Professional Development III Developed and Facilitated by: Jan Dwyer Bang, MBA, CSP Service Leadership – Serving with Excellence, Clarity, and Heart

City Council Your Mayor Citizens Public Works Planning Building Department

What’s Happening in your World

“ We have a challenge with customer service because the public has the misconception that we can do things like retailers can and that just isn’t the case. We are limited because of the requirements set forth by the auditor’s office. We are using tax payer dollars.” -Paula Swisher, City of Brier

“My biggest challenge is with public records requests. Not every clerk is a public records officer, but many of us are. The laws are stringent and one little slip up can cost your jurisdiction thousands of dollars…” -Ali Spietz, City of Mercer Island

“Biggest challenge is elevating awareness in the agency that the work of Clerks is far from the age-old impression of a woman running behind a Mayor with a tablet and a pencil asking him to sign whatever…City Clerks are public administrators and nothing less, and their organizational placement in most municipalities is far below where it belongs.” -Christy O’Flaherty, City of Tukwila

Stepping in the shoes of Your Employees How would your staff members rate their current service experience in your organization?

Customer Service Self-Assessment

HoursMinutesSeconds Share your results with a neighbor

Moments of Truth “Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things.” -Frank A. Clark

You achieve customer satisfaction, retention, loyalty by exceeding what customers anticipate in positive ways. -50 Powerful Ideas You Can Use to Keep Your Customers, Paul R. Timm, Ph.D.

Human and Business (Task) Element TaskHuman A given What can distinguish your city from other cities

Activity Someone you Admire as a Leader

What do you think really made this person successful?

Emotional Intelligence Emotional flexibility and expressiveness EQ relates to your ability to motivate yourself and others, manage your moods, connect with others, think clearly despite strong emotions, and be hopeful. - Daniel Goleman

We Need our Emotions! Latin word -Motus Anma meaning “the spirit that moves us” Emotions serve as the single most powerful source of human energy, authenticity, and drive. Emotions can offer us intuitive wisdom

Question for Discussion –(Big) Life Decisions: –%____(Logic) –%____(Emotion)

Feelings are not Enough! Emotional intelligence requires that we learn to acknowledge and value feelings in ourselves and in others Emotional intelligence requires that we appropriately respond to our feelings and apply the information and emotions in our lives

It is emotional intelligence that motivates us to pursue our unique potential and purpose, and activates our innermost values and aspirations!

Question for Reflection What is more difficult for you – the “task” or the “human” level? How does having a high EQ help you in those challenging “moment of truth” encounters?

Emotional Intelligence is essentially: Being Self-Aware – (Self-Awareness) Being Able to Manage your Emotions Effectively (Self-Management)– How we “soothe” ourselves, shake off anxiety, gloom or irritability

Emotional Intelligence is essentially: Social Awareness –People who have empathy are more attuned to the subtle social signals that indicated what others need. They also can read feelings from non-verbal cues and are “emotionally nourishing.” Relationship Management - These include dealing with conflict, collaborating with others, and managing relationships

Laughter and the Open Loop

“Laughter and humor is GOOD for the workplace!”

How do you respond to the “human” needs? Assess your current EQ level (Appendix) Consider the situation from the customer’s point of view Acquire knowledge Attentively listen Project your willingness to help Assure the customer problem will be handled; be positive

We tend to “give out” what we desire - instead of what the client is looking for

Service Leadership Tip: Connect with the customer’s “heart” by beginning and ending each interaction on the human level

Human and Task Needs Scenarios

What Makes Service Challenging? (From Selling the Invisible, Harry Beckwith) People tend to take it personally when there is a service breakdown. As products become more homogenous, the core of the product is the service itself. Service is dependent upon the imperfect, unpredictable, inconsistent human being delivering it!

Why Customers Quit 3 percent move away 5 percent develop other friendships 9 percent leave for competitive reasons 14 percent are dissatisfied with the product 68 percent quit because of an attitude of indifference toward the customer by the owner, manager, or some employee From How to Win Customers & Keep Them For Life, Michael LeBoeuf, Ph.D.

Losing Customers Cost Us Money ! A typical business hears from only 4 percent of its dissatisfied customers. The other 96 percent just quietly go away and 91 percent will never come back. From How to Win Customers & Keep Them For Life, Michael LeBoeuf, Ph.D.

