Practice Notes

July and August Tea and Toast learning sessions

If you haven't attended one yet, then come along to one of our Tea and Toast hour-long sessions. They're free and open to everyone.

Tips to improve your emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is now recognised as a core leadership and general workplace competency. Learn some ways to reflect on and develop your own EQ, including details of assessments and actions you can take.

Date: Tuesday 5 July

Time: 8am - 9am

Venue: Boardroom, Level 5, Newspaper House, 93, Boulcott Street

Speaker: Hilary Bryan, The Training Practice director

Email katherine@trainingpractice.co.nz if you want to come. All welcome and no charge.

Another look at Transactional Analysis

Transactional analysis is a way of analysing and understanding how we communicate. It's been around for over 40 years and its core ideas include: parent, adult and child interactions; games; and stroking. They're all relevant today, so find out more.

Date: Wednesday 3 August

Time: 8am - 9am

Venue: Boardroom, Level 5, Newspaper House, 93, Boulcott Street

Speaker: Hilary Bryan, The Training Practice director

Email kaherine@trainingpractice.co.nz if you want to come. All welcome and no charge.

Telling Tales at Work - Wednesday August 2 lunch and workshop, Duxton Hotel

We recommend this lunch and afternoon workshop session. The speaker is Steve Denning from the World Bank. He'll be sharing his discovery of the power of storytelling in the workplace. Steve demonstrates how stories can spark the imagination of people about challenges and future goals and get them thinking and acting in new ways.

Lunch Session (12-2pm) Ctrl Click to this link to sign up.

http://www.smartnet.co.nz/events/2005/round2.htm

Early bird rate: $85.50+GST pp; Table of 8: $535.50+GST

Extended Workshop (2.15-4.45pm) Ctrl Click to sign up

http://www.smartnet.co.nz/events/2005/round2.htm#workshop

Early bird rate: $175.50 + GST pp

Making an emotional connection with customers

"Every interaction an employee has with a customer represents an opportunity to build a customer's emotional connection - or diminish it." That's the conclusion of Fleming, Cottman and Harter in the latest edition of the Harvard Business Review. Well, nothing new here you may say. But what is interesting is their breakdown of what makes up that emotional connection. (By the way, customers who are more emotionally connected to an organisation, spend more money and are more loyal, than those with a rational connection.)

These three researchers have identified the four elements that make up this emotional connection as:

confidence: Does an organisation deliver on its promises? Are its people competent?

integrity: Does this organisation treat me (the customer) the way I deserve to be treated? If something goes wrong, can I count on them to fix it fast?

pride: A sense of positive identification with the organisation.

passion: Is the organisation irreplaceable in my life and a perfect fit for me (the customer)?

So, these four elements need to be included in any customer service measures, if you follow this approach. And it also follows that its important to measure the extent to which your customer service staff are communicating these elements to customers.