Understand the Culture Change Challenge

Why does it take so long? You say that it can take 18-24 months to change the culture of a company with 500 or 1000 employees? Why? Can't you just develop some customer service standards and e-mail them to everyone? Can't you just tell everyone to get their act together and start focusing on the customer? Can't you just get the employees to smile more and tell the employees what to do? It's quick and simple.

Right?

We wish.

In the perfect world, that would be the case. But much of what's identified in that first paragraph really comes down to setting expectations with staff of how they should behave. But setting expectations with staff about what are acceptable behaviors and actually getting those behaviors put into practice can be two totally different things.

That's why it can take a while to change a culture. Because a culture change results when behavior truly changes. And a lot is required to change behavior. Maybe you're setting the expectations, but if staff aren't trained in HOW to deliver great service, many can't. You can set the expectations, but if employees are not rewarded for great customer service or held accountable for being terrible at customer service, what's the incentive to improve?
If employees are told they should be customer service-oriented, but their managers are dictatorial and more task-oriented than customer-oriented, then they're not witnessing models of proper behavior.

If employees are told to be customer-oriented, but the organization is disorganized, or the company isn't structured to communicate between silos or work together to meet the customer's needs, then the best attitudes can't overcome a poor structure.
It should be easy to change a culture, but the larger the organization, the harder it is to change a culture. Or the tougher it is to turn over staff (i.e., fire the "bad apples"), the harder it is to change a culture.

Understand what it really takes to change a culture. Be systematic. Be driven. But do whatever it takes to get it done.

Live Communications Server (IM) Tips

Manually Change Your Status
If you are using Microsoft Office Outlook for your e-mail, your presence status as shown in Communicator is determined by your schedule in Outlook. You can also manually change your status.
In the Microsoft Office Communicator window, click the arrow next to your name, and then click the status that you want to display.
To set a note to be displayed next to your status in Office Communicator 2005, click your name, and then click Set Note. In the Set Note dialog box, type a message, and then click OK. Your active Outlook Out of Office Assistant message will automatically be displayed by your name.

Start a New Conversation

In the Microsoft Office Communicator window, do one of the following:
In the Find box, type the name of the person you would like to contact. When the correct name appears in the Find Results pane, double-click the name.
Type your message in the box at the bottom of the window, and then click Send.

In the Contacts list, double-click the name of someone who is online.

Save a Conversation as E-mail
To save an IM conversation as an e-mail message, click File, and then click Save as E-mail.

Running Communicator Minimized
In the Microsoft Office Communicator window, select Connect from the menu, then select Change Sign-In Account.
In the Options window, click the General tab and uncheck Automatically open the main window when Communicator starts. Click OK at the bottom of the screen.
The Communicator icon will appear in the system tray. To open the window, left click the icon, select the Open.
To minimize the Communicator window again, click the Close button and the main window will minimize in the system tray.

Nominate Your Customer Service Hero by Friday, August 24

Do you know a Customer Service Hero? Take the time to look around, many of your teammates in IST are customer service heroes!

Nominate them by Friday, August 24 for recognition as one of Mecklenburg County's Customer Service Heroes. Visit http://tinyurl.com/3329f6 to submit your nomination in one of the five categories: Service Quality, Ethics, Timeliness, Courtesy & Respect, and Communication. A hero from each category will be selected and announced by the County's Customer Service Council during National Customer Service Week, October 1-5.

Meet: Fred Ellise

Time with the County: Nine Years

Position Title: IT Programmer/Analyst
Job Description: Development and support of various applications

Best thing about working for Mecklenburg County: Opportunity for new challenges

Hobbies: Home remodeling projects

Last Book You Read: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows

What one item in the kitchen best describes you and your personality? Food Processor

If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be? Aruba

What CD would your friends be surprised that you own? I Love Rock 'n Roll by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Mecklenburg County Offers New 401K Plan

Mecklenburg County now offers another exciting way for employees to save for retirement - the NC 401(k) Plan Roth feature.

Roth contributions are made through voluntary payroll deductions just like your traditional 401(k) contributions. However, the Roth 401(k) differs from a traditional 401(k) because contributions are made in after-tax dollars. In other words, taxes are taken from your paycheck before your money is put into the Roth account. By paying the taxes now, this allows your investments to grow and be withdrawn completely income tax free as long as certain conditions are met.

The Roth 401(k) is not a separate retirement savings vehicle -rather it is part of the NC 401(k) Plan. If you are already a member of the Plan, then any Roth contributions you make will only add to your existing account balance. However, for tax purposes, Roth contributions and earnings will be held separately from your pre-tax and rollover balances.

If you are not a member of the NC 401(k) Plan, you may enroll at any time. Keep in mind, Mecklenburg County will match your Plan contributions dollar for dollar up to 5% of your eligible salary. As an example, if you contribute 3%, the County will contribute 3%; if you contribute 5%, the County will contribute 5%; and if you contribute 8%, the County will contribute 5%.

Please note that the County will match your pre-tax contributions, your Roth after-tax contributions, or a combination of the two sources up to a total match of 5%. You may always change your contribution rates at any time.

Current members in the NC 401(k) Plan can begin Roth contributions and/or change current pre-tax contributions simply by logging on to their account at http://www.nc401k.prudential.com/
or by calling a Participant Service representative at R1-866- NC401K1 (1-866-624-0151). If you’re not currently enrolled in the NC 401(k) Plan, please contact the Employee Services Center at R432-6947 (432-myHR) to obtain an enrollment kit. You can also find more information on the NC 401(k) Plan and the Roth Feature at http://www.nc401k.prudential.com/.