Employee Training by the Golden Rule

A Simple Handshake Isn’t Simple

An interview with Mary Starvaggi, The Etiquette Advantage

Mary Starvaggi (The Etiquette Advantage) has been an etiquette consultant for 17 years. BizCustoms sought her advice on the subject of handshake etiquette.

BC: Mary, why are handshakes such a concern in business situations?

MS: For a simple gesture, handshakes can be very confusing. I get a great many questions from both men and women about when handshakes are appropriate. In fact, handshake etiquette has changed over time as more women have entered the professional workforce. In business, a handshake is always appropriate and necessary for both men and women.

We are equally at fault in creating this confusion through differences in our behavior in business and social situations. Men do not make a distinction between business and social situations when shaking hands. They are more apt to extend their hand and give a firm handshake in every situation than women are. Socially, however, men rarely extend their hand to a woman first. They wait for her to make the first move and respond accordingly.

Women do make a distinction between business and social situations when shaking hands, but they shouldn’t. In their personal lives, women usually don’t shake hands automatically, if at all. When a woman is introduced to another woman in a social situation there is often no handshake. When I am with my husband and we are introduced to another couple it often happens that both the men will shake his hands, but not the women. However, I always shake both of their hands. This carries over into business situations where women sometimes shake hands and sometimes don’t.

BC: What sorts of questions do you get on this subject in your workshops?

MS: In one of my recent programs, a young professional woman said she had experienced a situation in which a male corporate manager shook the hands of male colleagues but not hers. She wasn’t sure how to interpret this or what to do. It is always appropriate for a young professional woman (or man for that matter) to shake hands. Often men, especially those of an older generation, are confused by the changes in the corporate culture that they have witnessed during their careers. This man may not be sure he still knows what is appropriate. He may wish to avoid giving offense or he may have concerns about sexual harassment.

“The essence of etiquette is to put others at ease” so I advised her, “You make the first move. Extend your hand because you are a professional and you know it is the right thing to do. He will probably shake your hand graciously in response.”

As soon as I finished this response a senior executive in his mid 50s spoke up to say he appreciated having all of this clarified. He said he was just not sure what the appropriate protocol was because so many things including laws have changed. In his position he wants and needs to make the right choices regarding professionalism.

BC: How do you recommend handshakes be done?

MS: Handshake must be firm; if the hand you are offered is not firm push your hand in further and lock thumbs to create a firm grip. Avoid “vice” grips or overly firm handshakes. These as well as a handshake that covers the top of the hand may be an attempt to dominate. Gentlemen, do not grab fingertips, grasp the entire hand. Ladies, return a handshake firmly rather than offering a limp one.

Handshakes have other uses as well. For instance, someone is walking toward you. You have no clue about the name but remember the face. Just extend your hand, say your own name, and wait expectantly, basically reintroducing yourself. (“Hello, Mary Starvaggi…” with outstretched hand.) Yes, they might think you can’t recall their name but it is a graceful way out of an awkward situation and usually they state their name in return.

Talking about handshakes always brings up the subject of hugs. Handshakes work better than hugs in professional situations, even with close friends. A hug is for personal relationships or strong connections. If you see a hug approaching and want to deflect it extend your hand for a handshake. A warm greeting is still possible without hugging.

BC: Any closing words of advice?

MS: A firm handshake does nothing but say “Confidence!” A weak or limp handshake says “I am not professionally confident” or “I have a weak self-image.” A good firm handshake is appropriate for both men and women in every business and social situation. It is also one of the three main parts of an introduction as well as vital in creating a positive first impression.

BC: Thank you for this excellent advice. Where can people reach you with questions?

MS: Questions are always welcome. Write to me at mlstarvaggi@fuse.net.

Training Helps Businesses Focus on Customer Service

Training should reinforce all of the things your business does right and reduce the number of things that drive customers away.  In tough economic times that can make a big difference.  Business owners can be tempted in tough times to reduce staff and try to do everything themselves.  No one has time to do everything, of course, and training often gets neglected.  Employees lack direction and their work begins to show it.

