April 22, 2009

Edited and Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Published by Success Performance Solutions. Major Sponsor,

2008 Best Places to Work In Pennsylvania

What's Inside this issue of The TotalView:

1.  Generation Gaps

2.  Perfect Labor Storm Warnings

3.  Improving Customer Service

4.  Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

5.  Quotes from the Hire Authorities

1.  Generation Gaps: What a difference 50 years makes

The concept of a "generation" is attributed to social scientist Karl Mannheim (1920s). A generation is a group of people who are programmed by events they share in history while growing up. The result of this "programming" are cohorts of people who share a common set of memories, expectations, and values based on headlines and heroes, music and mood, parenting style, and education systems.

We're all familiar with the common generational clashpoints involving attitudes toward work, communication (the personal handwritten note vs texting), and expectations (immediate vs delayed.)  But just take a few minutes and read these scenarios to remember-way-back-when (for you geezers) or to put current events in perspective (for you geeks).

Scenario:  Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1959 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2009 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.   

Scenario:  Jeffrey won't sit still in class, disrupts other students.
1959 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2009 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario:  Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1959 - Mark shares aspirin with Principal out on the smoking dock.
2007 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.

 
Scenario:  Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary.  Mary hugs him to comfort him.
1959 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2009 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.
 

How times have changed! What will they be writing about in 2059? Do you have other examples you'd like to share?  Please share them at Perfect Labor Storm 2.0 Blog. 

2.  Perfect Labor Storm Warnings   

Subscribe to the Perfect Labor Storm 2.0 blog and receive skilled worker shortage updates like this:

 

38 percent of job seekers admitted they embellished their job responsibilities.

 

18 percent acknowledged lying about their skills set.

 

Source: Outrageous Resume Lies 

Learn more about workforce trends. Purchase the NEW Perfect Labor Storm 2.0 books (soft and hard cover versions) at PerfectLaborStorm.com.

New Perfect Labor Storm videos added. Watch now!

3. Improving Customer Service

Customer service excellence starts with a focus on people. Differentiate yourself from the competition. Don't just give lip service to customer excellence. Do something about it with Success Performance Solutions customer service assessments and training aids. Set the bar high for customer service employees; hire and train candidates who fit the culture and don't make excuses for delivering anything less than exceptional customer service. 
 
"Don't ever doubt in the customer service business the importance of people and their attitudes."
(Former Southwest Airlines CEO Herb Kelleher)

Read more about Good Customer Service Skills

4. Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

Deliver excellent Customer Service and stop giving excuses, or be prepared to self-destruct. This book is for any company, business, or organization that deals with customers and has a passionate desire for customer excellence.

Buy Excuses, Excuses, Excuses now - Only $9.95.

5. Quotes from Hire Authorities

"The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it."
 
Jean Paul

Permission is granted to consultants, managers, business owners and HR professionals to reproduce content from this newsletter for your internal publications, or to distribute copies to your workforce, on the condition that you reproduce the credits and contact information as follows: "Reprinted with permission from Ira S Wolfe and Success Performance Solutions. Copyright 2008 Ira S Wolfe."  We also hope you will forward the newsletter in its entirety and recommend to others that they subscribe.

Ira S. Wolfe Copyright 2009 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.