As we approach 2016 (yes, dates on your calendar are closer than they appear), I think it is fitting to propose that we decide to challenge everything. The Customer Experience revolution is upon us. In order to compete and to win the loyalty of our customers, we must be willing to challenge everything we do and have done. Most importantly, we must challenge ourselves as people and as leaders.

I recently had a phone call with the Internet Technical Support arm of my medical insurance company. The young man to whom I was connected in its Contact Center did not listen, jumped to conclusions, was rude, and ultimately hung up on me. I admit that I can be a “tough” customer. But I also know when I am being unreasonable and in this particular case I was not. Needless to say I called back and spoke to a supervisor who promised to speak to the manager, etc. The next day the manager called me back and explained that he had listened to the recording and agreed that the agent was way out of line … great, we agree. Then he said, “Chris has always been one of our best.” Well, if that is your best, sir, you are in BIG trouble.

This is a situation to seriously consider. Do you really want to tell a customer that the person that hung up on you is one of your “best” agents? I don’t think so. Challenge everything! In this case, the leader needs to challenge his beliefs about what constitutes “best,” as well as challenge his belief that a customer that was hung up on would want to hear that the person was one of the “best.” Challenge the agent to give you a few good reasons why he should not be fired. Challenge the standard that says hanging up on a customer is OK. It is not – not in any circumstance. If an agent has lost control of the call, that call should be transferred or escalated, but NEVER disconnected.

We simply must “challenge everything.” If your quality program is producing high scores, but the Contact Center is not producing great results, the program’s effectiveness must be challenged. Otherwise everyone is wasting their time. Some quality programs are driven by leaders that simply want to know that the minimum number of observations was done and that the scores were within the targeted range. That way they can report on same to their leaders and consider the matter closed. Everyone delights in the denial. Push forward to delight in the challenge.

When senior executives demand an increase in the number of contacts being handled by the IVR, challenge them to learn what kinds of transactions are being handled. Consider which is more powerful – automation or elimination? In one case, a senior VP challenged his team to increase from 20 percent to 30 percent in the number of contacts being handled by the IVR. Little did he know that the number one call type was billing inquiry. Unfortunately, the IVR possessed the exact same wrong information as the bill. But did the management team tell the VP that what would really work is fixing the billing system? No! Instead, they immediately removed the zero-out option. This forced the percentage of calls “handled” in the IVR to appear to go up, while simultaneously angering callers. Wow. Congrats. Mission accomplished. Another executive hallucination protected!

Challenge your ability to make a case to senior management; it is the biggest challenge mid-level managers face and the most rewarding to overcome. In the above example, fixing the billing system not only eliminates a contact. It also improves the Customer Experience which seems ultimately a much more effective cost-cutting measure. And it is one that the CFO might really like to hear about.

Challenge your budget. Is the budget actually damaging the brand? When training, incentives, or additional investments in technology are denied, you may be reducing costs in the short-term while increasing the cost of errors, turnover, customer churn, and (worst of all) risking “brand damage.” If your brand says you are smart, responsive, quick, and able to run a quality operation, but your budget says you can scrape by on last century’s technologies, little or no ongoing training, and hiring based on price and availability, the brand will be damaged. You as a leader must challenge yourself to tackle this issue!

Unfortunately, there are many managers that actually delight in pleasing their leaders by not challenging budget decisions and issues. Complacency is the enemy – “Oh, they would NEVER fund that.” In one case, an IT leader told us that “they” would never fund the technology investment recommendations we were making. After all, “they” wouldn’t even give him 35K for a telecommunications system upgrade. Well, before the project was over, the company had invested several hundred thousand dollars to upgrade the technical infrastructure because a compelling case had been built, worthy of the investment. Challenge yourself to build a compelling case that supports the needs of the business. Budget magic occurs! I challenge you to create a “vision budget” – one that aligns with the vision and strategic goals of the enterprise – and present it accordingly. Challenge the executive office to help you make good on the vision and the brand via the budget.

And finally, as we approach this New Year, challenge yourself to be the greatest leader you can be. Maintain a healthy level of optimism, build a healthy energy into your environment, and communicate clearly to lead your team away from stresses and strains and into the rewards that come from enjoying a genuine sense of contribution and being part of something.

Challenge yourself to look around at your world and study all the things there are for which to be grateful. We live in a time in which time is a commodity. It should not be wasted, but invested and meaningfully utilized without useless interruptions. Challenge yourself to steal some time back, to invest some time to do nothing, to breathe some fresh air or maybe watch the sunrise (or sunset). Most importantly, challenge yourself to study the wonders of your own world, to assess how much of this precious commodity we call time has been invested in those most dear to you. Invest some time to write up your Gratitude List. This is an exercise that pays huge dividends. Save some of your focus to get reacquainted with how much fun there is to be had in this life – not only at a particular time of year, but anytime you genuinely choose it. When we think of fun, happiness, or an attitude of gratitude as a choice, why would we choose anything else?

Challenge yourself and everything around you. You’ll see. It’s much more fun and you’ll be grateful you did. Enjoy the New Year and all it has to offer!

“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” Jim Rohn, American Business Philosopher

My Best,

Kathleen