How To Use Out of Office To Keep #CustomerRelationships Healthy

August 17, 2022Leave a comment

I hope you get to enjoy your well-deserved rest and relaxation this summer. Remember though that our out-of-office messages can help build good relationships with service users and make our life simpler.

Here are 3 lessons I’ve learnt over time, that have helped keep contacts updated (the ideas expand on themes in the video above). It is important to:

Identify who will engage with incoming messages, so contacts can stay connected
Make sure that colleague has the capacity to manage incoming email
Say who will manage email, in the absence of the alternative contact

Making time to manage our contacts in this way should help simplify our life and keep our relationships healthy.

Feel free to Like, Share and Comment if this reminder is useful (and Subscribe to the YouTube channel for more ideas to simplify your life)!

What Do You Want From #2021 (And Who Stands In Your Way) ?

January 11, 2021January 10, 2021Leave a comment

(Feel free to like and share if you enjoy this post)

This is the time of year when we make changes. Getting healthier; making savings grow; changing our job: these all feature on people’s To Do lists.

Maybe you made a 2021 Resolution yourself (if so, how is it going)?

The hardest part of making change happen is taking a first step, having stood still for a while (weeks / months / even years).

The biggest obstacle to getting started can be other people, especially when they are important or influential figures in our lives. There are ways around people who want to block our growth.

Take a look at my video on the subject via Youtube if you need to think about working around the people getting in your way. What strategies do you use to keep moving forward? Don’t forget to comment, like, share and subscribe if you enjoy what you see.

All the best – Roger

3 Steps to Beating The Autumnal Blues

October 31, 2019October 31, 2019Leave a comment

Experience less stress by getting out into the world – Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric from Pexels

The clocks have gone back, so the end of the year must be close by. Do you ever feel like staying indoors and hibernating until the spring? I have felt like that, so it is understandable if you answered ‘Yes’.

It is better though to set a goal to do something to safeguard your health and then take action to tackle that goal.

Why?

Because, despite the cold, wet and gloom of the autumn there are health benefits to getting out and about. Doing this means we get to experience:

Fresh air, instead of the recycled climate stirred up by air conditioning
Fresh scenery and the chance to top up our vitamin D reserves
Fresh perspectives and space for mindfulness, not the time suck of incoming messages that keep us nailed to our desks

Mixing things up keeps things from getting stale. That’s good news for you, your team and your customers. I hope the ideas above help you over the coming weeks. Feel free to share your secrets to beating the autumnal blues!

The 7 Key Lessons About Service I’ve Taken From #NHS70

July 16, 2018July 14, 2018Leave a comment

7 Principles Behind Great Service – Picture from Pexels.com

I’ve spent a lot of time recently in the company of nurses, physiotherapists, doctors and other NHS (national health service) professionals. They are in the business of service delivery. Their customers are very demanding (if our own health or that of a loved one is in question we won’t always be reasonable in what we want). They are passionate about the quality of the work they deliver.

In my experience the professionals in the NHS mostly produce the right results at the right time. So, on the 70th birthday of the NHS here are 7 points we can take away from what health care staff do well day after day:

Assertion

Saying clearly what needs to happen next and asking for cooperation to bring it about.

Boundaries

Knowing when to say ‘no’, because a different action will produce a better result.

Care

It helps everyone to know what kind of result the person receiving the service is looking for, then it becomes easier to tailor work to achieve that outcome (and care about the progress towards that goal)

Decisiveness

Keeping in touch with the boundaries involved and going to find help when we are out of our depth (without thinking too much about how it will make us look).

Ego

We all achieve better results when we are thinking and acting in others’ interests, without ego getting in the way.

Faith

Believing that colleagues and the other people in our network can achieve great results in unfamiliar areas.

Generosity

Remembering to say ‘thank you’ for the service you receive that helps you achieve more and feel better.

What Do You Think Good Service Looks Like?

These are my ideas about the basics behind the delivery of great services. If you have experienced impressive service who was responsible for providing it? What did they do to make things go well? How did you let them know you were pleased?

Feel free to Like and Share this post of it has been helpful to you.

All the best

Roger

3 Reasons To Make #TimeToTalk About #Wellbeing

February 5, 2018February 5, 2018Leave a comment

Time To Talk About Health And Wellbeing (Picture Credit Pexels dot com)

A new year means we can take stock and make time to change our lives. We can make time to pursue goals that improve our work performance and our life outside the 9 to 5. So, this is a great time to talk about improving our (mental and physical) health and well-being.

With life being a hectic mix of commitments and claims on our time, it is important we practice self-care. Doing that helps us care for customers, colleagues and community too. Here are 3 good reasons that show how time devoted to self-care helps us reduce the pressure that contributes to mental health difficulties:

Connection

No one achieves all their goals alone. We are social beings and when we help others we are keeping the door open to ask for help for ourselves. By being part of a healthy community or team, we are investing in our own well-being.

