Leadership can be tough, especially in today’s environment.  However, a lot of leaders overthink how to manage their employees.  At the end of the day, employees just want to be enabled, empowered, and inspired.  But how do you achieve that?  Well, it starts with keeping an open line of communication with them and being intentional with that communication. Not sure where to begin?   This list of questions to ask your employees every week is a great place to start.

Conversation Basics

But before we begin, let’s start with the basics. As a leader, it is important that you treat employees like you would want to be treated.  You want your boss to believe that you have good intentions and want to succeed, right?  Your employees crave the same thing.   Work hard to go into every conversation with an employee with an open mind and heart.   Work to remove any bias and preconceived notions.

The next basic is that you must be genuine with the conversations.  if you are asking these questions to check it off your list, your employee will see right through that.  You need to be genuine and sincerely want to have the conversation and make it easier for your employees to be successful.  This means, holding off on a conversation if you are not in the right mindset. it also means being vulnerable and transparent in every conversation.   <If you want to learn more about vulnerability, I recommend that you read every book from Rene Brown!   It will transform your leadership!>

You should also hold yourself accountable.  The more you talk to your employee, the more they will talk.  The more they talk, the more you will understand what their challenges and struggles are.  Asking these questions weekly will ensure that you build that trust and set the groundwork for a consistent pipeline of communication. These conversations may feel awkward at first but push through that until they aren’t.  Eventually, you and your employee will look forward to your time together and you will both find yourselves more engaged and productive.

Questions to Ask Your Employees Every Week

How are you doing?

This first question seems easy enough, right? However, many managers don’t get it right.  At least once a week ask your employee how they are doing and genuinely listen to their response. Your employees are people with very real issues, concerns, and feelings both at work and at home.  Your job as a leader is to continue to check-in and show that you care about their wellbeing.

This question is not just a great way to show that you care and build emotional trust, but it is also a great way to learn more about what is important to your employee and what motivates them.  For example, when my manager asks me how I am doing, I always bring up my kids because they are the most important people to me.  My manager picks up on this and takes great care to ensure that I am able to have a work/life balance because that is important to me.

What are you proud of this week?

This is a great question to ask your employee every week because it gives them the opportunity to showcase their best work.  As a manager, you are likely very busy so it can be really easy to miss some of the contributions that your employees are making. Asking this helps minimize that.

In addition to allowing your employee to showcase their work, their response will also provide some insight into their priorities and passions.  This is important information that you can use as a leader to ensure that you are matching the right work with the right person.  For example, if your employee always talks about his ability to project manage, then you can ensure that they have opportunities to do that type of work more often.

What is Getting in Your Way?  How Can I help?

Your job as a leader is to make it easier for your team to do their best work. Therefore, it is essential that you have a firm understanding of what is getting in their way.   Are their processes slowing them down?  Do they have the right tools and resources?  Are they struggling with a partner or customer?

Once you find out, ask them what you can do to help support them.   Just asking the question shows helps build emotional trust.

As an aside, don’t be surprised if they say that YOU are the bottleneck.  If that is the case, thank your employee for letting you know. It takes a lot of courage to share that type of feedback and it indicates that they really care about the work. Next, come up with a plan to fix it.

Fixing it can mean giving up some control. For example, if you have to sign off on every email or document that your employee sends, perhaps you don’t have to do that anymore.   Or if it is a delay in communication, perhaps you set aside an hour every day for “office hours” where team members can pop in and ask you questions or get what they need from you.   Work with your team and ask them what they need.

What Did You Learn This Week?

Another goal of leaders is to grow and develop their talent.  Not only is this important for your employee’s engagement level, but it helps you build a more effective team.   Each week, ask your employee to share what they learned.  This will provide them an opportunity to share more about what they are interested in developing, where their skills are, and how they prefer to learn.

In addition, asking this question every week will keep your employees on their toes looking for learning opportunities. Asking them regularly will help hold them accountable to their own growth and development.

What Is On Your Mind?

This is the final of the questions that you should ask your employees every week, but one of the most important.  You want your employee to feel that they can come to you with anything.  Sometimes they may be apprehensive to doing so. Asking this question gives them an opportunity to do that.

By providing the space and time for the employee to discuss what is important to them, you are building valuable emotional trust.   In fact, as a leader this is one of my favorite questions to ask my team because it really allows me to learn their priorities and where they are in terms of engagement. Some of the best conversations and breakthroughs came from asking this simple question.

