Tips to writing  a professional e-mail

• ·      Keep it short and to the point (People get bored easily).
• ·       Use a professional tone when writing your e-mail (Make sure all emails are business appropriate). 
• ·       Never use your business e-mail for personal use.
• ·       Errors are not acceptable (proof read everything).
• ·       Always file in the subject line.
• ·       Be very clear in your subject line.
• ·       Never assume that when you delete your email is gone it is never really gone it is normally relocated.
• ·       All business e-mails should begin with a salutation and end with a closing. 

Leaving a Voicemail Message

When you call a company and they don't answer, do you know how or what to leave on the voicemail? I will be helping figure out the best way for you to leave a good voicemail. Here are some good tips on how to leave a good voicemail.

1. Limit Background Noise. This is important to do. If the person you called can't hear with the background noise how are they able to call you back. You can lose out on an opportunity to project a professional image and also risk making the callers feel unimportant. 
2. Be Unique. Be creative and stand out from everyone else.
3. Have some fun. You don't have to sound like a robot.
4. Engage Your Callers. It'll show the impressions that you leave with it.
5. Don't Forget to Smile. When you talk on the phone and you smile, the person on the other end can tell in your voice. Smiling helps create a tone and message that convey how much you care about your caller.
6. Write it Out and Rehearse it. Some people may have a hard time conveying an unscripted message without few pauses and 'um's here and there. It doesn't sound very good. You'll sound more confident and clearer.
7. Identify Yourself and Your Business. Not everyone can tell people by there voice. This is why it's important to identify yourself and your business.
8. Let Your Callers Know What to Tell You. This is more for the callers than you. It's helpful if you have more information than just your name and number.
9. Update Your Greeting Frequently. It keeps it interesting and fresh. Include new information, tell callers when you're away, when you'll be back, and who they can talk to in the meantime.
10. Keep it Upbeat. Avoid negative words like sorry, unfortunately, and can't. Using upbeat language and smiling will give your voicemail the oomph it needs to keep your callers happy and satisfied.

Now that you know the best way to leave a good voicemail, just remember don't rush through it. Keep it slow and steady. That way when the caller listens to your voicemail they will be able to understand what your saying. Check this site out Voice Mail Scripts for Success. It can give you an idea on how to get started or even use these to help you leave a good voicemail.

Taking Phone Messages... Good and Bad

Professional Phone Etiquette : Taking Good Phone Messages

You get to your desk and are getting ready for the day. Did you know that taking good phone messages requires you to have the right supplies? Yes, you heard right. How are you supposed to take messages if you don't have paper, pen, or pencil to write things down with? It doesn't just apply to how you write down messages with either. Here are 12 tips to take effective phone messages:

1. Get the details. The caller's name, company and phone number or numbers with the area code. Details are important.
2. Spell it write. Having the right spelling can save a ton of time when researching issues or prepping for returning the call. Don't be afraid to ask the person to spell their name if your not sure.
3. Time and date please. This helps with recalling the conversation and can also be important if for certification or legal reasons.
4. Prioritize, is it urgent or not? This way, the message recipient will know how quickly to respond. And again time is money.
5. Write it down on a phone-message pad. Don't scribble it at the back of an envelope or a manilla folder.
6. Make sure there is lots of room on the message pad. If you try to jam too many messages on one sheet more than likely you will get confused and not even remember what you were writing about in the first place.
7. Writing implements are important. Make sure you have a spare pen handy. This way you will not be putting the caller on hold while you search for a replacement.
8. Read it back. Before you hang up read the details back to the caller. This will ensure that you have the correct information and will allow the caller to add anything that they may have forgotten to include.
9. Sign it. Yes I know, it may seem like overkill but this way if more information is required by the person receiving the message, they can contact you directly.
10. Make it visible. Make sure to put the message in a place the recipient is going to see it. I find that the top of computer monitors works great.
11. Deliver the message. Make sure the person that the message is for actually gets the message. Give it to them in a timely manner. If it's an urgent message give it to them asap. Don't wait hours later to give it to them.
12. If you need to ask follow up questions. It never hurts to have extra information.

Now that everyone knows about good phone message taking, everyone should know what not to do. Some examples of what not to do are  leaving your desk unattended and not notifying someone, ignoring phone calls, playing on your phone, thinking you can remember what the caller said without writing it down, and putting on hold for your own amusement. NEVER EVER do these. You will lose your job by doing these. 

Let's recap: Good phone taking

When taking a message make sure to have the following: name of the person the message is for, the caller's name (correct spelling), company or department, number to reach them at, date and time, and a message to the person it is for. 

I found two great sites you can look at. The first one is a template and is about Taking Telephone Messages. Lesson #3B is another template and has information about taking telephone messages as well as other info. 

Professional phone answering techniques

In a professional setting you want the business phone to be answered in the most professional way possible.



We have compiled a list of  Best Practices to follow in our office for answering the office phone.

 

Our biggest tip first & foremost is to answer the phone with a smile. As cheesy as it sounds this is a great way to make a calling customer feel welcome calling our business. It can also help to calm an upset customer.

