Skip to Content

Category Archives: Performance Improvement

How to Ensure Your Next Project Will Be a Resounding Success: the Career of SBR’s Principal and What She Learned Along the Way

In conversation with Sharon Roberts, it is easy to be captivated by her story. The trajectory of her professional life and the impact made by each stop on her journey explains the basis for the specific methodology SBR uses to help clients tackle challenges in the way of their growth and profitability.

With SBR entering its 17thyear, a look back at Sharon’s career gives insight into how those experiences provide a roadmap to anyone looking for advice on how to build an organization or confidently launch a project.

Foreshadowing began early in her career at Dun & Bradstreet’s (D&B) entrepreneurial, call center start-up division. They garnered an impressive client list: AT&T, Avis, IBM, and even the US Postal Service. D&B offered the perfect training ground to acquire foundational knowledge and experience in managing people, tracking data, streamlining processes, successfully selling, and techniques for consistently providing exceptional service to clients.

SPEED GIVE YOU A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

After working in a variety of roles with increasing responsibility, she was offered her dream job at Oxford Health Plans when the company was in its infancy. It was the ideal innovation incubator where thinking outside the box was de riguer. Sales leaders were pushed to uncover all the possible ways to meet aggressive sales goals while making sure to anticipate and satisfy customer needs.

“Speed gives you a competitive advantage,” was an oft-heard Oxford motto. The idea was to hire highly skilled individuals who could first plan on a “blank piece of paper”, and then swiftly implement.

This approach illustrates how real-time course correction allows for rapid, reality-based adjustments; the way a pilot navigates a plane. In other words, never waste precious time lamenting over every possible issue in advance. Instead, begin implementing as soon as possible and adjust accordingly.

Not only will you unveil innovative ideas while in action, but you can gain a tremendous competitive advantage. Take Amazon for example; they began by selling books out of a garage, but as popularity increased they didn’t think slow or small. Instead, they took advantage of their momentum and eventually grew into one of the most powerful companies on the planet because they didn’t wait to change. They saw opportunities and profited from them.

HOW TO LOSE $450,000

One specific experience that shaped the way SBR approaches consulting engagements came when Oxford had to acquire a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to manage inside and field sales data (and connect with the customer service system). Sharon was part of the team that would create the Request for Proposal (RFP), research the available options, and make final recommendations.

The search team sought out big-name consulting firms as a way to guarantee a successful implementation. When pitches were made to Oxford, they came from each firm’s elite team, implying it would be the seasoned veterans of the selected team who would take control of lead the project.

Sadly, the elite team that made the initial pitch was never to be seen again. After plunking down approximately $450K, the firm they contracted sent in a team of very smart, VERY green college graduates all hailing from well-known target schools. Once they reviewed the system requirements, they would devote hours to program what they thought would meet business needs. But, they never observed any of the sales teams in action.

Although the assigned team of twenty-somethings were very polite, well-groomed, and impeccably mannered, their charm did not translate into results. Months later, the first CRM investment (the equivalent of approximately $750K today) never got off the ground. Sunk costs. The next consulting engagement with another firm suffered a similar fate, and the company lost money again in both the consulting costs and forgone business that would have been retained had there been an adequate CRM system in place.

A FORMULA THAT GUARANTEES SUCCESS

Living through these events and hearing horror stories from colleagues and clients made us determined to create core guidelines and principles that guarantee SBR can always deliver on our promise. Adopt these methods and principles for your next project launch. They really work. Just ask our clients.

  1. Observe and Ask. Instead of asking employees what they do and how they do it, use an observational method (SBR uses Rapid Ethnography) to help expose the root cause of growth stumbling blocks. Why? To quote Margaret Meade, a cultural anthropologist, “What people say, what people do, and what they say they do, are entirely different things.” Chalk this up to human nature.
  2. Consider Company Culture. Appreciate the organization’s culture so that recommendations will work within the company’s real-world context, not some conceptual organization.
  3. Respect Best Practices. Understand best practices, but make recommendations that will work for the organization, not an idealized version of the company. Sometimes best practices can be costly, time-consuming to implement, and not necessary for transformative results to occur.
  4. Remember, Everything Looks Good On Paper. Create and document the plan. Share it with stakeholders. Start implementing and continue course-correcting as you move along (the iterative process). You will not only gain a competitive advantage but also come up with innovative solutions along the way.
  5. Watch for Human Roadblocks. Work with employees throughout the organization to navigate through the various roadblocks that can be created often by well-meaning employees for a variety of reasons. Remember, everyone is doing the best they can- even when it does not appear that way.

 

 

 

 

0 Continue Reading →

Fewer Options. More Sales.

Anyone who has ever gone to the grocery store knows this scenario well: you turn the corner of the breakfast foods aisle and find yourself confronted with hundreds of different types of cereal. Cheerios alone have over eleven different flavor options (not even considering size variations!), including original, honey nut, honey nut medley crunch, apple cinnamon, banana nut, frosted, chocolate, multi-grain, multi-grain peanut butter, Dulce de Leche, and cinnamon burst. For the average shopper, so many products on a shelf are bound to trigger a headache unless they walk in knowing precisely what they need.

IS MORE REALLY BETTER?

In 2000, researchers Sheena Iyengar & Mark Lepper set out to explore the belief that the more options we have, the better. In a series of experiments conducted in both field and laboratory settings, they found that individuals are more likely to purchase a product (specifically jam) when offered a limited array of 6 choices, rather than a wide array of 30 choices. Moreover, the participants reported greater subsequent satisfaction with their selections when their choices were limited. Think long-term customer retention.

According to a psychology professor and author of “The Paradox of Choice” (HarperCollins, 2003) Barry Collins, an abundance of options can cause a buyer to experience decision paralysis and not make a decision at all. Or they might make a rash decision based on what is easiest to evaluate, rather than what is important and necessary, triggering buyer’s remorse.

FOUR MAIN PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING “THE PARADOX OF CHOICE”.

