Today I would have liked to be a guide on the walking tour: "Come along and see examples of professional behavior live"”
What do you think about that? Wouldn't it be cool to walk around town for a couple of hours to show examples of what really good work looks like to interested managers? Kind of watch and learn – if you encounter such behavior, try to reinforce it in every way.
I came across a clear candidate to look at at the reception of a large company today. The scene is as follows: There are normally 2 receptionists. On this occasion, one receptionist is left alone to do everything herself. It is about 8:53 am. Many visitors are pouring in who should be well received and given their visitor badge. They are greeted kindly, perhaps given a ticket to the customer garage and a visitor receptionist is contacted. The clock is ticking and several are talking about making it to meetings that start at 9:00 am. The queue grows and more and more people gather at the reception desk. The potential for stress and irritation is building up. And what does the receptionist do?
Well, she takes one guest at a time. Calmly and methodically, she serves everyone in the order they arrive at the counter. Like a polished bartender, she has full control over who is next. Everyone gets a smile and their name tag, followed by her calling the visitor who is registered. She asks them to come and meet NN and then she moves on to the next visitor in line. At the same time, people ring the intercom from the guest garage and are welcomed and let in by the receptionist. She shows no stress and methodically and quickly handles each task in front of her. Everything just fits perfectly. A minute or so after 9:00, the calm temporarily falls. The area in front of the reception counter is empty of visitors. Where is her boss, I wonder? Where are the people who should see such a display of professional service? What an ambassador for this company!
If we had had a tour to see professionals at work, she would have received applause from us. How fun that would have been. It's fortunate that reinforcement comes in other ways than social attention from managers and colleagues. But it wouldn't hurt if that were a little more frequent.
Look people in the eye and say thank you to everyone who needs it so badly.
