The Right Person in the Right Place

Make sure that whoever is your company’s first line of defense is the right person for the job.

Recently, I was searching for a particular office whose address didn’t seem to exist. I walked into a random office and asked the person behind the reception window if she knew where the office was. She didn’t, but she promptly keyed the address into Map Quest and assured me that I was on the right track but in the wrong complex. I thanked her and walked out the door, marveling at that lucky company. If she was willing to go the extra mile to help me--somebody who obviously didn’t belong there--what kind of customer service would she provide to the folks who did belong there?

Providing good customer service is a necessity in an age of many choices. Who would you be more willing to do business with? The company across town whose friendly employee goes the extra mile or the one down the street whose employee is rude and unwilling to help?

Insist that your employees demonstrate a customer-friendly attitude and watch your company grow.

The hardware company Ace builds its reputation on being "the helpful place.” Your company, too, should be known as a place with helpful employees. It doesn’t matter what products you’re selling or what services you provide. Hire customer friendly people. And if you must hire someone who relates more to nuts and bolts than to people, don’t put them in people-contact positions.

But it's not always easy to determine whether you’re hiring a customer-friendly person. If you need help in making a hiring decision, consider implementing DiSC® in the hiring process. Using the Personal Profile System can help you understand what customer service traits and people skills a particular person prefers. This will be invaluable as you spend your time looking for the best customer service person to fit that role.

The hiring process can eat up a lot of company time, but your time will NOT be wasted if you replace a marginal front-line person with someone who not only CAN do the job but also prefers to be doing customer service work! Using DiSC® for your hiring decisions will ultimately save you time and money by helping you position the right person in the right place, a win-win situation for both the company and the employee.

For tips to effectively train your people and streamline your organization, and for other solutions to your staffing challenges, visit www.traininginabox.com. Sign up for our free newsletter at www.quicktrainingsolutions.com to make your HR training and development life easier. Diane Owens is a contributing author and partner with NTG, a business development and training company.

 

| | |