It’s that time of year again in the US. That time where we gather with our loved ones and share a feast, watch football and parades, and reflect on what we are thankful for.

I know it may seem a bit cliché to turn everything back to business, but when was the last time you thought about what your team or customers will be thankful for this year? I know many of you conduct customer satisfaction surveys or poll your field workforce annually regarding “How are we doing?”. But are we really listening?

Thank You for Having the Right Answer

At my first Smarter Services Symposium this past September, I was overwhelmed by a session we held where actual field technicians and service workers spoke candidly (on camera) about their jobs and the value they bring. But, they also voiced the challenges which made their job difficult. One comment stands out to me. A service engineer looked into the camera and said she was most fearful of getting in front of a customer and not having the right answer. All she wanted out of her day was to always have the right answer to solve a customer’s issue. She was thankful for being able to be a problem solver for customers in times of need.

Let’s Make our Teams More than Heroes

Now, this goal may not be what keeps you up at night or the thing you strive to enable within your workforce. But I think it is something we should consider as we evaluate service in this time of reflection. Many of us are thankful for our jobs and livelihoods. But we also desire to be thankful for having the tools to do our jobs well. Will your service team be grateful that they have the tools and insights to solve problems (and be heroes for the customer)? Will your customers be thankful that their partners always have the right answer?

I am thankful for hearing that story from that technician, because it made me re-evaluate everything we research, write about, and explore. Our goal as leaders should be to ensure our teams always have the right answers and through these answers we can make our customers and employees proud to be a part of our team.

Hear More Stories of Empowerment and Thankfulness

If you could not attend this year’s Symposium and hear those stories from the field, don’t fret. Because of such great response to that project based on US technicians (learn more in the report, webcast, or summary data), we have conducted a similar effort for European technicians and service workers and we will present those findings during a webcast on Nov 30th at 9am eastern. Please join this webcast to learn from the front line and see what drives them. Have a great holiday break and spend a few moments to reflect on what you are thankful for.

Aly Pinder Jr
Director of Member Research & Communities
The Service Council
ap@servicecouncil.com or @pinderjr