Number 56: Say “Hello” first to others in passing\u2026<\/em>\u00a0It\u2019s an important customer service piece that we use in the restaurant and hotel industry. And if people are well trained, they will always say hello to you first. It\u2019s a Hayat\u2026<\/p>\nKatie: Value? Guiding principle?<\/p>\n
Carol: Yeah, guiding principle at Hayat. It\u2019s that they don\u2019t care who you are. If you are a janitorial staff or housekeeping staff or whatever \u2013 you say hello to the customer when they get within 30 feet of you.<\/p>\n
Katie: Might I say that that is so basic, yet it is not universal.<\/p>\n
Carol: Well, and the interesting thing is giving service personnel the permission to speak with customers. They might not feel like that\u2019s appropriate.<\/p>\n
Katie: Yeah, yeah. Beyond the boundary?<\/p>\n
Carol: Right \u2013 until given permission. And then once given permission, it works!<\/p>\n
Katie: Well, then depending on what type of a workplace you have. Think of how this can impact how your customer is touched. If it\u2019s what you practice intro staff\u2026<\/p>\n
Carol: Sure.<\/p>\n
Katie: So we talk to each to each other, we\u2019re talking days, you know, we greet each other in the hall, we\u2019re in a generally positive mood and we\u2019re cordial to one another.<\/p>\n
Carol: Yes.<\/p>\n
Katie: That flows downhill \u2013 I promise you. When I go into any sort of a workplace, a business where I might be a customer, I notice what people\u2019s attitude is towards me and I assume that it\u2019s a reflection of what came from above in the way that they\u2019re treated. Right?<\/p>\n
Carol: Yeah. Well, and I said this before, but a fish stinks from the head down.<\/p>\n
Katie: Ha-ha!<\/p>\n
Carol: And that\u2019s a restaurant saying and it just has to do with leadership. And if your leader is sour and stinky, then the rest of it \u2013 that will flow downhill. And if not, the other will flow downhill.<\/p>\n
Katie: I know what some listeners might be saying. \u201cWell, what if I work in that stinky environment, but I don\u2019t want to be that way?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nCarol: Then you\u2019d be the one in the hall that says hello first. And you just stay above the fray. You know, if other people aren\u2019t going to do it, it\u2019s interesting. I work a lot at the legislator and about this\u2026 you know, you get into it for a couple of months and it\u2019s everybody\u2019s sour and nasty and I stay above it.<\/p>\n
Katie: Can you tell\u2026<\/p>\n
Carol: I say hello to anybody I know. I give them a big smile. \u201cHow are you today?\u201d<\/em> And I just don\u2019t let it drag me down.<\/p>\nKatie: So in the halls of the capital \u2013 or you feel that?<\/p>\n
Carol: Oh, yeah. I mean, everybody is just kind of sour and eyes down and frowning and all of that. So I want to read the rest of this tip. \u201cSay “Hello” first to others in passing. Look people in the eye when greeting others and ask your staff to do the same.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nSo it makes a difference. And this is one of the values at the Hayat and I\u2019m probably putting that wrong, but somebody can correct this on the website. It\u2019s one of their values that you look the person in the eye, you have eye contact, you say hello and then you can move on from there. But it makes such a difference. And you\u2019ll notice it if you ever\u2026<\/p>\n
Katie: I notice it when we go to\u2026<\/p>\n
Carol: To a Hayat near here. Yeah, you do notice it. You notice that all of the personnel \u2013 they feel like you know them.<\/p>\n
Katie: So if you equate how you feel when you walk into a hotel for example or a resort, maybe a bigger \u2013 that has an environment and it has a whole feeling to it. The difference between the one that you walk into where you are relatively unnoticed, you just don\u2019t come in contact with anyone that\u2019s necessarily there and it\u2019s almost as if they forget that you\u2019ve just floated in from somewhere else. You\u2019re not grounded in this environment. You don\u2019t know necessarily. You might know where you\u2019re going. You want to go over to that lobby over there or you want to go check out over there. But you\u2019re not anchored there like they are.<\/p>\n
Carol: Right. I had an experience and I\u2019ll tell you a story. In a restaurant the other day \u2013 we walked in and this person came walking towards us in a very matter effect manner. She looked like a hostess, it looked like she was walking towards us, she walked right by us without acknowledging us at all and walked to another part of the restaurant.<\/p>\n
Katie: Oh gosh!<\/p>\n
Carol: And I was floored. I was just absolutely floored. All she had to do would be \u2013 look up and say, \u201cSomeone will be right with you.\u201d<\/em> And move on and do whatever she had to do.<\/p>\nKatie: Exactly.<\/p>\n