  1. Regret: The concept of post-decisional regret states that feeling regret increases with the number of options that we have to turn down. We assume a personal responsibility for making a bad choice and find it easier to replay in our minds what may have occurred had we chosen another option.
  2. Opportunity Costs: When making a decision, we are inherently suffering an opportunity cost for not choosing the options we left behind. Our brain requires that we produce reasons why we didn’t go with each of the other options, causing psychological stress.
  3. Expectations: As the number of choices increase, so do our expectations to find the perfect option. With higher expectations, we subject ourselves to higher levels of disappointment.
  4. Social Comparison: With more options, we are more likely to compare what we have with what others, theoretically, could have, therefore increasing our likelihood of simply comparing ourselves to others.

Barry Collins argues that having some choice is good, as it allows people to recognize their preferences and choose on their own volition. However, when too many choices are introduced, psychological satisfaction with that choice can go in the opposite direction. This also pertains to the people behind the purchasing decisions made for companies. At SBR, we were interested in applying this knowledge in a practical way to help our clients increase sales and drive revenue.

TOO MANY CHOICES CAN RESULT IN LOWER SALES.

This excerpt from Barry Collin’s TED Talk reveals the impact that too many choices can have on sales:

A colleague of mine got access to investment records from Vanguard, the gigantic mutual fund company of about a million employees and about 2,000 different workplaces. And what she found is that for every 10 mutual funds the employer offered, the rate of participation went down two percent. You offer 50 funds — 10 percent fewer employees participate than if you only offer five. Why? Because with 50 funds to choose from, it’s so damn hard to decide which fund to choose, that you’ll just put it off until tomorrow. And then tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, and of course tomorrow never comes. Understand that not only does this mean that people are going to have to eat dog food when they retire because they don’t have enough money to put away, it also means that making the decision is so hard that they pass up significant matching money from the employer. By not participating, they are passing up as much as $5,000 a year from the employer, who would happily match their contribution.

YOUR SALES TEAM CAN ELIMINATE DECISION PARALYSIS.

Salespeople can mitigate challenges caused by an excessive number of options. How? They can target this psychological process by identifying customer’s preferences and present them with a narrower selection from which they may choose. Rather than “product dumping,” and simply listing all of the features of a variety of products, a sales person must narrow the set of options, and present them in a digestible way.

Naturally, they must first determine what the customer’s needs are (by asking directional questions) and then recommend the product(s) that fit their specific requirements. To further ease the decision-making process, storytelling techniques can be used to help the customer imagine how this product will improve their life or their company.

With a smaller selection of defined options, the buying experience will be less psychologically taxing, and more profitable for the organization. Not only will the customer be more satisfied with your company, but also with themselves for coming to a conclusion seemingly on their own. Win-win. Click here to learn how SBR has catapulted sales performance and results for our clients.

0 Continue Reading →

Thanksgiving is Long Over, But the Need for Gratitude in the Workplace Continues.

Thanksgiving is the only official day of the year when friends and family gather to share their thanks and appreciation for one another. Why is it that we assign this one holiday as the day of gratitude when giving our thanks on a daily basis has proven psychological, emotional and physical benefits?

According to the Science of Gratitude, an NPR radio special that explored the scientific research illustrating the benefits of gratitude, employees work harder, smarter, and longer when gratitude for their efforts is expressed. The sharing of genuine gratitude drives positive feelings, making employees more excited about coming to work and customers more loyal.

Employees Express Less Gratitude in the Workplace.
To many, gratitude may seem like a basic instinct, a “soft-skill” that people automatically employ in their daily lives. Unfortunately, quite the opposite is true. A 2012 workplace study conducted by Penn Shoen Berland indicated that Americans are less likely to express gratitude in the workplace than anywhere else.

Employee Appreciation Leads to Greater Productivity.
One of the biggest challenges that companies face in the current work environment is keeping employees engaged. Employee engagement has been declining annually and is currently at about 44%. With low rates of engagement, the company’s bottom line suffers.

Adam Grant, a professor at the Wharton School of Business, found that employee appreciation in the workplace leads to greater productivity and success. At Lincoln Financial, Chief Optimism Officer, Anna Goche found that gratitude makes work more meaningful, strengthens relationships, and boosts employee engagement. Lincoln Financial’s employee engagement is at 60% and rising.

Easy Steps to Infuse Gratitude In the Workplace.
How can you make gratitude common practice within your organization? It may be easier than you think, but it is often overlooked because it seems too obvious.

  1. Write a note of gratitude to deserving employees. Make it specific and indicate what exactly stands out about the work that you appreciate. Not only will this make them feel good, but it will also make it clear what actions are the most impactful– improving their productivity and your bottom line!
  2. Follow the lead of Nextjump.com, an e-commerce company that created a contest to reward the employee considered by their colleagues to be the one who “helped them succeed the most” with $50,000 annually. This will encourage a culture of gratitude among employees who are willing to work together.
  3. Seek out ways to publically acknowledge members of your team by having the CEO send an email citing what exactly was done that deserves accolades.
  4. Have a high-level company influencer send a voicemail message to your team thanking them for an important action.

Team SBR has helped clients improve gratitude in their organization by implementing numbers 1, 3 and 4. We’ve helped bring life into a number of organizations by implementing a variety of methods to increase staff motivation, ultimately boosting performance and sales.

At SBR, we understand and believe in the importance of expressing gratitude each and every day. Gratitude is contagious. Start with something small, and watch as it spreads throughout your organization, boosting employee’s satisfaction and your bottom line.

0 Continue Reading →

Is it Time to Blow Up Your Sales Plans? Leveraging an 11th Hour Course Correction.

If you run a sales operation, you know and love the challenge of devising plans to achieve a business goal in the midst of numerous competing factors. While some people shy away from being in the “hot seat”, exceptional sales leaders welcome it.

Those who work in healthcare know all too well the intensity of the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP). Close to 50% of the annual sales are obtained in about 8 weeks.

