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Many people are approaching the end of 2021 with a sense that a New Normal may be emerging. Kids are back in school, families are gathering again, and businesses are settling into new telework and remote work patterns. At the same time, many are experiencing stress and challenges at work in managing supply chain challenges, and customers are finding that holiday shopping costs more and takes more time.

Different employees want different developmental opportunities. Some prefer the stability of a long-term dedicated role; others want to be stretched to grow and learn something new. Some may see new opportunities as the organization just continuing to raise the stakes; others may seek that challenge.

With rapid shifts in the economy and business landscape, retaining current employees feels like an important mandate.  Employee retention is certainly vital for operations and continuity. 

The news is tough these days for organizational managers!  They need to redefine the workplace for a more virtual remote workforce; they face daily supply chain uncertainties and constraints; and turnover seems to be at an all-time high.

Communication is essential for most human-to-human interactions, and customer service is a key example of these interactions.  Effective customer service involves “reading” the other person, gathering information, and responding to those needs.

The pandemic has fundamentally changed many businesses, and the expectations and needs of many customers. How can a business learn from and use these changes to improve customer service?

Recent news stories have described the challenges that many customer service professionals face in today’s environment.  These stories capture customer impatience with understaffed businesses, objections to public health guidance and irritation about missing items due to supply chain shortages.

Preparedness takes different forms and needs different tools depending on who is impacted and when.  Here are two scales to consider:

There has been a significant shift towards work-at-home arrangements over the past couple of years, and many see the remote workplace as a permanent feature in the future.  For organizations, this is a good time to think about new workplace safety needs in this virtual environment

For National Preparedness Month, it is useful to assess your readiness for an emergency.  If you were notified you had to leave your home within the hour, what would you do and what would you regret not having in place?