STEP ONE

Identify Service
Motivation and Mission

If you are in a service field, you have chosen a noble profession. Your gracious actions assist people with services they need and decisions that improve the quality of their lives. For your part in interactions, working with the public can be rewarding and endearing. You know you have made a difference when customers appreciate you. Those are the times when you are glad to help and provide guidance to clientele who are friendly, happy, and satisfied. Then, there are times when you must wonder, “What was I thinking when I took this job?” That’s when your goodwill is taxed and your nerves are shot. Your smile is beginning to wane, and the demanding and sometimes demeaning behavior of customers is getting you down. Ironically, that’s when you really do need to answer the question, “What was I thinking?”

Your Career Choice

Your initial career choice had rhyme and reason. Maybe it was simply, “I wanted to work with people.” Or, maybe you took an entry-level job and ended up staying in the field. Whatever your original motivation, it’s important to reexamine your purpose now, find what excites you about your field, and realize what brings meaning to your work life. If you can rediscover the core values that anchored your professional choices, or discern the values that drive you presently, you can mitigate the stressful times by remembering your overall mission. By doing so, you can overcome obstacles and succeed in providing satisfaction to others.

For the most successful professionals, service rises to the level of a mission. Below is the story of Silvia Smith-Torres, for whom service is a way of life—a mission that she actualizes daily.

Silvia Smith-Torres is the vice president of client services in a child welfare organization. In addition to her daily responsibilities, she interviews candidates who are applying for the job of child advocate and will be responsible for the safety of abused, abandoned, and neglected children. The job is a tough one, requiring long hours. Silvia oversees just about everything child advocates do, including visiting homes to check on children and families, presenting cases in court, documenting all interactions, creating case plans, finding appropriate services, comforting children and their friends and relatives, encouraging all members of the family to abide by agreements—doing this and more while being on-call 24/7. Silvia describes the job to candidates with explanations and examples. However, at the end of her discussion, she always says, “This is not a job. It is a mission.”

Silvia herself is the embodiment of the mission. She is available to 200 staff members at all times. Everyone knows that if they cannot reach their direct supervisor, they can call her. The needs of her staff, families, children, and superiors are a high priority. She gets pleasure out of helping. Those who do well as child advocates follow Silvia’s lead and adopt the mission to protect children, embracing the great responsibility they have in ensuring that families get what they need. They really care about their clients. It is a hard job to do by just following rules and procedures. Caring is the ingredient that makes people feel a sense of pride and satisfaction. In Silvia’s case, it can save a child’s life.

What Is Your Passion?

Whatever your service role demands, work is as important to you as Silvia’s work is to her. What is it that you like about your work? What encourages you to keep going every day and feel that you are making a difference? What are you passionate about doing? Here is an example of passion put into practice and believing that it can be done.

Completing Worksheet 1.1 will give you an opportunity to reflect on your own passion and job satisfaction.

WORKSHEET 1.1

Your Job Satisfaction

Instructions: Consider the people, location, leadership team, facilities, and opportunities for growth within the job you have now. Answer the following questions.

 

Why have you chosen this field of work?

 

 

What do you like about your job?

 

 

How do you make a difference?

 

 

What are you passionate about doing?

 

 

What would you change?

 

 

Who are your mentors at work?

 

 

Whom do you mentor?

 

 

Reassess and Review Skills

Today’s workers need skills that weren’t even imagined 100 years ago. Present day futurists can’t keep up with the speed of change, which is caused by technological advances and the social factors that accompany rapid growth. Change requires reassessing skill sets for workers at all levels, from frontline staff to CEOs. For frontline staff, basic computer knowledge has increased from knowing how to key (this used to be called “type”) to being able to maneuver new computer programs that evolve at a rapid pace. “Must know Microsoft Office Suite” is assumed. New programs are being added to job descriptions daily. Frontline staff members need to have the ability to learn and use critical thinking. They need to work with technology that allows companies to keep track of a data-saturated environment, which is what most profit and nonprofit organizations require. Essential skills at work are as much about learning and being open to change and innovation as they are about what you know or have learned in the past.