Many healthcare sales and marketing executives spend the better part of the 1st and 2nd quarter reviewing data, analyzing losses and gains. They pull together actuarial, underwriting, legal and other teams across departments to understand the market conditions and health of the products before building sales and marketing strategies. Plus, they need to develop retention plans to maintain their current membership.

To add to the pressure, products are approved by government agencies only a few weeks ahead of the selling window. So the company doesn’t know the competitive landscape until the last moment. Few industries grapple with this level of variable factors as the healthcare industry does.

Combating Declining Sales. 

Given these inherent complexities, it raises the question: how can we consistently boost sales results when consulting with our healthcare clients who face these challenges annually? Here is where course correction has made all the difference.

Some years back, a client engaged us to help their organization reverse a four-year trend of declining sales and repeatedly failing to meet their goal. Using rapid ethnography, we were able to identify the largest barriers and how to correct them.

We had less than 120 days until the start of AEP to make massive changes in practically every corner of the operation. Once AEP started, we vigilantly analyzed daily sales data. Midway through we knew that while the numbers were trending higher than in previous years, at the current rate we would not meet the sales goal. Unacceptable!

Consider Blowing Up Your Plans.

Enter the 11th-hour-course correction. We took a calculated chance that was inspired by how people shop. During the holidays when most supermarkets are closed, there is always one store that remains open. With no other available option, consumers will flock to that store. Applying this to healthcare, we recommended having the contact center remain open until Midnight for the last few days of AEP. During those hours the competitors would be sleeping. Literally!

The result? It worked. In the final three days of AEP, the phone lines were jammed well into 1:00 AM. The extended hours equaled one additional business day, allowing the client to exceed their sales goal for the first time in years. Years later, this technique is commonplace.

While companies may spend months planning for the future, if devised strategies and tactics are not heading in the right direction, you might need to blow up your well-conceived plan. Sure, taking a risk to course correct at the 11th takes some nerve, but in the end, it may be well worth it.

 

0 Continue Reading →

Getting Less by Expecting More: “Multitasking” Behaviors Are Stifling Call Center Agents

Multitasking has been under scientific scrutiny since the 1960’s. Diverse and web-centric channels for work and play have questioned the brain’s ability to do more than one thing at a time. MIT neuroscientist Earl Miller explains that, “When people think they’re multitasking, they’re actually just switching from one task to another very rapidly. And every time they do, there’s a cognitive cost in doing so.”

There is no better proof that multitasking – or, rather, the attempt to multitask – is alive and well than the contact center industry. If you spend any time peering over the cubicles of call center agents, moving between two or more computer screens, jotting down notes, and plugging digits into their calculator, you have to wonder, what’s all the fuss about? They seem to be multitasking whizzes! (Side note: In one Rapid Ethnographic study of a call center, SBR found that agents migrated between an average of two computer screens and seven different windows during a single call!)

When production value is prized above salesmanship or consumer engagement, the most effective call center agents have to become adept at managing multiple activities in quick succession. The problem is that most companies want call center agents to engage with consumers. The skills required to do so are inherently at odds with mechanical dexterity. You can easily determine whether agents are more focused on the computer than the consumer by the amount of “dead air” during a call. Such is the dilemma for the modern call center.

One big issue is that when people try to multitask, they make more mistakes. Worse yet, when agents switch between different activities, they could be losing the very skills needed to sell and/or support consumers. Researchers at the UK’s University of Sussex found that frequent multitaskers had less brain density in the areas that control cognition and emotional resilience. Sure, an agent might do okay for the first few minutes of their day, but they will soon get burned-out and bummed-out, lose focus, interest and overall job satisfaction. What to do?

  • Experience the agent environment firsthand. Automation can help, but should be built with and for the agent. Too often call center tools are created in a vacuum, often by technical geniuses that know little about or invest no time in appreciating the day-to-day work of a call center agent. An intimate understanding of the job starts with an immersive assessment (our method of choice is Rapid Ethnography) to get an inside look into the agent’s environment. At this point it’s possible to design technological solutions that can do more of the heavy lifting, so agents can focus on the caller.
  • Measure the impact of multitasking on performance. The attempt to multitask is a big time-waster. If you gauge the average amount of time wasted in searching around for information while on the phone you can quickly track the cost associated with multitasking, not to mention the impact it has on the consumer experience.
  • Give agents a chance to recharge. Psychology says that there is a limit to optimal performance and we all have a set point at which all goes south. The best breathers engage the creative part of our brains. If you have or manage a call center, consider a break station that includes games such as pool tables, adult coloring books (all the rage) and other “toys” that help agents switch gears. Even if you can’t set aside a large dedicated space, give agents portable care packages that they can take to the cafeteria.

The modern call center is a motley environment where human-centered communication, technological agility, and product knowledge converge to form the “ideal” agent. But humans are limited and for long-term agent retention and satisfaction, consider how you can create an ecosystem where performance is based on realistic factors. Folks on the receiving end of the call will thank you and so will your bottom line.

0 Continue Reading →

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Honoring Valentine’s Day is our chance to say how much we ❤ and appreciate our clients, colleagues and friends. We are not alone. With people in the U.S. spending some $18.9 billion on chocolates, extravagant arrangements and the standard Hallmark card, Valentine’s Day is no joke for businesses big and small. Team SBR dug up some interesting factoids about this holiday to consider what it says about consumer behavior and corporate response.


Artificial Affection

A startling 15% of women will send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day. Which begs the question, why do we care so much about what other people think? In research, we call this “social desirability bias,” the tendency to report more favorably than your behavior or belief actually suggest. This is one reason why we opt to pair survey research with observational qualitative methods like ethnography to marry what people say they do with what they actually do.


Move Over, Friendsgiving

In Finland Valentine’s Day is called Ystävänpäivä, meaning “Friend’s Day” where they celebrate friends more than significant others. It’s with this sentiment that SBR celebrates as well because building engagement in employees is vital for both our clients and within our own company. A Gallop poll found that workplace friendships could improve employee satisfaction by as much as 50%, noting that camaraderie means more than just lunchtime pal-chats. Creating a workforce built upon communal goals, active participation and a broader sense of purpose are integral to this friendship model.

