I struggle with people who do not care enough to do their work effectively, as they are expected to do. I also struggle with people who carry an air of “this is how it has always been”; because it most often goes hand in hand with “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. I despise that mentality. Just because something “works”, does not mean, that it is the most efficient way of doing things. It just causes frustration for staff, and consumers. Regardless of our industry, we should always be looking for ways to improve our selves, and the process. Never stagnate, because eventually, people are going to be put off. I have worked in the customer service industry for over 20 years. In that time, I have mostly enjoyed the work and companies that I have worked for. In that time, I have come to actually enjoy being on the “front-lines”. I want to be the person that gets to resolve the problem, the first time, and on time.
Last year, my husband and I did a cross country move, from Minnesota to Florida. I took some time, to really decide what I wanted to do with my work life, once we got settled in. I decided that I wanted to get back into technical customer service, preferably in help desk, or software support again. I was really excited to blow the dust off of my resume, and get back into the corporate structure. (I had left a corporate job in 2018, when I got my nail technician license.) One of the questions I asked every employer, that I interviewed with was, “How do YOU handle change?” Most of the companies that I interviewed with, were a little taken aback. Of course they were progressive, and they were constantly evolving. That’s not what I meant though.
I wanted to know, if they were always evaluating their training program. Were they utilizing their front-lines to integrate trending issues with existing policies, so that their scope of work was always evolving, to best assist their customer base? Were they taking the time in their team huddles, to ask their employees, if they had any input or insight on how to streamline the workload? Did the employees actually want to be there, or was this “just a paycheck” for them? Did those employees feel valued at all, or did they just feel like they were a cog in a machine, grinding out solutions based on what a manual told them to say?
Those can be tough questions to ask a company, but I think it’s necessary to the process. We need to be turning the tables, and interviewing companies, when we are invited to interview with them. I want to know that I am as much of a good fit for the company, as they would be a good fit for me. One of the most important things to me when looking for a new job, is knowing that the company I apply to work for, is willing to learn and grow alongside me. I don’t want to work for a company, that carries on safely with their heads in the sand.
