary coffee, the response was “We have not been serving coffee since Covid.” Interesting that I can buy a coffee in Costa, Starbucks, and the many other coffee shops and wagons, but coffee in the supermarket, which by the way, I serve myself by putting a cup under the machine and pressing the button, cannot be supplied because of Covid?  Previously a member of the team would clean the machine, therefore there is no extra manning requirement here!

    Do these companies, honestly think that their customers are so misinformed as to accept these and many other excuses used to hide behind and cover up the real issue of either staff shortages, poor training, lack of leadership or using Covid as an excuse to reduce manning levels?  Surely now, more than ever is the time to make customer service a priority?

    WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN PUT IN PLACE TO GIVE THE CUSTOMER A GREAT EXPERIENCE?

    The following 5 things are for me the foundation to creating a great customer experience over and over for each and every customer that builds a loyal customer base which in turn results in a happier, healthier workforce who share a willingness to do a good job for you, all of which translates into decreased absenteeism and increased profitability:

    BE GENUINE WITH ALL YOUR CUSTOMERS

    Of course, we all want to front our company in a positive and successful light.  However, that does not stop every employee being genuine and showing the unique person that they are and using those qualities to serve customers, intuitively linking with customer feelings and emotions and responding in an appropriate manner.  Having service standards is of course important, but only to the point that they do not create robots. As far as I am aware, no one wants to be served by a robot?  Admit mistakes, accept them, apologise genuinely and find the best solution to correct the situation.

    WORK WITH AND THROUGH YOUR PERSONNEL

    Train all team members about the importance of the customer, both internal and external, and give them the autonomy to be individual and shine in each and every customer interaction, going that extra mile not because they were told to, but because they want to.  Provide the parameters to empower them to take things into their own hands to support their customers.  When they do go that extra mile, support them and give praise and recognition. Share each example as an inspiration and form of encouragement for other team members. 

    My logistics manager, without any direction from me, used to call the customers randomly simply to say “Hello, and ask how they are.”  I had no idea about this until one day one of my customers told me how much they enjoy the calls from Andre.  On enquiring what the calls were about I was informed “Oh, just about saying hello!”  I grew several inches from the pride that I felt at that moment.

    LIVE AND SHARE THE COMPANY VALUES

    Ensure that each and every team member understands how to apply company values in their day-to-day life so that the values live, and there is no disconnect between what the company publishes and what is actually adopted in practice.  Ask employees to share what these values mean for them as well as giving examples of how they might apply them through their work. Encourage them to do just that to make the words come to life and have meaning and consistency for internal and external customers alike. 

     Employees who feel a part of and are able to align their own values with the company are more self-confident, feel connected to the overall team, and more comfortable in taking steps that perhaps before they would not have done without this knowledge.

    FIND YOUR TEAM MEMBERS DOING SOMETHING WELL

    It is human nature to be quick to see the negative, what has not been done, what was done poorly, being late, missing deadlines, shoddy work and so on.  Noticing the small things as well as the large things done well and giving the recognition each and every person in your team deserves, goes a very long way to building a positive, loyal team and strong company culture.  In my book, there is no such thing as a bad employee, only bad management!

    LEAD BY EXAMPLE AND “WALK YOUR TALK”

    Get out there on the front line and be with your personnel. Get feedback from your them on what is working well, what is not and how they think it can be improved.  Where suggestions are reasonable, act on them and make it known to other team members whose idea it was and why it is being implemented. For suggestions not implemented give an explanation so that the person does not think you are simply paying “lip-service” or doing a tick-box exercise in simply asking the question, with no intention of doing anything about the response. Talk to your customers, showing every employee that the customer is important and that you are not afraid to communicate with them and to hear what they have to say, whether good or bad.

    In 30 odd years of working with customers in restaurants, hotels, my own companies and as a trainer of customer service, of course there are many other things that I can add to this list, but starting here will create a very strong foundation.  In the words of Tony Hsieh now retired CEO of Zappos, “Customer service shouldn’t just be a department, it should be the entire company.”

     

    NEED HELP WITH YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS? TRY OUR CUSTOMER FOCUSSED COMMUNICATION E-LEARNING COURSE!

  • 6 Reasons Why it is Important to Include Game-Based Learning in Your Content

    A Guest Post by Shaheen Sajan

    Can gamification make learning more meaningful or should we brace ourselves for a new wave of e-Learning courses diluted of any substance?  Here are 6 reasons why Gamification is not just a passing fad or trend and why it is here to stay. 

    1. A CARROT INSTEAD OF A STICK

    When it all comes down to it, gamification is really about motivation.  You can always motivate someone with the stick approach and the threat of failing.  Or you can take the Swedish National Society for Road Safety’s carrot approach that applied gamification principles to road safety.  Remarkably, they found a way to make it fun to drive below the speed limit by awarding safe drivers with lottery tickets. 

