For Employees: Handling The (Fairly) Obvious

I would like to start this out by saying that I can understand how interactions over the phone can be harrowing and confusing, especially if you are making any attempt to multitask. That being said, this post (Wednesday, July 27) is about handling phone calls.

Last week, I had three calls for interviews. One was with a local fitness facility chain, another for my new current employer. The third was from another branch of the fitness chain, whom I missed because I was interviewing with the first branch. However, in an effort to be polite, and increase my chances of making a good impression, I called the second location back. I figured being honest would pay off. What follows is an actual transcript of my phone conversation with an employee in the fitness facility. She had a very high voice and seemed very young.

Girl: "[Blank] Club. How can I help you?"
Me: "Hi! I received a call from [Manager]. May I please speak with her?"
Girl: "Umm......(1) [Manager] is gone for the day." She sounded confused here, almost as if it were uncommon for a manager to be contacted via telephone.
me: lol
Me: "Can I leave a message, or would there be another day that's better to call?"
Girl: "Ummm....... Hold on a sec..." She put the handset down and came back a few seconds later. "She's working tomorrow."
Me: "What time would be good to call her?"
Girl: "Umm, let me check the schedule..." Again, she put down the handset and returned after a few more seconds (2). "The morning..."

I admit, this girl seemed sweet and genuine. However, I felt slightly put off by the idea that there was a possibility this would possibly be a future co-worker. This poor girl, whom I am unable to even censor because she did not provide a name to do so, triggered several negative responses with her lack of any telephone composure. First, I had almost immediately formulated a judgment about the girl and the rest of the staff at that location. Second, I had begun to theorize what kind of person and administrator [Manager] was if she had hired this girl, and what expectations (or lack thereof) awaited me for an interview. Third, I was slightly disenchanted with the idea of patronizing that particular location because I had doubts as to the staff's capabilities. None of these responses were negative enough to trigger anything more sever than minor annoyance and disappointment, but it did not make their particular location stand out as Shangrila, either.

It bears consideration that employees should be given some semblance of training in telephone etiquette, and that calls for the manager be expected without a total loss of capacity to think (3). If you are unsure of how to speak to strangers when not face-to-face, answering the telephone might not be the wisest choice for an employee.

When I worked at [BLANK], I was given a speech for the phone: "Thank you for calling [BLANK], this is Richard. How may I help you?" Over time, I adopted a more specialized, longer speech: "Hello, and thank you for calling [BLANK] in [Branch Location], my name is Richard. How may I help you today?" Perhaps some supervisory guidance on how to make that over-the-phone connection should be provided.

Notes:

1- I used the ellipses twice because the trail-off was about twice the appropriate timing for what ellipses denote.

2- The time the Girl put down the handset was minimal. It was a minor inconvenience that was more abrupt than anything else.

3- This is an exaggeration. Sometimes we all get flustered and/or blind-sided, especially if we are doing multiple things at once. The trick is to not let anyone else realize that is happening.

A Celebration

First of all, please forgive me on slacking this week. I have actually found work! After two days, my new employer seems to be what I have been searching for: small enough to be part of the neighborhood, but big enough to have appropriate rules. The added bonus is that it's a completely casual dress code!

My advice to job-seekers is this: don't give up hope. I was competing with other applicants for a single position and managed to get it with what felt like an overqualified, largely irrelevant skill set. The next step is for me to give it my all, as they invested in me and I owe them that much. So this post, which is for Monday, July 25 (I guess), is to encourage my readers to hang in there and keep trying.

I guess this means that with my schedule being full-time, next week will be going to a Tuesday/Thursday updating schedule.

Payday

I'd like to start this off with an apology for posting later than usual. I was originally planning to do a rather lengthy post today about something different, but then something else came up instead. If I've learned one thing while pursuing my graduate degree, it's that you need to rearrange you plans when "teaching moments" present yourself, and it appears one fell out of the sky for me.

It's Friday, which is a popular day for one to receive their paycheck. However, today was a frustrating day that resulted in some disappointment for my wife. She just finished her second week at a job that she earned because she was blunt and honest at her interview and the interviewer absolutely had to hire her (it says volumes when you tell an interviewee to come back in less than two hours because you want them to meet your business partner, then offer the job on the spot). It's a part time position for a very small company, but it's something, nonetheless. After being told that paychecks were given every two weeks, she inquired as to whether she would be paid today or next week. Her boss, the person who hired her, told her she had not yet been put into the payroll system, and after much back-and-forth, offered that her first week's pay be withheld as some form of "security deposit" that would be given to her whenever she left the company. After more back-and-forth, she was paid for the past two weeks. However, the experience made her feel that she was not trusted in an office of five people (including herself), and left her with the feeling that she could not trust her boss.

