What is Your Client/Customer Approval Rating?

“Wow, I was so impressed by their service!  I absolutely recommend their business…” are the words that every employer dreams of.

Many times, employers only think about surveying their employees for their opinions on organizational culture, benefits, morale, management and other terms and conditions of employment.  But have you ever surveyed your clients or customers?  Do you think that just because your clients and customers are continuing to do business with you that they are truly satisfied with your performance as a manager or the performance of the company as a whole?  You’ll never know until you ask.

When you enter into a relationship with a new client or customer, there should be checkpoints established whereby both parties can assess the status of the project, proactively identify any challenges and agree on solutions, and recognize accomplishments.  Whether these checkpoints are every week, every month or once a year depends on the complexity of the project. 

In many cases, there will be feedback provisions built into the contract.  For example, there may be a provision that states that your company will not be paid unless and until a particular goal or deadline is met.  If you receive payment, it is very likely that the client or customer was satisfied with your work.  But, be careful about making assumptions.

In today’s competitive environment, you should also be inquiring into more specific, day-to-day interactions that can sometimes make or break a professional relationship.  For example, how long does it take for you or your company to respond to a client’s phone call?  Is the client able to reach you directly or do they get caught up in your company’s automated telephone response system or hung up on by the receptionist?   How quickly are problems resolved and are they monitored to prevent further complications?   And, just as important, do you or does anyone from your company offer a sincere apology for any delays, inconveniences, or mistakes or do you just make excuses or simply fix the problem without any follow-up?

In addition to monitoring these issues, you may also want to consider sending your client a request to complete a quick, online survey that incorporates day-to-day interactions and other topics.  Just make certain that the survey goes to individuals who are actively involved in the project and that you follow up with any issues noted in the client’s feedback in a prompt manner.

Checking in with your clients and customers goes a long way to making them feel valued and understood, as well as improves the professional relationship, such that when there is a problem, it is more likely to be resolved in an amicable manner.

This article should not be construed as legal advice.

Handling Terminations Due to Job Elimination

At some point in your career as a manager, you may be required to terminate the employment of staff member for no reason other than budget issues or uncontrollable circumstances.  This is probably one of the more difficult actions you will ever have to implement as a manager.  So, as a manager, what can you do make sure the termination is handled appropriately?

There are a number of actions you can take as a manager to implement the termination that will benefit you and the affected employee, including:

1.     Prepare in advance what you are going to tell the employee being terminated.  You need to stress that the termination is due to budget reasons or outside circumstances and not the result of problems with the employee’s performance.  Explain the basis for the decision and how or why his/her position was chosen to be eliminated.  For example, the job elimination could be the result of lost business in the region or a shift in organizational priorities.

2.     During the termination meeting, be prepared to review with the employee what their last date of employment will be, their benefits, severance package (if applicable), etc.  It is likely the employee may be too shocked to remember everything, so it is also a good idea to provide the employee with this information in writing.  Once the employee is advised of their termination, you may want to consider letting the employee go home for the day (with pay) as they will likely be too upset to continue working.

3.     Talk to the affected employee about how the news of their job elimination will be communicated to other employees, vendors and clients.  Consider sending an email to coworkers announcing the elimination while simultaneously thanking the employee for their contributions.

4.     If the affected employee’s termination date is a few days or weeks away following the giving of notice, take the employee out to lunch with coworkers as a show of appreciation.  Offer to give the employee a strong letter of recommendation or act as a reference.

5.     Speak to the affected employee about the process of transitioning their work to others in the company.  You will want to know what the employee is working on, who their contacts are, where their files are and how they are organized, and so on.

6.     Follow up with the employee until the last date of their employment to let them know that they are still valued.  Too often, once the employee is given notice of their termination, they are isolated from further involvement in organizational decision making, meetings, and other communications. 

Terminating an employee is never easy, but it is even harder when that termination happens to a hard-working, valued employee simply because of outside circumstances.  As a manager, the best approach you can take in addressing these types of terminations is to be honest, respectful, and supportive.

This article should not be construed as legal advice.

Please contact PayCheck Connection with questions or concerns... Or if there are topics you would like to see covered, email Dani Erickson at danielle@paycheckconnection.com

Finding the Right Trainer

Let’s say you have been asked to find a trainer to conduct customer service training or safety training for your company’s employees.  Where do you go to find a trainer?  Do you know what it will cost?  Do you know what questions to ask?  If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you could be throwing away good money on someone that will take your money without providing a valuable service to your organization.