Organizational leaders must recognize how to tap into the knowledge of their workforce. There is no way for any one person to keep up with all the information necessary to accomplish his or her job. Leaders need to increase their ability to “hear” employees, listen to different points of view, and embrace the knowledge that their staff members possess. To do this, they must be open to new ideas and design ways to solicit information, both formally and informally. They must also recognize the huge demands that technology places on their staff, and provide supportive ways to balance technology with human warmth.

High Tech/High Touch

John Naisbitt, the futurist author who made C. P. Snow’s phrase “high tech/high touch” renowned, has been writing about technology and the human element since 1982. His research is extensive, and his passion for the topic is evident in the book High Tech/High Touch: Technology and Our Accelerated Search for Meaning (1999). As he observes, the introduction of any new technology alters relationships and societies. Interpersonal relationships change as a result; we don’t know all the ramifications, nor will we because of the rapidity of change. His take on technology and knowing when to use it and when to “unplug,” is explained as such:

It is recognizing that technology, a creative product of human imagination, is an integral part of the evolution of culture—and that the desire to create new technologies is fundamentally instinctive. But it is also knowing when to push back technology, in our work and our lives, to affirm our humanity. It is recognizing that at its best, technology supports and improves human life; at its worst, it alienates, distorts, and destroys. It is knowing when to unplug and when to plug in.

The “soft skills” in customer service are “unplugged.” We will be looking primarily at interpersonal skills in 10 Steps to Successful Customer Service. However, the steps will also address how computer-based communication influences customers (electronic interpersonal skills). Technical skills cannot be ignored, as they are a big part of customer service. In this context, technical skills will include keeping information accessible and up to date so staff can focus on providing compassionate service.

Creativity is another skill that is becoming increasingly important. Richard Florida (2002), in The Rise of the Creative Class, proposes that human creativity is the ultimate economic resource since new ideas and better ways of doing things raise productivity and living standards. The greatest gap in pay, however, is still between entry-level positions, including those in the service sector, and what Florida defines as creative jobs. The lesson here is that the future will require creative thinking in all jobs. The more people are prepared to exercise their creativity, think in new ways, embrace diversity, and discover creative solutions, the more valuable they will be in the workforce, and the higher their compensation.

Another point to consider is that economists predict service-providing industries will account for nearly all of the new wage and salary jobs generated in the next four years. With the growth of this sector, there will be opportunities for employment and for professional growth for services professionals. Now is the time to hone your skills!

Consider the skills you use most often, as well as those you might not use, but are in your repertoire. Think of how you are creative; for example, developing new ways to serve customers, recommending qualitative measures, improving processes, facilitating teams, developing themes for social events, planning and organizing functions, or creating new forms and methods of capturing data. Worksheet 1.2 will help you define the skills you already have and identify others that you bring to the job.

Personal Mastery

In Peter Senge’s (1990) landmark book, The Fifth Discipline, he champions “personal mastery” as one of the individual employee’s most important contributions to the “learning organization.” If you have a high level of personal mastery, you continually reexamine your mission and focus on what is most meaningful to you. As Senge notes, if people are not encouraged to live by their values and vision—to contribute their talents and gifts—they resort to simply “putting in their time.”

Now that you have reviewed your skills, consider how your talents fit into what you consider important. If you are a hotshot programmer, but you really want to be an instructor, or you are a representative and want to be a supervisor, whatever your age, whatever your circumstances, there’s still time.

WORKSHEET 1.2

Your Skills and Abilities

Instructions: Answer the questions below and then talk with someone you trust about your answers. Ask them to just listen. See if you have any insights as you discuss your thoughts out loud. Ask the listener to tell you about additional skills you have that he or she sees. Have your partner fill out this exercise, and then switch roles. You both might discover hidden talents you can share.

 

What are the key skills, knowledge, and abilities that I bring to my position?

 

 

What are the skills, knowledge, and abilities that I bring to this job that contribute to helping others in the organization, including my team and other teams?

 

 

What are the “hidden” qualities I have that I don’t think everyone at my organization knows about?

 

 

How can I use the skills I haven’t demonstrated in a way that will benefit customers?

 

 

What are some of the ways I have shown my ability to help others?

 

 

What are some of my creative talents?

 

 

How can I use my creative talents on the job?

 

Identify Your Values

Values steer our lives. What we value is incorporated in our personal mission. Consider Mary’s story below and how Mary determines values in her life.

