IS YOUR WORKPLACE HAPPY? 6 Steps to Reaping the Rewards of Happy Customers & Employees Creating a happy work environment is serious business, especially when you consider its effect on productivity, profitability and turnover. So how can you take something as intangible as happiness and cultivate it in your relationships with customers and employees? That's easy, you take steps - six, to be exact. Underneath all our rugged individuality, customers and employees share many needs that when met, lead to happiness, which leads to all sorts of other great things, like loyalty and profits and actually looking forward to Monday. Check out our latest e-book "6 Steps to Fostering Happy Reps & Customers" and learn what top business leaders are doing now to make the most of everyone's happiness. Download this eBook and learn how to impact happiness by: Empowering Employees to Do Their Job Personalizing Customer Service Listening to Employees and Customers Giving and Soliciting Feedback Creating a Culture of Honesty Being Truly Grateful

1. 6 Steps to Fostering
Happy Reps & Customers eBook
www.shoretelsky.com

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Finding Their Happy Place
Fostering Happy Customers AND Happy Sales and Service Reps
Everyone knows the old adage, “You can’t make everyone happy,” but when it comes to business, smart
leaders ignore old adages and reach for the stars. Companies that underestimate the importance of
making employees and customers happy and simply focus on running their business are likely missing the
big picture of how these two variables impact profits, costs and growth.
Imagine a world where customers and reps are not just content, but genuinely happy with their everyday
experience with your brand. What would that be like? And, more importantly, how could you make it a way
of life? To understand what it would be like, we’ll take a peek at the best practices of companies known for
delighting people, like Zappos and Nordstrom. We’ll also share steps you can take now to keep customers
and employees on the sunny side.
ns offer:
Their research revealed direct correlations between employee happiness and:
MARCUS BUCKINGHAM AND CURT COFFMAN, STUDIED 80,000 MANAGERS
TO LEARN HOW HAPPY EMPLOYEES IMPACT COMPANY PERFORMANCE.
1. Higher profits
2. Better productivity
3. Lower employee turnover
4. More satisfied customers
(Source: http://www.peaksalesrecruiting.com/how-to-have-happy-sales-reps/)

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Step 1: Set Them Free
Give Employees Permission to Please
Much has been written about the legendary customer service of Nordstrom, a company that has
continued to increase sales year over year — in good economies and bad. One might surmise that to
continuously achieve such results employees must follow a strict code, but that’s where Nordstrom is
dramatically different. New employees are given only one rule to follow:
Nordstrom Rules: Rule #1: Use good judgment. There will be no additional rules.
By respecting their employees’ ability to choose the right action in every situation, Nordstrom has created
a culture where employees bend over backwards to honor the trust they have been given. Not surprisingly,
Nordstrom is a Hall of Fame member of Fortune magazine’s list, “100 Best Companies to Work For,” which
enables them to continue to attract top talent.
67% OF CUSTOMERS HAVE HUNG UP THE PHONE OUT OF
FRUSTRATION THAT THEY COULD NOT TALK TO A REAL
PERSON
75% OF CUSTOMERS SAY IT TAKES TOO LONG TO REACH
A LIVE AGENT
67%
(Source: http://www.slideshare.net/helpscout/75-customer-service-facts-quotes-statistics)
75%

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Step 2: Get Real
Make Business Personal
Admit it, you’ve yelled at an automated voice-bot, and you’ve done it more than once. Ironically, we live
in a society that prefers texting to talking, EXCEPT when it comes to customer service. Customers want
to speak to a person — a real one — and right now. So give them what they want. Zappos did, and it’s a
feature of their service that customers praise them for daily. Zappos’ decision to populate their customer
service centers with real people, who really care, is born out of their three-point vision:
The Zappos Vision:
1. One day, 30% of all retail transactions in the US will be online.*
2. People will buy from the company with the best service and the best selection.
3. Zappos.com will be that online store.
Sure, it’s a temptation to cut costs by automating everything, but don’t do it, because it’s a move that
could cost you customers in the end. The solution? Let your people speak for themselves.
*Currently e-tail transactions account for 15% of all US sales.
(Source: http://www.census.gov/retail/mrts/www/data/pdf/ec_current.pdf)

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r:
(Source: http://notixtech.com/blog/google-shares-mobile-statistics-are-you-listening)
39% OF PEOPLE
use smartphones while
going to the bathroom
33% OF PEOPLE
use smartphones while
watching TV
22% OF PEOPLE
use smartphones while
reading the newspaper

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Step 3: Listen Close
Hear Employees and Customers Out
An essential component of human happiness stems from the ability to make meaningful connections with
other humans. As wonderful as technology is, there’s just no substitute for shared moments with someone
who understands, regardless of whether that person is a customer, an employee or the love of your life.
The easiest way to connect with others is simply to listen. But in an age of endless distractions, listening
can be complex. So if you want to do it well, then you must stop whatever you are doing, put down the
phone, turn away from the screen, make eye contact (if possible) and without interrupting, let the other
person have the floor. Even when you don’t agree with someone, the act of listening powerfully diffuses
tension by making the other person feel important and heard.
say they deliver superior customer service. However, only 8% of their customers agree.
AVERAGE OF 18 PEOPLE
According to an Arizona State University study, dissatisfied customers spread the word
about poor customer service experiences to an average of 18 people.
80% OF COMPANIES
(Source:http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2011/july/shopping/customer-service/how-to
-rattle-a-companys-cage/index.htm)
18
g-skills.php)