 

We Just Love Procrastinating
Procrastination plagues the best of us and we reported on how businesses can embrace the human tendency to delay in order to boost sales and better communicate with consumers. It turns out that people procrastinate even for positive things like Valentine’s Day, with nearly half (47%) of men waiting until February 13th or 14th to shop. The relative risk is pretty low when it comes to a box of chocolates (depending on the relative wrath of your significant other). But when you pair procrastination with higher impact items like health insurance, the risk is much greater.

So there you have it. Whether you feel the need to feign love, celebrate friends with the Finns or simply love to procrastinate, we think dedicating an entire day to amour is so worth it.

SBR.V.CARD_FIN.White.Background copy

0 Continue Reading →

Are We Still ‘Mad Men’ at Work? Skill, Stress & The Modern Office

“Mad Men” came to a close last May but we still find ourselves referencing the series whenever we think about business life in the days of yore. The show had a revolving door of characters that seemed to require a lung or liver transplant as much as new business accounts. But when it comes to its portrayal of the business world, and specifically, the business worker, we ask ourselves: How much has really changed over the past few decades?

We decided to pose this question to Dr. Stephen Byrum, Ph.D., CEO of The Byrum Consulting Group and foremost expert on the Hartman Value Profile. Dr. Byrum has been using the Hartman Value Profile since the 1960s, happened to study under its creator Dr. Hartman and consults for educational institutions, corporations and startups. But before we delve into the details of our conversation, it’s important to mention the basic tenets of the tool. (If you are new to the Hartman Value Profile, you may want to check out an earlier post about the assessment, how it works and why we keep introducing it to clients.) 

In simplest terms, the Hartman Value Profile measures a person’s value judgment on three different dimensions: (1) Systemic or “big picture” judgment; (2) Intrinsic or people judgment; and, (3) Extrinsic or task-based judgment. It analyzes the inextricable correlation between a person’s innate personal attributes and their ability to apply those characteristics to the workplace.

Dr. Byrum helped provide clarity on the moving dynamics of worker culture over the past few decades from thousands of Hartman Value Profile test results fielded in nearly every major industry:

 

  • “Mad Men” era favored leaders with excellent people skills. Decades ago companies put a premium on leaders that had high Intrinsic scores (good judgment when it comes to people). Just think of how much time Roger Sterling and Pete Campbell spent schmoozing clients. “If you went into the agency in Mad Men”, Dr. Byrum explained, “Everything was so very dependent on people being able to be socially acute and establish really good social relationships.” But this social IQ doesn’t necessarily lead to the next big invention. “That emphasis on social skills made people individually successful”, Dr. Byrum cautions, “But was not something that contributed to a person’s ability to predict what the next horizon was going to be.”

 

  • The best leaders connect the dots. What Dr. Byrum knows from administering the Hartman Value Profile is that great leaders actually have consistently high Systemic scores. Meaning, they can scope out a situation and forecast the bigger implication. Strong leaders often have an uncanny ability to piece together seemingly unrelated items to achieve an overall goal. Some of the best leaders we know take time to investigate a challenge and predict implications of their decisions on the whole of the company, not just themselves or their direct reports. They work for the betterment of the brand and the business, and consider consumer engagement an absolute necessity, not just a catchphrase.

 

  • Companies wanted rank-and-file workers with high task management skills; today they expect it from everyone. Companies often sought out employees that had the grit and dedication to complete a specified set of tasks. “In the late 1960s through the 1980s,” Dr. Byrum recalled, “Powerful Extrinsic abilities would carry you through the day if you were in an area that involved a lot of process and tact”. This same trend applies today and is arguably a bigger requirement of everyone in business. It makes sense when we consider that there are fewer people expected to accomplish more work in less time. One of the problems is that being a strong producer of work can cost us in other areas, “Oftentimes is at the expense of social skills and Intrinsic abilities”. Our brains have trouble contemplating implications, seeing big picture dynamics and coming up with creative solutions when we are so overloaded with to-do lists. We look for ways to be better producers but we’re not skilling ourselves for leadership roles and other innovative tracks.

 

  • Between the 1960s and 2015, stress has increased precipitously in every industry and at every level. In the closing scene of “Mad Men”, the fictional McCann Erickson agency created the groundbreaking Coca-Cola “Hilltop” advertisement following a serene shot of Don Draper meditating. The focus on the search for deeper meaning and balance is perhaps one of necessity today. The Hartman Value Profile looks both at an individual’s work-side and self-side judgments, as well as the balance between the two. Dr. Byrum has analyzed thousands of results and witnessed a notable dip in people’s self-side scores across the board. In short, we have become more off-balance and more stressed in our personal lives. About 80% of people have lower self-side scores than work-side scores today, compared to about 60% with the same lack of balance in the 1970s. Dr. Byrum suggests that if we dropped Don Draper in 2015, his life and transgressions would not be that much of a shocker today because our lives are so out of balance: “I think if you went back to that period, most people’s lives were not like that. But if you come forward to present-day, you have large numbers of people whose personal lives have gotten as troublesome to the point where I don’t think Don Draper’s character would be much of an aberration in my neighborhood today.”

 

It is difficult, if not impossible, to keep your personal life from spilling over into your work life. The fact that our personal lives have become more stressed means that our work performance has been impacted as well. Consider the Harvard Business Review’s recent take on the impact of long work hours: chronic overwork diminishes productivity in the long term. The fact that the article mentions an 80-hour workweek is very telling of the dramatic shift towards work-side dominance.

Team SBR periodically takes the Hartman Value Profile to identify movement between the three dimensions of judgment. We love when the results show greater equilibrium amongst the three dimensions (System / Extrinsic / Intrinsic). It is usually a welcome sign that getting a good night’s sleep, taking an extra Yoga class and respecting our own personal time actually makes us better stewards of success for ourselves and our clients.