Mary is a bright woman who works as a sales representative. Mary identifies her top three values as harmonious relationships, her family, and service to her community. She is the office peacemaker. She finds ways to support her fellow staff members, helps on projects from the holiday party to United Way, and covers lunch hours for people. She is a favorite of customers. Mary manages to get her work done within working hours so she can spend time with her family at night and on weekends. If we were to ask Mary to write a mission statement, it might look something like this:

My family members will feel my support and encouragement so that each will grow and reach their fullest potential. I will use my talents to accomplish professional goals while assisting others in a kind, compassionate, and supportive way. I will make people smile.

Your values ground your mission statement. They are the ingredients that make up the finished product. Values may stem from beliefs, but in order to become a value, you must act on what you cherish. Louis Raths, Merrill Harmin, and Sidney Simon, lifetime values educators, define the seven steps to identify a value in Tool 1.1. Take a look at these steps and consider how you determine your own values.

TOOL 1.1

Criteria for Identifying a Value

In addition to your skills and abilities, all of us have values by which we live. Values guide behaviors that give direction to life. Values encompass beliefs about how one ought or ought not to behave, or about a vision that is worth attaining.

From observation and study of social and educational psychology, Raths, Harmin, and Simon (1977) identified seven criteria that constitute what they called a “full value.” In order for you to do a litmus test on whether or not you really hold a value, all seven criteria must be true. You must choose a value freely, without coercion. It must be yours. In addition, you need to consider alternatives, such as other values that are similar or even different. You need to thoroughly think through the consequences, so when you practice that value you can anticipate the result, such as the effect on others. For you to practice your value, you need to first be happy with your choice and willing to let others know that your value is dear to you—something you cherish. And, finally, you have to act on your value consistently. Below are examples of the seven criteria.

Choosing

1. Freely

If you were in the Army and you were assigned to a position in accounting, but you wanted to be a pilot, you would not be choosing your career freely. If, when you were young, your parents insisted that you become a secretary or teacher because women in their generation generally held those positions, and you obliged, you would have chosen your career under pressure. On the other hand, you would have chosen your career freely if you took personality and ability tests in college, examined what you liked and didn’t like, and then matched potential careers to what you felt was the best choice at the time.

2. From alternatives

Let’s say that you did choose your career freely. You knew you were good at writing and good at customer service. You examined careers that required skill in writing, such as journalism, and you examined customer service careers, such as Internet customer service. You ultimately chose call-center customer service because it involved helping the public, which you like. In addition, this choice allows you to use your writing skills to solve problems over the Internet for your customers.

3. After thoughtful consideration of the consequences of each alternative

If you examined the educational requirements for your careers of interest, the financial considerations, locations for school, likely employment, and all the important factors for making your decision, you would be aware of the consequences of each alternative.

Prizing

4. Cherishing, being happy with the choice

Once you chose your career freely, from alternatives, and after thoughtful consideration, for you to value your career you would need to be happy with the choice, not just so-so. Your decision would fit comfortably with you, and you would be glad you made the choice.

5. Willing to affirm the choice publicly

If you were a customer service representative for Harley Davidson, who valued your job, and you were to affirm your choice of career, you might wear a Harley Davidson t-shirt in public. You would be proud to tell people where you work. You would enjoy the job and the people who visit your store.

Acting

6. Doing something with the choice

It is not enough to talk. You have to do. If you value your job, you would perform in a way that demonstrated the value—with enthusiasm and commitment.

7. Repeatedly in some pattern of life

If you did work for Harley Davidson, there could be many reasons for your choice. You may value charitable work, and Harley Davidson has a lot of charitable activities in which you could participate. You might value financial stability and the company pays fairly and is stable. You might be a motorcycle enthusiast, a rider who takes his or her bike out often and values the outdoors. In that case, you are practicing your values if you spend time outdoors, chose freely from alternatives, and publicly affirm your love of nature. And, regardless of the whys, if you value your work, you would show up every day, unless you were ill or had an approved vacation.

As mentioned before, all seven of the above criteria must be satisfied to determine a value. The criteria, applied collectively, describe the process of valuing.

Worksheet 1.3 is a checklist of personal values. The exercise will assist you in determining what is most important to you and what values you hold.