There you have it, a set of very simple questions that you can ask your employees.  This will help provide the framework to really get to know what is going on in your business, the challenges that your team is facing, how you can support them, and what is important to your team.

What are some questions that you have asked or been asked?   Leave a comment below!

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Disclaimer: This post contains affliate links

Whether you are in an office or working from your couch, a good cardigan can make a world of difference in your day.  A warm cardigan can help you stay comfortable and focused.   So, we have done the search for the very best cardigans for work and are excited to share!

Basic Black Cardigan

No wardrobe is complete without a classic cardigan. Every closet should have one.

Color Block Cardigan

I love this block color cardigan. It’s easy to wear at work or on the weekends and adds some style to your wardrobe.

Dokotoo Womens Fashion Open Front Long Sleeve Cardigans

This cardigan has a beautiful texture. It comes in several colors and can be thrown over a business casual dress or used to dress up some jeans.

Spicy Sandia Women’s Open Front Lightweight Knit Cardigans Long Sleeve Sweaters

If you are looking for something a bit dressier, this long cardigan is a great option.    It’s super soft and has a longer length which can be hard to find in a cardigan.

Plaid Cardigan

Sometimes you need to spice things up a bit. This plaid cardigan can help keep you warm and stylish.

Long Cardigan with Pockets 

This is another fall classic that comes in a ton of colors. You can dress this up or throw it over a tee-shirt on the weekends.  The length makes it super cozy for a frigid office!

What are you favorite cardigans for work?  What are your other work wardrobe necessities?  Leave a comment and share below!

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Must-Have Work Wardrobe Finds from Amazon

Workout Gear for Busy Moms 

Amazon is a great place to refresh your work wardrobe. Not only can you find affordable and quality pieces, but they also come right to your doorstep.  You can also find wardrobe pieces that you can’t find just everywhere.  Here are the must-have work wardrobe finds from Amazon.

LookbookStore Women’s Notched Blazer

This blazer comes in several colors and is a great way to spruce up any outfit.

Shein Bow Tie Blouse 

This blouse comes in over 25 different colors or prints to match anything in your wardrobe.

Milumia Women’s Casual Top 

Pair this classic top with a pair of slacks and a statement necklace and you will look polished (and comfy!)

JASAMBAC Pencil Dress 

This is a timeless professional dress that you can wear for years to come.

Yogipace Dress Pants

Make the transition from sweatpants to work pants a little easier with these yoga dress pants.

Happy Sail Wide Leg Jumpsuit

Jumpsuits are a great way to look polished yet fashionable. This particular jumpsuit comes in many sizes and colors.

Pretty Garden Belted Dress 

This dress is polished, professional, and comes in many different colors.  Dress it up or down depending on your office vibe.

Ataiwee Women’s Ballet Flats 

Every woman needs a pair of plain black flats. These are adorable, affordable, and comfortable!

Ninewest Black Pump 

Ecosusi Laptop Bag

This durable laptop bag has several compartments and can fit any outfit.

If you are looking for other bags, check out this post.

Hopefully, you enjoy this list of work wardrobe finds from Amazon.  Do you have any other favorites to add to the list? Leave a comment below.

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Summer is upon us and that means that working parents across the globe are simultaneously rejoicing and crying.  Summertime means no more nagging kids to finish their homework but it also means trying to juggle work while you have them at home.

I’m going on eight years of having kids at home while I work from home so I am about as experienced as any in keeping kids busy while you try to get some work done.  Through the years I’ve found certain activities and toys that really help keep the kids busy and engaged so you can crank out some work!

Check out these ways to keep your kids occupied this summer!

iPad

I have no shame in saying that iPads help me greatly while working from home. Sometimes I just need a few interrupted moments to focus on a task or call.  A tablet never fails me. I make sure to install educational apps such as Kiddopia, ABC Mouse, Prodigy, and Epic to make myself feel better about having an iPad babysitter (and to help them learn, of course).

Pro tip:  I try to limit their iPad time so when I really need them occupied, they will be.  If I have an important call, I will make sure they don’t have access to it until that time so it is more effective.

Sidewalk Chalk

At the beginning of each summer, I buy a box of sidewalk chalk and it is a surefire way to occupy your kids for a few hours.  When working from home, I set up a chair with my laptop and let them run wild on our driveway.