I could write much more on what was wrong in the above scenario (and the respect issues that go along with it), but the teaching moment here is about compensation for time worked. This isn't the first position that my wife has accepted in recent months where her employer has made some arrangement to get free labor. In fact, another acquaintance who worked for a major clothing retailer was also threatened to not be paid for the time he spent working in the position. That is disturbing, for so many employers to threaten not give an employee their appropriate compensation. Let's set the record straight for all employers up-front: "Time worked is time paid." To believe otherwise is wrong on so many levels, and no employee should ever have to take it. At the risk of sounding preachy, shame on any employer that will not pay its staff for any reason.

I understand that in some small businesses, payroll comes last in the hierarchy of payments: rent, taxes, and utilities are pretty important. However, in keeping with the idea of leadership, the workers need to be paid before their superiors. The reason being that the workers survive on the meager pay they are given, while those on the higher end of the pay spectrum can sustain themselves longer with their earnings. What is the higher priority: feeding one's family, or detailing the vintage sports car? (A)

For employees, the best way to be protected is to make sure that documents are properly signed and filed. Personally, I think it should be mandatory for all employees to be present when their supervisor enter their information into the computer database, as it ensures the information is accurately put in and that it actually gets entered. There are laws to protect employees from being scammed, and those should be researched based on the local jurisdiction.

To all employers, this is a warning sign. Just as a bad employee can make a single company look bad, a bad company can make others look bad as well. Without trust from employees, running a business will be much harder. Just because the economy is bad and people are desperate, it is not an opportunity for exploitation.

As a final thought, there are many (in my experience, they are predominantly the younger generations) who hold the mindset that bigger business are ruining the world. Likewise, I ask those individuals to consider that the smaller businesses are not without fault as well. "Corporate lackey" can also mean "properly compensated" in today's society.

Leadership: The Cornerstone of Everything

“Cornerstone of everything” sounds cliché, but it’s a fairly accurate description of our everyday existence. However, this blog is not concerned with how essential leadership is to government, family, etc.; it is concerned with how this idea applies to the workplace, and where the lack thereof is bad for business. Yes, I said “business,” because at the end of the day, it all leads to the accumulation of resources for distribution to the contributing parties.

What is leadership? Dictionary.com defines “leadership” as: 1, the position or function of a leader (A); 2, ability to lead; 3, an act or instance of leading; guidance; direction. Many people might think to associate this with business executives, who attend massive leadership conferences so they can come back to HQ and earn those mega-bucks they get paid by making decisions that affect everyone on the payroll. That is part of it, but then there’s the forgotten leadership on the lower end of the spectrum—subordinate leadership. Not to be misconstrued as bossiness, laziness, and the like, subordinate leadership means that someone stands out among their peers as the go-to guy or gal, and that’s the person who becomes the “captain,” then the supervisor, and ultimately might find their way to the enormous corner office and five Administrative Assistants. That person, specifically, is the one that makes the impact.

During my time working for a certain café chain, I was also growing as a person and my eventual promotion to Supervisor was an eye opener for the fact that I had a vision and no real way to motivate people. I blamed it on the fact that I was also now outranking a few people who trained me or those who were my peers the previous shift they had worked with me. In retrospect, the awakening came when I realized that I was unable to get anybody to respect my authority completely unless I followed all of the other leaders in showing that I worked hard with them. My dedication paid off, because after a few years, I was given the opportunity become an Assistant Store Manager! This was a position that Corporate took seriously (B), including requiring me to attend numerous workshops on running the business the [blank] way (which, of course, is always the right way (C)); it was at that point that I was introduced to Situational Leadership. It still amazes me that I vividly remember a four hour class six years later.

Situational Leadership is a program I believe in, as it simplifies and demystifies the experience of how to lead a diverse group of people. For the three years of tenure I held as an ASM looking ahead to the eventual rank of Store Manager, and in the time beyond as I look to my next endeavor, I realize that this concept has failed me once (and even then, part of it was my own shortcoming). I frankly think everyone who holds any authority should take it, as there is a total lack of respect for one another in today’s society (D), and that same lack of respect undeniably manifests itself inside the workplace.

I have been told in the past by a “leader” that running a corporate-owned café business is vastly different from running anything else and that there is no comparison between them both. The comment, by its very nature, is an insult—to me, to the speaker and the people they represent, and pretty much anybody who does not work for [blank]. Dramatic as that sounds, stay with me here: how is being a competent leader exclusive to [blank]? By that logic, why bother working towards any goal not in the interest of the aforementioned café corporation? The above is another misconception, and I want to get it cleared away: to lead means to listen and do what is in your power to make things work. (The speaker of the non-comparison, to their credit, does seem to do much listening since that time.) As employers, it is the duty of anyone with managerial capacity to understand this key component. Don’t worry, employees, I haven’t forgotten about you. As listening is crucial for your uppers, it’s equally crucial to you. You can’t always get your way, but it’s not always your boss’ fault; rules are in place for a reason, and they need to be followed, even if it means saying “no” to something trivial.