WORKSHEET 1.3

Checklist for Personal Values

Instructions: From this list of values (both work and personal), select the 10 that are most important to you as guides for how to behave or as components of a valued way of life. Feel free to add any values of your own to this list. Rank the order of the 10 you choose from most important (1) to least important (10).

 

___Accountability	___Health	___Recognition
___Advancement	___Helping others	___Security
___Adventure	___Helping society	___Self-respect
___Altruism	___Honesty	___Serenity
___Appearance	___Integrity	___Service
___Approval	___Job tranquility	___Status
___Change/Variety	___Justice	___Success
___Competition	___Knowledge	___Truth
___Cooperation	___Loyalty	___Wealth
___Environment	___Meaningful work	___Well being (emotional)
___Ethical practice	___Money	___Wisdom
___Fame	___Personal autonomy	___Work autonomy
___Family	___Personal growth	___Other_____
___Financial gain	___Personal time	___Other_____
___Friendship	___Power	___Other_____
___Growth	___Privacy	___Other_____

Create a Mission Statement

After completing Worksheet 1.3, think about how your values guide your mission. Take some time to write down a personal mission statement. Follow the tips in Tool 1.2. It might take a while to complete the process of thinking about what brings you happiness and what you want to accomplish. You might say, “I don’t have the luxury of doing what I want; I have to make a living.” That’s OK. We all have to survive. As Maxine Clark (2006) predicts:

I’m confident that if you love what you do, you’ll always find a way to make enough money to sustain you and your family. Even if you can’t do exactly what you want, find a way to come as close as possible to living out your passion. (Clark, 2006)

One of the reasons for looking at a mission statement is to see how close you are to doing what you want to do. If what you are doing doesn’t match your mission, you may

• consider other options (leave your job)
• consider how you can use your current career circumstances to better align your career mission by taking on other jobs or more responsibility
• focus on what you like about your job and develop a “glass half full” mindset
• seek personal fulfillment and satisfaction outside of work.

Reveal Hidden Talents

Bertrand works in finance. One of his responsibilities is processing mileage reimbursement requests. Most of the people in his company know him for his efficiency in making sure they get reimbursements in a reasonable amount of time. It’s nice to be the money guy. Bertrand is quiet and does his job consistently without much ado. He’s a capable and solid worker.

One morning, just about the crack of dawn, Bertrand was at his desk working. Some people are early birds. His vice president, Dipak, happened to be an early bird too. Dipak stopped by Bertrand’s desk to say hello and they began talking. Dipak found out that Bertrand was well versed in developing websites, a skill and interest of which Dipak was unaware. Dipak asked if Bertrand would like to work on a new website the company was creating. Bertrand was very pleased. The website had been in the making for four years. It was one of those projects that was pushed aside when other priorities seemed more important.

Soon after Dipak “discovered” Bertrand’s hidden talents, the website was up and running, complete with text, video, links, and pictures. It is a website for children who would like to be adopted. Imagine—a hidden talent that could result in many children finding loving homes. You can see Bertrand’s work at www.childnet.us.

TOOL 1.2

Mission Statement Tips

Instructions: Here is an example of a mission statement. Randall Hansen, webmaster of Quintessential Careers, has a one-sentence mission/vision:

“To live life completely, honestly, and compassionately while making a positive impact on those around me.”

Use any of these suggestions to create your mission statement.

 

• State what you want to accomplish.

 

 

• Describe what you want to contribute.

 

 

• Describe the “real you” or the person you want to become.

 

 

• Write down what you would like people to say about you.

 

 

• Start your thinking with, “My dream in life is to . . .” and begin your mission statement after that.

 

 

• Respond to, “If I could be anything and have anything at all, I would . . .” and begin your mission statement there.

 

 

For additional help in learning about and creating a mission statement, visit www.quintcareers.com/ mission_statement_samples.html. The service is free and without obligation. In fact, the owner of the service, Dr. Hansen, is following his own mission statement by making an impact on the lives of those who visit the site.

Put It All Together

To better understand your professional career choice in the service field, Step 1 provided an opportunity for you to reassess and review your skills, identify your values, create a mission statement, and reveal your hidden talents. In Step 2, the elements of great service will be discussed, including recognizing what customers want and understanding how to create customer loyalty through personal effectiveness.