Stress and Absenteeism – how prayer can help

I have a team of 30 agents. They are required to retain a lot of information and work with technology that does not support them. Things are always changing in their environment, new product information and campaigns are going out daily. We are the hub for the organization, responding to multiple clients each requiring different levels of feedback. As the Director, I have to balance the needs of the clients as well as the needs of my agents.

I pray daily for the well being of my agents – for God to keep them safe and healthy. I also pray for my clients and the Contact Center as a whole. I pray for the foresight to serve both the customer and the clients. I also pray for guidance in my management skills and my since of doing what is best for the team.

Just recently, I found out how important spirit at work really was. About 2 months ago one of my top performers ended up in the hospital due to STRESS.

Everyone handles stress differently. Some people release their stress by yelling or being curt. Some folks vent by looking for someone to listen, while others become emotional. Then there’s the group that bottles it, thinking they’re handling it so well, sometimes not realizing they were stressed. This is exactly what happened with this individual. She didn’t realize how stressed she was. We were short staffed so there was add pressure on all to pick up the pace.

Just before this person ended up in the Hospital, the contact center was down one phone rep and I was asked to hold off filling the position to be sure it was really necessary. Fortunately, this incident gave me the knowledge and direction I needed to push back and hire another person. The perfect individual was there and ready for the task. God’s plan isn’t always spelled out nice and neat for us to see but if you open your mind and heart, you will see what she/he wants you to do.

My prayers were for direction and knowledge to do the right thing. In front of me were two signs, 1) an stressed individual needing some relief from the pressure of our daily work and 2) an individual, a lost sheep, looking for a job in a caring, loving community. I hired this individual who has helped relieve the additional burden on my staff thus decreasing the stress on the group. The stressed individual is doing much better, she’s back to work and doing great.

We need to follow our hearts and do what is right. Praying is the first step, listening to God’s ideas is what follows.

Dealing with difficult people

The customer contact center is the place where all interactions funnel through. It’s considered an entry level position and employees feel they are undervalued.

Our contact center works closely with the Marketing Departments. Most of the Product Marketing Managers understand the value of the customer and know that the contact center is one place where that can happen. There is only one group who feels “it’s our job to deal with the customer.” The head of one group is feeling the pressure to turn a profit so that’s their primary focus, forgetting the customer is how to grow the business.

For a while I would butt heads with this person (both of us adamant on our position) until I decided this is not the way to work this through. I began to pray about this situation and how to make it change. What did I need to do to open the communication? Using prayer helped me to view the situation in a different light. Prayer helped me take a different approach with this group and remember that it’s in God’s hands, there is only one plan and we had to find a way to carry out the plan smoothly and respectfully.

There are of course different outlooks on how the plan should be executed but at least I don’t have a negative attitude or closed mind about this group but just want to help them do their job better by making the customer first priority!

Fear of Making the Wrong Decision

A little background about me:

Three and ½ years ago I was searching for something to improve my life. Just finishing my MBA in Marketing I was looking for a job in my field and having a hard time. One job kept popping up in my search, Marketing Associate for a spirituality-based non-profit. Although I considered myself a good person, I didn’t think I was the right person for this organization. A month went by and still just that one job kept popping up. I thought there must be a reason.

I finally applied for that job and it has made a huge difference in my life. Not only was the job perfect for me so was the organization. They didn’t judge my beliefs but were eager to help me. I’m still working for the same organization and loving it.

Seven months ago, I was thrown into an interim director position where I was not qualified nor ready. I had much more to learn about the position before taking on the responsibility. I was new to the customer service environment but always had a passion for doing what's right for the customer. I was used to managing projects and a few individuals but managing 30+ people was all new and very scary. After the shock set in I thought: "How am I going to do this?"

I’m a driven individual and know I want more out my jobs but this was moving too fast. I am someone who is usually in control and has been able to get through 40+ years without asking for much help, but I knew this was bigger than I could handle alone. I've always believed in God but I wasn't someone who prayed a lot or attended church. The day I heard my friend/mentor was leaving and I would be in charge until they found a replacement I began to pray. It started with simple prayers of thanks and direction. I prayed for guidance that I would do the right thing and that the “right person” would lead the team. I prayed to rid myself of fear of making the wrong decision.

For seven months, I prayed for God's guidance. I realized God was the only one in control. Like the job posting, there was a plan and God was leading me in the direction that would help spread His love to others at the same time helping those scared individuals who needed the commitment of their manager to help them do their job. After seven months of not knowing who would be the manager, they offered me the position. God’s plan was for me to be right where I was. The job is perfect for me and the team I manage and we are all doing well.

This is a new blog

This is my new blog, I am hoping to post weekly if I can about the spiritual ideas and inspiration I'm using to handle and improve my life and life at work. Hope you enjoy it.