Editors’ note: Reprinted with permission from M Power Resources, LLC.

When I walked into the electronics store the other day, I noticed that the customer service rep was talking to someone on her cell phone. I waved hello to her but she turned away from me and continued talking on the phone. I didn’t saying anything to her, thinking that I’d just let her finish her conversation.

From what I was able to hear of the conversation, it certainly didn’t sound very earth-shattering.

“Saturday? Yeah, like, I guess so. I dunno. Like, whenever I get off work, I guess. Yeah, like, I need to call her. I know, right?”

After she saw that I wasn’t going to give up and go away, the sales clerk (and I use that term loosely) sighed heavily and announced to her friend that she had to, like, get off the phone and, like, go help a customer.  

Ain’t it wonderful to be loved and appreciated?

One of the worst things that you can do to your business is have someone like this representing you.

Let me put it this way. Suppose your competition wanted to sabotage you, so they hired somebody to infiltrate your work force and destroy your business from within. What do you think that corporate saboteur might do to torpedo your company? My guess is that they would stand around talking on the phone or texting, while ignoring customers when they came into your business. Is there anything that they could do that would drive away customers more quickly? I think not.

On the other hand, if you can train your people to TALK, your business has a huge advantage. And by “TALK,” I mean,

T – Take initiative! Don’t wait for the customer to speak to you. How about greeting him first? And how about saying “hello“ with a little enthusiasm (as in, I‘m grateful you’re here so that I can make a living and pay my bills), instead of treating them like an annoyance (I wish you would go away so I can, like, finish my conversation with Brittany). Throw a hello at ‘em. It doesn’t mater what it is–a buenos dias, a howdy, a hey-HEY-hey. Whatever! I don’t care what you say, just make an attempt. There is nothing that turns the customer off quicker than being ignored.

A – Ask questions. It’s not all about what you have to say. Yes, certainly find out what you can do to help the customer, but beyond that, ask them conversational questions. Let them know that you recognize them as not only a potential sale or problem to solve, but that you see them as a person. How are you today? How’s the weather outside? How ‘bout them Giants? Again, it’s not about the question. It’s about the person.

L – Listen. Yep, shutting your trap and hearing what the other person has to say is a big part of talking. You can’t respond to your customer without first hearing what they’re all about. You would be amazed at the information you can get just by being quiet and letting the other person ramble for a minute. At the very least, they’ll feel like you care and if they feel you care about them, then you are halfway home toward creating customer satisfaction.

K – Keep information from the conversation. Whenever possible, take just a moment to jot down a note or two from your interaction with the customer. In my office, we take notes during every phone conversation so the next time we interact with you, we know exactly where we were in the conversation. Nobody can remember every conversation they have with every customer, so it helps immensely to have a record, so that when your important client walks in the real or virtual door, you can respond as if you just spoke to them yesterday.

It’s not hard to create customer loyalty if you take the time to TALK!

© 2012 Charles Marshall. Charles Marshall is a nationally known humorous motivational speaker and author. Visit his Web site at www.charlesmarshall.net or contact him via e-mail at info@MPowerResources.com.

Here are 10 tips for confronting employees whose negative behavior has begun to affect co-workers and the company:

1. Don’t get drawn into the employees’ negative mind-set. Listen to their points, but don’t temper your own realistic optimism.

2. Avoid getting into an argument. Negative people thrive on the negative energy of arguments. Point out areas of agreement when possible in order to build rapport. Keep your cool.

3. Set standards. Spell out the consequences of negative behavior, such as decreased morale. Base them on behavior, not attitude. For example, you may not be able to change the fact that an employee doesn’t like a certain company policy. But you can discipline employees if they don’t follow the policy or are insubordinate in gossiping about it.

4. Ask questions. Force the employee to be specific about what is creating his or her negative thoughts and actions.

5. Try role-playing. Ask the employee to put himself in your shoes and pretend he has been asked to resolve the problem. That way, you will have the employee contribute his ideas for the best possible solutions. Involving the employee may also lead to more positive feelings about the solution or outcome since he or she had a hand in creating it.

