Follow Up
“He flew in here, said I needed this, this and this, took my money and ran out the door like his rear was on fire.”
“He kept trying to insist that I needed a service contract. I asked him if his company encouraged him to push contracts. He said heck yes, that’s how he makes his money!”
“He never looked me in the eye. He spent the whole time talking on the phone to his girl friend and boss.”
“He smudged up the wall by my thermostat and tracked mud in my foyer.”
These are typical of remarks made by customers of contractors working in their home. This is what people remember about the company. Although they might have dealt with a diligent and honest salesman, a courteous office worker and an accommodating installation manager, the person who they will remember most is the last person from the company in their home. As a technician, this is usually you.
For you to hit maximum earning potential, for your development to continue and opportunities to continue your way, you want customers to remember you in a positive manner. Remember what we said about dating…
One way for customers to associate a positive experience with you is to call* them the next day to follow up with your service. Simply ask them if your service was to their satisfaction and if they need anything else. Hardly any technicians do this on their own.
You can follow up with your coworkers as well. Maybe you told them about a certain tool; maybe it was troubleshooting help; or maybe you asked how their kids’ ballgame went.
Follow up. It’s the right thing to do.
*Make sure it’s okay with your manager to follow up with customers by phone. Some companies would prefer that you didn’t.
The Immensity of the Sea
If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and assign tasks…teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea…Antoine de Saint Exupéry
This statement represents the essence of good management. Your manager needs to teach you and your coworkers about the immensity of the sea. If he isn’t, don’t expect much concern from him for your career and personal development. He’s not that interested in engaging your passion and talent. Instead he’s just focused on getting more work done.
What is the Immensity of the Sea?
This is the part of work that engages your talents with your passion. It is the area of work where you get meaning from your efforts and your manager gets meaning from engaging you and reaps the reward of your efforts. Not only do you get the internal rewards and meaning associated with work well done, you get internal rewards from helping other people.
The ways in which you help others can be defined in countless ways. It might be the feeling they get when they look into their beautifully landscaped yard, it might be the relief they feel when their computer is back online, it might be the efficiencies they receive from a redesigned kitchen or it might be the relief felt when a plumbing system is working and raw sewage is no longer floating about in their house. Your customers are feeling very good about your efforts and you’re on cloud nine when they show their appreciation.
Your manager needs to guide you and your coworkers towards the immensity of the sea. For on your way there, your spirit and enagement will get more work done for him, more effectively than he could ever dream possible.
What Can I do Better?
As a professional technician, you need feedback from your manager to grow. Here are two questions that you can ask that will help both you and your manager: What can I do better? What am I doing well?
While these are certainly questions that you need to delve into more deeply when your manager conducts an annual performance review* or a more formal feedback session, which should be a minimum of four times per year, you can also get answers from an informal, five minute conversation. The key here is to condition your manager by frequently asking him these questions. Go for once or twice per month.
Make notes on what your manager says. And then work to improve yourself between the times you ask. Make notes on your improvements. When your manager tells you what you are doing well, that means he is paying attention to your performance. And it sure is nice to hear about positive aspects of your work instead of just the negative ones.
Special thanks to Scott Savor for his input here.
*We are not fond of what is traditionally known as the annual review, here at The Technician Shop. More to come in the future on that subject.
Does Your Manager Motivate You? (Part II)
You shouldn’t need to be motivated by anyone to do your work. But you can receive motivation from your manager – if he is doing his job well. Good managers do this by intent, others will need your help.
A manager can be a source of motivation if he understands what you need to do your job, what obstacles are in your way, what type of education you need, where you are going with your career, and then helps you obtain what you need.
Give him a hand – If your manager does not seek these answers outright, you’re going to need to tell him and suggest ways to help him get what you need.
Why in all the world Dave, should I help my manager with his job?
Excellent question. Remember, this is about you. Yes you are helping him, but you are doing things to forge and build your career. The best chance to give yourself when you approach your manager with this discussion, is to already be busting your butt and trying your darnedest to be the best professional that you can be. When he sees that you are trying, he will try too.
A manager is like a fighter pilot and you are like the troops on the ground. His job is to fly cover and support you and your job is to advance. If either party is not doing their job…well, you know what happens – no one wins.
If you’ve been reading along here at The Technician Shop, you’re beginning to see good management practices discussed. We suggest that you save these posts in a file for future reference. Most technician managers are good people. They are just trying to do their own job, keeping their boss, customers, coworkers and you happy. There is nothing easy about the hectic pace of their job. They need to hear from you and what you need.
Remember, it’s your career. You gotta put in the effort. But if you’re not getting the air cover that you need, you might have to find a new pilot.
Photo by thenewarea51 on Flickr
Does Your Manager Motivate You? (Part I)
Overheard in an industry assocation manager’s meeting…
Bob: Honestly guys, I don’t know how to motivate my techs.
Chris: I here you Bob. I lost my voice last week. I can only scream at these guys so much.
Pete: I feel like a cheerleader doing the company rah, rah line all day.
Fred: These guys are morons! I’m sick and tired of being nice to them all the time. They never listen.
Managers are taught to motivate their coworkers. As a technician, you need to know this. I’ve assigned names to a few styles of manager motivation that you might be familiar with.
Prison Guard – This is strong-arm motivation. You are yelled at, demeaned and offered no respect.
Shady Politician – You are bribed to do your job. The manager promises you tools or days off in exchange for doing what he wants you to do.
Cheerleader – This manager has no grip on reality. Everything is sugar-coated, nothing is a big deal and a fake, positive attitude pours forth from him.
Coach – There is a positive aspect to this style of motivation but your manager needs to be a trustful, genuine person who does not frequently use it. This is the half time, win one for the gipper speech. If your manager cannot be trusted and frequently tries to pump you up, chances are his grip on reality is gone.
Nancy the Nanny – This is the “aren’t we having fun today boys and girls approach?” The manager comes up with all kinds of things to try and convince you that work is fun. The positive aspects of this style will occur when the manager isn’t trying to force fun and is naturally fun to be around.
Core Technician Shop Learning Moment
You shouldn’t need to be motivated by someone else. This is important folks. You shouldn’t need to be motivated by someone else. If you cannot go into work with the spirit of being the best professional that you can be, supporting your coworkers, taking care of your customers, doing fine work and gobbling up every thing that you can learn then you are either working for the wrong employer or working in the wrong role.
Managers however, are still taught to motivate. In Part II we’ll help you recognize a style of constructive motivation and explain ways to help your manager with his responsibility to motivate you.
Photo by Aaron Brown on Flickr