Protection

When we respect our own boundaries, we make self-care a priority. When we make time for ourselves we can be calmer than when we are overwhelmed by others’ requests for our time.

Reflection

The time we earmark for ourselves is the resource we can devote to reviewing our goals, forming support networks and sharing the benefits of our personal growth with loved ones and friends.

How Will You Use This Knowledge?

Thanks for reading this post. I hope it makes a difference to your performance this week. What is your secret for safeguarding your mental well-being during a busy time at work? Add your comment and deepen this conversation.

Feel free to add a Like too if this has been a useful discussion and please share this post with someone who could benefit from reading it.

Thanks Roger

3 Steps Toward Successful Goal Setting

December 11, 2017December 10, 2017Leave a comment

Who Will You Celebrate Your Success With? Photo by jens johnsson on Unsplash

Are you struggling to define your main 2018 goal? No worries if you are. We’ve all been there.

Knowing we can do better is the easy part. Setting a goal that leads to major life changes can feel overwhelming. Breaking the situation down into manageable chunks will help.

Here are 3 powerful steps to help achieve our goals

Defining the outcome we want to achieve

There is power in writing down the results we will achieve, when we will achieve them and what our victory will feel like. Paying attention to our results helps us invest emotionally in the work to bring them about.

Identifying our first steps

With the headline goal written down it is tempting to get going, without an action plan. Not a good idea. That’s like setting out on a journey without a preferred route.

Better results come from a plan which starts from point A and delivers some immediate gains. Those act as a confirmation that we are headed in the right direction. What would be your chosen point A? How will you know you are going in the right direction?

Lining up our support network

There’s a limit to what we can achieve on our own. The way forward involves points B, C, D and so on. Having supporters’ help along the way brings 2 advantages. We can help other people do more and achieve more as they improve their lives. Plus we get to tap into a lively knowledge network when we get stuck on our path. That’s a win win situation.

Who is in your network and how can you help them?

What’s Your Next Move?

Thanks for your engagement this year. Use the reply option to comment on this post, if you found the information above helpful. Feel free to Like and Share too.

Good luck setting your next big goal and Merry Christmas if you are reading this in December.

How To Start Building #Rapport After #InternationalMensDay

November 19, 2017November 19, 2017Leave a comment

There’s No Conflict In Meeting Your Goals & Building Rapport – Picture From Pexels.Com

Freshly minted World Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua said it best in a recent Tweet

You Can’t Buy Loyalty. It Comes From The Heart

He knows it takes time to build the kind of rapport which comes from the heart and means people warm towards you. For guys that can be a challenge. We don’t always open up emotional conversations; tell our authentic story;or ask for support when we need it.

It shouldn’t like a fight to achieve a goal if we are being authentic. Barriers like age, class, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender, politics and sexuality fall away.

When people truly ‘get’ where we are coming from, it feels great. We can help them and draw on their support.

How Can We Start To Build Rapport?

Once we develop the skills and confidence to apply for our next role, or offer our services to the world, the challenge is to let others know we are ready to grow into bigger roles.

First, identify the way you want to introduce yourself to the group of people you would like to join. What parts of your life story chime with theirs? How will sharing your true self help to build rapport and what are the benefits, to them, of your world feeding into theirs?

How will you know they like what they see?

Once you know who you are engaging with you can regularly use the social media channel they rely on. Show up, Comment, Like and Share too.

Where possible you can also take the plunge and meet your community in real life. Yes, there is the potential for falling flat on your backside. There is also the (greater) possibility that you will meet really interesting people, with whom you can share your wisdom. They become part of your world and you can be a loyal part of theirs.

Remember, when you finally ‘click’ with people it becomes a lot easier to offer support, ask for help and reach your goals.

What’s Your Next Step?

There are people who need what you have to offer in the year ahead. There are also people who can support you, if and when you need it. Let them get to know you. Once they like and trust you their world and yours will become a much more progressive place.

Why not add your comment here and share your strategy for connecting to people on social media, or in real life. You can always Like and Share too.

Thanks for reading. Have a great week.

Roger

3 Steps Towards More Success With Your #Goals And #Wellbeing

October 1, 2016October 1, 2016Leave a comment

Congratulations if you have started a new project recently. The run up to Christmas is the time of year when people take a deep breath and say ‘Yes!’ to a University course, an Evening Class, or other life-changing challenge.

That bold investment of time, money and optimism involves:

Paying regular attention to your new goal
Setting boundaries so your time is well spent and you connect to supportive people
Caring about the quality of your outputs as you reach your next milestone

What About People Who Don’t Have New Goals?

It is OK not to pursue new goals. Sometimes caring for others and looking after yourself is enough. Although, having said that, there is always time for goal setting unless everything is perfect in the key areas of life which are important to most of us.

What Are The 3 Steps?

The 3 steps to greater well-being involve Goal-Setting, Taking Action, Connecting to Others who want to improve their situation concerning:

Fun
Health
Money
Relationships
Work

The next time you are relaxing over a cup of coffee, take the time to do a quick exercise on paper. Using the five headings above decide what score you give yourself out of 10 in each area.

