Turn Your Workplace Into a WOWplace®!

What makes us say WOW?

There are places that make us feel great every time we visit or even just call them. Sometimes we know exactly what makes us feel that way; other times we may not be able to put our finger on it, but something’s definitely there. It’s in the way the place looks and feels, the way everyone who works there treats us and, just as importantly, the way they treat each other. The place is clean and neat, employees know what they’re doing and seem happy to do it, and there’s an air of camaraderie and respect that just doesn’t exist everywhere.

This doesn’t mean everything is perfect. Just like the rest of us, they’re dealing with imperfect human beings. But they work through their challenges quickly and respectfully to all parties. Leaders openly respect their workers and workers respect their leaders because of it. These companies have created an atmosphere of trust and appreciation where employees want to create WOW’s for each other and are rewarded for doing so. This atmosphere spills over into the customer environment, as employees are inspired to treat customers the same way.

It is when all of this comes together and adds up to a whole lot of “WOW!” for employees and customers alike that we realize we’ve created a WOWplace®.

"I was impressed with the depth of the information!."   (WOWplace keynote program executive attendee)

"Sandy did a fantastic job with many great examples and stories that can be related to by all employees."     (WOWplace training program attendee)

People don't leave companies... they leave people!

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.

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 could focus on 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, listened to and respected... they won't stay.

The WOWplace Rules:

• A WOWplace is Safe (Are our employees trying to succeed... or simply trying NOT to fail?)
• A WOWplace is Respectful (Effective leaders don't DEMAND respect... they COMMAND it)
• A WOWplace is Human... not Humanoid (Focus on "Human Duties" as well as "Job Duties")
• A WOWplace is Innovative, Creative and Fun (A WOWplace doesn't allow excuses to justify stagnation or boredom)
• A WOWplace is Rewarding (There are many ways to make it financially, professionally and personally rewarding for all employees)

"Fabulous – As a new supervisor, I am leaving with great ideas."     (WOWplace training program attendee)

"The presentation was GREAT. It was obvious that Sandy put a lot of time and effort in customizing the presentation for our organization."     (WOWplace training program attendee)

How would you 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?

Even if your industry and your organization are filled with WOW customer experiences, it’s easy to forget the small everyday WOW’s we can create for ourselves and our employees that make them continue to go the extra mile to find 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!"... ?

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.

• Recognizing and validating employees' knowledge and expertise;
• Acknowledging that executives and supervisors can’t be everywhere and know everything – therefore, they 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.

"Great speaker! Very inspiring, makes me want to go out immediately and be a 'Victor.' Wonderful job keeping me engaged and thinking the entire morning."     (WOWplace training program attendee)

"Meaningful meeting; good planning to offer valuable information to meet our internal and external customer expectations."     (WOWplace training program attendee)

Sandy has spent over 35 years working in both the corporate environment and as a small business owner. During that time, she also gained a substantial background in systems analysis and training, so she understands the interrelated people and systems challenges companies face.

Therefore, in addition to the "fun" aspects of creating unique and exceptional experiences, her programs also focus on the everyday, consistent WOWs of:

Leadership and Communication: because the way we interact with each other is a critical component in building relationships. In addition, it does no good to have policies and procedures in place if no one knows about them (or knows how to communicate or use them properly).

Empowerment: because it does no good for anyone to know about those policies and procedures if they are not empowered to use them to create WOW experiences for customers and each other; if they don’t feel “safe,” respected and valued enough to implement them; and if they are not rewarded for doing so.

Alignment: because no one will take ownership of their role in the organization’s success, and utilize those policies and procedures, if they don’t know why they’re doing it.

Sandy uses “whole brain” thinking to customize every keynote and conference presentation and identify each organization's unique opportunities for creating WOW experiences. The benefit for clients is that she uses her creative side to develop interesting content for interactive programs that help participants develop a culture of continuous learning, values and service. She also uses her logical side to help them identify gaps in policies, procedures, tools, and communications that may be preventing team members from engaging and delivering WOW experiences.

Client objectives are accomplished through 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. Creating a culture of emotional “safety” (Are our employees trying to succeed… or simply trying not to fail?)
2. Tapping into employees' hidden talents, abilities, interests and tacit knowledge. (Why don't employees share what they know?)
3. Instituting a “Go First” philosophy: Effective leaders don’t DEMAND respect, they COMMAND it.
4. Inspiring team members to take ownership for success by reminding them that “Human” Duties exist, in addition to Job Duties.
5. Fostering creativity and innovation in the workplace.
6. Motivating the team to do the extraordinary, despite every reason (excuse) not to do so.
7. Using proactive thinking and NBR to create “what-if” scenarios to gain buy-in for and successfully implement new initiatives.
8. Implementing “The 1-2-3’s of Doing More Than Appease”, a proactive, step-by-step formula for creating WOW experiences.
9. Learning the important difference between procedure-based work and goal-based work.
10. Formal and informal rewards.
11. The Anatomy of the WOW - case studies on employee and customer "touch points" to analyze where the WOW may (or may not) be occurring.
12. The importance and role of leadership, teamwork and collaborative thinking and activities.
13. Creating communication methods and vehicles that are clear, concise, and effective for customers and employees alike.
14. Realizing that we must take reasonable and appropriate risks to create breakthrough performance.
15. ... 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!