Training does not have to cost a fortune or be elaborate and time-consuming to be effective.  Here are some ways a business owner can manage training to reduce costs and help your employees focus on customer service.

Use slow times.  If business is slow take advantage of the time to do additional training.  There are fewer interruptions and more time available to practice desired skills.  Use the available time to build a stronger, more motivated organization.

Work with inexperienced staff:     New staff members require frequent interaction and feedback about their performance from management.  Be sure someone is there to give it or staff may not realize they are off track.  Interaction with management makes employees feel like part of a team and more likely to support your cost-saving goals.

Support real priorities.  Take those elements of your business customers most like and communicate about them to employees.  Make sure your employee handbook, job descriptions, and performance goals are consistent with each other in emphasizing these elements.  Inconsistency wastes time and staff resources on non-priorities and poor choices. 

Teach customer recognition.  Train everyone to recognize your best customers and find others like them.  Frequent, consistent communication between management and workers is essential to excellent customer service.

Empower Employees.  Teach your staff to listen and talk to customers in a way that produces feedback.  Make sure the feedback goes up the chain.  Empower employees to deal with less than perfect experiences.  Empowering employees can be scary so go in small steps.  Try something simple, see how they do, then try another step.

Reduce Staff Carefully:  Make sure there is someone left to deal with customers.  Make sure you do not eliminate the staff responsible for the elements of your business most popular with customers.  Don’t put yourself in the position of no longer being able to do what appeals to your customer.

Do the Right Thing - Return That Call! NOW!

by Danny O’Malia, Chief Customer Service Officer, Trustpointe 

To give great customer service, a company must build a CULTURE OF SERVICE. That’s what the late Joe O’Malia did at O’Malia’s. That culture of service must permeate everything throughout the company. And IT STARTS AT THE TOP. If the boss sets the tone, everyone else will follow. If not, you know how that turns out!

And one of the basic tenets of building a great customer service culture is to teach everyone to return every phone call or e-mail. Not just to return it but to return it UNBELIEVABLY FAST. Because it’s the right thing to do. And because you’ll be one of the few companies doing it, which is truly sad. I don’t know how often I returned a call from a customer in my days at O’Malia’s and the first reaction was, “I can’t believe you actually called me back!” or “Thanks for calling back so quickly!”

How many times have you, as a customer, been ignored when you called a business? What has your reaction been? I get angry and then I tell lots of other people, “Brighthouse failed to return my call!” See? I just did it again!

When a business returns a call in a timely and helpful manner, it’s done the right thing. It can learn a great deal about how it’s doing for its customers. If the call is a complaint, it’s an OPPORTUNITY to “make lemonade out of lemons;” that increases customer loyalty. And it enhances its CULTURE OF SERVICE. How’s your business at making sure EVERYONE returns EVERY call? If you don’t know, you’d better find out!

Want to find out more? Call Danny at 317-845-0041!

What is “Business Casual?”

by Amy Woodall, owner of Image Savvy and Professional Image Consultant.

That is probably the most common question I am asked as an Image Consultant. I hate the term.  No wonder everyone is so confused. On one hand we have “business” which most people understand quite well. It usually consists of a suit and tie for men and a suit or skirt/blazer combo for women. Then we have “casual” and that is where we get into trouble. Everyone has a different idea about what “casual” actually is. My idea is jeans and a nice shirt with heels, other people thinks it’s a t-shirt and jeans with sneakers and some believe “casual” to be pajama pants and an oversized sweatshirt. So we combine the two words “business” and “casual” and we have a crazy combination. Let me clarify how we should address this issue. First examine your profession.   What does a                                     look like? Next think of your clients. What do they look like? Now how about the company you work for? What is their image? Then dress accordingly.