To learn more about Dr. Byrum, visit Judgment Index and the Robert S. Hartman Institute

0 Continue Reading →

What Tetris Teaches About Breaking Through Procrastination

There are a number of creations from the 1980s that we would prefer to keep locked in the antiquity closet (shoulder pads and side ponytails come to mind). But our heart still sings for a simple video game brought to the U.S. in 1984: Tetris. Something about stacking those mini-blocks into cubed corners keeps us hypnotized for hours.

The simplicity of Tetris is actually based on a more complex phenomenon from human psychology. Scientists have found that the game can help in numerous ways, everything from keeping you on a diet to helping with cognitive capacity (which in turn impacts learning and development). But we were curious about Tetris’ scientific suggestions when it comes to breaking through procrastination plateaus.

The answer lies in something called the Zeigarnik Effect. In the 1930s, Russian psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik observed that waiters remembered customers’ orders until the moment they delivered their food and drinks. Conversely, they forgot the orders once delivery was complete. This observation and the studies that followed concluded that humans have an unconscious need to finish what we start. Our brain basically hangs onto the information until it’s completed.

Tetris plays off the Zeigarnik Effect by creating an inherently unending pursuit. Its addictive nature has to do with the simple fact that there is a constant delivery of new blocks, increasing in speed, feeding our unresolved need to stack them. Whether or not we are aware of it, the re-feeding of blocks keeps us attuned and engaged, what one psychologist called, a “World of perpetual uncompleted tasks”. In the most simple terms, tasks stay in our minds until complete.

From a productivity standpoint, this is great news. We are much more likely to move towards work resolution just by getting started rather than contemplating when and how we will begin. This shows that getting started is not just half the battle, it is the battle. Our mental demand for conclusion will do the work to move us towards resolution.

Consider for a moment walking into your office on a Monday morning and opening up your to-do list for the day. You read through your list, feeling a little less confident than when you walked in a few minutes before. So much to do! Where to begin?

Instead of becoming stalled in a formidable list of tasks, taking on just one at a time will more likely help you complete your tasks. What’s more, just getting started with one small task (e.g. respond to an email, return a call to a colleague, etc.) can help you work through the broader list as a whole.

If you are stuck in procrastination hell and feel like you cannot get out, open Tetris to retrain your neurons towards enhanced performance. Just watch the clock so you don’t squander the entire day trying to beat your highest score.

0 Continue Reading →

Brainiest Innovations Come From Playtime @ Work

As Thoreau tells us, “It is not enough to be busy…the question is: What are we busy about?” Lately we have been busy on our clients’ most active season leading up to the end of the year when sales outcomes can make or break their goals for the next year. For our health insurance clients locked in the middle of their Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), October through December is game time. Not really fun “game time”, more keep your nose to the grindstone and get the job done time.

While we all love accomplishing tasks, sometimes crossing items off of our Basecamp list becomes too much of the focus. If you are anything like us, you even add completed to-dos just to get the satisfaction of crossing them off.

Studies continue to suggest that it is not good to be busy all the time. In fact, it’s bad: “Constant stimulation is registered by our brains as unimportant, to the point that the brain erases it from our awareness,” said University of Illinois psychology professor Alejandro Lleras who led a study on how taking mental breaks improves performance in the long run.

Athletes live by this rule. Any coach worth their weight will tell you that recovery time is invaluable for performance. So why is it that businesses still value busy above break time?

We’re intent on breaking this trend at SBR.


Not All Breaks Are Created Equal

It turns out that what we do during our downtime is just as important if we want those breaks to have a meaningful impact on performance. Exercise, meditation and naps have all been shown to produce optimal outcomes.

Sharon enjoying some Shuffleboard

Sharon enjoying Shuffleboard

Researchers studying brains through fMRI scans confirm that the areas associated with problem-solving are actually highly active when we are daydreaming. This was once a shocker to us because we believed that only rigorous, focused attention led to results. But after years of working on simplifying complexity, we have seen some of our brainiest innovations come about during non-work time.

Sharon, our fearless founder and leader, believes some of her best ideas come in the shower. In fact, it was in this very locale that she came up with an idea to extend the call center hours until midnight (while our client’s competitors were closed) to maximize on a condensed shopping period. This was a simple, albeit profitable, concept that helped one client significantly increase membership.

Whenever we feel stuck we immediately try to switch venues or activities. In the adjacent picture you can see Sharon enjoying a game of Shuffleboard, a perfect diversion during the workday.

Taking breaks and doing something relaxing has undoubtedly improved our happiness at work.


SBR’s Break List
In our office, we have a growing list of possible breaks to get a mental reboot. So without further adieu, here is our list of short-but-sweet breaks that you can enjoy too…

  • Take a walk at Todd’s Point
 (lucky us, our office is near the water)
  • The office coloring books always need some attention!
  • Grab a coffee and a magazine at Espresso Neat
  • Whip out the yoga mat or head over to Kaia Yoga, our neighborhood studio
  • Plug in your headphones and head over to the SBR Soundtrack on Spotify 
  • When in doubt, step away from the computer and catch up with your co-workers (they’re pretty cool people)!

 

0 Continue Reading →

Agents Are Saying What? A Guide to Secret Shop Your Call Center

Anyone in the business knows that call center management is a demanding (if not a thankless) profession. Irregular call patterns could require immediate staffing changes, one-off questions can stifle a manager’s work for hours and industry alerts (like the first year launch of the Affordable Care Act) can put the queue in backlog. In short, something can happen every minute that moves the operation from calm to chaotic.

With all of these demands it’s a tall order to review operations from the consumer’s perspective. The good news is that it’s also relatively easy, quick and cheap to assess an inbound contact center operation. Contact center experts can ramble on for hours about shrinkage, AHT, ACDs, WFM and a litany of other acronyms, but ultimately a critical performance indicator is the exchange between the agent and caller. To get a real “inside look” into this exchange (beyond random call monitoring which is usually relegated to quality control), it’s important for those responsible to assume the position of the consumer.

