Turning Your Workplace Into a WOWplace™!

What makes us say WOW?

WOW isn’t just a word; it isn’t even a thought.  It’s a feeling. Creating the WOW boils down to a couple of simple questions we must ask ourselves with every interaction:

What is it that creates such incredible experiences for us that we actually say WOW? How do we create those experiences for others?

WOW isn’t just a word; it isn’t even a thought.  It’s a feeling. Creating the WOW boils down to a couple of simple questions we must ask ourselves with every interaction:

How do I make you feel?

Will this create a "WOW"... or an "OW"?

Is your team having trouble staying motivated?  Are team members feeling overworked and undervalued? Do they consistently act according to their values… or do they too-often act according to their "bad" mood?  Do they keep their eyes on the goal… or allow their emotions to take over and make matters worse?

How would your organization answer the following questions:

• Are we tapping into our employees’ hidden talents and abilities to engage their creativity and foster innovation?
• Do we encourage employees to take reasonable risks and try for "stretch goals" for the good of the company?
• Have we forgotten what it feels like to be “new”?
• What inadvertent messages do we give when others come to us for help or advice?
• Do our policies, procedures, communciations and actions match our mission and values?

If we want to turn our workplace into a WOWplace, we must evaluate and focus on everything we say and do, as well as the way we say and do it, so our words and actions match our promise of the WOW.

We do this by following a few simple rules (I call them the WOWplace Rules) to help everyone, at every level, keep their eye on the goal and help you Turn Your Workplace into a WOWplace:

• Effective leaders don’t DEMAND respect… they COMMAND it
• Be Human… not Humanoid
• Go First!
• Innovation and creativity abound in the WOWplace
• Tune your radio dial from WIIFM to WIIFY
• Recognition Reaps Reward
• Focus on TREATING THEM RIGHT rather than WHO IS RIGHT
• Keep your eye on the goal!

Statistics show that 68% of customers leave a company because of the way they were treated… not because they didn’t like the product or service.
And 90% of new employees make the decision to stay with a company – or leave – within the first 6 months…mainly based on how they were treated.

We could talk about all the incredible products and services our company has to offer… but if all our incredible products and services are not delivered in WOW ways, by WOW people, with WOW attitudes, they may as well not exist. In other words, if we don't make everyone - customers and employees alike - feel valued, appreciated, and listened to... a.k.a. respected... they won't stay, no matter how good everything else is.

In other words, if we want employees to SERVE customers, we must SERVE employees.

Even if your industry is filled with WOW customer experiences, it’s easy to forget the everyday small WOW’s we can create for ourselves and our employees that make them continue to go the extra mile to find extra hidden WOW’s that add up to exceptional experiences for everyone around them.

How do you and your employees answer this question:

Will I
Or
Won't I?

Will I or Won't I create an exceptional experience for this person (customer or co-worker)? Will I or Won't I do what is absolutely right and necessary, each and every time I have a choice to make a difference in the life of another person? Does everyone in your organization consistently act according to their values and answer, "I Will" - or do they often act according to their mood and answer, "I Won't!"... ?

Every associate must help create such WOW experiences that customers are compelled to tell everyone they know... but in order to do this, they must also lead by example and create the WOW for each other.

Asking for more from employees isn't a matter of simply asking them to carry a bigger workload. Rather, it entails inspiring them to care more about their customers and co-workers, be more proactive and creative in their thinking and their actions, and want more in terms of personal and organizational success. Therefore, we must focus on changing our culture, attitudes and expectations by:

• Recognizing and validating employees' knowledge and expertise;
• Acknowledging that Executives and Supervisors can’t be everywhere and know everything – therefore, we want and need everyone's input and observations on how to improve every area of the workplace;
• Asking for employees' suggestions – and then following through to let them know if they were implemented (and why, or why not);
• Involving them and getting their input and opinions when trying new things;
• Helping employees connect their personal values with organizational mission and values, and helping them see how they make a difference;
• Giving rewards for extra care and/or effort – and NOT slamming others for making mistakes, especially when trying for “stretch” goals; and
• Being very clear when communicating expectations and requests

Most employees don’t disengage because they don’t care… they disengage because they think others don’t care what they think.  It’s amazing how many people will engage/re-engage when they believe their opinion matters, and when they receive even the smallest rewards for their efforts (not always money, but recognition and encouragement, as well as coaching for higher results).

In her keynote and programs, Sandy focuses on compelling tips, stories and humor to demonstrate how vital the role of attendees is to the success of their organization - whether they are delivering exceptional service to external customers, dealing effectively with internal customers, or empowering and leading employees to do so.

In her training and consulting programs, Sandy accomplishes Client objectives with a customized combination of the following components, any or all of which may be incorporated into the program, based on Client needs and timeframes:

1. Tapping into employees' hidden talents and interests.
2. Gaining buy-in from employees.
3. Fostering creativity and innovation in the workplace.
4. Formal and informal reward systems.
5. The Anatomy of the WOW - case studies on employee and customer "touch points" to analyze where the WOW may (or may not) be occurring.
6. The importance and role of leadership, teamwork and collaborative thinking and activities.
7. Creating communication methods and vehicles that are clear, concise, and effective for customers and employees alike.
8. ... and other custom components, as needed.

Values & Service... YOUR Style! *

At your request, Sandy will conduct a team-building activity that results in the creation of a brief, but powerful video on Values & Service that your organization can use for multiple purposes.

Sandy will bring selected photos, quotes, poems and descriptive words… as well as concepts from guided attendee exercises on values and customer service. These will be used to create a short, powerful video entitled Values & Service... (YOUR ORGANIZATION'S NAME) Style.

Sandy will also bring a digital camera, as well as a digital video camera, in order to photograph attendees working together, videotape their statements of what values mean, what customers mean, and how they value customers, etc.

This session will accomplish the following:

1. Compel attendees to intently focus on what values and service mean to them, in meaningful ways that impact their emotions as they go through the process of creating segments for the video. They connect with these concepts by putting into their own words what values and service mean to them; seeing famous quotes and sayings that help reinforce the concepts they’ve come up with themselves; and feeling a deeper pride of ownership because many of the items used in the video are their words, thoughts and ideas.
2. Create a team-building activity they share, not only during the sessions, but long after, in the form of an impactful video that can be used to reiterate and reinforce powerful concepts long after the program is over.
3. The video can also be used to show prospective New Hires how important customer service and valuing customers are to your organization and all its employees, stressing and reinforcing these values before they’re hired.
4. In addition, the video can be added to your website so potential customers can also see and hear concrete proof of how seriously your organization takes its promise of valuing customers.

The guided facilitation, done in small groups, helps attendees focus on:

• Your corporate values (Sandy to review and reinforce these values);
• Their personal values – what they are; how differently they can be expressed from person to person; how we value each other; how we demonstrate our values;
• What customers mean to them – and how we individually and collectively value them;
• Stories and examples from attendees on how they’ve valued customers recently and how they’ve seen others in their department/company value customers and patients;
• Sharing of good and bad customer service stories (inside and outside your industry) and the lessons we can learn from them;
• Reinforcement that there is one overriding value – TO VALUE OTHERS – the rest is simply how we do it.

*There is a nominal fee of $250 for this additional segment and deliverable, to cover the cost of purchasing royalty-free music for the video, as well as royalty-free photos, and time and materials to create the video.

Call us today at 407-856-1188, or e-mail us for more details regarding Sandy's enlightening and interactive programs designed to help you create raving fans of all your customers... and co-workers!