Carol: But she didn\u2019t do that. She walked. I mean, and I thought she was looking right at us, but she was looking right beyond us.<\/p>\n
Katie: She was looking through you.<\/p>\n
Carol: And I think that\u2019s a real important thing. Customer should never feel invisible. And really, neither should employees.<\/p>\n
Katie: No. So if you practice it internally with your own staff, it will roll down.<\/p>\n
Carol: Yes.<\/p>\n
Katie: It will stink down \u2013 as you say.<\/p>\n
Carol: Ha-ha!<\/p>\n
Katie: The next tip is Tip Number 57: Keep a spare umbrella at work for someone in need. <\/em>This is symbolic. This is not \u2013 \u201cOh, my God! That\u2019s the greatest idea in the world!\u201d <\/em>This is simply a \u2013 \u201cWhat is it that you might have that you think of \u2013 in order to help others?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nCarol: Uh-hmm.<\/p>\n
Katie: If you have that service mentality, you\u2019re going to want to help others. You see yourself as not in isolation, not living in a vacuum, not working in a vacuum, not touching each other (figuratively speaking).<\/p>\n
Carol: Ha-ha! For harassment sake.<\/p>\n
Katie: Having something that others might need is very nice. It\u2019s thoughtful.<\/p>\n
Carol: Yeah, it is thoughtful.<\/p>\n
Katie: That builds on itself and creates a workplace where people want to live and thrive.<\/p>\n
Carol: Yes, and do good things to make it profitable.<\/p>\n
Katie: And do good things for profit.<\/p>\n
Carol: Alright, so enough said about that.<\/p>\n
Katie: Yeah, there\u2019s not a lot more to that.<\/p>\n
Carol: Okay. Tip Number 58: Say “Thank you” when passing the janitorial staff in the hall.<\/em><\/p>\nKatie: Any support staff is easily overlooked because they don\u2019t have touch points with the customer. They often get treated like the red-headed stepchild.<\/p>\n
Carol: Right.<\/p>\n
Katie: And this includes Administrative staff, Accounting staff, HR, you know, people that\u2026 And where I come from in the technical world, it was really easy for the Engineers to get super conceited about the worlds or vibes around them because we have the technical expertise, we\u2019ve got something very unique, we are what the product is about.<\/p>\n
Carol: Right.<\/p>\n
Katie: And so, everyone else\u2026<\/p>\n
Carol: We don\u2019t need anybody else to get this done.<\/p>\n
Katie: Right.<\/p>\n
Carol: It\u2019s a fact.<\/p>\n
Katie: Yes, exactly. And we knew better. But it\u2019s easy for the rest of the world to feel like they\u2019re in orbit around us. Now, think about what your own mainstream delivery product is and who are the ones that are the mainstream providers or experts in that \u2013 leadership included? It\u2019s very hard for anybody else to recognize that they have an important role. We know they do.<\/p>\n
Carol: Sure. And acknowledging that every once in a while is wonderful and it gives them the positive feedback they need \u2013 maybe to go on for another day.<\/p>\n
Katie: Yeah.<\/p>\n
Carol: And I\u2019ll just say I want to give kudos to my office manager because she is consistently thinking about the cleaning lady.<\/p>\n
The cleaning lady comes after office hours. I\u2019ve never even met her. But my office manager will leave things for her and say thank you on birthdays and things like that. And it\u2019s like \u2013 \u201cOh! Thank God I\u2019ve got somebody doing that thinking for me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nKatie: Thinking of it.<\/p>\n
Carol: And it is nice. So we\u2019re all in this together. And who\u2019s doing that for you as well is nice.<\/p>\n
Katie: Amen, amen sister.<\/p>\n
Carol: Yeah.<\/p>\n
Katie: I say in the book to test this one out on the city employee working somewhere in public. (It\u2019s actually one of my favorite things to do.) And out on the bike trail where I ride quite a bit \u2013 there\u2019s the same guy for the city that manages that bike trail.<\/p>\n
Now that\u2019s nice because that\u2019s open space and it\u2019s more like a park type area. But he drives the dirt road that goes right along the paved path for several miles up and down near the bosky \u2013 it\u2019s an area of\u2026<\/p>\n
Carol: Next to the reo ground.<\/p>\n
Katie: A nice area. So it\u2019s a good gig. But he\u2019s a city worker and he\u2019s a cowboy. He\u2019s got a cowboy hat like so many of our city workers. A lot of them are really cowboys.<\/p>\n
And when I see him on the side of the road \u2013 if he\u2019s not in his truck tootling along, I say \u201cThank you,\u201d<\/em> give him a wave and he always just a big smile across his face.<\/p>\nCarol: Nice!<\/p>\n
Katie: I thought this is nice.<\/p>\n
Carol: Yeah.<\/p>\n
Katie: Think about those guys that have to do harder duty like trash duty or street duty.<\/p>\n
Carol: Yeah.<\/p>\n
Katie: I don\u2019t know how they do it.<\/p>\n
Carol: But say \u201cThank you\u201d<\/em> when they do.<\/p>\nKatie: Yeah. It\u2019s kind of fun to do. Did your kids ever play sweet or sour?<\/p>\n