We have recommended this exercise to countless individuals, from c-suite executives to directors and sales and marketing managers. People are consistently astounded by what they experience when they take on the consumer’s role. SBR’s Lead Ethnographer who helped design our rapid ethnography studies created a methodology for secret shopping contact center operations. The exercise itself is simple and just takes some planning to determine the areas to assess in an inbound call center environment.

Here are four areas we typically include when evaluating call centers via the secret shopping method:

1. Interactive Voice Response (IVR): IVR messaging and call-flows are important to lead a caller to the appropriate agent according to any number of factors, such as line of business or experience level. Ideally, a consumer-centric IVR is meant to efficiently direct calls and simplify the caller experience from the point of call entry. A well-designed IVR should also minimize caller confusion and “bouncing around” between different agents. As the consumer, identify how easy it is to arrive at your desired destination (the right agent). Did you get “bounced around” or reach an agent without making too many selections?

2. Agent Scripting/Communication: It’s not always clear whether an agent is actually using a call guide but we know from years in the business that some form of a “guide” or “scripting” is needed to keep agents on track. Tested call guides/scripting can also enhance performance because agents are operating off the same language and a proven sales approach. Identify how well the agent communicates: are they clear and concise, delivering logical information that most people could follow or do they use illogical descriptions and clumsy filler terms (“like”, “um”, “yea”)? Did the call follow a systematic path to get you the information you need or take illogical paths? Was the agent able to help you arrive at your desired destination or did you hang up frustrated?

3. The Human Factor: Sure, product knowledge is critical to performance but sincerity, kindness and interest in supporting the caller are just as important. These factors and others are considered “soft skills”. Think about what it feels like when an agent opens the call in a lackluster tone asking, “How can I help you today? The agent might be following the prescribed training or scripting but failing to emit the necessary kindness and enthusiasm. When calling, determine whether the agent was warm and professional, showed a willingness to help, was knowledgeable about the products/services and gave you the information you were seeking.

4. System Interface: Many call center agents operate off of multiple monitors and applications (two monitors is not unusual and we’ve witnessed agents access up to 15+ applications during a single exchange). There is a direct impact between the number of applications, screens and competing locations needed to find information and an agent’s ability to assist callers. For example, “dead air” (long pauses in communications) can occur while an agent searches for information. There are techniques to keep the conversation flowing but this can also extend talk time. As the consumer, take note of breaks in the conversation, how long it takes the agent to locate information you request and overall call time. You can greatly surmise whether system overload exists with just a little calculation of hold and waiting patterns. 

Over the years SBR has developed a variety of methods for clients to put themselves in the shoes of their customers. Even the busiest executive has had their eyes opened by this exercise. Click here to learn more about maximizing contact center operations.

0 Continue Reading →

How Our Judgments (Not Just Personality) Shape Behavior at Work & Home

Companies frequently use new hire assessments as a way to predict a candidate’s potential performance. Over the years we have come across many assessments, from behavioral to personality and IQ tests. But most have missed the mark when it comes to making the inextricable correlation between a person’s innate behaviors, persona or intelligence level and their ability to apply those characteristics to the workplace. For example, being seen as a “nice” person can be a great thing, but there are many “nice” people that struggle to produce work in a timely fashion, to collaborate with their colleagues or to work under mutable conditions. A good assessment tool has to bridge the gap between who we think we are and how we really act.

Several years ago we were introduced to the Hartman Value Profile assessment which looks at a person’s value judgments as an indicator of how they will perform at work. The assessment helps to answer questions like, “When faced with a challenge, will this individual collapse under pressure or determine creative ways to approach it,” “Can this individual generate results amongst cross-functional teams,” and “Does this individual have a tendency to look at long-term implications of their decisions or only focus on what’s directly in front of them?” What makes the Hartman Value Profile different

1. It’s not a personality or psychological test. The Hartman Value Profile measures a person’s ability to judge situations and act upon those judgments. As employers of the ethnographic method (the study of culture) we know firsthand that an individual’s personality is only a piece of the puzzle, oftentimes grounded in their response to a particular environment.

2. It is based on science. Dr. Robert Hartman, Ph.D., created the Hartman Value Profile and was nominated for the 1973 Nobel Prize (the year Henry Kissinger was awarded). Dr. Hartman used mathematics to measure how our value system defined our behavior, ability to work with others and how we make decisions.

3. The “big wigs” use it. We hate to name drop, and as a point of reference, we don’t believe that high profile associations always equate to value. But in this case we can understand why the Hartman Value Profile has been used by different governments and institutions like Yale, Harvard and Pentagon, to name a few.

Judgment is a fairly new term for businesses interested in an empirical performance assessment (as we mentioned it’s not nearly as common as personality or IQ tests). As it turns out, judgments, and our ability to make good ones, might be the next frontier for HR. Take the example of teaching a child how to properly cross a busy intersection. You’ll show them to take notice of road signs, changing lights and to look both ways before stepping onto the road. Eventually, you hope they grow up to be watchful adults that heeded your instructions. But someone who doesn’t display the common indicators for common sense might choose to text on their phone as soon as they see the “Walk” sign without looking for remaining traffic in the intersection. (Spend a weekday afternoon in Midtown Manhattan and you’ll observe these text-walkers firsthand.) The very same judgment indicators that show common sense in life spill over into work behavior as well.

Over the past seven years we have introduced the Hartman Value Profile to dozens of clients with uniquely high rates of success. When it comes to building stronger collaboration amongst teams or matching a person’s skills and experience with how they will function in a particular role, we believe it is the best tool out there. Recently we helped a software client vet candidates for a B2B field sales representative position and the client mentioned how happy she was that we introduced them to the Hartman Value Profile (they now use it to staff all of their positions). Another client said that he is constantly astounded at how accurate the test is, so much so that he thinks the consultant who analyzed the results and provided insights into his team’s performance must be a part-time psychic.