 

Other tips are as follows:

1. Answer the phone call quickly typically with in 2-3 rings. This makes the customer feel their call is important.
2. Speak clearly & professionally avoid words like uh huh, yeah & um. These are not professional sounding.
3. Mention the company name & yours for example "Hello this is Mill Hall Dollar Tree, Stacie speaking, How may I help you?"
4. If you are uncertain how to help the caller stay positive remaining positive & professional holds the key. Say "let me find out & come back to you" as opposed to "I don't know"
5. If you must put the caller on hold please ask "May I put you on hold?"
6. If you must transfer the call tell the customer so that they are aware whom you are transferring them to.
7. If a customer needs to call back at another time be sure to give them specific details as to what time.
8. End the call with the same smile & professional tone you answered with.

 

Here is a good video showing you what not to say to our customers

 

3 ways to deal with a poor employee.

Poor employees in the work place can be difficult. Here are 3 ways to deal a poor employee we found these tips at Entrepreneur.

Step # 1

 The first step you will need to take is to find out what is wrong with the employee. You can’t just assume that the employee is a bad employee. Sometime times the employee is going through a rough time in their life and it can effect there work performance. You need to keep open conversation with the employees to find out is wrong. If you shut them out the will never get better.

Step # 2

The second step that you need to take is to see if the problem can be resolved with the employee. You Just can’t firer them without trying to fix the problem. You need to find out if the problem is with the employee or it may be with something in the company.

Step # 3

The third step that you need to take as a manager is to make a plan of action with your employee. You can’t neglect your employee by not trying to make a plan of action with them. You need to try to better the employee to make your company better.

Sample Plan Of Action 

Coaching

Coaching is a big part of the business world. Every work place should have HR representatives that coach you in someway or another. Coaching can help the employee improve work skills, their experience, good feed back makes employees want to keep working hard and it helps them succeed. It shows the good side and a side where you need to fix things. There are six coaching steps that could be a big help in the work place.


1)  Showing confidence in the employee's ability and willingness to solve the problem. Ask him or her for help in solving the problem or improving performance. Ask the employee to join with you with the goal of increasing the employees' effectiveness as a contributor within your organization.

2) Describe the performance problem to the employee. Focus on the problem or behavior that needs improvement, not on the person. Use descriptions of the behavior with examples so that you and the employee share meaning. Ask for the employee's view of the situation.

3) Determine whether issues exist that limit the employee's ability to perform the task or accomplish the objectives. Four common barriers are time, training, tools, and temperament. Determine how to remove these barriers. Determine whether the employee needs your help to remove the barriers- a key role of a manager-or if he is able to tackle them by himself.

4) Discuss potential solutions to the problem or improvement actions to take. Ask the employee for ideas on how to correct the problem, or prevent it from happening again. With a high performing employee, talk about continuous improvement.

5) Agree on a written action plan that lists what the employee, the manager, and possibly, the HR professional, will do to correct the problem or improve the situation. Identify the core goals that the employee must meet to achieve the appropriate level of performance that the organization needs.

6) Set a date and time for follow-up. Determine if a critical feedback path is needed, so the manager knows how the employee is progressing. Offer positive encouragement. Express confidence in the employee's ability to improve.

Here is The Balance article where i got the steps from.

I would also like to add appreciation is a big part of coaching as well. Employee's enjoy being recognized for their hard work. It keeps them motivated to keep up the great work.

Here is a video of a great way to coach poor performance.

Steps to Deal With a Poorly Performing Employee

It is extremely important to deal with poor work performance in your business if you want your business to thrive and grow. Here we will discuss our 5 steps to help you deal with a poorly performing employee in the correct manner. We rely on Real Business to help us understand the process.

1. Informal Conversations

The best place to start is to catch the behavior early and sit down with the employee in a private, informal setting. Use this meeting to find out what is going on with the employee and to encourage the performance that you want.

2: Offer Support

If there is a cause for the employees poor performance you should offer help and support. This is a good way to set time scales and objectives to monitor the employees growth.

3: Performance Review Meeting

If after steps 1 & 2 the employee is not performing better you will need to set up a more formal procedure by conducting formal performance review meetings. These meetings will lead up to you  being able to issue formal warnings. These meetings must be in private and you should have an HR representative present to take notes.

4: Decisions and Sanctions

After the performance review meeting you will decide on a course of action and the appropriate level of sanction.

      Levels of sanctions include:

• First written warning - this is the normal appropriate action after a first formal meeting. Here we provide an example of a proper warning letter. 

• Final Written Warning - if a first written warning has been issued and the employee's performance has not improved you should issue a final written warning. Here we provide an example of a proper final warning letter.

• Dismissal - if you have issued the previous 2 letters and held formal performance meetings and there has not been any improvement in the employees performance, you may decide that dismissal is the next best course of action.

5. Inform the employee

 

Once you make a decision you should communicate it to the employee in person and in writing. make sure to communicate facts, dates, etc. for your reasoning.

 

 

It is important to be specific with your facts and dates through all of these steps, to not approach in anger, and to approach the issue immediately.

 



This is an example of the wrong way to discipline an employee. Take tips from this video in what not to do.