When it comes to “business casual” just remember less casual and almost all business. So men lose the tie and keep the suit. You can even mix and match jackets and pants but please NO GOLF SHIRTS! For us women it doesn’t change much.  Play with color and mixing and matching while still looking professional.  Wardrobe can be quite hard to figure out and that is why I stay in business.  Never under estimate the power of dress.  We wear who we are on the outside……..so what is your clothing saying about you?

Amy Woodall can be reached at amy@imagesavvyindy.com

Training and Customer Service Etiquette

People with very nice table manners do not necessarily have good customer service manners.  If a company wants employees to exhibit particular good customer service manners those expectations must be clearly communicated.  That means including good customer service in the mission statement, orientation materials, job descriptions, handbooks, and all written materials that describe what the company does and how they do it.  Specific guidelines like the following make employee coaching easier:

Five Customer Service Guidelines

These guidelines apply the principles of etiquette to customer service. Performance appraisal training can help supervisors and managers use these guidelines appropriately to improve performance of existing employees.

But We Have Guidelines

What if clear behavioral guidelines already exist in job descriptions or other company documents and there are still problems?  It could be a simple problem of lax enforcement.  A little supervisory training or coaching may help. 

It could be that the wrong people are in public contact positions.  This does not mean you have hired dreadful anti-social people.  Everyone has preferences and you may have hired people who prefer working with data like reports.  They may prefer working with tools like machines or computers.  They may be excellent workers and very competent at what they prefer but they are not very good at public contact.  By contrast you may have people very good at public contact who cannot seem to make the copier work.  Placing those most comfortable with public contact in public contact positions will improve customer service.  Those less comfortable can benefit from training that helps them identify more effective ways of handling customer contacts. 

High Stress?

Staff might ignore customer service guidelines if they are highly stressed.  What are some indicators you might see that people are feeling over-stressed?

·          Voices are rushed and/or cold or speak too rapidly to be understood on the phone

·          The phone rings many times before being answered

·          Staffers show reluctance to stop other work to greet customers

·          Off-site customers indicate their technician was abrupt, non-communicative

·          There is on-going friction between departments

If staff members know a call will probably not be a pleasant experience they will avoid answering the phone.  If customers commonly arrive with complicated or unpleasant problems, staff will avoid engaging them.  Reaction to the occasional angry customer can be improved with stress management training and supervisory or managerial skills training as appropriate.  If customer discontent is caused by the something inherent to the organization, training won’t help.  All organizations change over time and a reduced level of customer service may be the first clue that adjustments are needed. 

 Sometimes staffers avoid customer contact because responsibility is not well defined.  That which is everybody’s responsibility becomes nobody’s responsibility in practical application.  Job descriptions that include specific descriptions of performance standards are a good way to define responsibility.   Supervisors and managers can be trained to use job descriptions to reinforce responsibility. General guidelines regarding customer service can be very helpful in setting expectations, especially when they are carried across all operations publications.  Here are two examples of general customer service guidelines that are specific about performance standards.

Two Customer Service Guidelines

·          The phone will be answered in no more than three rings.

·          Customers will be acknowledged within 10 seconds of arriving.

Sometimes work groups develop hierarchies that are counter-productive.  For example, an employee establishes rank among peers by exempting him or herself from the bother of answering the phone or greeting customers.  Over time the one-upmanship can get out of hand.  Strong supervisory skills are required to control or eliminate such game-playing.  This usually happens in companies where managers, and especially the company owner, exempt themselves from engaging in customer service activities.  “Higher-ranking people don’t have to deal with customers” becomes an unwritten rule.  Owners who want employees to give exemplary customer service must literally train by setting the example.  Customer service is one area in which leadership really counts.

