News

Lead the Way—Coach Good Customer Service

Business success can be determined by the ability to nurture a strong relationship with  your customers. Having those strong relationships can result in customer loyalty.  Without them, we would not and could not exist in business. When you satisfy your customers, they will help your business grow as well as recommend you to friends and associates.

Isn’t it important to coach your staff in developing their customer service skills?

Coaching is a tool used to develop individual’s customer service awareness.  Through on-going conversations between a coach and an employee, synergy is created—resulting in the person being coached to reach the knowledge of how to handle customers and provide them with the best service, rather than going at it alone without a coach or guidance.

Here are 5 coaching techniques you can use:

Gathering data: Before we can properly coach a customer service issue we need accurate information.

Giving Feedback: The coach provides feedback of the information provided in a timely, specific, and focused approach.

Questioning: Good coaches gather information by probing and using effective questioning techniques.

On-the-job training: This technique deals with developing staff by using assessments, demonstration, practice, and performance.

Providing positive reinforcement: This technique gives coaches the ability to praise their employees.

Connecting to people on a personal level helps build strong and lasting business relationships which helps keep employees motivated and engaged.

A small well trained staff will be able to satisfy customers better than a larger unskilled workforce. The demand for quality customer service is high, and too often businesses fall short of the mark. This is an opportunity for every business leader to excel.   Take advantage of this time to develop their employees and teach them the skills necessary to connect with customers. Leaders who do this will not only survive economic crisis, they will thrive.

Integrity Workshop April 12

Compass Series Offers NWI Businesses Employee and Supervisor Education

NorthStar360 Business Solutions invites the business community to attend, The Integrity Model, on Thursday, April 12. This half-day workshop takes place from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Providence Bank in Schererville and is designed to develop productive employees, an essential characteristic for those who are supervisors and managers.

In this workshop, participants will develop an understanding of the process of self-mastery, including the four different paradigms from which people live and the core beliefs of each paradigm. They will develop a new definition of success based upon their own personal paradigm. Attendees will apply these principles directly to their workplace experience.

This workshop is part of the Compass Series workshop program, composed of 11 topics designed to increase personal effectiveness. These training materials have been used by several Fortune 500 companies including: AT&T, BP, Ford Motor Company and Hewlett Packard. Each workshop consists of a mixture of facilitated lectures and discussions and high-energy, interactive exercises to help participants internalize the principles and apply the lessons to workplace experience.

To register, contact Susan Riddering at (219) 864-1576 or e-mail at susan@northstar360.com for complete details and pricing.

NorthStar360 Business Solutions was founded to help businesses maximize their success through comprehensive hiring practices and in-depth employee development programs. The company customizes its training and tailors its development programs to meet the specific business goals of its clients. For more information on NorthStar360, please call (219) 864-1576 or visit www.northstar360.com.

Only 3% Customers Care about Price

Your customers care more about leaving with a smile then the amount left behind in their wallet. Do you believe that? A study by Harris Interactive found that Valvoline Instant Oil Change service centers were ranked the highest overall automotive service center by consumers polled.  Why? Because of excellent customer service! Customers took a phone survey 48 hours after their experience rating the reasons why they chose Valvoline centers. The results were a little surprising to most:

57% – Because I was greeted in the parking lot
24% – They treat myself and my vehicle with respect
3% – Quality of the product or price

This means 81% of customers chose to service their vehicle at VIOC because it felt good to them.  The majority of which were happy because someone said hello to them when they arrived!

Buying misconception #1: Lowest price wins. In fact, these oil changes were a bit more expensive than the local competition.

Buying misconception #2: Customers buy the best quality or label item. Only 3% bought based on the name brand.

Buying misconception #3: Customers buy to solve a problem. The majority of customers visiting were doing a routine oil change and did not have a current maintenance issue.