What I particularly love about sidewalk chalk is that it’s great for all ages.  When they were younger they would just draw random things. Now that my kids are older, we will make obstacle courses, draw maps, and even do math problems with the sidewalk chalk.

Crafts 

Crafts are a great way to keep the kids occupied this summer.  There are countless types of crafts that can be tailored to the age level and interests of your kids.   My favorite places to buy crafts are Amazon, Michaels, and Five Below.

One craft that seemed to draw my kid’s interest is Aquabeads.  They are essentially little beads that can be made into little figures.  My daughter can spend hours making all of her favorite things.

Math Cubes

I have a ton of toys in our home. These little math cubes from Lakeshore Learning get played with almost every day by my kids and all of their friends.   What is cool about these blocks is that you can use them for learning math concepts but they can also be used for building things.   Full disclaimer, the only downside to these is that you will find them everywhere in your house.

Inflatable Pool 

A pool is a surefire way to occupy your kids for hours.  I grab a lawn chair and sit close by while my kids splash and swim all afternoon.   I like the smaller size pools for younger kids because they are less costly, less maintenance, and are safer.

We have had one for the last three years and we get our money’s worth every single year.  Pro tip: try to buy a pool early on in the summer as soon as they are available. Otherwise, they sell out quickly and can become overpriced.

Plasma Cars 

We have four plasma cars and they are worth every penny. They have been in heavy summer (and even winter) rotation since my kids were 2!  It’s a great way for them to get some energy out and stay occupied while you try to get some work done.

Outschool

I’m sure the last thing on your child’s mind is to take classes during the summer, but hear me out. Outschool is a platform that has over 100,000 interactive online classes. These courses include anything that your kid could possibly be interested in.  There are courses on Roblox, unicorns, algebra, yoga, Bluey, really anything you can think of. It’s a great way to occupy and educate your child while you hunker down and get some work done.

What do you do to keep the kids occupied this summer? Any toys or activities that help you get work done?  Leave a comment below to share!

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Employee engagement is likely something that you have been hearing a lot about, but why is it important? And why should you invest the time to read employee engagement books?

KFC and Chick-Fil-A.   Two companies that sell essentially the same thing, chicken.  However, these two companies have drastically different success.  Chick-Fil-A outearns KFC by almost 4x the amount of revenue with only a fraction of the stores.  And to top it off, they are only open 6 days a week.

Why is there such a notable difference in the performance of these two chicken companies?  Chick-Fil-A has a culture that focuses on people.   They work hard to make sure that their employees are happy in order to make their customers happy.

Just think about any successful business- their success is likely enabled by engaged and empowered employees.  Apple?  They have enabled and empowered developers to bring revolutionary products to market.   Starbucks? They have engaged and empowered employees to deliver an exceptional experience to their customers.   Tesla? They have engaged and empowered engineers committed to revolutionizing the automobile industry.   Engaged employees make the difference.

Great leaders understand this secret to success and work hard every day to engage and empower their teams.

So how can you develop the skills necessary to achieve this type of success? Check out these employee engagement books that can help you build your leadership skills and grow your business.

The Truth About Employee Engagement: A Fable About Addressing the Three Root Causes of Job Misery

This is a wonderful story about how engaged employees can make or break a business.  It also provides very practical advice on how to engage and empower your employees.  It’s a an easy read that any leader can benefit from reading!

Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work: Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles of RESPECT

There is a lot of misconception about how to engage employees. For example, many companies focus on getting ping ball tables in their breakrooms or hosting weekly Zoom cocktail hours.  These things will not make an empowered and engaged workforce.   This book does a great job of breaking down what employees truly need in order to be engaged and is a must-read employee engagement boook.

The Non-Obvious Guide To Employee Engagement (For Millennials, Boomers And Everyone Else)

There are significant generational differences in what employees want and need in the workplace.  Great leaders understand these differences and work hard to respect these differences.     This book will walk you through these generational differences and provide practical ways to enable them.   This book also does a great job of dispelling engagement misconceptions that will help you take your leadership to the next level.

The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People

The 5 Love Languages is a bit of a cult classic.   It has helped people in marriages and relationships for years understand what their partners value. This book does the same for leaders to understand what their employees need in the workplace. It’s an easy read that sheds light on what employees really appreciate to help empower and engage them.

The Seventh Level: Transform Your Business Through Meaningful Engagement with Your Customers and Employees

Employees experience a lot of noise. This book looks to cut out the noise in order to genuinely connect with your employees. This book is a quick read and provides easy strategies to help form connections and deepen employee engagement. As an added bonus, it also covers customer engagement so you can tackle both holistically.