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Aside from happiness, Executive Coach, Bruce Wilson has identified several other benefits of creating a
culture of listeners, including:
• A bond of respect, trust and goodwill between the speaker and listener (customers and employees)
• Increased productivity and faster problem-solving
• Greater confidence, self-esteem and self-image
• Increased accuracy, which leads to time and money savings
(Source: http://www.businesslistening.com/leadership_listening-skills.php)

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Step 4: Say Something
Give and Take Feedback
Now that you’ve mastered the happiness-inducing skill of being a good listener, it’s your turn to talk.
Providing feedback is essential to the happiness of sales people, who thrive on praise, and customer
service reps, who live for building relationships. Both groups are happiest when they know not only where
they stand, but what they are doing right and what they could do to become even more amazing. When
employees know what is expected of them and how their role impacts the company’s performance, they
have everything they need to succeed.
Of course, there’s a flip side to this coin, and that’s receiving feedback from customers. While hearing
good things is always a day-maker, companies that welcome critical feedback, and more importantly, act
on it, consistently outperform competitors. To obtain good feedback from customers, make sure you ask
the right questions and make the process simple and easy. People love to give their opinions, and they’ll
thank you when you consider their complaints and suggestions by becoming loyal advocates of your
brand.
will pay more for a better
customer experience
(Source: http://www.rightnow.com/files/analyst-reports/RightNow_Customer_Experience_Impact_Report_North_America_2011.pdf)
79%OF CONSUMERS
80%OF CONSUMERS
89%OF CONSUMERS
began doing business with
a competitor following a
poor customer experience
who shared complaints about
poor customer experience online
had their complaints ignored

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Step 5: Be Transparent
Honesty Really Is the Best Policy
No other delusion is quite as toxic as self-delusion, so how do you avoid it? You tell the truth, all the time,
even when you’re scared of the consequences. Transparency is a policy that Buffer CEO, Leo Widrich
readily admits terrified him, and yet when he faced his fears and dove in, he later reflected that it was this
decision that led to the company’s phenomenal growth and financial turnaround from “making nothing” to
making millions. He now sees transparency as one of Buffer’s most important competitive advantages, and
one that has created a genuine bond of trust with employees and customers.
In the Buffer list of values, “Default to Transparency” is second, just behind “Always Choose Positivity
and Happiness.” Aside from growth and profitability, Widrich maintains that Buffer’s openness about
vulnerabilities has led to greater collaboration and personal growth for everyone.
Buffer Value #2: Default to Transparency:
Take pride in opportunities to share Buffer’s beliefs, failures, strengths and decisions. Transparency is a
tool used to help others, and you should always state your thoughts immediately and with honesty.*
(Source: http://www.fastcompany.com/3012787/dialed/why-transparency-is-your-biggest-untapped-competitive-advantage)

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“To get passionate customers,
you need passionate employees
who are empowered to do the right thing—and
executives willing to walk a mile in their shoes.”
– Michael Alter, President of SurePayroll

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Step 6: Mind Your Manners
Always Say Thank You
Happiness researchers have found a “significant, consistent, and sizeable effect of gratitude”* in
promoting social ties and creating lasting happiness in people of all ages and social groups. Time and
again, studies have shown that the simple act of saying thank you to someone is not only transformative to
their outlook, it impacts their health in a positive way and creates a spirit of goodwill that the recipient of
the gratitude then “pays forward” to others.
Of course, telling customers and representatives you appreciate them is a great first step, but showing
them you appreciate them may be a move you’ll thank yourself for later. Michael Alter, CEO of SurePayroll,
believes his company’s record-setting growth rate of 30% each year and listing in Inc. 500’s list of “Fastest
Growing Companies” (twice) is a direct result of showing gratitude. Employees are thanked for every five
years of service with an all-expenses paid, four-day vacation with a guest at an upscale resort.
““Keeping employees happy is just as important as keeping customers happy.
If we can’t keep customer service reps, we’re not likely to keep customers.”
— Michael Alter, CEO of SurePayroll
(Source*: http://www.psychwiki.com/wiki/Does_Gratitude_cause_Happiness%3F_A_Meta-analysis)
(Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ocean-robbins/having-gratitude-_b_1073105.html)

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ShoreTel Gets Happy
We hope our eBook on employee and customer happiness has helped you identify new ways you can
inspire joy in your pursuit of happiness in the workplace. To learn more about ShoreTel Sky and download
other related eBooks, white papers, and view product demos, please visit http://www.shoretelsky.com/
resources.