What Makes Your City Liveable?

In August, the Economist Intelligence Unit announced their Global Liveability Survey for 2011. The result: Melbourne is the best city in the world to live in with a total score of 97.5! When the bi-annual ranking of 140 global cities was announced, Canadians were stunned. How had the city of Vancouver been ‘pipped at the post’ by the Aussies?

The Economist's World's 10 Most Liveable Cities 2011

1. Melbourne Austraila, Score = 97.5
2. Vienna Austria, Score = 97.4
3. Vancouver Canada, Score = 97.3
4. Toronto Canada, Score = 97.2
5. Calgary Canada, Score = 96.6
6. Sydney Australia, Score = 96.1
7. Helsinki Finland, Score = 96.0
8. Perth Australia, Score = 95.9
9. Adelaide Australia, Score = 95.9
10. Auckland New Zealand, Score = 95.7

The term ‘liveability’ simply refers to which locations on a global scale provide the best or the worst living conditions. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s liveability rating is measured over five categories and takes into account certain challenges that affect a person’s lifestyle. These broad categories are:

• Healthcare
• Culture and environment
• Education
• Infrastructure

The exact make-up of a liveable city is a well-debated topic. Whilst some may consider education to be the most important factor, others would believe that the environment is the most imperative contributor to great living.

What makes a city liveable for you? Ask yourself what are the key factors that top your list and does your city fulfil your priorities? Personally, it is a number of specific things that fall into the broad liveability categories: living by the beach, a relatively low population, diversified culture, a good health system, an easy public transport system and a work-life balance.

Working for InterCall is a major contributor to my enjoying a great work- life balance. From getting on an audio conference call on the run with my mobile phone to joining an online meeting through an app on my tablet, InterCall is sustaining and supporting my busy lifestyle.

So whilst Melbourne has been voted the number one city to live in, like the Canadians, some people may not agree with this end result. As my company aids the work-life balance for me through conferencing, I can virtually make any city my number one—as long as it’s beachside that is!

What about you? If you don't live in one of these top-ranked cities, how do you make the most of where you are?

Jess Stephens is a marketing executive at InterCall in Asia Pacific, based in the Sydney office. When not working, she enjoys playing sport, travelling and photography.

Posted at 09:00 PM in APAC, Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Last week I posted a blog about the types of ‘difficult’ people you may work with in an office. So I don’t leave you with all challenges and no solutions, below are recommendations that will hopefully help you navigate the various personalities of the people you work with so everyone stays on track.

Celestine Chua offers these nine strategies that you can practice. Many of her suggestions apply to situations where you share office space, but they also apply to virtual teams. While working remotely can reduce the time you actually engage with the person who pushes your buttons, you can also be challenged with not having as many opportunities to really understand where she is coming from. By applying these techniques and fostering relationships with online meetings and audio conference calls, you can have more productive, and dare I say successful, interactions.

1. Be calm.
   Losing your temper and flaring out at the other person typically isn't the best way to get him/her to collaborate with you. Unless you know that anger will trigger the person into action and you are consciously using it as a strategy to move him, it is better to assume a calm persona.
2. Understand the person's intentions.
   I'd like to believe that no one is difficult for the sake of being difficult. Even when it may seem that the person is just out to get you, there is always some underlying reason that is motivating her to act this way. Rarely is this motivation apparent. Try to identify the person's trigger: What is making her act in this manner? What is stopping her from cooperating with you? How can you help to meet her needs and resolve the situation?
3. Get some perspective from others.
   In all likelihood, your colleagues, managers and friends must have experienced similar situations in some way or another. They will be able to see things from a different angle and offer a different take on the situation. Seek them out, share your story and listen to what they have to say. You might very well find some golden advice in amidst of the conversation.
4. Let the person know where you are coming from.
   One thing that has worked for me is to let the person know my intentions behind what I am doing. Sometimes, they are being resistant because they think that you are just being difficult with them. Letting them in on the reason behind your actions and the full background of what is happening will enable them to empathize with your situation. This lets them get them on-board much easier.
5. Build a rapport.
   With all the computers, emails and messaging systems, work sometimes turn into a mechanical process. Re-instill the human touch by connecting with your colleagues on a personal level. Go out with them for lunches or dinners. Get to know them as people, and not colleagues. Learn more about their hobbies, their family, their lives. Foster strong connections. These will go a long way in your work.
6. Treat the person with respect.
   No one likes to be treated as if he is stupid/incapable/incompetent. If you are going to treat the person with disrespect, it's not going to be surprising if he treats you the same way as well. As the golden rule says, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
7. Focus on what can be actioned upon.
   Sometimes, you may be put into hot soup by your difficult colleagues, such as not receiving a piece of work they promised to give or being wrongly held responsible for something you didn't do. Whatever it is, acknowledge that the situation has already occurred. Rather than harp on what you cannot change, focus on the actionable steps you can take to forward yourself in the situation.
8. Ignore.
   If you have already tried everything above and the person is still not being receptive, the best way might be to just ignore. After all, you have already done all that you can within your means. Get on with your daily tasks and interface with the person only where needed. Of course, this isn't feasible in cases where the person plays a critical role in your work - which leads to the last tip.
9. Escalate to a higher authority for resolution.
   When all else fails, escalate to your manager. This is considered the trump card and shouldn't be used unless you've completely exhausted your means. Sometimes, the only way to get someone moving is through the top-down approach, especially in bureaucratic organizations. Be careful not to exercise this option all the time as you wouldn't want your manager to think that you are incapable of handling your own problems. I have done this several times in my previous job and I found it to be the most effective in moving people who just refuse to cooperate otherwise.