Fish!: A Proven Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results

This was one of the first “business books” I read out of college and it has paid dividends.  At the end of the day, people spend more time with their coworkers than they spend with their family.   Employees that are able to have fun and enjoy their time together are far more likely to be engaged and have better overall well-being. This easy read reinforces the need for fun in the workplace and provides some great strategies and tactics to make your workplace more enjoyable and engaging.

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

‘Start with Why’ is a must read for any leader.   One sure-fire way to inhibit your employee’s engagement and performance is to not tie their work back to a purpose.   Working towards a greater good can help inspire the most curmudgeon of employees.  Once you are able to enroll employees in “the why”, you will unlock a new level of success. This book helps you do just that.

It’s the Manager: Moving From Boss to Coach

I’m a big fan of all of Gallup’s employee engagement work. They have unprecedented research of what contributes to employee engagement and drive success of organizations.  This particular book is great because it helps manager move beyond the archaic style of management to the style that resonates best with today’s workforce. This is a great read for new and tenured managers looking to deepen employee engagement.

These employee engagement books will certainly help you improve your leadership skills, better connect with employees, and enroll them in the greater purpose of the organization.

Do you have a favorite employee engagement book?   Leave a comment below and share!

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Providing a good customer experience is not just “nice to do”, it is a must-do. Whether you are a solopreneur with a handful of customers or a large corporation with thousands of customers- service delivery fundamentals are important to understand and put in action.

Lucky for us, most customers fundamentally want the same things. They want things to be easy, simple, and personalized.  Customers want things done quickly with minimal effort on their part. They also want to feel in control and empowered to do business how they choose to do business.   Finally, they want all of this with a smile 🙂

Just think of yourself.  What companies are you loyal to?  Why are you loyal to them? Likely, because they make you feel empowered, special, and make things easy for you.

Let’s take a look at some service delivery fundamentals to help you improve your customer experience and create loyal customers.

Make it Easy to Find You

Your interactions with your customers begin well before they ever talk to you.  By ensuring that it is easy for customers to find you and contact you, it sets the experience off on the right foot.

This also means knowing where your customers are and ensuring that you are there too.  For example, if you have a lot of millennial customers you will want to make sure that you have a good Facebook or Instagram presence.  Whereas Baby Boomers may rely on contacting you via phone more so you would want to have your phone number visible and easy to find. if you don’t know where your customers are hanging out online, ask them.

Make a Great First Impression

You have just a few seconds to make a great first impression with your customers.  In fact, some studies show that customers can start to form an impression of you within milliseconds. That is not a lot of time so you better make that time count!

You can make a great first impression by making sure that you set a professional and personal tone. Smiling (even if you are not in front of the customer) and offering a warm greeting helps you accomplish this.

A quick tip is to pretend that every customer is a friend that you haven’t seen for a while. It seems silly but it will help you be more excited and committed to helping them.

If you are helping customers in person, making sure that your physical location is clean, clear of clutter, and professional is a necessity. You must also pay close attention to your own physical appearance, making sure that you are appropriately dressed and wear a warm, welcoming smile.

Be Knowledgable

One common myth when it comes to customer service is that you need to “wow” your customers in order to provide a good experience. In most cases, that is not the case. The customer simply wants to get their needs met quickly and accurately.  If you can’t provide the basic needs the customer is looking for, trying to “wow” them will only further annoy them.  Being knowledgeable and knowing how to help your customer is the most basic service delivery fundamental.

An exercise that will help you become knowledgeable quickly is to write down the top 5 customer requests that you tend to struggle. Ask yourself what interaction do you dread? What do you have the most complaints about?  Once you identify those issues spend some time researching the issue and identify the steps to complete the request. Not only will researching help you but this can also serve as a quick reference guide.  Sometimes we just need to take a step back and recognize where our opportunities are.

Be Clear

Another service delivery fundamental is to be clear.  This can mean a couple of different things.   For one, being clear means that you speak slowly and clearly so that the customer can understand you.  This is especially true if you are on the phone where the customer can’t see you.  You should also avoid jargon and slang that customers may not be familiar with.

Being clear also means that you make it clear about the process.  What does the customer need to do? What are you supposed to do? When should they expect to hear from you?   A lot of customer frustration comes from not understanding the process so the more clear and upfront you are, the better it will be for everyone.

