101 Ways to Improve Customer Service: Training, Tools, Tips, and Techniques

Chapter 14. Stress Buster: Stress Reduction

Leader

Stress can be a very real barrier to effective job performance. In the customer service field, stress can be a constant companion as employees deal with such things as information overload, customer demands, and service complaints. It is important to recognize when your staff has reached the “boiling point” and to take the time for a little R & R (recovery and refocus).

Action

Create a stress tolerance thermometer:

1. Draw a big thermometer on a poster board and mark approximately thirty lines along the length of the thermometer. Display the chart in a space accessible to all group members.

2. Explain to employees that by gauging the team’s stress level, the thermometer will help keep the group from becoming “stressed out.”

3. Give each employee ten red dots and encourage them to place a dot on the thermometer whenever they feel overly stressed. Ask them to write what the stressor is next to the red dot.

4. When the red dots start to bubble off the chart, have a stress reduction party.

5. Use the causes listed on the chart to facilitate a discussion with the group about how to reduce the causes of the stress.