6. Listen carefully. Use active listening to ensure that you’re understanding the employee correctly.

7. Don’t lower your expectations of them. A negative attitude doesn’t necessarily mean a poor performer.

8. Empower employees. Stop the “victim” mentality from forming. Allow employees to take responsibility for “good” events, so they can make them happen again; and for the “bad” events, so they have the power to change them in the future.

9. Solicit feedback. Always ask for employees’ opinions before making major decisions that will affect them. The more you listen to employees and take an active interest in their concerns, the less likely they will be to complain to each other.

10. Hire right. Identify negative people before they’re hired. During the interview, listen for feelings that “life isn’t fair” in response to questions like: Have you ever felt you’ve been treated unfairly in the past? What were your chief concerns about management in your previous jobs? What would you have changed if you were the manager at your last job?

4 important don’ts

1. Don’t shower negativists with lots of attention. You’re only rewarding bad behavior.

2. Don’t stop asking them to pitch in and do tasks outside their normal job descriptions. Otherwise, you’re also punishing positive (or less vocal) employees.

3. Don’t correct them less often in order to avoid dealing with the attitude. Employees can’t be expected to change for the better if they’re not asked to.

4. Don’t allow employees to get bored or complacent. A negative attitude develops easily when there’s “nothing to look forward to.”

This information is proudly provided by Business Management Daily.com: http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/34174/10-ways-to-overcome-negative-vibes-among-your-staff

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Libraries are the pulse to a thriving and successful campus. On top of our research, in-class library instruction and reference shifts, librarians are busy promoting, socializing and educating about library events. Reed Library at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado created a Leverage Team to help with marketing, public relations, events and outreach.

The goal the Leverage Team is to inspire in students the same passion we have about our library. In the fall of 2012, Reed librarians were busy putting together academic level displays, events and competitions to capture students’ attention and get them involved in the library.

Here are just a few examples from 2012:

Community Historical Society Outreach. The Animas Museum, La Plata Historical Society and Reed Library have a shared respect for archives and history. The Animas Museum in Durango, Colorado sets up a new historic display once a semester in Reed Library. Fort Lewis College students intern at the museum where they get the chance to work with historical artifacts and create displays that are eventually displayed at Reed Library. These exhibits promote a bond and sense of community outreach with our local historical society.

Art Department. An Art Department Professor and his students have been collaborating with Reed Library for several years, contributing admirable student artwork for our library exhibits. Students love to bring their friends, roommates and family members to the library to show off their artwork.

Art Competition. Reed Library holds a student art competition toward the beginning of the school year. A panel of instructors and librarians vote on proposals that are submitted to the library by art students. The winner’s art is revealed at an Art Reception that is hosted at the library.

Food For Fines. Reed Library’s Leverage Team and The Grub Hub team up at the end of the semester to help students with library fines. The Grub Hub is a campus run organization where students or faculty can donate canned goods for those in need. Students can bring in high-protein canned food items into the library to eliminate one library fine.

Book Sale. Every semester Reed Library holds a book sale outside of the library. All of the books that are sold are donations that we receive from alumni, faculty or local community members. The book sale brings in a vast student population. It is also a great way to give back to our wonderful students, promote literacy and the love of the library.

Pumpkin Carving Contest. For Halloween, Reed Library hosts a Student Pumpkin Carving Contest. We display Jack ‘o Lanterns for an entire week. Students are encouraged to come in and vote on their favorite pumpkin. Not only are students getting involved in a library activity, they are coming into the library where we have other promotions and displays going on.

Social Media. Half of the Leverage Team’s success comes from social media and networking through Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Social Media websites are excellent avenues for promoting smaller events or advertising new books at Reed Library. Every morning, our librarian takes the time to research news or big events happening in the library community. She also checks around campus to help promote other events going on around the campus community.