When looking for a trainer, the important thing is to start with knowing what services you need and why.  You need to identify what metrics or other data you have that specifically identifies a need for training.  Do you have customers complaining about poor response time when calling customer service representatives?  This may be the result of inadequate bandwidth or an insufficient number of phone lines that is unrelated to the behavior of customer service representatives.  Or perhaps your representatives need to be better trained in order to perform multiple tasks at a time, thus increasing productivity.

Once you have verified the problem through a needs assessment, the next step is to have an idea of the target audience and format of the training.  For example, will all employees in the organization be trained or only a select few?  This can make a big difference in how the course is designed and the cost of the training.  In other words, you have to have some idea on what you are looking for before you consult with a trainer.

When looking for a trainer, the easiest approach is to conduct an Internet search for a trainer in your area.  However, you will likely have to sort through a number of individuals and companies that don’t train on the subject matter you need.  A professional organization that certifies or provides continuing education to trainers is another approach, as the organization may group trainers by subject matter and/or geography.  Referrals are another great source.

When speaking with a trainer, it is important to get to know their training approach and how many and what types of courses they have designed and facilitated.  The trainer may want some idea of the scope of the project before quoting you a rate, but a reputable trainer will be able to quote a minimum and maximum fee.  Of course, it is also important for you to know what your budget is for the project.

Selecting a trainer is never easy but by asking the right questions and taking your time to carefully design each course, you will reap the benefits of a better educated workforce.

This article should not be construed as legal advice.

Licensing and Continuing Education Compliance

Do you know how many of your employees are required to maintain professional licenses or complete a specific number of continuing education courses in order to renew their licenses? 

When you hire individuals for a specific position because of their advanced skills or knowledge, there is a good chance that they are required to participate in continuing education courses and maintain an active license with a state regulatory or administrative agency.  A few professions that fit in this category include but are not limited to, attorneys, certified public accountants, physicians, nurses, real estate brokers and real estate managing brokers. 

Depending on the profession and the state where the individual is licensed, the licensing law and continuing education requirements may vary.  Some states may have annual renewal periods while other states have two-year renewal periods.  Some states require licensees to pass a test as part of the license renewal process while other states require licensees to complete a specific number of course credit hours or practice in their field for a specific time period.

No matter what the requirements are, employers should monitor employee compliance with licensing and continuing educations requirements on an annual basis.  This could take the form of the employer paying for and enrolling the employee in specific courses or ensuring the employee is practicing in their field for the required time period.  It could also involve the employer requiring the employee to provide documentation proving that they have complied with the applicable license renewal provision (e.g., certificates of completions or copies of renewed licenses).  Finally, it could also involve requiring the employee to sign an acknowledgement that she or he has fully complied with the applicable law or regulation regarding license renewal and/or continuing education. 

While this process may seem administratively burdensome, the alternative is to have individuals working at your company who are not properly licensed and who may be subject to disciplinary action by the applicable state or local administrative agency.  Is this the kind of publicity you want for your company? 

This article should not be construed as legal advice.

Same Sex Marriage in the Workplace

Without addressing the social, moral or religious arguments, the topic of same sex marriage has direct and indirect consequences to employers. 

As more states pass legislation recognizing same sex marriage, it is imperative that employers understand the law, as well as implement its provisions in a timely and accurate manner.  In some cases, the legislation may be as broad as prohibiting discrimination in the terms and conditions of employment when it comes to an employee’s civil union status or sexual preference.  In other cases, it could mean offering the same benefits to same sex partners as are offered to individuals who are legally married.

But there are other areas that employers must address when it comes to same sex marriage.  For example, some individuals in your workplace may not approve of, or support, same sex marriage and may vocalize their opinions openly.  These comments may be offensive to individuals who are involved in a same sex marriage as well as to others who support same sex marriage in general.  As a result, the employer may need to address complaints of hostile work environment, harassment, discrimination and unprofessional conduct or other violations of company policy.  If the comments include threats, company policies prohibiting violence in the workplace may also be implicated.

To minimize these issues, the employer should proactively provide diversity training to all employees and emphasize the need to respect others.  Employers should openly discuss any changes to federal or state law regarding same sex marriage and its impact on the workplace as well as the employer’s and each employee’s obligation to comply with the law.  A discussion on the consequences for violating the law and/or company policy should also be addressed.

Finally, it is important for the employer to review its internal policies and procedures and identify areas that may not provide the same rights or protections to individuals in same sex marriage compared to individuals who are legally married.  Once these areas are identified, the employer should identify if they are legally required to or otherwise want to offer the same rights and protections to both groups.

This article should not be construed as legal advice.