This brings us to a final note on assessment tools. When it comes to using any empirical test, it’s critical to balance the results with an employee’s experience, background, interview and any other factors in the hiring process to score the right people.

To learn more about the Hartman Value Profile, contact us at info@consultsbr.com.

0 Continue Reading →

14 Year Flashback + 14 Lessons Learned

Today, 14 years ago, SBR opened our doors seeking to optimize performance and revenue for our clients in the complex product arena. Last week we celebrated with Team SBR. This got us thinking about the top 14 lessons from our time working in sales, marketing and customer service. Without further adieu, here are the top 14 lessons from 14 splendid years (in no particular order):

  1. People are at the center of everything. Want to get to the heart of a problem? Move in, listen, and observe everyone involved. It’s an eye-opening experience.
  2. Ethnography isn’t just a funny marketing ploy. By observing people as they really live, work and play, you can begin to develop solutions that work in the short- and long-term.
  3. On paper everything is perfect. It’s when you begin putting plans into action that you start to see the cracks. That’s when course correction is magical.
  4. People want to do well, but don’t always have the tools or knowledge to do it. You’d be surprised to learn how many people delay implementing change just to avoid failure.
  5. Presentations matter. In 14 years we’ve sat through hundreds of PowerPoint presentations and can count the number of “great” presentations on one hand. We love helping clients create high-impact presentations that put the audience in the center of the story to keep them engaged and move them into action.
  6. Identifying a problem and coming up with a solution are not one and the same. Employees approach us all the time with a litany of issues they’ve been complaining about for years. Sometimes it takes an outside view to provide in-depth change.
  7. Understanding context and culture makes a world of difference if you are trying to enhance a business. Best practices only work if they fit squarely within the corporate culture.
  8. Sometimes clients are weary. When we arrive at their office we know it’s best to embrace challenges with great enthusiasm and optimism. Failure is never an option.
  9. Some people are just not well suited for their role and that’s okay. The company and employees can mutually benefit from a well-designed progress plan to either move into a different role or move out.
  10. Balance is key. It’s one of the reasons why we have introduced the Hartman Value Profile to so many organizations because it assesses how well a person balances their work-side behaviors with their self-side activities. High performance under lots of stress and pressure isn’t easy, and certainly not sustainable for the long-term.
  11. TMI is often just that: too much! An overabundance of information can actually deter decision-making, sometimes called “decision fatigue”.
  12. Data and metrics only tell half the story. Hint: human behavior is a critical component.
  13. Storytelling trumps preaching and also helps simplify complexity. We shared some tips on how to use stories in business presentations in this blog.
  14. Even in customer service, you’re selling. Sales and retention are everyone’s job.

 

Option C

Pictures from Team SBR’s 14th birthday party

Over these past 14 years SBR has worked with so many wonderful people, clients and colleagues. With gratitude to all those out there (you know who you are) that made this day possible…here’s to you!

0 Continue Reading →

Grapes Are Smarter Than You Think

As a company constantly on the move, SBR relishes every opportunity to visit San Francisco – and what trip to the Bay Area would be complete without wine tasting in Napa Valley? Boasting over 400 vineyards with onsite tasting, you need knowledgeable friends or Yelp to help sift through all the options. Flora Springs was recommended by an uber generous client who shipped us a bottle of his top pick, a pricey Rennie Reserve. He insisted we book their wine tour (in his estimation, the best in the Valley).

Lady Luck paired us up with Scott, Flora Spring’s expert host, for the two-hour tasting. Scott showed us that grapes often produce better wine during years of drought and struggle because they are forced to concentrate their flavors. Sure the grapes are smaller but the resulting concentrated flavor produces some exceptional wine. Who knew grapes were so smart!

That got us thinking. When faced with a significant challenge, we can recoil in fear and frustration or be the grape that struggles to produce something brilliant. In corporations, times of duress can often separate the consummate professionals from the rest of the pack. Consider the old adage, “Pressure makes diamonds”. The greatest work, ideas, and streams of creativity and innovation can come in the face of adversity and trial.

Moving about from one meeting to another leaves little to no time to put your next great idea into action. From a business prospective, our rigorous schedules make time for reflection and inspiration seem near impossible. Challenges like meeting sales goals or gaining market share, improving customer service ratings or engaging new audiences with minimal marketing dollars abound and must be solved.

SBR uses various methods to help cultivate this healthy tension and focused attention without the risk of bringing the operation to its knees. Interested in learning more about our strategic approach? Contact us and we can discuss the steps the SBR team takes to embrace a challenge and create exceptional results.

0 Continue Reading →

Takeaways from Sales 2.0 San Francisco

It doesn’t take much to get Team SBR to the West Coast. This time we met up with sales industry trailblazers at the Sales 2.0 Conference in San Francisco to discuss new trends in the inside, field and online sales arenas. Now we’re abuzz with insights, inspiration and validation on the techniques that have worked to accelerate sales.

Instead of moving from zero to 60, complex product organizations should consider their top list of most critical areas to advance sales and consider where sales innovations can support those initiatives. Let’s highlight our top learnings:

1. Complex Customization. Consultants get a bad rap for repurposing the same presentations and reports, selling clients on expensive and sometimes unnecessary technologies, and leaving without really making a difference.  SBR uses a customized assessment process to tailor solutions and we were thrilled to see so many businesses do the same when it came to technology. Long gone are the days of boilerplate solutions; more and more companies are building their systems and services around each client’s need(s) as opposed to a one-size-fits-all approach.

2. Cloud Above All. Let’s start with the good news: many of the latest advancements on the marketplace are owed to nimble cloud-based technologies. It seemed that nearly anything is possible and can be done swiftly. The flip side, though, is that IT should also consider ways to build tools for non-cloud systems.  When we mentioned how many of our clients do not have systems like salesforce.com, it was met with disappointing “oh well” frowns. Many of our larger clients are forced to use bulky, intricate and oftentimes archaic legacy systems that are anything but easy and fast.  Somehow the two worlds need to come together to deliver IT tools for homegrown system companies.

