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Communicating in rhythm means we have a consistent and organized approach for connecting with our employees. To get better at this, the first thing you need to do is identify what you need to communicate to the company in daily goals, processes, and expectations. I put an emphasis on a communication process, because this can become crippling as your company continues to grow.

Are you happy with the culture at your company? In March, I laid out two of the qualities that make up a great work culture. This month, I’ll cover the last three qualities: training, recognition, and communication.

Service managers are some of the busiest people that I encounter as I visit companies, and sometimes, despite their best intentions, all the time and effort they put in every week doesn’t translate to the results they’re looking for. Does that sound familiar to you? If so, let’s explore how this situation may have been created and what you can do to refocus your manager’s efforts.

How many times per day does your company place customers on hold? If you have no idea, it might be more than you think. If you want to find out, head over to the customer service area when the phones are busy with a notepad and a pen. Over a half hour time period, make a tick mark every time you hear the word hold. That should give you a pretty good idea.

Your daily goal doesn’t have to be static, and in fact it should not be the same year round. Look at your plan for the year, and look at reality — set your numbers based on the fact that things may have changed in the business in terms of weather, personnel, or outside events. Only then can you define your win.

Think about your business and those employed by you. Do they love their jobs? Are they proud of the company they work for? Happy employees mean happy customers, and not the other way around! If you are unsure of the culture of your company, it may be time to re-evaluate the top five qualities of businesses with GREAT culture.

Budgets are important, they define the win and give us our daily and monthly goals to help us keep track along the way. Do you know what your numbers need to be for 2017? Going into a year without even a simple budget can leave us hoping for the best instead of acting with focus and purpose.

Sometimes the temperature means that we will be busier than normal, or whatever is falling from the sky might make travel around our area challenging. No matter what is happening outside, when we answer the phone we need to be better than the weather.

Do all of your service technicians provide service that is repeatable and consistent? Think about your service department for a moment. It is profitable? Staffed properly? Is it steady in workload? Are you growing? Is it a department you’re proud to run? 

We all know that the peak seasons are physically demanding. The hours are long, the days are short, and there are often too many calls to get to efficiently. We all prepare for the peak seasons, but what about the slower seasons? Are you prepared? Do you have a plan?