You see, Valvoline knew that the customer experience was paramount.  When a customer leaves your business feeling good about their experience, not only do they come back – they tell their friends! It was not about the price, label, or problem, it was the smile they drove off the lot with.  Give them the chance to be a part of the experience and not feel like a sale happened to them. Consumers buy with their heart not their wallet.

Trust Me: The foundation of business relationships is trust

Trust is one of the noblest of human emotions. It is the foundation of business relationships and one of the most powerful factors you can use to cultivate your work team and build client loyalty. But, in a time when Bernie Madoff, Tyco and Enron have become household names; one wonders, does trust still exist?

Absolutely. Organizations that flourish over the long run commit to fundamental integrity in their products, services, processes and people. They “walk the talk,” even in tough times. They hold their leaders and employees accountable for modeling ethical business practices in every aspect of their work. They keep their promises and follow through on commitments.

What leaders fail to realize is the power behind being perceived as having integrity and being trustworthy. These perceptions truly do impact business results. Yet, often our behavior as leaders drives just the opposite. Trusted leaders get many rewards: engaged employees, retention of top talent, positive work culture and—most important—results.

Why is it that so few leaders realize the power of integrity and trust as business tools? As a leader, where do you stand? Here are some of the warning signs that trust is an issue in your organization:

An active, inaccurate grapevine.
Elaborate approval processes.
Low initiative.
High turnover.
A high fear factor among employees.
Turf wars.
Defensiveness.

When trust is absent, relationships are characterized by an adversarial attitude: me vs. you; us vs. them. With these types of relationships, there are deep and hidden animosities, rather than goodwill. Trust in organizational strategies and top management is the most critical component in creating commitment toward a common goal. Simple tips and a commitment to building trust is all you need to get started. Below are basic tips for building trust with employees and clients/ customers.

Manager-Employee Relationship:
Research consistently reports that employees have a greater level of trust in their immediate supervisor than any other management level in the firm. It is important that leaders:

1. make sure their words are consistent with their actions (more walking the talk).
2. show confidence and faith in their direct reports.

Business-Client Relationship:
Increasing trust with in your market is the route to company growth. The more reliable and credible your marketing and customer service messages are, the more loyal your customer base will be.

1. Strive for transparency. In other words, communicate honestly and openly in all messages.
2. If a crisis or problem arises, step up and take responsibility. Always welcome and respond to customer complaints and input.
3. Establish two-way communication with your market via discussion forums and other web enabled media.

If you are a leader today pressured to get results, remember that what you say, what you do, what you mean and how you are perceived might have the greatest impact on the success of your company. Trusted leaders get many rewards: engaged employees, retention of top talent, positive work culture and more business. Investing in trust pays dividends every time.

Trust Workshop Scheduled March 8

NorthStar360 Business Solutions invites the business community to attend, The Role of Trust in Business, on Thursday, March 8. This half-day workshop takes place from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Providence Bank in Schererville and is designed to develop productive employees, an essential characteristic for those who are supervisors and managers.

In this workshop, participants will learn the definition and key elements of trust, as well as gain an appreciation for the need for collaboration in our interdependent society. Learners will evaluate the consequences of high and low trust within an organization and understand the importance of being trustworthy in building trust. Attendees will apply these principles directly to their workplace experience.

This workshop is part of the Compass Series workshop program, composed of 11 topics designed to increase personal effectiveness. These training materials have been used by several Fortune 500 companies including: AT&T, BP, Ford Motor Company and Hewlett Packard. Each workshop consists of a mixture of facilitated lectures and discussions and high-energy, interactive exercises to help participants internalize the principles and apply the lessons to workplace experience.

Two workshops remain for the 2011-2012 series, including The Role of Trust in Business on March 8 and The Integrity Model on April 12. Attendees can register for these workshops by contacting Susan Riddering at (219) 864-1576 or e-mail at susan@northstar360.com for complete details and pricing.