    2. NOT JUST FUN AND GAMES

    When a new concept is introduced to e-Learning, it’s only natural for people to try to make sense of what it means and to want to understand how it works.  One misconception with gamification is that it means we are adding games to our e-Learning modules that detract from the main topic to be learnt. 

    Gamification does not have to involve games.  In fact, some of the best uses of it so far have had no games whatsoever.  It is interactive learning with a goal.  Now you’re probably thinking; ‘well quizzes do that already.’ What is different between traditional e-Learning quizzes and a gamified quiz is the competitive element. 

    The principles of gamification are widely linked to Game Theory.  Any non-mathematician who watched Russel Crowe’s a Beautiful mind knows Game Theory explains why we make the choices we do based on our perceived probability of success. 

    As you will recall, there were no games in that movie but the principles of gaming and game theory are somewhat linked by the desire to succeed.  Gamification simply takes the best elements of games and applies them to learning to make it more engaging.

    3. COMPETITION IS HEALTHY

    Quizzes are an essential building block of e-Learning courses. For the competitive animal, quizzes can be boring when you are only competing against yourself.  Sure, you can earn bragging rights but who else will   really care that you answered 95% of the questions correctly other than someone who is taking the same class?  Here’s a lesson you don’t have to learn the hard way; bragging to people not taking the same course just doesn’t work and in fact it is a recipe for social disaster and dateless Saturdays! 

    This is why leader-boards make sense.  Depending on the LMS you choose, you can set up leader-boards where all course participants can compete against each other.  You get to see who is on the top percentile and where you fall in comparison.  It is this type of healthy competition that motivates a participant to do better and achieve great results. Studies show that 89% of participants would be more engaged in an e-Learning application if it had a point-system. 

    Being mindful not to ostracize underperformers, there should always be a button that asks participants if they would like their results to be published or not.

    Why it is important to include game-based learning in your content4. CELEBRATE ACHIEVEMENTS

    Can gamification make learning more meaningful or should we brace ourselves for a new wave of e-learning courses diluted of any substance? here are 6 reasons why gamification is not just a passing fad or trend, and why it is here to stay.

    It’s always good practice to recognize anyone who is working hard and achieving good results.  When e-Learning is gamified and a user performs well, they can be awarded with a badge or an endorsement that is linked with their profile. 

    Collecting badges motivates users to learn more and earn more.  Let’s say you are teaching a communications course.  You can use gamification to award badges along the way such as: good situational judgement, empathetic listener or communicator extraordinaire.  These endorsements can then be used by the user to market themselves and their skills, creating a win-win situation. 

    5. MAKE LEARNING ADDICTIVE

    When it’s gamified, the goal is to learn but the methods used are designed to motivate the user.  One simple example of this that works incredibly well is vocabularly.com.  I’m sure I’m not the only person who tried to read the dictionary when they were a kid thinking we would have a great vocabulary at the end.  I don’t know about you, but I gave up just after aardvark (ˈärd-ˌvärk) when I realized how boring the dictionary was. 

    Along comes vocabularly.com and suddenly reading the dictionary becomes fun and highly addictive.  Vocabulary.com often has amusing definitions, not as amusing as those of the dirty minded urban dictionary, but they are certainly funny enough to be memorable.  Now here comes the gamified part.  You get to build a vocabulary list and the site generates a quiz or you can take one of their generic quizzes such as the top 1000 words and compete against users worldwide.  The last I checked, the top of the leader-board was some guy in India who had an English vocabulary of 1,341,365 words.  Thanks to gamification, the user is learning and for the first time ever, reading the dictionary is fun. 

    6. BOOST RETENTION

    When done right, gamification makes learning fun rather than an onerous chore. Frank Farral, leader partner at Deliotte said: “If you can gamify the process, you are rewarding the behaviour and it’s like a dopamine release in the brain. Humans like a game.” 

    Gamification encourages the user to experiment and discover what they think they need to learn. It puts them in the driver’s seat of learning.  The science behind it is when they are having fun while learning, those ‘feel-good’ endorphins are released which make the user excited because they are achieving something.  It is this excitement that makes them more motivated and makes learning more memorable. 

    It is the precise point when they stop becoming passive observers and become active participants that the knowledge you need them to retain gets stored in their long-term memory, right where you want it.

    TO SUM IT UP

    Gamification is not a buzzword but a useful technique to engage your learners, motivate them, and boost retention of your content whether individual e-Learning, virtual training or face-to-face training in groups. 

     

    To find out more about how Green Key can design interactive e-Learning courses, contact Rachel directly.