Today we will cover the fourth issue brought up by the office managers at my recent conference. If you have not been following this week this link will take you to the first post. Managers who don’t like who they manage
I am sure you guessed from the title what the fourth issue is and why these managers did not like some of their employees. Unprofessional behavior in the workplace can be horrifying when encountered, especially if customers or clients are present.
As a manager what can you do when your employee uses a street language to your customer that is not understood or doesn’t pay attention to what the customer is saying?
Lack of professionalism by employees can shut the door of a business. I am sure you can think of a business place that you have encountered less than professional behavior by its employees.
I know that I can think of a few. It always amazes me when I am in a place of business and the employees start talking about another employee or a customer in a negative way. Do they think that the customers are not listening?
Customers not only are listening they are making judgements on how the employees look and behave, also on how they are treated while they are there. It does not take three strikes to be a business that is never visited again by a customer.
Here is a shortened list of things that these office managers thought showed lack of professionalism:
Talked poorly about co-workers and customers.
Poor work habits, lazy, messy, loud, late to work and getting work completed, etc.
Humor that could be offensive to others.
Wrinkled clothes and messy hair.
Inappropriate work clothes.
Acting superior to co-workers.
Whining and child-like behavior.
Mistakes are never their fault.
This is a shortened list of what they felt showed professionalism:
Appropriate dress, clean, pressed, neat hair.
Good listening skills.
Follows through on job tasks.
On time to work and events.
Be courteous and well mannered.
Fair and unbiased.
Takes feedback and criticism positively.
Accept your mistakes.
Be proactive about learning their job and about their company.
Caring about co-workers and the customers that they serve.
Always wanting to do their best each day.
As we went through the lists you could see the lights go off in each person as they began to set the standards that they wanted to see from themselves and their staff members. These points make a great topic for an office meeting or retreat.
Talking openly and having training on what professionalism is in your place of business will address what you do not want and what is actually expected from all employees. As a supervisor or manager it is up to you to make sure once you have established a list of standards for professionalism that each employee upholds them. Allowing one employee to slip and get away with falling below the line speaks volumes that the standards are just talk and not law.
What do you think lack of professionalism looks like?
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