Are Keeping Workplace Commitments Enough?
Someone asks the question, “Who can help with this project?” You’re interested, passionate about it, and recognize it as an opportunity so you go for it. Can you keep your workplace commitments?
At least once per week someone talks with me about being overcommitted. Someone else talks with me about the frustration of employees who don’t deliver on their promises. What is most surprising is that this is a huge blind spot for so many professionals.
People count on other people to deliver. They are expecting a result within a timeline. Schedules and workload are based around it. Next steps are contingent upon it. Are you delivering?
Expectations
Expectations might be the problem. Remember that although this might be internal, this is likely a customer service transaction. The key to customer service is meeting or exceeding the expectations of the customer. When the expectations are higher, the performance required is greater.
Internal or external service transactions are never truly measured by you. They are measured by the expectations of the customer compared with results as determined by the customer.
So the trick really is to understand the customer expectations. Workplace professionals who understand the expectations and are appropriately committed are often able to deliver. That is how they keep their job.
Sometimes in an effort to please the boss, gain recognition, or simply out of passion for the project employees excitedly help to set the expectation too high. In other cases, they simply overcommit.
Workplace Commitments
The next time you raise your hand for the project, volunteer, or suggest that you or your team can do the work or solve the problem, be sure about the timeline. Understand the expectations and the resources required.
Keeping your workplace commitments is expected. Exceeding expectations is fantastic, you become the hero.
Failure to do either might set you back to a place you don’t want to be.
It’s a single digit.
It rhymes with hero.
-DEG
Customer service is about culture. What happens internally is often a good predictor of satisfaction externally. Are you keeping your commitments? Do you work hard to deliver both internal and external customer service?
Praise for #CustServ The Customer Service Culture
“…goes beyond the traditional advice and focuses on strategy and cause.”
“…for everyone who truly wants to exceed their customer’s expectations.”
“…the tools needed to gain lifelong customers.”
“…provides guidance in an easily understandable format, and yet challenges the reader…”
“…brings out the truth by diving right into how culture, traditions and generational differences can cause challenges…”
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
Originally posted on April 11, 2017, last updated on April 4, 2018