Getting the Right Candidate Takes More than Luck

This St. Patrick’s Day you can hope the luck of the Irish is on your side or follow a rainbow in hopes of it leading to the perfect candidate for your organization. But we all know, hiring decisions take much more than luck! One tool in the HR professional’s tool box is a pre-employment assessment or candidate profile. Pre-employment tests can help a company’s hiring process by increasing the likelihood of hiring candidates who will perform well on the job.

An effective assessment provides major benefits to a company, including:

Higher productivity
Increased employee retention
Improved employee morale
Reduction in costs associated with turnover (hiring and training costs)
Increasing the defensibility of the hiring process by using objective data

When properly implemented, pre-employment tests provide the most accurate means of predicting performance because they measure the candidate’s capacity to perform well at a particular job. Research has shown that cognitive aptitude tests, for example, are much more accurate predictors of job performance than job interviews and previous work history.

Having accurate data in front of you leads to more successful and efficient decisions. Improving the success rate of your selection methodology will lead to higher productivity, better employee retention, and a reduction of the costs associated with turnover. What an amazing snowball effect!

One study compared employees’ pre-assessment scores with their hourly sales volume at a clothing store. The employees who received high scores on the test sold, on average, $106.35 of goods per hour, while those who received low test scores sold only $83.27 per hour. Incorporating pre-employment tests into its selection process resulted in a 28 percent increase in sales productivity.

Once your organization has made the decision to include pre-employment tests in the hiring process, the next step is finding a partner to help design and implement a professionally developed and properly validated employment tests. Tests are an effective screening tool only if they measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities that will be required for a particular job. In other words-to be a valid predictor of performance, a test must measure job-related competencies and abilities. The test must also be EEOC compliant.

It’s also important to remember, the pre-employment test is just one piece of the hiring puzzle. It can give HR professionals additional (and accurate) data to make great hiring decisions. Other factors such as references, resumes and interviews are invaluable components to this process as well. When used together, the results are powerful. Increased productivity, retention, and a reduction of costs can have a major affect your organization’s bottom line and can ultimately change your business model.

Leadership: The Next Generation

Some business experts estimate that more than 70 percent of U.S. companies engage in some sort of succession planning and talent management initiatives. Basically, this means that the vast majority of companies now have some sort of formal, planned leadership development processes in place to help select, prepare and transition high-potential employees into new positions. So why is the preparation of the “next generation”: of leaders so important to these companies?

Most would say that solid leadership is hard to find and that it’s much more advantageous (and less risky) to prepare someone they already know and who already knows a great deal about the company. These companies look at succession planning as an insurance policy that protects them from a breakdown after a leader retires, dies or leaves the company.

However, despite all the benefits, preparing future leaders doesn’t come easily. And often the challenge is greater within family-owned companies due to the residual effects on business and personal relationships that could follow a bad decision within in the bloodline.

Every quality succession plan begins with addressing key positions and identifying key talent within the company. Key positions are those that are critical to keeping the operation running efficiently and strategically. Likewise, key talent should include those employees currently in mission-critical roles within the company. These are the employees who have shown strong commitment to the organization and its mission, and who have the knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA).

Be sure to keep your eyes open for talent that isn’t in high-profile positions. Often, high-potential employees go unnoticed simply because there are never problems with their work and their operations run effectively all the time. Companies that go into succession planning with eyes wide open are typically more proficient at identifying talent at all levels so as not to miss any long-term potential.

Once all key talent has been identified, companies should assess each person according to the KSAs they currently have compared to what they will need in their step up to a key position.

Of course, this assumes that the company already has a keen understanding of the KSAs needed for the key positions. If that’s the case, use them as benchmarks to see just how close your key talent is to having the level of competence they’ll need.

The gap between a person’s competence now and the competence they’ll need is called a KSA development gap. Each person being considered for promotion should have a development plan that specifically addresses the gaps they already have.

Be sure to create an engaging plan that stretched each individually outside their comfort zone. Professional development happens best when an individual is thrown out of sync from their typical behavioral patterns. Therefore, plans with varied type of learning and development activities are more likely to be successful.

