I have always been very transparent about my focus for the business and what role I play in that. I believe that if I have a happy team and a team that wants to be there, then everything else will fall into place. KPI’s will be hit, advocacy will rise, customer retention will be at its best and referrals will increase. I have witnessed a business completely deteriorate because the staff did not feel valued enough to want to be there and simply were not happy.
I have implemented a couple of things into my work place which I really believe helps with staff morale and the general positive vibe in our store.
Here is one of the things I introduced and was shocked at how receptive the team were and how well it worked for the team’s personal development. I got my inspiration from https://www.comm100.com/blog/customer-service-training-activities.html#attitude and their customer service related activities. I loved everything about their attitude anchor activity so did it through a couple of team meetings until all staff had filled out an attitude anchor sheet. Working in a retail environment can be very challenging and not every interaction with a customer is going to be smooth, unfortunately when you have had an irate customer it can often affect the way you serve the next customer as well as your mood for the rest of the day which can then impact the rest of the team, which is where an attitude anchor comes in. In Jeff Toisters book titled “service failure” he says that “An “attitude anchor” is something that secures your attitude in a positive place.” Below is an example of my attitude anchor sheet, maintenance anchors are the everyday things that consistently keep you in a happy place and recovery anchors are things that you can quickly do to bring yourself back to your happy place.
Once the entire team had filled out their attitude anchor I put them in the file with this little note on the front. I love the idea that if I or another staff member can see that someone is not having a fantastic day we can help bring them back to their happy place in a way that we know works for them.