Carol: No. What is that?<\/p>\n
Katie: Do you know what sweet and sour is?<\/p>\n
Carol: No.<\/p>\n
Katie: When you\u2019re at a stoplight and there\u2019s a car next to you \u2013 you wave vigorously and the kids on the backseat would wave to the driver of that car like \u2013 \u201cOh! Hi! Hi!\u201d<\/em> And it never failed. They got one of two different reactions. Either someone just waved back like \u2013 \u201cOh! Look at how cute those kids!\u201d<\/em> And then my kids will go \u2013 \u201cSweet!\u201d<\/em> Or it would just be somebody that would kind of stare back and\u2026<\/p>\nCarol: [Inaudible][0:14:51.5]<\/p>\n
Katie: Yeah. And then they go \u2013 \u201cOh! Sour!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nCarol: That\u2019s good. We used to do that in the back of the [Inaudible][0:14:56.5] \u2013 wave to people and ask the truckers to honk their horns and things.<\/p>\n
Katie: Honk their horns.<\/p>\n
Carol: Yeah, fun.<\/p>\n
Katie: I like doing those sorts of social experiments because when people get feedback from the outside world and you\u2019ve initiated it \u2013 you\u2019re the outside world, especially a \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/em> It\u2019s always nice to see gratitude.<\/p>\nCarol: Well, one of the things that is not in our tips, but I think is very important \u2013 is to smile on the phone.<\/p>\n
Katie: Oh! Definitely you can see it.<\/p>\n
Carol: You can hear it.<\/p>\n
Katie: That\u2019s right.<\/p>\n
Carol: Yeah. So it\u2019s something that I\u2019ve always practiced because I\u2019ve been in a service business and I\u2019ve always taught it. The minute you get onto the phone, you smile and you can tell you\u2019re smiling and it just feels better.<\/p>\n
And sometimes you and I do this when we\u2019re starting to podcast. It\u2019s just you know, let\u2019s get some energy into this and okay, we\u2019ll get the energy as soon as we turn on the recording. But part of that is smiling and being happy to be with you, Katie.<\/p>\n
Katie: That\u2019s so nice of you. I\u2019m going to say that\u2019s so nice of you in two ways. Tell me if I\u2019m smiling or not. \u201cThat\u2019s so nice of you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nCarol: I can see you. Or\u2026<\/p>\n
Katie: \u201cThat\u2019s so nice of you!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nCarol: See? There\u2019s a little tenure voice when you have a smile.<\/p>\n
Katie: I have a smile. I\u2019m with grandma\u2019s manner on my face.<\/p>\n
Carol: Ha-ha! That\u2019s a little fake.<\/p>\n
Katie: It feels a little stiff.<\/p>\n
Carol: Alright. So smile into phone and teach your employees to smile into the phone.<\/p>\n
Katie: \u201cSmile and the world is\u2026\u201d<\/em> Okay. Let\u2019s add one more tip here.<\/p>\nCarol: Yeah.<\/p>\n
Katie: Okay. Work back to workplace environments. What makes it nice? How do you affect the climate? Surprise your employees with unexpected treats, preferably brain food and not doughnut.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m just saying that when it\u2019s a workplace, that there\u2019s nice little snacky foods or fresh coffee. Isn’t it kind of nice?<\/p>\n
Carol: Yes.<\/p>\n
Katie: I mean, I\u2019ve worked at home now for so long, but I have a lot of client offices where I go into. There\u2019s one that I went into yesterday and this is a membership association. They have a whole little kitchenette and their members can stop by anytime. And the kitchenette is stocked and they have little snacks and schuby(?) snacks and an area to sit down and a caf\u00e9. They call it a caf\u00e9 because you can actually bring your computer. And if you\u2019re a member, the association can sit and work for a little while and kind of use their space.<\/p>\n
Carol: Oh, fun!<\/p>\n
Katie: And it\u2019s lovely.<\/p>\n
Carol: Nice!<\/p>\n
Katie: It\u2019s nicely lit, it\u2019s stocked, it\u2019s got a full refrigerator. And you know, when I was on my way over there yesterday, I thought \u2013 \u201cOh! I\u2019m kind of looking forward to go over there because I think I\u2019m going to make myself a fresh cup of coffee and dig through their stash of goodies.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nCarol: Very nice. Yeah, yeah.<\/p>\n
Katie: Silly, but true.<\/p>\n
Carol: Sure.<\/p>\n
