Do You Insult Your Coworkers?

Most people wouldn’t knowingly insult the people they work with, yet it happens all the time.  I’m not talking about personal insults, such as telling a man you don’t like his tie or asking a woman when her baby is due -- only to find out that she’s not pregnant.  I’m referring to business insults.

Do you ever not listen to what an associate is saying?  Do you verbally or non-verbally communicate that a person’s suggestion is a dumb idea?  Do you disregard an individual’s contribution to a project?  Most of these insults are avoided once a person is made aware of his behavior and becomes personally committed to change.  But there is one major insulting behavior that is found in every organization and the offenders may not even know they are insulting someone.

This insult happens when a person doesn’t give an associate the opportunity to do his or her job.  If you find yourself thinking, speaking, or believing either of the following to be true, chances are you’re guilty not only of insulting your coworkers, but also denying your customer a better working relationship with your firm.

If you say, “It’s easier to do it myself,” ask yourself these two questions.  Do I really have the time?  Am I the most qualified person to do the work?  It becomes a bad habit to continually do work that’s not yours.  For example, many salespeople find themselves repeatedly doing administrative and customer service work which takes up valuable sales call time.  The irony is that the work being taken over by the salesperson is more capably handled by those whose job it is to do it.  Chances are the customer service people end up correcting the mistakes salespeople make and feel insulted that they weren’t given the task to do in the first place.

Do you say, “The customer only wants to deal with me”?  What an egocentric attitude this is!  When you don’t allow your customers to talk to others in your company, you convey to your coworkers an attitude of distrust about their work.  What customers ultimately want is to be competently served by their service or product provider.  They want to avoid delays, red tape, and having to explain their needs to more than one person.  Give your customers the names and numbers of those who will serve them in all areas of your business.  Educate your customer about whom to contact about specific issues.  Encouraging your customer to talk to the appropriate people in your organization strengthens relationships and retains business.  When your associates talk directly to your buyer, they become personally involved and more accountable for the work to be done.  And they know you trust them.

So what can you do to be sure that the work done by your coworkers meets your customers’ needs?

Involve your coworkers in the customer relationship.  Don’t just stop at merely introducing your coworkers to the customer.  Have your associates visit the customer’s operation and learn how your product or service serves their business.  Understanding how the food chain works opens lines of communication and encourages creativity.  With other eyes and ears on the customer, you may just find a better way to serve them.

Be clear about what’s expected.  Take the time to clearly explain what’s been committed to the customer and when.  Recommend resources that can aid in the job getting done.  Be sure both associates and customers know that they are free to communicate directly with each other to get the job done.  Don’t get in the middle when you don’t need to be.

Provide learning opportunities using non-critical work.  For example, let’s say you need to teach someone how to set up Excel™ spreadsheets.  Start him or her on a test case with clear instructions and adequate time to work with it.  Check the work being done without delay and give feedback to support the learning process.  This boosts knowledge and confidence.

Recognize accomplishments.  Notice when a job has been done well.  Thank the person and recognize the achievement.  Nothing improves personal attitude, office morale, and promotes initiative more than positive words among coworkers.

Stop these insults in your organization by letting people do their jobs.  You, your associates, and your customers will all benefit.

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