In conclusion, Reed Library’s Leverage Team is passionate about getting students involved and zealous about outreach. The promotion, advocacy and community-specific targeted services of our campus fortifies our College.

“Working Well: A Global Survey of Health Promotion and Workplace Wellness Strategies” found that employers, regardless of location, identified improving worker productivity and reducing presenteeism as one of their top wellness program objectives.

“With productivity having a direct tie to bottom-line revenue, organizations now consider health promotion as a core business value that positively impacts their ability to compete,” said Dave Ratcliffe, principal, Buck Consultants. “With signs of job market improvement emerging in the U.S., employers will be challenged to maintain productivity gains earned during the recession as employees have increased job mobility.”

As health promotion takes its place as a top consideration among drivers of profitability and performance, an increasing number of organizations recognize their role in managing employee health – 87 percent in 2012 vs. 75 percent in 2010.

Overall, still only 36 percent of respondents currently measure specific outcomes of their health promotion programs, citing lack of resources (68 percent) and not knowing how to measure (34 percent) as the top reasons for not measuring. The likelihood of measurement increases with employer size, although even among the largest employers (20,000+ employees), only 47 percent report having measured specific outcomes.

Buck’s fifth annual global wellness survey analyzed responses from more than 1,300 organizations in 45 countries representing more than 17 million employees.

Another key finding to emerge in this year’s survey is employers’ reaction to the recent economic downturn between employers who measure program results and those who do not. Thirty percent of employers who measured health promotion program outcomes indicated that they increased their emphasis on wellness programs during tough economic outlook vs. 21 percent of employers who do not measure outcomes.

“Employers who measure program outcomes do so with a greater focus on driving business results,” said Ratcliffe. “A healthier workforce is a more productive workforce, which produces greater revenue that is sustainable over the long term. So these employers understand the value of continuing their wellness initiatives even during hard economic times.”

Further emphasizing the impact on the bottom line, the survey found that 23 percent of U.S. employers indicated their wellness program helped reduce the cost of providing health care benefits to their employees. Of those:

– 62 percent reported health care cost trend rate reductions of 2 percentage points or more.

– 13 percent reported trend rate reductions of 6 percentage points or more.

Other key findings of Buck’s global wellness study include:

– Increase in globalization – Among participating multinational organizations, 49 percent have a global health promotion strategy, up from 34 percent in 2008.

– Program focus: move more, relax and eat better – Though different by specific geographic region, the majority of employers cite physical activity, stress, and workplace safety as the top three issues driving wellness program design.

– Incentives impact on program participation depends on type of activity – The survey shows that incentives have a direct correlation to program participation levels, but initiatives that require long-term lifestyle changes (such as physical exercise and nutrition) are not as greatly influenced by incentives as are more immediate programs (such as health assessment and biometric screenings).

– Wellness initiatives continue to add value over time – While significant results from a wellness program can take years to realize, the survey shows how the impact of wellness programs differs by short-term and long-term payoff.

Additional issues covered by Buck’s global survey include program design, incentives, organizational ownership of wellness programs and communication strategies.

An archived webinar on the survey results and implications is available at: https://buckconsultants.omnovia.com/archives/125416 .

The global survey results will be further examined at the first Global Healthy Workplace Awards & Summit in London on April 10-12. The summit will bring together leaders in global health and well-being from diverse fields, and finalists for the prestigious Global Healthy Workplace Award will present their solutions.

Buck Consultants’ survey was conducted in association with Integrated Health, a Pfizer Solution, Cigna(R), vielife and Wolf Kirsten International Health Consulting.

About the Research Partners

Buck Consultants, A Xerox Company, is a leader in human resource and benefits consulting with more than 1,500 professionals worldwide. Founded in 1916 to advise clients in establishing and funding some of the nation’s first public and private retirement programs, Buck is an innovator in the areas of retirement benefits, health and welfare programs, talent and human resources solutions, compensation, and employee communication. News and other information about Buck Consultants are available at http://www.buckconsultants.com .