Employees and Improved Performance

1. Teach Employees to Smile More

The class and elegance of a smile is a long-lost art that can be used to improve the mood, change people’s minds, and even get through a tough day at work. With all the advantages of smiling, amazingly, so few of us are doing it.

When phone operatives use a smile as they answer the phone, they set the tone for the conversation. This can make the difference between dealing with a happy client and an irate one.

You should take this magic a step forward and encourage employees to smile before they send an email response. Smiling while sending an unhappy letter, such as a response to an angry client can help you lift the tone of the conversation and bring you around to a positive response. This can also help you to remember that many customers just want to feel that their concerns are going to be heard.

HR Tip

Naturally, you don’t want to “tell” your employees to smile more as this is not always the best way to bring about the desired results. But you may think of bringing them around to the bigger idea by reminding them of all the benefits of smiling and why they should practice this in their work-life. Ask “what are the triggers we could use to smile before we interact with a customer?”

2. Encourage Better Posture

Posture is an important part of your company’s culture and passion for excellence. It also sends a strong message to your customer about the type of professionalism they can expect from the company they are dealing with. If your employees are all sitting straight with their heads held high, customers will probably take this as a sign of high standards of work culture.

There is an adage that says something like “the customer is always right”, this misconception has gone on long enough. No employee should have the right to treat a merchant or service provider with anything but respect and dignity. Customers must learn that if they would like quality service, they should offer respect in return.

The benefits of good posture are many, including improving creativity and increasing the flow of blood to the head.

HR Tip

Once again don’t just bark out commands like “sit straight”, “shoulders soldier”, or “keep your elbows off the table” as this will not have the desired effect. The best option would be to explain the benefits of good posture and allow them to make their own decisions.

3. Active Relaxation

Stress is a considerable factor in the modern workplace and is the epidemic of the modern age. The more tools people have to manage the stress that afflicts them the more resilience they will have to this unpleasant issue that can hamper productivity.

One of the best ways to begin will be by providing your employees with the mental tools to deal with their daily work and keep their customers as happy as they can. The benefit of reduced days taken off for sick leave is also a nice touch.

One of the best ways to accomplish this is to have socialization spaces where your employees can gather and talk when they feel overwhelmed and need to unwind. Be sure to speak to them about the need to unwind and slow down when things are getting too difficult. It is easy to assume that turning on the TV and drowning out the stress will achieve relaxation, but this is not always the way things work. I always suggest that people take a walk around the block and get their blood flowing. This not only improves physical conditions it can increase mental altitude as well.

HR Tip

Employees should always be encouraged to slow down when they are feeling overwhelmed and stressed out. This is the best way for them to regain their composure and take time to recharge.