Reduce Customer Effort

The more effort that a customer is required to put in to do business with you, the less likely they will come back.  We live in a world of one-click shopping. Requiring a customer to jump through hoops just won’t work anymore.

Look for ways that you can take some of the effort away from the customer.   It can be as simple as walking as writing down information for a customer instead of having them write it down, transferring a call instead of having the customer call, or contacting a customer instead of having them contact you.

Ask For Feedback

Finally, always ask for feedback on how you can make the experience better for the customer.  Customers will tell you what they like and dislike about their experiences if you ask them.

You also don’t have to wait until the end of the interaction to ask them.  if you are going to be working with a customer longer than one interaction (for example, if you are helping them purchase a home), ask them throughout the process. For example, at the end of a call you can casually ask them “Mr. Smith, would you prefer more or less communication from me?” or “Am I contacting you the right way/right times?”.  Many times a bad experience is simply uncommunicated expectations so give them a chance to communicate them to you.

Each industry and each type of interaction surely has its nuances but if you follow these service delivery fundamentals you will surely win loyal customers over time.

Want to learn more? Take our Make Your Customers Love You course! This course will walk you through how you can improve your service delivery to create more loyal customers. Whether you work in customer service or own your own business, this course will walk you through all of the steps that you need to do to improve your customer service.

Make Your Customers Love You Course 

What service fundamentals do you value as a customer?   What annoys you?  Leave a comment below!

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Mentoring someone can also be incredibly frustrating. I’ve had my fair share of mentees either intentionally or unintentionally taking advantage of our mentorship relationship which left me with a sour taste in my mouth.  Understanding what frustrates mentors can ensure that you have a successful and fruitful mentoring relationship.

Here are a few surefire ways to annoy your mentor aka things to avoid!…

Not Truly Wanting a Mentor

I can tell within minutes of meeting with a new mentee whether they are truly looking for someone to mentor them or they are just doing someone their boss says they should do.  If you don’t want a mentor, that is totally okay, but don’t waste your time and someone else’s. That is a quick and easy way to annoy your mentor!

Before you agree or seek out a mentor ask yourself “why?”.  What do you hope to gain out of the mentorship? Do you have the time to allocate to the process? Are you able to commit and hold yourself accountable?   If you can’t confidently answer these questions, hold off on getting a mentor and wait until the time is right.

Not Having Clear Goals for the Mentorship

I want my mentee to get everything they possibly can out of our mentorship relationship.  For that to be the case, they have to know what they want.  I’ve had so many people seek mentorship and not really know what they want.  Are they seeking guidance in moving up in their career? Are they looking to master the position that they are in?  Are they looking to develop their leadership acumen?   Without the mentee having an understanding of what they are looking for, it is really hard for me to help them.

Check out this list of questions to ask your mentor! 

Now, I’m not saying that I can’t help you identify your mentorship goals, but it really helps if you have at least a high-level understanding of what you are hoping to gain. And if you aren’t quite sure (maybe this is your first mentorship and you don’t really know what to expect), just ask.   The sooner that I know, the more that I can help you.

Not Being Flexible

Your mentor’s calendar likely looks like a jigsaw puzzle, carefully and exhaustively pieced together. One of the very few things that your mentor will need from you is flexibility.  Not that your schedule is any less important than theirs, but if they are taking the time to mentor you, do your best to make it easier on them schedule-wise.  Sometimes this means coming in early for a pre-work coffee or a lunch hour touch-base.

If you need to reschedule, work with them to find a time that works best for them. Try to give them as much time as possible so they have time to move things around.  In a nutshell, being respectful and sensitive to their schedule will be greatly appreciated by your mentor.

Expecting a Career Handout

It’s obvious that people seeking out a mentor do so in order to advance their careers or business.  That’s a no-brainer.  However, one of the most annoying things that you experience as a mentor is coming across a mentee that is only trying to use you for connections.  I’ve had a couple of mentees who that think just because they participate in the company mentorship program, they are entitled to a bigger position.

I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to use a mentor relationship to move ahead. I’m just saying that your goal should be to develop skills and deepen your network in order to get a promotion, not just expecting one. It’s up to the mentee to own their own career and take charge, not just sit back and wait for something to be handed to them.

