Two Things To Emphasize in Sexual Harassment Training

Two Things To Emphasize in Sexual Harassment Training

EAPs Helping Customer Service Employees Deal with Angry and Hostile Interactions on the Job

Few events cause employees more distress and contribute to more fantasies about quitting

than frequently encountering irate customers in a job. 

Does the company EAP have a role in reaching out, helping these workers, and in effect, claiming the high ground associated with this area of behavioral risk and exposure that can affect a company's bottom line? 

I say yes. And it fits the EAP core technology perfectly.

Violence in the workplace, verbal assault, morale issues, turnover costs, team degradation, employee-victims blowing off work the next day and calling in sick (aka "taking mental health days"), physical illness, and lower productivity -- all of these metrics can be adversely affected by a poorly managed "customer aggression intervention education program" in the workplace.

Never heard of such a program? You have now. I think you should consider starting one.
This is fertile ground for EAP work. There is plenty of research on the impact of aggressive customers and the consequences of their behavior on employee wellness. But there are few programmatic intervention approaches run by those with behavioral health knowledge and experience.

Frankly, hopes of the employee self-referring to the EAP are not really going to cut it as the only way to deal with customer service stress. A more proactive approach is needed.

I am developing a tip sheet on this topic and will make it available to you soon, but at least for now, let's discuss some of the ways employees can cope with this common workplace issue of customer service stress vis-a-vis the angry customer, and bit about the EAP role.

Customers Can Turn on Employees

Customers can turn on employees, dehumanize them, and treat them with hostility because they represent the organization to which their fury is targeted. An employee representative is the company or business. Without customers seeing employees in this fashion, they can't act out successfully. This gives a strong clue to intervention - humanness. [Suggested EAP Resource for customer service 1 of 3 ]

A recent study released this past summer found that consumer bargain hunters, for example, treat store clerks "as less than human." It's almost as though they go into "a zone" that turns employees into objects. Here's the study.

You can assume there are customer service employees who, after dealing with an irate customers, desire nothing more than to drive home, jump back into bed and hide under the covers. These workers are your target audience for offering additional support from the EAP.

Add value to your EAP by developing referral funnels that spot these workers, discover their needs, and turn them into thankful clients. This is truly "value-added" EAP at its finest.

Help employees discover the tricks of the trade for dealing with angry customers. Here are a couple ways to counsel these employees so they develop more resilience and are able to help themselves face hostile customers.

Listen first, speak later

Help employees understand that the initial burst of anger from customers will almost always be the most intense. From there, things are going to go downhill (in a positive sense.)

This is a powerful awareness, and like the other tips that follow in this post, helping employees "reframe" their experience is critical in order to help workers feel more empowered.

Because it’s so stressful for the person on the receiving end of the hostility, many flustered employees mistakenly try to end confrontations a bit too quickly in order to ease their own discomfort associated with the behavior of the customer. This is a tactical mistake. But, of course it is understandable. [Suggested EAP Resource for customer service 2 of 3 ]

Ironically, quick intervention leads to escalation of the angry and hostile customer reactions. The missing link? It's empathy. Coaching employees to resist the urge interrupt, argue, or engage in problem solving immediately is key to helping reduce customer agitation.

Remember those counseling interview courses or social work interviewing courses you took in school? You undoubtedly learned about the levels of empathetic response that professional counselors use to help clients feel heard. This is an excellent model of communication that customer service employees can also learn. And you can teach it to them.

Learning the levels of empathetic response will be fun learning and it will also be appreciated as a way of helping employees remain calm and keep their cool when customer aggression ramps up and the pressure is on.

You want to help employees develop better reflexes and actually relax in the face of customer agitation. Teach them to slow down their breathing and listen intently without fear -- help employees become fearless customer service honey badgers as they maintain eye contact with their customers.

Apologize and Empathize

Employees should learn that the angry customer eventually runs out of steam and pauses to collect his or her thoughts. When this happens, you've got them -- right there, take the opportunity to apologize. This is the employee's  "in."

Apology is an art, and it is well worth learning. So, the EAP should do a couple presentations or role plays. Not difficult, but important.

Apologies can reduce the customer service employee's stress, as well as the customers'. Help employees learn the art of an effective apology because it goes right to the heart of what has upset the customer.

For example, a customer who is displeased about an undisclosed $10 service charge is more likely to be angry about feeling deceived than about the fee itself. Help employees understand that this is the crucial link to address. Addressing this anger specifically and empathizing with it will be powerful. [Suggested EAP Resource for customer service 3 of 3 ]

Remember above when I discussed the "levels of empathy" that you may have learned in professional counseling courses in college? Draw on this material. It is a good place to practice these skills. Here are the levels in response to the above. You may have to create your own examples, but follow this model below and you will do great.

Issue: "Customer is angry and shocked at a $10 service charge."

Empathy 1: "Don't blame me."
Empathy 2: "I can't do anything about it."
Empathy 3: "Sorry you are just finding out about this." 
Empathy 4: "Your reaction to this charge justified."
Empathy 5: "I must feel blindsided and taken advantage of by this."

As you can see, the above can create a lot of discussion in a seminar setting with customer service employees, but who better to help them deal with stress, understand empathy, gain resilience, have a bit of fun, and experiment with empathetic responses and customer than you as the EAP?

A mistake but often seen as an easy out for customer service employees that actually makes problems worse is resisting the anger and blame. Employees often attempt to shift or pass the buck to others in the organization so one does not feel targeted. In your customer’s eyes, you are the company, so don’t take anything that’s said to you personally. (Admittedly, this is easier said than accepted at an emotional level, but with practice and tools, it eventually becomes part of the employees "tool box."

