The Company Book Club- A Culture-Building Weapon of Mass Construction

 "A book club. Really?" You may be asking, looking at me from over the brim of your triple espresso and almond milk sugar beverage. "That sounds absolutely...."

"Boring?" I would interject.

"Useless." You would finish your thought. Which would then open this discussion. Blog post. Whatever. 

Is a Book Club a boring, useless, pointless thing for a company to adopt? 

No. 

Not at all. 

(Please note: I officiate the book club at the company I work at, so I may be biased...)

But here is my reasoning. 

A Book Club can help build a company culture. A good one. One that is growth-oriented with growth-oriented people. 

A company book club should be open for all employees and not just management, but management should definitely be a part of it especially senior management and anyone with a C in their title. 

The hour a week or every other week is well worth it. 

I pulled that stack straight off of Google Images, but here is a "Starter Pack" of books for your Company Book Club:

• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
• Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
• Good to Great by James Collins
• Start with Why by Simon Sinek

With that Starter Pack of 5 books, you may have a good year or more of Book Club discussions where the ideas presented and discussed in these books may be executed in your company. 

Inclusion is a good thing. The more the merrier. There is almost nothing more awesome than having a mixture of C level executives interacting and coming up with/discussing ideas with entry level employees, both of them learning from each other. 

It's one of the best things you could possibly do for your business. 

So why is it so overlooked? 

Why do people believe it is boring, or useless, or pointless?

Because they are not growth-oriented, at least not for the rest of their peers, co-workers, or employees. 

It is definitely something you should at least try. 

 

A Call Center Blog? Well, No... But Also Yes

Dear Business Owner, 

Welcome to Merit Analytics, a boring name that promises exciting results. 

What is Merit Analytics? Well, here at Merit Analytics we're here to help improve the contact center industry one agent, one manager, one department at a time. 

This blog and subsequent YouTube Channel and Podcast will delve into company culture, and how the culture you nurture and facilitate at your company will impact and inspire the level of customer service your employees will demonstrate.

 Company culture begins at the top of the company org chart/pyramid, but the ones who are at "the bottom" are the ones who make or break it. 

If they are treated well, they'll treat your customers well. If they are treated as disposable tools, your customers won't be coming back, if they buy from you at all. 

Do you invest in your employees? I mean beyond just hiring them and having them sit with a "senior agent" for a couple of hours before they begin interacting with your customers? 

Do you have an in-depth training program? This doesn't need to take weeks, it can be a day or three days, or even a week. 

Are you hiring people based on skills, on attitude, or both? 

Are you up-training your employees? Do you remember their names after you hire them?

Do you have anything like a Book Club or ongoing seminars, or All-Staff meetings?

Do your employees know your name or just your title?

Before you can rise above your saturated and congested marketplace, you need to be able to stand out. 

This takes some branding and wise marketing decisions, yeah. It also means having either the cheapest services in town and the issues that brings, or have the best damn customer service in your industry. Which is easiest? Which is the best for your wallet and company?

To be known as the cheapest? Or to be known as the best?

So, sit back. We'll be covering a lot here. From Culture to Contact Centers, with world class, top notch, white glove customer service as its driver. 

Let's make your Contact Center the best in your industry.

You deserve it.

Your customers deserve it.

Your employees deserve it.