Try implementing one or more of these strategies with someone who challenges you. Come back and tell me how it worked.

Anusha Karnad is a post call services lead at InterCall in Bangalore. She’s been with InterCall since 2009, working in customer service, training for new hires and account management where she helped customers with billing and service related questions. Anasha's background is in training voice, accent and soft skills for customer service agents.

It is inevitable that in the workplace you are going to have differing opinions and ideas for doing things. That’s just what happens when you bring people together who have their own personalities, backgrounds and experiences.

Have you come across that one person who pushes your buttons? Doesn't listen? Takes credit for work you've done? Focuses on issues that aren’t important? Thinks he knows everything? Always criticizes?

We’ve all come across ‘challenging’ people. You know the ones I’m talking about—they don't turn their work in as promised, always show up late for meetings, can’t see another person’s point of view, refuse to be ‘team players’.

It is easy to wonder “Why me?”, but as Tony Schwartz, president and CEO of The Energy Project and the author of Be Excellent at Anything, says in a Harvard Business Review blog, the problem with being a victim is that you cede the power to influence your circumstances. We have to realize that we can’t change the people who make us so frustrated; we can only change ourselves.

According to an article by Dawn Rosenberg McKay, here are some of types of difficult people you may meet at work and some advice for getting along with each type.

The Chatterbox
The chatterbox usually means well. She is friendly and wants to share all her thoughts (every last one of them) with you. She isn't trying to harm anyone ... her incessant talking is just keeping you from concentrating on your work. Here are some things you can do to quiet down your chattering co-worker so you can get your job done. Rather than risk insulting your colleague, put the blame on yourself. Tell your co-worker you have trouble concentrating while you are listening to her very engaging stories. You'd love to hear them at some other time, just not while you're working. Then, if you truly enjoy her company, have lunch with her once a week.

The Complainer
There's always one person in a group who can never find anything about which to be happy. If she's not complaining about her health or her family, she's complaining about her job, the company or your boss. Of course, some of her complaints may be legitimate, but the incessant whining is getting on your nerves. Generally, the complainer isn't looking for advice so offering it probably won't do any good. Change the subject whenever the bellyaching begins. Your colleague should get the hint after you do this repeatedly.

The Gossiper
The gossiper seems to know everything about everyone and he wants to share it. Should you listen to what your gossiping colleague has to say? Yes, you should listen to it since it is often a good way to hear news that may not make it through more formal information channels. The problem with gossip is that it carries both elements of truth and untruth, so view it with a cynical eye. Listen to your gossipy co-worker quietly. Don't become a gossip too. However, if the gossip being shared is of a very personal nature, for example he shares with you news of another co-worker's marital problems, change the subject or say that you don't feel right discussing someone behind his back.

