Encourage Free Thinking!

Hopefully at this point you understand the need for quick and efficient handling of conflicts and complaints. You realize the importance of the first contact and the need for that contact to go as smoothly as possible. You also realize the need to balance the needs of all parties concerned. To provide an unbalanced resolution is a sure-fire recipe for failure.

What else can we do to insure the proper response to any conflict or complaint?

The answer is, we can think. If anyone reading this thinks there is one canned response or one phrase that will make all your conflicts go away, then I would suggest that you go back to the beginning and start reading again.

We talked about how people are different from one another. Because of this, one situation will require different actions than another. While you may be guided by a set of parameters, it is not possible to have a ready-made resolution for every problem.

The people who excel at conflict resolution have one thing in common. They are creative. They can look at a situation and come up with a solution that fits the problem exactly. The resolution may be a combination of different solutions already used by the individual or it may be a new and inventive solution developed by talking with the customer.

People who are afraid to think for themselves, or need to have everything spelled out in black and white for them will have a tough time resolving conflicts. How can we help those people who are afraid to think for themselves and take a few risks? The most effective method is to establish a rough set of guidelines in which the person can act without fear of retribution.

These guidelines should spell out a specific set of boundaries within which the employee is empowered to make decisions. For example, an individual can be given the authority to offer refunds to any customer having a problem with a value of $100.00 or less. If a person demands a $50.00 refund, the individual can agree to it on the spot and resolve the situation. If it's over $100.00, approval must be given prior to making a commitment to the customer.

This accomplishes two things. First, it allows for a quick and efficient handling of the situation. This results in increased customer satisfaction and lower costs to your company. Secondly, it reduces the number of times someone in authority has to authorize a course of action. If you require management to authorize every resolution, you are going to create a tremendous burden on your management people.

In order for this to work, all employees must feel that they can make decisions within their guidelines without fear of chastisement or retribution. If you chastise someone for making a wrong decision within the guidelines, you take away the empowerment that the guidelines represent. If a mistake is made, calmly state why you think the decision was wrong. You can then expect that the next time that situation comes up the decision might be made differently.

It has been shown that people respond much more efficiently when they have an established set of criteria from which to work. They want to know what is expected of them. What are they supposed to do? What does their job consist of? What are they prohibited from doing. In short, what are the boundaries of their position?

What do these guidelines encourage? Thinking. They encourage a person to gather information, analyze it, and make a decision on the spot to satisfy their customers. They take into consideration emotional baggage, external and internal factors, and the value of the customer to the company. Take all this information, put it together, and out comes a group of possible solutions. Decide which one is best and promote that course of action to the customer.

In vast number of cases, you will be able to resolve the conflict in minutes, or at least in one phone call or meeting. This is far better than having to get approval, ask someone's permission, or otherwise delay the resolution for other reasons. How do you feel when you have a problem and the person you are talking to gives you a satisfactory resolution within a few minutes? You feel great! You feel relief and secure. Those are the feelings you should strive to impart to everyone you deal with.

Empowerment within established guidelines is a powerful tool that should be used in every company. It encourages free exchange of ideas and promotes the growth of new solutions and creates a more powerful and responsive company. This type of empowerment should not stop with conflict or complaints. Employees should have the ability to facilitate change within their organization. These changes can increase efficiency, improve the performance of the product or service, and reduce costs.

Every time a product is improved it is because someone was alerted to a problem and made a conscious effort to eliminate the cause of the problem. Look at the automobiles of today. Do you think we would have engines capable of 50 miles per gallon if the public continued to purchase the gas-guzzlers of the 1960's. Of course not. People started opting for the small imports that got more miles per gallon. Detroit saw that (a little too late, though), and started producing cars that got good gas mileage. Why? To regain their market share, that's why!.

Empowerment also accomplishes something that is extremely valuable to any business. It can significantly reduce the time required to make a change to improve something. The input of the people closest to the end-user of the product or service have valuable input that should be treated like gold. Since there are next to no businesses out there that have no competition, the complaints and conflicts that arise in your company should be used to keep your products and services the very best in the business.

Last, but not least, empowerment gives a feeling of being a valuable part of the company. It conveys a sense of ownership to the employees. People tend to treat things more seriously and take a greater interest when they feel that they are part of the company they work for. If they feel isolated or not highly valued, people tend to get complacent or uncaring.

We have talked a lot about resolving problems, correcting things that went wrong, and offering good and fair solutions. What else can we do to eliminate or reduce the amount of conflict we face every day? We can learn to be Pro-Active.

David V. Greis
The Customer Service Training Institute
http://www.infowhse.com