It’s been several months since COVID-19 disrupted and changed the workplace. Regardless of where your employees now work – whether from home, at your place of business, on the road, or some hybrid approach – the following still applies. “The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees
Employees who are used to working in an office environment have undergone an abrupt change to working from home the past several months due to COVID-19. Curious to learn how they were handling the absence of in-person communications, collaboration, and teamwork, I reached out to colleagues (executives and professionals in a variety of organizations where
I was recently reminded of a practical and low-cost way to help keep employees engaged in this stressful time. Surprisingly, I found it in an article written last year before the unthinkable happened. It’s easy and something everyone can do — bosses, business owners, co-workers, colleagues, partners; i.e., anyone you work with. It can be
[Note: I’m pleased to share this timely post from Matthew Fenton, a Chicago-based marketing professional and founder of Three Deuce Branding that specializes in brand clarity. Here he offers a fundamental strategy to uncover the brand values a business needs to survive and thrive in these challenging times. More on Matthew’s work can be found
Understandably, people who ask for advice may not always follow it. But how they listen and respond makes a difference in the outcome and its impact on others. This includes frustrating encounters with “askholes” — people who constantly ask for your advice, yet ALWAYS do the complete opposite of what you told them to do”
Here’s what Audrey Hepburn’s character Regina Lampert says when she meets Cary Grant’s character for the first time in the 1963 classic film, Charade. Grant: “Do we know each other?” Hepburn: “Why? Do you think we’re going to?” Grant: “I don’t know. How would I know?” Hepburn: “Because I already know an awful lot of people,
Are you preparing to greet 2020 with hopeful anticipation? Or perhaps planning to play it safe with low expectations? Like many people, I have mixed feelings about the new year — a new beginning offers new opportunities as well as uncertainty. But I’ve come to understand that my expectations and attitude about this new year
[Note: Not just in the spirit of Thanksgiving, but all year long we can be thankful. That’s why I love this post from Curt Rosengren, “Passion Catalyst” dedicated to helping others “love their work and change their world in a way that feels personally meaningful to them.” Special thanks to Curt for allowing me to
This powerful statement is from the late Bob Wood, former Chairman of Wood Dining Services, whom I had the privilege of interviewing for my first book on internal marketing, Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care. Bob was the epitome of an engaged leader who truly cared about his employees
In many organizations there are employees who not only serve customers, they ARE customers. These “internal” customers are employees who rely on the information and resources provided by fellow employees who work in support functions such purchasing, HR, accounting, IT/information, etc. The level of quality service and support that “internal” customers receive from them impacts