Katie: A lot of times these silly but true things are what drive us. Now I would say that if it\u2019s the kind of workplace where \u2013 \u201cOh, my God! There\u2019s always junk! Oh, my God! I feel crappy about myself! My body just feels like one big blob of\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nCarol: Right. \u201cI sit all day and everybody brings cookies and cakes and\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nKatie: \u201cProcessed food.\u201d<\/em> Well, I would advocate that when it\u2019s homemade stuff. If I\u2019m going to waste my calories, I\u2019m going to do it on the homemade stuff or maybe on the stuff from whole food that\u2019s pretty well made \u2013 we\u2019d like to assume.<\/p>\nCarol: I\u2019ve got a friend and he just told me this week \u2013 one of his staff brings in food that she\u2019s cooked. And she\u2019s like, \u201cOh! We have leftovers so I brought it in.\u201d<\/em> And she leaves it on the counter like from breakfast till lunch.<\/p>\nSo the sanitation part \u2013 and he and I had been in the restaurant industry so we\u2019re very interested in sanitation. And leaving it out like that just is not what you do. And he can\u2019t quite get that across through so it\u2019s funny. Sorry. It doesn\u2019t have to do with this.<\/p>\n
Katie: Oh, okay.<\/p>\n
Carol: To a degree.<\/p>\n
Katie: But that\u2019s okay. Was it a mayonnaise based item?<\/p>\n
Carol: Yeah. He doesn\u2019t know quite what\u2019s in it.<\/p>\n
Katie: Oh, I see. I\u2019ll eat anything that\u2019s been sitting out for days.<\/p>\n
Carol: You shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Katie: It\u2019s not that big of a deal.<\/p>\n
Carol: No, it\u2019s a huge deal.<\/p>\n
Katie: If enough \u2013 the people are paying me for my food and I\u2019m liable, I\u2019m not going to give it to them.<\/p>\n
Carol: Here\u2019s the thing. This is what happens. It\u2019s that people leave stuff out on the counters, they eat it and they\u2019re like \u2013 \u201cI got sick at that restaurant!\u201d \u201cNo, you didn\u2019t! You got sick at your own home!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nKatie: Ha-ha! They blame the restaurants?<\/p>\n
Carol: Yeah, always. Always you blame the restaurant when it was probably something you did at home.<\/p>\n
Katie: Oh, maybe. I don\u2019t know. Sorry. I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n
Carol: That was editorializing on my part.<\/p>\n
Katie: It really was.<\/p>\n
Carol: Yes, it was.<\/p>\n
Katie: Okay. Well, let\u2019s wrap this up. I will say there\u2019s a comment I\u2019ll make about the difference between organizational culture and organizational climate. I do a lot with the organizations on there \u2013 developing their culture, you write and create values, guiding principles, expected behaviors, all sort of things. And those help form what you like your culture to be. It\u2019s kind of fuzzy and hard to get your hands around.<\/p>\n
But whereas culture is something big and little fuzzier, organizational climate is much more specific to what it\u2019s like in your own nearby area based on the daily moods of the people. So whereas culture might be \u2013 What is the meteorological climate, the meteorological tendencies for the company? Climate is the\u2026<\/p>\n
Carol: Yeah, culture is kind of the big picture mission vision blah, blah.<\/p>\n
Katie: Yes. But it\u2019s really the way we do things around here.<\/p>\n
Carol: Right, values.<\/p>\n
Katie: Right.<\/p>\n
Carol: And the climate is more \u2013 Is there laughter?<\/p>\n
Katie: Climate is more \u2013 What it\u2019s like here today? And you can affect the climate on the fly.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
[MUSIC PLAYS]<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Katie: In fact, there\u2019s many companies that when the boss walks in \u2013 if she\u2019s in a good mood, the climate goes up immediately. So it\u2019s very affected by that and the opposite perhaps is true as well. So these are items that affect the climate.<\/p>\n
Carol: Right.<\/p>\n
Katie: Which then affects long term people\u2019s morale and sooner or later, the culture.<\/p>\n
Carol: Interesting. Thank you, Katie.<\/p>\n
Katie: You\u2019re welcome.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We\u2019re so glad you joined us for this episode of the Skirt Strategies<\/em> podcast. We\u2019d love to hear from you with questions or comments. Email us at info@skirtstrategies.com<\/a><\/em> or interact with us on Facebook.<\/em><\/a> Now more than ever, the world needs powerful, confident female leaders \u2013 and that\u2019s what we are.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
[END OF TRANSCRIPT]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In this podcast, Katie and Carol discuss four tips from their book Skirt Strategies: 249 Success Tips for Women in Leadership.\u00a0 Taken together these tips provide a great framework for how to make sure your business or organization has a climate where people want to come to work and do a good job. Listen to […]<\/p>\n
http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/paththreellc\/051SkirtStrategiesPodcast.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>Podcast: Download<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-podcast"],"yoast_head":"\nDoes Your Organizational Climate Need a Change? - Podcast 51 - Skirt Strategies<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n