This is the time of year that many people are thinking about resolutions. There are tons of studies about the phenomenon of New Year’s Resolutions. Why we make them, what they are and why we break them. The usual suspects are always the same – It’s about change: i.e. spend more time with family, quit smoking and lose weight. The bottom line though is that in general, people don't change simply because they resolve to do so.
At Trase Miller, we think about resolution 24/7/365 but in a slightly different context. In contact center context it is about first call resolution and we do our best to resolve customer issues on the first call. Our client partners care about this because it keeps their costs down but more importantly it keeps their customers happy and loyal.
We do, however have 10 resolutions that we happily wish to share:
- Continue to delight our clients and their customers every single day
- Be even more rigorous about quality and with our quality assurance program
- Welcome NEW clients
- Settle into our new operations center in Tulsa (we’ll start by putting some pictures up)
- Hire fantastic new team members that help us to keep up with our growth
- Encourage our team members to be more externally involved with our community and various trade associations
- TRAVEL – We’re going to coordinate more FAMS and travel opportunities for team members
- Change - Continue to adjust our MENTAL MODEL
- Celebrate more!
- Remind ourselves daily that the essence of our job fits neatly into this phrase ~ “WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU”
We are looking forward to a fantastic year and have come into 2012 loaded with optimism and prepared for hard work. We are also hiring so contact us if you are interested in joining our team!
As we scream toward the end of 2011, we need to pause and reflect on what was perhaps the most transformational years in our 17 year history. By the way we turned 17 on October 31st and celebrated with our rich tradition of a throwing a working day costume party. This year’s “Boo-Bash” was fun and festive but slightly understated given the amount of transformation we continue to manage to and around.
Our 2011 transformation wasn’t accidental. It was strategic based on a new mental model that all of us here at Trase Miller have agreed to subscribe to. We welcomed new clients and along with that many new employees. We reorganized and we embraced the departure of several key long-time employees. And to end the year (with a bang) we are in process of moving our primary reservations/operations center across town here in Tulsa.
Moving as everyone knows can be a real pain – Especially after 17 years. We collect stuff and in a move we must take the time to decide what to discard. The logistics must be carefully planned and executed. We have crack planners and project managers here so the logistics aspect is easy for us. Execution is also not something we fret about. Frank Silzer is Trase Miller’s GM and as he says “we just get it done”. So in the coming week we leave our present home and start a new life in Corporate Woods Tulsa.
Last weekend we held a “New Home” open house for our team members and their families. The new digs are a big hit as people love the building and amenities. More than 60% of our employees came and most brought family with them. Wait a minute - - A day off work and people came into work and brought family with them? WOW! It turned out to be a great day that came about from great team work. Everyone had a terrific time and we have received only positive feedback about the event. Highlights were Prize Drawings, a Scavenger Hunt and a Poker Run...
Any day now big trucks pull up to our doors here to load up. We’re packed and we’re ready. One of our moving companies is Graebel. Prominently painted on their trucks is their corporate slogan “helping people move ahead”. How fantastically appropriate for us!
The Wall Street Journal recently featured an article on the modern day retailing calendar. “Transition” calendars have been around for a long time to help retailers plan for the various events in the year that are pegged to seasonal changes, events and holidays. Smart and successful retailers like Target identify upwards to 20 seasons/transitions; all of which are designed to get shoppers into their stores and spending money.
Currently, “back-to-school” is featured in stores and online everywhere you shop. And shop we do. American’s will shell out over $20 billion for K-12 back to school spending and double that for college students. It’s difficult to escape the barrage of marketing messages and many of us have been getting our wallets out quite a lot this time of year.
We got our wallet out and hit the road this week to visit with some of our travel industry friends in New York City. The travel business is a tight knit community and friendships tend to survive the transitions brought on by job changing. At a lunch with one airline executive we couldn’t even count the number of personal working intersections we have had over 20 years. There is something deeply gratifying about recounting these intersections, remembering shared war stories and laughing about bosses we loved to hate.
It was a hot busy summer here in Tulsa so many of us are welcoming the transition of the season shortly ahead of us. And aside from climate, there are other changes our leadership team must plan for. New clients, more contact center space and better agent tools are just a few things that we are talking about. It’s all good but it requires careful planning. Transition? Bring it!