Love The Product, Hate(d) The Service

I am a big fan of Spotify. Wait, I may have understated that...I freakin' love it. I use it every day in my office; I plug my iPhone into my car and listen on my commute, and I pop the headphones in when I'm going on a run. I'm a die-hard, premium subscriber, Spotify-guy. I have to be their biggest fan.

Except for the time I was really pissed at Spotify.

Short Story - Short
For a period of time I was being double-billed, or so I thought, for their premium service. I reached out via twitter for help, and the good folks at Spotify responded quickly. I was hopeful to get a speedy resolution, but alas that was not to be. After being forced to jump through MANY hoops it was discovered that a second account had been set up which I was not aware of...ouch! My bad.

Except I was still pissed that I didn't get a straight answer in the beginning.

Despite my stumbling, and a bit of disappointment, I'm still a huge Spotify fan, and spread the word whenever I can about their amazing product.

I love the product.

HR Story - Long
Human Resources delivers a range of products too. Every person in the organization depends on us, and it is essential that we do our jobs well. So, do our (trapped) customers love our product and hate our service?

Do they like that benefit plans are there when they need them, but get frustrated trying to figure out what the fine prints says and which forms to fill out? Do they want to transfer and take advantage of an internal promotional opportunity but feel like they never hear back from anyone? Do new team members simply want some guidance as they come on board, but end up figuring out most things for themselves? Do our leaders feel this way too?

Reality-Check
I like to believe....um...convince myself that I actually deliver a product that not only has value, but is also considered to be high quality and done in a customer-friendly way (despite the fact that my customers are built-in.)

Has HR somehow become a bit lazy over the years? "If only those managers knew what we have to go through here in HR!" Oh wait, you've probably never said that before...ahem...I haven't either. #LyingThroughMyTeeth

The reality is that we need to critically evaluate our own performance, the products we deliver, and how we deliver them to ensure we keep ourselves at the top of our game.

Just imagine what those managers are saying about us right now. Do they love your product?

How About You
Is it time for you to get some feedback about you and your team's performance? Maybe you need to do something radical, something that would be considered a never-been-done-before-in-your-company approach...

Ask someone.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



pic  pic

Making Memories...at Work?

You may have seen this short video before...watch it again anyway. Then ask yourself, "how many memories have I created as a leader in my organization? If I have...did they make a difference for someone?"

How About You
I'd love to hear what you're doing to make a difference in your workplace. None of us have this figured out completely, so share your story so we can all keep learning.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

Meetings Ruin My Day

I go to a lot of meetings.  Many weeks I attend more than thirty of them.  Thirty meetings in one week.  They're all important; some are even mission critical (remember that term?).  But what actually gets done in those endless hours behind closed doors?  Sometimes I'm not sure.  Yes, face-to-face communication is simply the best way to share information, but is it always necessary?  I don't think so, and I now recognize that I need to take action instead of continuing to talk about it.

Fresh Perspective
I've decided to try something new over the next few weeks.  I'm going to attempt to cut my weekly meeting count in half, on average, going forward.  This may take some doing, some delegating, and some hard decision-making on my part to simply turn down meeting requests.  The difficult part of this plan is that I'm not willing to sacrifice the perception of good service to my customers.  Hmm...I hope they're as open to using technology as I am.


Why Such A Big Deal?
As my organization grows, I seem to find myself connecting with more people, in more locations than ever before.  In order to provide the best service possible, I can't be unavailable.


"Simply because someone doesn't work on the same campus as me, does not mean they don't deserve the same level of attention and support.  I need to be available in person, via phone, and electronically in equal parts."


How About You
How have you balanced the crush of requests for meetings with the need to support your other clients across the entire organization?  What worked?  What didn't?

I'd love to hear from you.


No Excuses.






pic courtesy of The Big Link