Does one area stand out in the 1 to 5 range? How would it feel to set a goal and start improving that area?

What would you feel like in six months, to be surrounded by other happy, successful people who are feeling 8 out of 10 about life, just like you?

What Is Your Next Action?

If you want to take your first step toward fulfilment and well-being take a look at the short video. It highlights 3 key ideas central to getting started on tackling your goals.

Remember, there are more free resources in the Members’ Area which you can access too. Don’t forget to Like and Share this post to help others get started on their way to a more fulfilling life.

Good Luck!

Here Are 3 Life Skills You Gain As A #Carer

May 23, 2016Leave a comment

Skills Matter – Wherever They Come From (Image From Alvimann From Morguefile.com)

Dementia Awareness Week just ended* and it has put the spotlight on the role played by thousands of part and full time carers out there.

In particular I’ve talked to several people involved with caring for Dementia patients. Those conversations reminded me of the many valuable skills you get from caring for others. Skills which offer a lot to employers seeking fresh talent..

Professional Skills Gained Through Volunteering

Ever focused exclusively on the goal of helping others and lost track of your own priorities? Not to worry, there is an answer to the question:

OK I have done a lot of caring – how do I run those talents into worthwhile job skills?

The skills you use to look after others look good on a resume or CV, especially if you can relate them to the types of employment that interest you.

The trick is to explain the situation in which the skill was used, what task you were responsible for and the action you carried out. What results did you achieve illustrating the skills you want to highlight?

There is a long list of skills from which you can choose, including the following:

Action Planning

You need to be aware** of what you want to achieve before you can become a good planner. Once you are focused on your main task you will be ready to help to bring about the right results, at the right time.

However you go about your planning (maybe you use a wall chart, a smart phone app, or a diary) you still know what results you expect to create at each stage.

You also know which legal, medical or financial rules you have to follow at each stage to get what you want.

What does a successful final outcome look like?

Managing Collaborations

It is exhausting to try to achieve results on your own.

How do you communicate with others so you build new relationships and bring allies into your world?

What do you offer to bring their skills on board?

Problem Solving

Even the best plans can get derailed by unforeseen problems.

Obviously you will have tried to manage the basic risks involved in your project. What does your Plan B look like, should things go wrong?

How will Plan B bring the overall project back into line?

How do you record what you have achieved to ensure you learn how to get better results next time?

Your Next Steps

Thanks for reading about 3 of the key skills which caring can add to your CV. I would love to hear from you. What skills have you gained through volunteering? How have you used those skills in your professional life?

Use the Comment section to share your story, or Tweet me @RogerD_Said. If this post was useful please share it with a friend who would benefit from reading it.

Finally…

*Here is a useful link about Dementia – https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/

** Here is a 30 minute video I recorded recently, worth a look if you would like to learn more about self- awareness. http://bit.ly/Self-Awareness-Superstar-Part-1-Of-3

Here Are 3 Relationship Building Skills You Need To Practice

May 5, 2016Leave a comment

Business Cards Can Help Build Relationships

How Hard Do You Listen Before You Try To Be Of Service ?

Have you ever had someone give you a business card before they say anything to you?

There must be some psychological trigger at work. One where the card giver looks at you and thinks ‘That person has a professional appearance. I must introduce them to what I have to offer’

The card giver doesn’t know who you are – or what you might need – you are another person to whom they gave a business card at that event.

Without getting to know you they want you to know them and why their online marketing process (or whatever) represents a great opportunity for you.

Annoying isn’t it?

What Are The 3 Relationship Building Skills You Need?

I think a better approach to building a relationship involves listening. Then making time to establish rapport. From that mutual place of trust you can go forward. You might get to a point where the other person is deeply engaged with what you are saying.

Here are 3 skills at the heart of engaged relationships. Having these 3 elements in place makes it easier to say what you mean concerning your project / area of work / bright idea:

Empathy – How much time have you spent building your knowledge of the needs of the particular niche you want to service?

Who is in that niche?
What stresses are they under?
How does your ‘thing’ reduce those pressures?

Authenticity – Have you been a member of the niche you are focusing on?

What true ‘Before and After’ story can you tell to connect you to it?
How passionate are you about offering service to your niche?
What do you want people to feel when they first encounter your work?

Self-Awareness – How much effort do you want to make in building and maintaining these relationships?

What signals tell you that you are holding the other person’s attention?
How do you vary what you are doing to deepen your connection?
How do you feel if the other person says they are not interested?

There’s A Google Hangout You Might Want To Join

I am hosting a Google Hangout on 12 May looking into these issues – I hope you will want to join in. Follow the link if so.

https://plus.google.com/events/c67917issejfjbmbupmuv125nho

What Is Your Next Step?

Thanks for reading to the end. What step will you take today to build more productive relationships? Feel free to comment below – or Tweet @RogerD_Said – share this post with the people you know who would benefit from reading it.

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Tag: Customer Care