I recently stayed at a Double Tree Hotel in Dallas for training and their little touches were right on the money. When we arrived they had plenty of people working the front desk. The computers were freezing as they processed our check-in, so while we waited for their computer to boot back up the lady gave us some warm chocolate chip cookies. They even had a woman call up to my room fifteen minutes after I walked in to make sure everything was satisfactory. That wasn’t even the best part.

The lady that checked us in had a great personality. You could tell that she was working happy. She smiled and joked with us even when she was frustrated with her computer. It made me think of a quote from Charles D. Kerns, PhD.

Both job performance and the employees’ level of happiness impact the potential of success for an organization.

When an employee can manage the little annoyances and still allow for a good customer experience then they will help make their company a success. These employees will also rub off on the rest of the staff.

I never asked the woman at the hotel if she had trained her staff to respond to customers’ requests in a happy way, but when I stopped by the desk to ask for the training schedule a man in her staff smiled and gave me the starting time for the next morning. I’ve been in the same situation in the past and about 9 out of 10 times I’ve been given the look of “why are you disturbing me with such a trivial question.” He seemed to have the same attitude as her manager: happy.

I wish that I could have asked her what her, techniques were, but I could see that she didn’t have time with the line backing up behind me. It made me think of another passage from Charles D. Kerns, PhD.

Perhaps the initial way for a managerial leader to think about how to influence the happiness level of his or her employees is in relation to the employee’s present situation. For example, engagement with one’s work can likely be enhanced by having an individual assess her “strengths” and utilize those strengths in her work. This may include coaching to help the individual use her strengths in innovative ways. An employee’s level of engagement at work, and subsequent happiness, is likely boosted when he or she has the opportunity to do what he or she does best at work – utilizing one’s strengths is a positive experience.

She probably hired people who were like her, or human resources hired “people-oriented” employees who know how to make a customer feel good.

Whatever training or happy plan they had in place seemed to be working, and I’ll be staying at a Double Tree again whenever I have the choice.

Have you ever had an outstanding customer service experience? Share your story.

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I’ve stumbled across an emotional tool that I’ve grown to love. It’s renewing on a scheduled basis. I’ve read about it in a few magazine articles, but never took the time to try it out. Once I did, it changed my life.

We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Many psychiatrists believe that you need to find out what happened in your past to figure out the present. The method can help, but it can also damage the person’s ability to forgive and forget. It has taken me years to forgive myself for the thousands of mistakes I’ve made. I was very tough on myself and felt that it was the only way I would learn not to make a mistake again.

The Internal Struggle

I used to struggle to wake up and see the enjoyment in the upcoming day or a task at my job. When my old habits of negativity arise I stop, let out my breath, and renew my thoughts. Now I visualize myself getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom with a smile on my face and then I physically make myself do it even when I don’t want any part of smiling. The thoughts start to turn positive. They move toward the things that are easy to enjoy, such as the feel of the soft rug, then toward brushing my teeth. All of these enjoyable thoughts surface and feed off of each other, and before I know it I’m excited to be taking a shower or eating breakfast.

Schedule It In

Renewing my life on a schedule has been easier than doing it on a moment to moment basis. I make sure that I do it first thing in the morning, once before lunch, and one time at bed. One day I hope to reach the level of working happy in every moment, but as of right now I have to work with what I’ve got.

What do you struggle to enjoy?

• A specific part of your job?

• A pain in the butt co-worker?

• Your commute to work?

Practice renewing your feelings by letting go of your dislike toward that annoying co-worker and stay in the moment. You’ll notice things that make you feel happy instead of that co-worker that brings you down.

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Is high turnover frustrating you? Then start marketing to the employees. Companies have whole marketing departments to “woo” customers to buy and keep coming back, but we forget to “woo” our employees on a regular basis. Of course we “woo” new hires, but after that many companies seem to give up and hope that the employees stick around. You may expect them to be there until one day they are handing you their resignation letter.

The best way to find out why you are losing employees is to ask the staff. This may seem like a simple solution, but many owners/managers are afraid to ask. It’s the old “I’d rather ignore it than deal with it” mentality.

Below this paragraph is a list of questions you can ask your employees about how to improve your turn-over problem. You should conduct these interviews in a “one on one” format. Too many managers or too many employees muddle the answers. You’ll get emotion involved instead of quality answers. As these interviews are conducted you’ll have to place your ego in a little lockbox, so you don’t take any answers personally. This exercise is meant to be an exploration in improvement, not to rag on the company.

Top five questions to ask your employees:

1. Why do you think [insert co-worker here] left?

2. What do you think we could have done to keep them?

3. What can I do to make your job better?

4. What do you want to accomplish here over the next two years?

5. What education do you think will help you do your job better?

Once you have your answers you must review the information and see if there are any common themes. Is there one manager that needs sensitivity training, or maybe a group of employees that don’t feel challenged? You will see changes that should be made.

Many of your answers will not be used. People get carried away when they feel empowered by the company to make changes. That’s where a good interviewer must make wise decisions and filter through the crap. If there is a theme of changing the dress code and you know your clients won’t appreciate a more relaxed look then don’t make the change just because the crowd wants it. You’ll have to stick to what you know will help the company, not just what the employees want.

Make a list of the all the quality ideas that will help you retain employees. When you have everything written down you must whittle this list down to five. This is the point when I like to sleep on ideas. I like everything to settle down and wake up in the morning to a fresh perspective.

Look at your top five ideas and pick the three best ones. Don’t shy away from the ideas that are difficult to implement because this is where you’ll see the most progress.

1. Dedication to employee happiness

2. Share direction of company with all employees.

3. Flexibility of schedule

This is where the “wooing” will begin. Share this top three list of company changes with everyone. If you don’t let everyone know about your renewed interest in retaining employees they won’t believe your commitment.

Earn Employees Trust

Now that they know that you aim to improve the company-employee relationship you will have to earn their trust. Create a monthly raffle to win a $50 gift certificate to a local restaurant. Make a schedule to share the company’s direction with the staff on a bi-annual or annual interval. Give the employees one extra day extra off per year to do whatever they want; if you throw in a $20 gas card or public transportation card it will reinforce your commitment.

Whatever the top three changes are, you must commit to the ideas or company turnover will only get worse. You may want to implement a better retirement program or a continual education program. You will have to make the decisions that your company feels best fits the employees.

Everyone needs to be “woo’d” on a regular basis, otherwise the passion dies out. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t want to work for an exciting company. That’s why your favorite restaurant is still packing the house and it’s why solid marriages continue to thrive. They fight for the love every single day.

You must remember you won’t keep every employee; some are just meant to spread their wings. But you should track the changes after implementing your “wooing your employees” plan to see how successful it is after six months, a year, and two years. Hopefully you’ll see that dedicating to your employees’ happiness pays off by reducing costs and encouraging a more productive work environment.

If you are successful your employees will stick around to see what new direction your company is heading in because they know that you are trying to improve the company. When they see positive change they won’t have any trouble adapting to this improved direction, even if they have to work a little harder.

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