Appletree Answering Service

I just returned from an industry trade association board meeting.  On the flight home I found myself wondering about the value in serving on voluntary boards, both within your industry and for charity.  Many successful CEO’s spend at least some time in voluntary service roles, and I was examining the value of that activity. 

It was never something that I actively examined, so it made for some interesting thought time.  I truly feel that all of my board involvement has furthered my career and my company, but not in the ways you would traditionally think.  It has not really been about networking and connections, although they have certainly helped.  I think the real value for me has been in the underlying exercise of solving strategic challenges for other organizations.  We become so focused on the day to day interactions and challenges in our own companies that we can lose sight of the bigger picture.  The ability to step into another role and work on different problems, is very energizing. 

There is a fine line with volunteer time, and board negativity can really suck the energy out of you, but overall I think it is a valuable and worthwhile endeavor!

Have a great week!

How do you communicate and educate 400 people across 12 sites nationwide?  You go on a Road Show!

I know it seems silly, but I will tell you, aside from the topic of my traveling expedition, it is as real and worth while as any project I have worked on.

The overwhelming objective that came to light pretty quickly after speaking to a few of our front line agents was they were not aware of the company’s goals, how they impacted those goals and the importance of their role within the company.  So with those initiatives in mind, I created a presentation that was not only informative, but drew from real examples in their everyday lives and experiences at Appletree, and tried to make it fun. 

The presentation kicks off with a very clear description of the company’s goals, the respective site level goals and drills down into how each individual person impacts those goals.  We talk about initiative, attitude, respect and the tangibles, like showing up to work on time, being efficient on the phones and taking accurate messages.  The combination of communication, education and tying the two together seem to be the missing piece of the puzzle.

We expect a lot from our people, and work towards aggressive goals to service our customers well.  In my experience, I have found that the more you share with people, the more apt they are to feel part of the big picture.  A company is only as successful as each of its individual employees; it’s my job to arm them with the tools and information necessary to be just that.

This blog was written by guest Blogger Candy Myura.