Customer Service heros and CRM to work their magic

Wonder Woman DC

Green Lantern DC

             

Wonder Woman has her bracelets & lasso and the Green Lantern has his ring. These powerful tools turn otherwise ordinary people into superheros. Today's cloud computing technology gives even the smallest businesses powerful CRM tools. Staff with a true service attitude and a good CRM will appear magical to clients.

Know every contact at every account by name and job function like you did when you first opened your doors.

Schedule proactively communication for reminders and personal milestones. "Thanks for 5 years of business."

Track which products and services your clients are using today and which products they may need in the future.

Log all communication and changes with the client so everyone in your firm can be on the same page. This helps you put on a good show with every client interaction.

Acquiring a feature rich application that allows your staff to perform these and other super moves can be done  for only a small investment of time and money. Businesses leaders can enlist the services of lean products like  Insightly, which has a free plugin version for Google Apps. On the other end of the spectrum you have industry giant Salesforce.com.

Future installments of EmploybetterCRM will include reviews of popular CRM systems as well as new comers to the scene. Do you have a favorite CRM you are using to help your staff perform better? If so, please share which it is and some of the pros and cons.

Shiftgig the mashup of classified gigs and your contact list

Heading into to the weekend there are restaurants and carters all over Los Angeles looking for quality staff, tonight! If your scheduled staffer can't make is there friend qualified, are any of your standbys available? Enter Shiftgig, they are positioning themselves as the hotter all grown up version of Craigslist gigs.

LA Times

Shiftgig is Linkedin for the tech savvy food service industry. Based in Chicago a great food city and Los Angeles is one of the early markets they've entered since launching in 2011. Here's what they've got cookin' (I couldn't resist).

For employers: The ability to post jobs and have those posts syndicated to multiple job boards.

                          View the profile of potential candidate for various food.

                          Search for qualified people based on skills you desire.

                          Build a profile of your business to attract the best employees.

                          Know your getting the best people for you position with the built in filtering system. 

For Gig seekers: Build a profile and showcase you skills.

                             Search jobs you want.

                             View the profiles of places you are considering.

                             Get pushed to the top of the pile based on the depth and quality of the profile you build

                             Ability to show some love for the places you enjoy working by giving it a favorite.

Like Linkedin the basics are free. There are fees involved for certain premium features. I look forward to learning more to share with you. 

Does Shiftgig sound like a tool you would use or does your informal network/contact list get the job done? 

The 5 Components of a Successful Wellness Program

 A good wellness program should address the needs of the entire population while staying consistent with the vision of the company. Here are a few key components that make-up a successful wellness program.

1) Senior Management Support

In order to get new policies implemented, senior management must support the policy change. Senior management will not only be needed when it comes to financial support, but also can serve as an excellent example. By participating in and leading the way they demonstrate acceptance of the new wellness culture of the company. Senior management buy in is critcal to program success. 

2) A Well Laid Out Plan

Like the success of any endeavor, a well developed plan is key. The plan should address the needs and interests of the employees and the health and safety improvement of the organization. It should cater to developing wellness initiatives that everyone in the organization can benefit from and enjoy participating in. The plan should serve as the road map for the wellness programs direction and expected outcome. Without a plan, you don't have a chance.

3) Program Evaluations

Evaluations are an ongoing expectation through out the program. The purpose of evaluations are to monitor:

- Program participation

- Participant progression or regression

- Measuring the effectiveness of the wellness program 

- Compares results for the ROI analysis/ report

Evaluations are the metrics needed to determine success of program

4) Maximum Employee Participation

Your organization can have the best wellness program in the world, but if you don't have maximum participation, your organization will not realize the ROI that you wish to achieve. Some of the causes that prevent employee participation in their companies wellness programs are: 

- Lack of or no incentives

- Not interested in the initiatives

- Perceived cost to the employees

If your wellness program peaks the interest of your employees, then you will obtain the participation goals that you are seeking and you will have a direct impact on your bottom line!

5) Return on Investment

The goal of every company is to have more money coming in than going out. If senior management can't see the value of a wellness program, help them understand the numbers. Consult with your HR department to learn your companies area's of opportunity as it relates to absenteeism, productivity and healthcare costs. Most senior management can be convinced when they know they are getting a return on their investment and that it is a win-win situation for both the organization and the employees.

Healthy workers make more cents!

DARIENhawkins

ROIwellness

"Healthy workers make more cents."

http://roiwellness.com

How to post job listing that will go viral!

Remember that college summer intern seeker who's cover letter went viral? What if your next job posting did the same but only to your ideal candidates? Hiring is coming back so you will have your work cut out for you. Given the vast number of unemployed workers and indications of increased competition for the best candidates, attracting quality people will be a challenge. You had better consider these tips when posting your next job.

from: Small Talk, Big Results

Ask for help in you job posting: Everyone wants to feel important. One of the best ways to do that is solving a problem for someone. Your job as a recruiter is to clearly state how their contribution will help the company. Don't just say you need a top sales performer. Tell potential candidates what specific changes can happen with the revenue coming from their direct efforts. Paint a picture so a rock star can say "because of me the company....".

Show off your feathers: If birds of a feather flock together then highlight qualities of existing staff you want to see in your next hire. Take a moment to describe the type of people who are successful in your firm. Convey the culture of the company as a whole as well. It is all about fit, we often need to be in the right environment to shine. So set the stage and the right performers will thrive on it.

Remove the performance guess work: The office is not the place to play guessing games, unless it is for fun. Tell candidates upfront how they will be evaluated. Knowing what the company values in terms of hard results, career development, etc. is attractive to results oriented people. Even hospitality staff that make your clients feel warm and fuzzy don't want fuzzy metrics from you. They want to know in certain terms how their execution of the "warm and fuzzy" job is valued by you. Give numbers, track them, and reward them. Rock stars want to know.

And what's so cool about you? Before you launch into how your app, product, or service is going to disrupt the market and how much fun everyone will have making that happen, think about the type of person you want to think you are cool. A job posting should tell the right candidate and only the right candidate why you, your company, and the position will be cool. What problem will you solve for you customers, what will successful employees get to add to their resume, how will they be compensated (not just money)? 

Now you have the makings of a job posting that will go viral and only infect the people who will really make a difference in your company. Ideally you want job seekers weed themselves out, leaving you with a select group of candidates you and them wanting more.