One of the most important customers we all have is each other. There are so many ways in which you can impact each other’s days, weeks, months or even years.
We’ve all heard of trust exercises and that catching each other when we fall or finishing each other’s sentences are great ways to build a team relationship, but how can we maintain it long term?
While you could easily say that respect is what's most important to share with your colleagues, it is important to know what that really means. Respecting each other doesn’t mean you can’t question opinions or ideas. It doesn’t mean that there isn’t space for discourse, education and growth. There are ways to have discussions about differences in opinion that maintain a positive environment. Here are two things to remember when you are working with a colleague:
Meet them where they’re at: This doesn’t mean you should water things down or avoid explaining. When you’re talking to someone at work, make an effort to connect at their level. Not everyone knows what certain acronyms stands for, but there is a balance you want to strike with your clients that can be practiced with each other as well. You want to make sure that you share pertinent information without confusing each other. For example, if you are discussing an issue with someone’s computer and they aren’t a tech themselves, make sure to remember that industry jargon isn’t helpful to everyone and not all of us know the acronym that is commonly used for you. Remember that you started somewhere, too, and that someone helped you learn what you know today!
Allow space for questions: This is closely related to meeting each other where we’re at. When you are talking to someone about an issue, or they’ve asked you to explain something, start with a broad description that opens space for more conversation. If you start by explaining that the printer isn’t working because the wrong connection type was chosen, they might ask to know more. That’s when you can explain that the printer wasn’t set up to properly due to ABC, which hindered your ability to troubleshoot XYZ. Giving someone enough information to go off of is perfectly fine and helping them to learn more about the issue is a great opportunity for both parties to meet in the middle of their levels of knowledge on the topic.
It’s important to remember that, regardless of your role at your business, you are peers and these tips can help you to grow together instead of apart!
Interested in learning how to get your team Customer Experience trained? Reach out to our office at 905-228-4809 today!