Not Being Prepared

One of the surefire ways to annoy your mentor is come to a meeting unprepared. For every meeting that you have with your mentor, you should have two things  1.) an agenda (that you can send over to your mentor before the meeting) complete with questions/topics that you would like to discuss 2.) A status update on any actions taken since the last meeting.

You don’t need to write out a formal proposal, a few bullet points will work just as well.  The key is to make sure that you are prepared to make the most of your time together.

Not Taking Action

This one is hands down my biggest pet peeve as a mentor…  I’ve had several mentees over the course of my career that have simply not wanted to put in the work to achieve their goals.  We would have a good discussion, identify areas of action, and then nothing.  The employee wouldn’t take action on what they committed to do. They would say that they got too busy and didn’t have the time, or worse yet, just forget.

Trust me, I get it, life gets crazy.  I understand that things come up beyond your control from time to time. However, repeatedly not taking action demonstrates that you don’t really value your mentor’s time or advice.  Mentors mentor because they want to help people learn and develop.  Therefore, not taking action is a slap in the face for them.   Take action every time (even if it is small action) and be the one to communicate that action.

What are your mentoring annoyances?  Have you ever done anything to annoy your mentor?   Leave a comment below!

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Customer service is one of the most transferable skills that you can possess.  In almost every role, in every company, in every industry, you will have customers that you need to make happy.   Luckily, it’s pretty easy to make your customers love you!

Let’s take a look at some simple ways to improve your service delivery and make your customers love you.

It Starts with Mindset

Providing excellent service starts before you ever interact with a customer. In order to provide excellent service, you must have the right mindset. One that is focused on helping the customer, providing solutions, and ignoring any negativity thrown your way.

One quick exercise to get in the right mindset with even the most difficult of customers is to imagine that every customer is having the worst day of their lives.  This will help you meet each interaction with empathy and a focus on providing help.

What the Customer Sees Matters

Customers begin to assess the interaction within milliseconds. Everything they see from the moment they begin interacting with you begins to influence their perception. Meaning every little thing that the customer sees matters.

If you are in a brick and mortar location- everything from the parking lot to your own appearance needs to be paid attention to. If you are helping customers online, your website and online banking should be simple to understand and on-brand.

Positive Language Creates a Positive Interaction

Customers are looking to work with people that are confident, knowledgeable, and willing to help.  You can convey this by using positive language.  Ensure that the words and phrases that you use with customers are easy to understand and convey your willingness to assist them.

One way that this can come to life is always to look for a way to say yes. Even if you can’t provide a customer with what they need, provide an alternative solution that will help them.

For example, if you don’t offer a particular product the customer is looking for, offer to help them find something that could fit their needs. If that is not possible, offer the name of a competitor that may offer it.  Seem strange to send your customer to a competitor?  it may seem counter-intuitive but I guarantee the customer will remember your willingness to help and will come back to you for their future needs.

Know Where Your Customer Prefers to Do Business With You

Customers are looking to do business with companies where they prefer.  They want choices.  You can make your customers love you by knowing where your customers like to do business and having a really strong understanding of how to do business there.

For example, more and more customers are turning to social media for help. However, very few companies provide training around how to deliver a good experience there.  Knowing how to show up for customers will go far in improving your customer service skills.

A Complaint is an Opportunity

Every time a customer complains, they are giving you a gift.  Wait, what?!  A customer complaining certainly doesn’t seem like a gift. But hear me out…

For every customer that complains, there are 25 others out there that won’t. These silent unhappy customers are dangerous because will just leave without ever giving you a warning. Therefore, every time a customer complains, it is actually an opportunity to learn about how you can improve the experience for not only the complaining customer but for everyone else.

Not only that but when a customer has a problem and you fix it, they become more loyal to you.  They have trust that if something goes wrong, you will make it right.  This loyalty will pay off in increased retention, lower costs, and increased sales.  Sounds like a win-win to me!

Note: I’m not saying handling complaints is easy, check out these affirmations for stressful days!

These are just a few ways to deliver an exceptional customer experience and make your customers love you!  If you are interested in learning more, check out the Make Your Customers Love You course. This comprehensive self-paced course will provide more detail on developing the right mindset, learning what the customer expects and how to provide it, as well as identifying and helping upset customers.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE MAKE YOUR CUSTOMER LOVE YOU COURSE

What are your customer service tips?  What makes you love a business as a consumer? Leave a comment below!

Wondering how to hold a team employee engagement conversation? You have come to the right place!