3. Locating Sales Reps Who Understand the Value of the Customer.  If sales reps are fixated on meeting their numbers they will naturally lose the connection with the prospect and in some cases come off as pushy or disengaged. Gerhard Gschwandtner, Founder and CEO of Selling Power, said that during the sales process, focus on the desired business outcome above your personal sales quota (the “value factor”). We feel the same way. At SBR we use the Hartman Value Profile assessment to find the right salespeople who can look beyond numbers and really connect with consumers. The Hartman Value Profile helps vet candidates with an innate “fire in the belly” that can simultaneously focus on sales opportunities and the consumer’s need. Dozens of our clients have been introduced to this tool and have seen amazing results like lower turnover.

4. When Sales is the Goal, Call Guides are not an Option, They’re Obligatory. Let’s face it, most sales representative hate scripts. SBR prefers call guides rather than call scripts that provide all the key information but allow a more natural communication between agent and caller. At Sales 2.0 it was great to hear that there was statistical proof that call guides actually create call control and consistency. Yon Nuta, Cofounder & CEO of Accuvit, showed how to drastically increase sales by analyzing the results of B2B agents who used keywords and followed a system/script as compared to those that did not. The result?  Of the calls where a script was followed, 60% yielded a sale. Call guides can take the caller from beginning to the end in a professional manner and identify the caller’s core need early on in the communication, then promote the product’s features in a way that meets those needs. Call control and communication consistency is possible…and best of all, agents will not sound like robots.

5. A League of Extraordinary Collaborators. Instead of holding onto information and solutions so tightly, Sales 2.0 presenters displayed an eagerness to share their products. The ethos of collaboration was present in nearly every corner. One presenter emailed us his whitepaper and deck (notes included) after we complimented his presentation.  This willingness to pull back the curtain and share insights with others only works to bolster the sales business as a whole.

SBR is always looking to push the envelope, but we do so in a way that introduces new technologies and concepts that meet with each unique client culture. We have to remember that it is the people (not necessarily the presentation) that make or break any conference. The energy was electric and much of that was due to the smart sales leaders who put their whole heart and soul into their delivery.  We can’t wait to return for the Sales 2.0 Conference in 2016!

0 Continue Reading →

What Can Best New Restaurant Teach Us About Sales?

A few weeks ago Miami’s Dolce Italian won Bravo’s latest series, Best New Restaurant. While salivating over the dishes, we couldn’t help but applaud the use of secret diners to film their gastro experience with hidden cameras. The secret diners uncovered some very real issues that could touch all customers. In many cases, the judges suspected these same issues, but couldn’t always prove it (think poorly trained staff, bland food and miscommunication between the front and back of the house). It reminds us that how employees behave when they think nobody is watching is the real experience.

When it comes to any sales environment, and sales contact centers in particular, callers aren’t much different than diners. They will remember the individual agent, how they spoke to them and how they made them feel.  Disinterested and poorly trained agents are just like bland food and poor service.

At SBR, our in-house ethnographers are the secret sauce that uncover these real-world issues. Any sales leader can use the same approach to unearth real (vs. perceived) issues. To get the inside scoop on your consumer experience, skip the hidden camera and pick up the phone* to try and purchase your product or service. Consider these questions:

  • How did the inside sales or customer service agent speak to you (professionally, colloquially, engagingly)?
  • Were you provided with the information you would need to make a buying decision?
  • Did the agent ask questions about how you would use the product or did they just talk in terms of popular features?
  • How simple or complex was the communication? If you knew nothing about your industry, would you walk away understanding your options?
  • Was there any “dead air” (long silences and breaks in the conversation)? Dead air typically indicates a technological problem. The systems are too abundant, redundant or complicated and the agent is busy fussing around to locate the information they need to help callers.
  • Finally, if this one agent were the sole representative for your organization, what persona did they exude? Is that the representation your company wants?

The science of sales and service is built on the end-user experience and a bad one is much like having a bad dinner at a hyped restaurant.  A sour note in sales means more than a bad meal; it directly impacts your bottom line.

* For those of you in field sales, you can go on the road and use the same line of questioning (just be sure to wear a disguise)!

3 Continue Reading →

PACE Conference 2015

Todd Muscatello, Sharon Roberts and Lisa Fiondella at PACE conference in Atlanta.

SBR never turns down a chance to talk about one of our favorite topics: the intersection of sales and ethnography. So when the Professional Association for Customer Engagement (PACE) asked us to be a panelist at their annual conference in Atlanta, it took us about 10 seconds to say “yes”, and just a few hours more to consider what customer engagers might be curious to learn. The panel focused on how in-depth consumer research and the ethnographic method can be used to understand the business consumer and create an amazing experience for the end-user.

Sharon Roberts, SBR’s founder and Principal, provided ways of using ethnography to engage customers. Instead of gathering a bunch of “experts” in the boardroom with stacks of reports and best practices, Sharon explained, we think its better to go straight to the source of the consumer experience. Want to understand what it’s like to buy health insurance in the age of “Obamacare”? Pick up the phone and call your state’s health care exchange. Having trouble hiring and training the sales team? Go on the road and experience what it’s like to be sold to. Wonder what its like for customers to interact with your company? Monitor endless amounts of telephone calls from your call center and assess not just hard skills (like product knowledge) but soft skills as well (such as tone of voice, rapport, willingness to help, and whether they professionally drove the call). Of course, this shouldn’t replace more formal monitoring sessions but it helps to step away from the corporate mindset where we all tend to excuse the lack of consumer engagement.

All in all, a great topic and a fun day in Atlanta. The fact that we got to sit on a panel with one of our clients, Todd Muscatello (VP of Sales for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield), Lisa Fiondella (CEO & Founder of reFocus Analytics) and Rob Marshall (COO of 360CRM) was simply icing on the cake. We’re so grateful to PACE and look forward to seeing everyone again in 2016!

0 Continue Reading →