Facing an Angry Mob

Sometimes the news is bad.  The ability to give bad news with grace and dignity is among the most valuable communication skills anyone can acquire.  It is the ultimate expression of respect for others and respect for others is the driving force behind etiquette. 

by Peggy West, CEBS, Director of Compensation and Benefits, Formica Corporation

FACING AN ANGRY MOB Delivering bad news without getting your tires slashed 

Emotionally Intelligent Signage

 

 Emotionally Intelligent Signage: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Here is an video by Daniel Pink, contributing editor of Wired Magazine, on the subject of “signs that convey rules of behavior in public places” and how such signs might influence greater compliance.   What a great idea - signs that acknowledge common concerns and show respect for the reader.   

Why Bother?

Why bother with Business Etiquette - or character or integrity or ethics?  There are plenty of people who don’t and sometimes they seem to be getting the upper hand.  People who deceive, cheat, and conduct business as if it was a war, don’t worry about showing respect for others. 

Perhaps it is the destruction they leave in their wake that gives the rest of us a reason to live differently.  Developing character is the hard work of a lifetime.  Following our personal sense of ethics in business is not always the easiest thing to do.  Those who advance civilization have, up to this point, always stayed ahead of those who destroy it - maybe because we work so hard at it.

It is up to those of us who value character and ethics to carry on the fight.  Every day each of us decides whether we will use respect for others to build a civil society or sink into rude indifference.  Business Etiquette is about being civil to each other.   That is what we choose.  That is why we bother.

New Addiction for a Networking Junkie

Lorraine Ball As a confirmed networking junkie, I am always looking for my next fix. This month my new fix is LinkedIn. An

on-line social network, Linkedin is often described as FaceBook for professionals.With an emphasis on career history, educational background and association membership, Linkedin has millions of members, with thousands more joining each day.How does it work? Once you register (basic membership is free) you can invite people to Linkin (connect to you through the online tool). You can search the Linkedin data base for people you know or upload your email address book. Either way, anyone who accepts your invitation is considered a Level 1 connection.People in their contact circles are considered your Level 2 connections. This is where the real power of LinkedIn comes in. While you may have only 100 people in your circle, if each one of them knows 100 different people, you are only two steps away from 10,000 business professionals. To expand your reach, expand your connections. The more people to whom you connect directly, the larger your total circle grows.These same

connections exist in the off line world. Your friends know people you want to meet, and sooner or later they may get around to introducing you. With Linkedin you can accelerate the process by requesting invitations. You can search by skills, type of company, jobs held, geographic regions, and common interests. If you find someone who fits your search criteria, LinkedIn will tell you how you are connected, who you know in common, and you can request an invitation.

LinkedIn actually tracks connections 3 steps away. So assuming the 10,000 people in your tier 2 circles also know 100 people each, your outer circle can easily be upwards of 1 million people. Although the connections are not as tight in this outer circle, using LinkedIn you can find someone, who knows someone, who knows the person you want to meet.

I am on LinkedIn - Now What? Here are just a few of the ways you can use LinkedIn

• LinkedIN as a job hunting tool - If you are looking for a job try searching the LinkedIn data base. Heavily used by recruiters and hiring managers, many jobs are listed exclusively on LinkedIN. Not only will you see the job, but a list of people in your circle who can make a connection to the hiring manger.
• LinkedIn as a hiring tool - While not free, listing job openings on LinkedIn will produce responses from candidates who come complete with referrals, reducing some of the uncertainty of the hiring experience.
• Eliminate cold calls with LinkedIn - Having trouble getting in front of the hard to reach CEO or purchasing manager. Look for them on LinkedIn and see who you know in common. Then ask for an introduction.
• Expand your visibility and contacts by asking and answering questions. You can connect directly or indirectly with your circles by asking a question. For example, recently I sent a request to my contacts for a list of business professionals in Ft. Wayne. This one questions generated more than 40 contacts in that community. It might have taken months to reach out to connect with that many professionals using traditional mediums.
• Check your homepage for questions posed to your circles and answer a few from time to time. Always include a link to your website or blog. These postings are a great way to build traffic to your core site, or simply improve your standing in search engine rankings.

LinkedIN will never replace the face-to-face interaction, but it can give your traditional networking an extra buzz.