Impact of what YOU are doing!

Why I love my job My role affords me the ability to have a positive effect on the level, type, and quality of citizens and staff. I know I am in a position to make a difference and I can see the long-term impact. -Christy O’Flaherty, City of Tukwila

Why I love my job I do double duty in my city as a clerk- treasurer and I love it all. I enjoy participating in the budget process, assisting the Mayor and Council. My job is never boring. - Paula Swisher, City of Brier

Why I love my job … Using expertise to help people get answers, gaining exposure to diverse views and populations, contributing to the public good, & helping improve the quality of life in our communities. - Scott Passey, Shoreline

Why I love my job Every day is different. I also love that I’m the hub of the City. People come to me to find out where to go for information or to find things. -Ali Spietz, City of Mercer Island

PPT 4-2 PPT 4-3 PPT 4-4 Thoughtful Steadiness Accepting Influence Accepting Active Questioning Dominance PPT 4-7 Influence Active Dominance Questioning Conscientiousness Direct, results-oriented Expressive, Relationship Analytical, DeliberativeSupportive, cooperative

Who are your customers?

“A brand is a vibrant picture that exists in consumer’s minds.” -Branded Customer Service by Janelle Barlow and Paul Stewart

“When service is branded and combined with a solid product/service offering, you have a winning combination that will reduce the impact of your competitors.” -Branded Customer Service by Janelle Barlow and Paul Stewart

From the customer’s point of view… 1.They are buying our “whole experience” 2.They are looking to see who adds the “most value” 3.They are looking for exceptional, consistent service Adapted From The Wow Factory- Creating a Customer Focus Revolution in your Business by Paul Levesque

What your Customer is looking for… Can I rely on you? Can I trust that your work will be done on time and within budget? Do you take pride in your work?

What your Customer is looking for… Am I recognized as an individual? Am I important?

Make it a goal to apply these service dimensions in every client interaction Service Leadership Tip:

Benefits of a Service Culture to a team: 1.Service Consistency 2.Continual Improvement 3.Increased engagement

Elements of a Service Culture 1.Develop a service vision. 2.Inspire learning at every level. 3.Align your systems to support your service culture

How to Create a Service Culture Vision Service Standards Recognition Program Feedback Measurement

Definition: Vision: A clear, compelling, magnetic and galvanizing mental picture of a desired future state. It tells a compelling story of the future. It is an image that EVERYONE enthusiastically embraces. It is an image that matters to everybody. It is something that each of us can live every day.

There are Questions that must be answered! How will our “customers” see us act 3 years from now? How will the people we contact throughout the day be treated?

How to develop a Vision of Service Core Values Assumptions Customer Feedback Organization’s Mission

Example of a Vision of Service At Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission, we seek to

Service Standards Measurable objective benchmarks that every person strives for Service standards – general & specific Specific, Measurable, realistic

Recognition Program Clarify who can recognize whom Think about creative, low-cost but meaningful ways to recognize employees Consider a Peer to Peer recognition program

Feedback Are you hearing from your customers? Feedback for internal customers (Climate Survey) Feedback for external customers Make it easy for customers to give feedback Say thank you When possible, share with customers how you changed service based on their feedback

Measurement “What doesn’t get measured, doesn’t get done!” Are people being held accountable to the vision of service and standards of service? How can we measure quality service? Look at every touch point and ask yourself, “How can we make this service better?” Processes and Systems (Templates)

Quick Review 1.What is a moment of truth? 2.Describe the human and business element as they relate to service. Why is the human element is important? 3.What is one way you can increase your Emotional Quotient so that you can better connect with the “human” element in service? 4.How do we build bridges by matching customer’s styles? 5.How would you adapt your communication to the Dominance style? How would you adapt your communication to the Influence style? 6.What are the 5 dimensions of service? 7.Why is creating a service culture so important? 8.What are the elements of a service culture? 9.What are the benefits of a service culture to a team? 10.What is ONE action step that you will take as a result of this session?

Professional Development III Developed and Facilitated by: Jan Dwyer Bang, MBA, CSP Service Leadership – Serving with Excellence, Clarity, and Heart