Be sure to have complete buy-in from each of the individuals for whom these plans are written. Without it, there are no guarantees they will engage in any of the activities you design for them.

Be timely about starting the process. Leave enough time for people to actually get much of the plan completed. This will also give you a good idea of how committed each candidate truly is to the ideas of taking on additional responsibilities.

Succession planning is strategic and very beneficial for companies looking for long-term success. Consider outsourcing some or all of the development of your succession plan in order to have dedicated resources addressing it. The time you’ll save utilizing outside expertise will pay dividends in the long run.

Published in Building Indiana News, Jan/Feb 2012, p. 34

Employment Assessments Identify Strategies for Accomplishing Business Goals

Employment assessments are a useful tool in business, it helps quickly measure and identify specific traits that can be used to accomplish business goals. For example, employment assessments can help companies during the hiring process, identifying the candidate who is the best fit for the job. Organizations can also use assessments to measure employee engagement, sales aptitude and management skills. Assessments are a great first step in accomplishing business goals because the data they generate are used to develop a strategy to accomplish those goals. The strategy is a custom-fit to the organization. When used in combination with a training and development program, organizations may see an increase in productivity, sales, accomplishment of goals and even a decrease in turnover.

Try it out. NorthStar360 offers a complimentary personality profile on their website. After completing this three-minute questionnaire, respondents will receive their results via their company email account. This assessment measures 17 personality traits and provides respondents with a snapshot and score in a variety of areas like time management, creativity and sensitivity. Click here and try it for yourself. It takes less than 3 minutes.

NorthStar360 offers a multitude of assessments, each is customized to fit the business’ specific business goals. Over 23 years of research and development have gone into this employment assessment system to ensure that organizations have fast, accurate, cost effective and EEOC compliant results.

Northstar360 in the News

Susan Riddering, vice president of Northstar360 Business Solutions, LLC, recently presented at the 360Solutions Learning Conference in Austin, Texas. The Dyer native was invited to talk about her strategy and success in launching Northstar360 Business Solutions, a management and leadership training firm.

This two-day international conference attracted business owners and training professionals from as far as Indonesia to learn about best practices for training employees, building organizational leaders and innovative training methodologies.

“I was honored to be selected as a speaker at this prestigious conference and I was humbled they wanted to hear our story,” said Riddering.  “This honor also helped me understand even more clearly how NorthStar360 is really affecting the growth and development of employees at companies in our service area.  And, that’s really why we started our company in the first place.”

Riddering was recognized for launching Northstar360 in the Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland markets and for providing employee training and development programs for several local companies and organizations, including: Metro Recycling, Catholic Charities, Providence Bank, and Centro, the recipient of Crain’s Chicago Business 2011 Number One Best Place to Work.

A 14-year veteran to the staffing and recruiting industry, Riddering understands the unique needs of each business. Through customized assessments and personality profiles, Northstar360 determines the individual needs for each organization. Training may include leadership development, business strategy, employee education and/or sales training.

Read the article coverage here.

Be an Empowered Leader

Current day organizations look for leaders who can empower teams, not control them. So, what factors differentiate these two categories of leaders? Recent studies have identified five qualities expected of an empowering leader:

* Vision. The empowering leader has a vision and the ability to develop and a share it for the entire team. They are driven by a strong motivation and passion for the shared vision.

* Rapport. The empowering leader is able to establish high levels of rapport and trust among the team members, under this leadership the team achieves organizational goals and objectives.

*Enthusiasm. The empowering leader avoids controlling and coercing team members and is able to induce a high degree of enthusiasm and zeal from the team members toward the committed goals.

* Positive. The empowering leader believes in all team members and demonstrates a positive, nurturing quality in all interactions which result in a work atmosphere that is conducive to synergy and achievement.

* Take Charge. The empowering leader is able to take charge of the needs and aspirations of the team members and ultimately, shapes the organizational climate and growth.

Excerpt taken from 360Solutions, LLC. Read the entire whitepaper here.