Reflection and Clarifying

More customer service training for employees that you can consider is helping them understand is how to immediately, after apologizing, repeat the customer’s complaint to him or her.

This reflection and clarification assures the customer that the employee is concerned about the problem and will help the customer avoid further misunderstanding that may incite anger again. This is the part of the proof that things are going to get better.

Maintain a calm, positive tone

Employees have tremendous influence over their customer’s emotional state. This is the key point in any seminar to assist them in stress management. For example, something like lowering the voice and speaking slowly and calmly in a pleasant manner relaxes and disarms most angry customers.

Taking immediate action

The longer customers wait, the more they seethe. It is a simple strategy to make the unhappy customer the employee's top priority. This is in fact, the first rule to reduce one's personal stress. Avoid delay and denial. Help employees understand that the goal is ultimately to have the customer see the customer service employee as not just an employee, but an advocate. Without this goal in mind, the default position is "opponent." Once empathy is shown, a quick pivot to a discussion resolution the customer is looking for is the correct path.

When an employee can't find an immediate answer or solution, then what? The best answer is usually taking charge, promising to follow up later. Take down the customer's contact information and outline the corrective steps one is going to take. This part is critical in order be believed. The employee risks escalation without this "part B" to the follow up promise. Include the names of everyone who will be involved in the solution.

Example: “I’m going to send this purchase order to Sarah, our inventory manager. She’ll order the correct part for you. It should be here on Tuesday. She’ll call you at the number you provided”

“If you have any problems, please contact me immediately and I’ll help you resolve it. Here is my card.”

One of the biggest drivers of customer anger is feeling like they’re getting the runaround. Taking these steps assures your customer that:

• She is valued.
• You have a plan.
• She won’t be abandoned.
• You will be accountable and available for follow up.

Follow up

Don’t write them off! An angry customer is not necessarily a former customer.

A follow up phone call or message a few days following the resolution of a complaint sends the message that the customer service worker cares about delivering satisfaction. Most customers just want to feel valued. Small considerations build loyalty.

Employees who are customer service workers can’t please everyone, but they can improve and enhance company’s image and responsiveness in every dispute. The more they practice these above techniques, the more success they will have in calming customers and winning them over. And of course, less stress is the big payoff.

Download Reproducible Holiday Stress Tip Sheet

Download Reproducible Holiday Stress Tip Sheet: Free holiday stress tip sheet and reproducible handout for workplace wellness, free to distribute, editable, web usable.

Holiday stress and family conflicts are a common concern among employees. They can add to the difficulty of the season. We we decided to create this reproducible and editable tip sheet for workplace wellness.

We think it hits all the right spots, including thinking ahead and preparing a personal care plan; understanding and responding to triggers; letting go of resentments; practicing mindfulness; having a "go-to-friend" for support if needed; recognizing that no one is alone with this problem or issue; focusing on the fun and valuing loved ones. We also included a special section on the political divide we all only know too well!

Click here to download JUST THE PDF or go here to download 
the EDITABLE MODULE.

This workplace wellness tip sheet is yours to copy and distribute without attribution, but if you put it on a Web site, please place a "back-link" someplace on your Web site--even in the farthest corner--where it is viewable by search engines --  [ http://workexcel.com ]. This will cause search engines to rank us higher and it helps us create more free tip sheets for you!

Other key links to explore . . .

1. See the WorkExcel.com Online Catalog--flip the pages!

2. Download the PDF catalog - 25mb....so it takes 20 seconds

3. Shorty Catalog, like #2 above, but on two sheets

4. Download everything you ever wanted to know about our "flagship" product FrontLine Employee Editable Wellness Newsletter-- here.

Women in the Workplace 2018 PDF (Download)

There's a lot of critical information in this new report on women in the workplace. Despite the push to grow more diverse and inclusive workplaces, African American women in top management are still quite rare. And there are more findings in this report critical to workforce management. The new 2018 Women in the Workplace Study is a document you should read for three important reasons: 1) awareness for the problem of barriers to gender diversity that still exist; 2) the reliability of the information found in the document that discusses many aspects of modern day institutional discrimination; and 3) ideas about how you can make a difference in your role no matter what it might be. The study was conducted by the prestigious accounting firm of McKinsey and Company.

Women in the Workplace 2018 PDF (Download)

Download a New Reproducible Wellness Tip Sheet

Download a New Reproducible Wellness Tip Sheet

Loneliness is become a national health problem, but if you are a professional counselor or EAP, you are on the front lines in making a impact on this killer health condition.

Download a New EAP Workplace Wellness Resource and Health Tip Sheet: "Overcoming Loneliness"

Download, reproduce, and distribute this new workplace wellness tip sheet from

WorkExcel.com on "Overcoming Loneliness."

If you get FrontLine Employee, you saw the article on loneliness that we authored for the June 2018 issue. This tip sheet gives the rest of the story and offers more direction for employees.

You will make a big impact, help your program's visibility, increase referrals, and demonstrate value with WorkExcel.com resources --especially tip sheets and newsletters: Keep people thinking about what you offer with our help. We are now in our 25th year.

Follow this this link to learn more and download the tip sheet.

http://www.icontact-archive.com/YAuysBsJ0Zzmn9lCXd4C94pl0pSeJOPr?w=3

Try this Stress Management Training Technique: Forward Thinking to More Awesome Moments

Cold and rainy. Nope, doesn't get any worse. If only there was a way to change our attitude

in a second because coffee barely scratches the surface. A book should be written about ​stressmanagement techniques and tips for Monday mornings, but it doesn't exist yet, how about this idea.
​
​Remember the relief and positive feelings you experienced during the week just before you went on your last vacation? No matter how stressful it was, you found an oasis in your mind when you thought about what was coming soon. Read more...