Author: Dr. Dana

Government shutdown as a psychological contract breach: What’s a manager to do?

Government shutdown as a psychological contract breach: What’s a manager to do?

Posted by | Jan 14, 2019 | , , |

Easily one of the top 5 reasons why people choose to work for the federal government is job security. And, up until the 2018 partial shutdown of the federal government, this was a pretty true statement. There’s nothing in writing making this promise of job security. It is just an understood benefit of working for the government in return for their acceptance of some of the more challenging aspects of the political environment. In short, it’s a psychological contract. As a workforce who values job security begins to see the cracks in the veneer, they are beginning to see...

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The customer trifecta: customer orientation, service, & value goals

The customer trifecta: customer orientation, service, & value goals

Posted by | Jan 7, 2019 | , |

If you work in the government, you may have noticed an increase in the focus on customer service goals. What you may not have realized is this is in part due to customer service as a focus area in the President’s Management Agenda (PMA). As these goals begin to be implemented, I encourage you to think broader in your goal setting. To think about how to foster a customer orientation with underpinnings of both service and value to the customer. If you are unfamiliar with customer service goals, it may seem a matter of semantics to differentiate between customer...

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Unintended consequences of customer service goals

Unintended consequences of customer service goals

Posted by | Dec 31, 2018 | , |

Goal setting is effective. But, there’s a risk in goal setting. The risk is, you may reach your goal but not get what you want. In fact, sometime our goal setting is so effective we actually worsen the original situation within unintended consequences. What the heck gibberish is that? You might reach your goal…but not get what you want? Let me explain. Unintended consequences of goals It’s a commonly known fact that you get what you measure. This is because goals focus effort and stimulate motivation. Less commonly known is that goals do not always result in the outcomes...

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Customer value: Shift the conversation from customer service

Customer value: Shift the conversation from customer service

Posted by | Dec 25, 2018 | , , |

When someone tells you that we need to focus on customer service, it’s hard to argue with them. We need to shift the discussion from providing a service without first considering customer value. In the Ted Talk by John Boccuzzi, he describes how the service he was provided at a local eye-glasses shop changed his perspective on glasses. And, more importantly it won the loyalty of his purchases in the future. John explains that the representative asked him a few questions about what is important to him in glasses. She then offered him three options. Option 1, she said,...

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If the customer is king…what kind of king are you?

If the customer is king…what kind of king are you?

Posted by | Dec 18, 2018 | , , , |

I have a love hate relationship with customer service. I love to receive good customer service. Conversely, I hate that customer service seems to be synonymous with doing whatever the customer wants. In short, that the customer is king. In this Ted Talk, David Bequette tells the story of a period of a month in which he (as the customer) built a relationship with a gruff service agent in an Armenian metro station. He describes how his first time interacting with the agent left him with the feeling she hated him, hated her job, and perhaps hated her life....

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