Employee engagement is critical to the success of any business. Without engaged employees, you will never be able to meet your full potential.  You will be mediocre at best.  Study after study has shown that an engaged workforce helps reduce costs, reduces risks, and increases revenue. Yet, so few leaders focus on employee engagement and understand when and how to have employee engagement related conversations with their teams.  In this post, we will show you what to look for, know when to have a conversation, and how to have the conversation.  We will also take a look at what you should do after the fact and how to ensure that your team feels heard, supported, and ultimately more engaged.

When Should I Have Employee Engagement Conversations?

In short, all of the time.   Employee engagement conversations should happen as frequently as other meetings such as operations and sales meetings. Why is that so?  Well, who brings the objectives from those operation and sales meetings to life?   Employees.   And engaged employees can bring those objectives to life much more efficiently and successfully than disengaged employees.

Just reflect back on your own career. When were you the most successful?  It was also likely a time that you were the most engaged.  Conversely, think about a time when you were the least successful and productive. You were likely disengaged at some level.

By focusing on deepening your employee’s engagement, you are setting them up to work at their peak potential, thereby expediting any goals that you may have.

For example… the company that I work for did heroic things during the global pandemic to help serve our customers.  What would ordinarily take months (if not years) to do was accomplished in a matter of days.  If we had disengaged employees, that would not have been possible.

If employee engagement enables success, it should go without saying that these conversations should take place much more frequently.  A good rule of thumb is to have some type of team employee engagement related conversations at least 1-2 times per month.

How Should I Have Team Employee Engagement Conversations?

So how do we go about having team employee engagement related conversations?  It’s actually easier than you think and doesn’t take too much effort.  Follow these easy steps to hold an effective engagement conversation with your team.

1. Review the Data

The first step in having an employee engagement discussion with your team begins before the actual conversation. First, take some time to review any employee engagement related data or insights that you may have available. This could include employee surveys or employee comments. When reviewing the data, look for trends and for outliers. What are you doing well? What could be improved?   Review the quantitative and any qualitative data to get a holistic picture of what is going on.  It’s also helpful to review notes from any past employee engagement discussions. Any insights help you gain a clearer picture of where your team may be in terms of engagement.

2. Schedule the Meeting

Next, let your team member know that you plan on discussing employee engagement with them and schedule the time to do so. Ask them if there is anything that they would like to discuss or make sure is covered.   Ask if they have any preference for when and how the conversation is facilitated.  Your goal is to make sure that your team feels comfortable and secure in having the conversations.

When scheduling the meeting you should make sure that you have plenty of time. Scheduling an employee engagement discussion for fifteen minutes at the end of a sales meeting doesn’t necessarily scream that you are committed to employee engagement. If you are able, schedule the meeting for 1 hour or 1 1/2 hours.   It’s better to have more time than less.   On the flip side, anything more than 1 1/2 hours may be too much.  Sometimes these conversations can be emotional so too much time can be exhaustive. If you need more time, schedule a follow up.

3. Set the Stage

Before the conversation, share a list of questions or topics that you would like to discuss with the team.  This will help the employee prepare and gather their thoughts.  It will also allow them to provide feedback if there is something additional that needs to be addressed.

Before the meeting make sure that you ensure that the conversation will be a safe and confidential discussion.  Assure them that you are committed to improving engagement and look forward to hearing their feedback and working together to identify ways to help improve team engagement. Don’t assume that your employees know this. It’s important that managers continue to declare their commitment to help the employees feel safe and heard.

4. Hold the Discussion

Now it’s time to hold the conversation.  Your role should be to facilitate and guide the employees through the discussion using the prepared list of questions.  As a facilitator, you should only be doing 10-20% of the talking. Your employee should be doing the most sharing.  Try to keep the conversation upbeat but be empathetic to employee’s concerns and emotions.

Whatever you do, don’t take feedback personally and get defensive. This will cause the employee to shut down and avoid sharing. An employee sharing feedback cares enough to do so. Disengaged employees don’t care enough to share feedback. So as much as it can be difficult to hear feedback, it’s actually a gift.  If you find yourself getting emotional, take a quick break and compose yourself.

5. Determine Your Goal & Action Items

Hopefully, the conversation with your team led to some clear goals and actions that could be taken to help improve engagement.

With your employees, decide what your goal should be. It’s helpful to be very specific with what you want to cause. Employee engagement has many components so trying to do too much can lead to ineffectiveness. Be as detailed as possible with what you want to tackle.   For example “We would like to ensure that the team members feel supported in their professional growth” or “we will work to cut down on unnecessary processes to help improve productivity”.