For the owners of smaller businesses, I must apologize: you get the brunt of my feelings on this issue. Since I have been unemployed for two years, a good number of interactions with your kind have proven to be among the worst experiences I’ve lived through or heard about. Just because a business is small, it does not give anyone with authority the ability to treat others poorly (and here we see respect show up again). There are things that are NOT appropriate to ask (E), nor are there things you are free to say. This theme will recur again, but remember that the interview process is also a chance for the interviewee to determine worthiness of their energy. As such, you need to show your ability to lead effectively, and not come off as some possible sociopath who conducts business affairs with as much whimsy as they can find during a given mood.

Notes:

(A) As someone who holds a degree in English and is pursuing a degree in Education, I must say how I absolutely despise definitions like this, as they offer no satisfactory explanation of the word they define.

(B) Corporate took all of their positions seriously. ASM, however, was the lowest rank of full-time employees, and thus had far stricter regulations and requirements than the hourly/part-time roles.

(C) I'm being mildly sarcastic here. Every company, no matter how small, believes in their mission (or should, I hope) and that their methods are best for them. As such, whatever business you are in will have their own "right way," and I respect that. So this is not some free endorsement for [blank]'s ability to lead the way in business management.

(D) Respect will be covered in a separate blog posting in the future.

(E) Things better left unsaid will be covered in a separate posting in the future.

For Employers: Connection With the Applicant

Society is constantly in flux. At no point does culture remain consistent for long periods of time, especially since the Internet has become a household resource. With this functionality, however, came the side effect that nobody needs to directly interact with anybody anymore. How does this work, you ask? Simple:

Applicant: "Hi, are you hiring at this location?"
Employee: "You have to go on the website and fill out an application."

"The website" has become this fantastical Utopian catch-phrase that will guide any applicant to possible employment. In reality, however, it reduces all individuals to a line of text on a screen somewhere to be perused when necessary. There is no face, no voice, no handwriting to even start a connection between the one who hires and the applicant. Some potential employers even e-mail the applicant back, rather than making the attempt to pick up the phone, dial a ten digit number, and interact with the applicant! In all fairness to interviewers, however, I will say that letting an unrecognized phone number go into voicemail is slightly counterproductive. Likewise, the attempt to verbally contact an applicant is essential when establishing a connection between the applicant and the employer.

Consider, if you will, the following scenario:

Applicant: "Hi! Are you hiring for any positions at this time?"
Employee: "You have to go to the website to apply for a position. What is your name, so that we can find your application in the database?"

The above scenario acknowledges the applicant's interest, and while still redirects to "the website," asking for the applicant's name narrows down the search. It does not guarantee the applicant a position, should they not meet the workplace's criteria, but creates a connection between the involved parties.

If the first impression is the most important one between two parties, the wall of anonymity created by the Internet is the greatest obstruction to that vital first impression. Consider that every applicant has the potential to impact your company profoundly; it is beyond foolish to squander an opportunity so profound.

From personal experience, my first position was acquired because I asked for the Manager and asked for a follow-up on my application. The Manager told me to come in for an interview the next day and that he would have my application. Turns out my application had gone MIA, but this single man hired someone who moved through the ranks and helped build the brand to increase numbers beyond expectations. Not too shabby for a random, "Is the Manager here?"

Mission Statement

After much careful consideration and frustration, I have decided to dedicate this blog to several issues plaguing American society in this day and age: issues of unemployment, the way employees conduct themselves in the workplace, and, possibly the least recognized issue of all, the way employers conduct themselves in the workplace. It is my hope that I will be able to reach out and make a positive impact in the collective American workplace via my postings.

To begin, I would like to explain why I have opted to publish my opinions on the matter, and why I feel I am qualified to do so. First, I have been unemployed for two years, one month, and fifteen days. I left my retail position as an Assistant Store Manager because I felt my place of employment suffered from a severe lack of integrity and business ethics, which began taking a toll on my physical and mental heath. Prior to that position, I worked for a Fortune 100 company that was, and still remains, a very lucrative business; I left that position for multiple reasons, some of which will likely be revealed over time. As I, and members of my family, seek to rejoin the workforce, I have noted several issues with potential employers that I feel need to be discussed in order to rectify them. As to why I feel I am qualified to do this, I have three reasons: 1- I have very little to lose in doing so, 2- my leadership/development experience has proven to be of a high caliber, and 3- my conscious compels me to at least make the effort to fix whatever problems I can.

My aim is to update this blog three times each week, following the common Monday-Wednesday-Friday format. My grandmother used to say that, "you should never put into writing what you don't want to see on the front page of the New York Times." Along those lines, I would be thrilled if the New York Times put anything I wrote here on their front page, as it would help get my message across. Please keep in mind, however, that while these are my opinions, some of them are either just plain good advice, or are ideas that have been put into practice with varying degrees of success.