Now that you know what you want to accomplish, work with the the team to identify 2-3 steps to help you get there. Use the SMART framework to help you identify actions for you and the team members to complete.

After the meeting, send a summary to the team member and, if applicable, document the action plan. If possible, keep the action plan in a location that is easily accessible to everyone. This will help keep the action plan top of mind and hold everyone accountable to what was committed to.

6. Schedule Next Meeting

Immediately after meeting with the team, schedule the next engagement meeting. The worst thing that you can do is to have one singular engagement related conversation.  Engagement is ever-evolving and something that should be discussed often.

Scheduling the next meeting right away will help hold yourself accountable and indicate to your employees that you are truly committed to putting in the work to help them achieve deeper engagement.

There you have it. Just follow these six easy steps to have team employee engagement conversations and you are well on your way.  After all, employee engagement is not rocket science, it’s as simple as intentionally listening to your employees, working hard to enable their success, and treating them like you would want to be treated.

What tips do you have for having a team employee engagement conversation? Have you ever had a disastrous engagement conversation? Leave a comment below!

Suggested Reading

With the Covid-19 pandemic, more people than ever are working from home. Check out this ultimate gift list for remote workers to find the perfect gift for that special remote worker in your life!

These items are sure to bring a little joy and comfort to the home workspace.

Disclosure: As an Amazon affiliate, we earn a commission made from qualifying purchases. 

Desktop Space Heater/Fan 

Who can argue that it’s important to be comfortable? This little beauty helps you heat up or cool down at your desk, without being an absolute eyesore.

Echo Dot 

An Echo Dot is a must-have for remote workers.  This little gadget can serve as a radio, alarm, timer, phone, thesaurus, calculator, and so much more.   I use my office Echo Dot on a daily basis.  I listen to my daily news (that I curate on the Alexa app), listen to music, and even use it for a Pomodoro timer. I’m such a big fan of Echo devices, I have one in every single room of my house!

Yeti Rambler

Admittedly, using a Yeti made me feel a little bougie at first. However, once I used one, I can’t go back. First of all, they legitimately work. They will keep your beverage of choice warm or cold for such a long amount of time.  Way longer than any other cup I have used in the past. But my favorite part of the Yeti? No condensation.  No more water rings to deal with or wipe away.   Plus, they are super durable, easy to clean, and last a long time!

Foot Massager and Warmer

Everyone deserves a little luxury in their lives.  This cool little gadget is sure to deliver. It not only massages your feet, but it also warms them up! Perfect to keep under the desk on those chilly work from home days.

Noise-Canceling Headphones

One drawback to working from home is all of the potential distractions that present themselves. Noise-canceling headphones have made me so much more productive during remote work, especially with two little ones running around.  When I really need to crank some workout, I put my headphones on and listen put on my Spotify.  These particular headphones are high-quality, super affordable, and have over 50,000 reviews on Amazon!

Daily Planner

Working remote requires careful planning to ensure that you get everything done and that you are not overworking yourself.  I  love that this planner not only includes the typical spaces for to-do’s and times to remember, but it also includes reminders for meals, gratitude, and exercise. It’s easy to get caught up in work and end up working for 12-13 hours straight without taking care of yourself. It’s critical that you are planning mindfulness, exercise, and healthy eating into your day so a good planner is a must for any gift list for remote workers.

Desktop Planter Bulb

While it is tempting to have fake plants due to not having to keep another living object, well… alive, live plants have many benefits. Studies have shown that live plants can help increase productivity, satisfaction, and even creativity.  This is a beautiful and low-maintenance way to reap some of those benefits at home.

Under Desk Bicycle

A lot of remote workers find that they don’t get the same amount of exercise at home as they do when they are in the office.  It’s important that you are getting exercise in when you can. This under the desk bike helps you stay moving and get some exercise in while you are working away at your computer.   It’s also small so you can easily tuck it away when you are not using it.

Personal Fridge 

When I am working from home, I  tend to have to hide from my family. Otherwise, they ask me a million questions and I  end up preparing snacks for three hours. When I  bunker down in my workspace, I  need to be prepared. This adorable personal fridge allows you to keep your food and drink cold without having to sneak into the kitchen.  This model holds up to 6 cans so it is a little on the smaller side, but there are similar models that hold more.

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