The Delegator
In almost every workplace you'll find someone who wants to share his work with his colleagues. We're not talking about those who have a legitimate reason to delegate work to others, for example managers or team leaders. We are speaking of those who either can't do all the work they have been given or don't want to do it. If team work is encouraged in your office and you have time to help your colleague, you should. However, if managers are the only ones who have the authority to delegate and you already have your hands full, then you have to turn down the request. Tell your co-worker you have your own work to manage.

The Credit Grabber
The credit grabber does not acknowledge any help she receives from others. She accepts all the praise for a project without mentioning that she didn't do it alone. The first time this happens, consider it a mistake. Mention it to your colleague and ask her to let others know about your participation. If she doesn't, or if this happens again, make sure you let others know about the role you played in getting a project done. Then, unless you are mandated to work with this person, refuse to help out again.

Every experienced any of these types? Have you applied any of these techniques for dealing with them? Check back next week for more tips to keep the peace (and your sanity) in the office.

Anusha Karnad is a post call services lead at InterCall in Bangalore. She’s been with InterCall since 2009, working in customer service, training for new hires and account management where she helped customers with billing and service related questions. Anasha's background is in training voice, accent and soft skills for customer service agents.

With all the people in this world, it’s not uncommon to find many wearing earphones or headphones to listen to their iPods or talk on their cell phones. They’ll also do it to block out ambient noise on buses, trains or just the street. And all of it can contribute to hearing loss.

Frequent use of headphones/earphones can be harmful to our ears, yet we still use them, or need them, for work or to be in compliance with hands-free laws.

If you are on audio conference calls all day, a headset is the only thing that can save your neck (holding the handset between your ear and your shoulder while you type on your keyboard for an hour could send you to the chiropractor). Even if you are answering the phone or, like my agents, listening to and editing recorded conference calls all day, a headset is a requirement. Still, you can’t ignore the toll this can eventually take on your ears.

Here are some tips which will help you to take care of your ears and your earphones/headsets:

• Place your headset/earphones in a hygienic place.
• Use good quality headsets/earphones.
• Never keep your headset volume set at a high level.
• Turn the volume down on your phone or MP3 player.
• See your doctor if you have an earache. Ear infections can damage the ear drum or the bones of the middle ear, eventually causing hearing loss.
• Stop smoking. Smokers are more likely to lose their hearing than non-smokers.
• Keep your ears clean (it may be gross, but it’s the truth).

Anusha Karnad is a post call services lead at InterCall in Bangalore. She’s been with InterCall since 2009, working in customer service, training for new hires and account management where she helped customers with billing and service related questions. Anasha's background is in training voice, accent and soft skills for customer service agents.

What is global warming? It is often debated, but lately even scientists who said it wasn’t real are changing their views. Global warming is when the earth heats up (the temperature rises). It happens when greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapour, nitrous oxide and methane) trap heat and light from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere, which increases the temperature. This affects people, animals and plants. Those that cannot take the change evolve or become extinct. There are lot of contributors to global warming, and it is increasing day after day.

It is November here in India. Winter arrives every year with chilling waves of cold air and sprinkles of water from the sky most days. For the past two to three years, we’ve seen warmer days, even in winter, which is alarming to many of us and indicates that the earth heating up.

Can we avoid this? Maybe not, but we can surely try to make a difference.

Regardless of your opinions on global warming, there’s no denying that we can all do things to at least save our resources, starting in the office where we spend most of our days.

Here are some tips to get started:

1. Educate yourself and others about global warming.The more facts that you have, the more you can persuade others to make simple yet effective changes in daily behaviour.
2. Influence your colleagues and management to replace old phones and email instead of printing documents.
3. Encourage your company’s facility team to provide recycling bins, composting, etc.(15-25% of people do not recycle).
4. Use compact fluorescent bulbs, are better for the environment. And, when a room is empty, remember to turn off the lights.
5. Before you print, decide if it is really worth printing or maybe you can save an electronic version to your desktop. If you do have to use paper, go with those generated from recycled paper, then recycle it when you’re done.
6. Switch off ovens, microwaves or coffee pots when you’re done and unplug them when not in use.
7. Speaking of unplugging devices when not in use, that goes for electronics. Even when they are turned off, they use energy. So make sure to unplug chargers, laptops or speakers when you aren’t using them.
8. Place a few indoor plants in your cubicle, entrances or pantry areas to get some extra oxygen flowing, not to mention adding a decorative touch.
9. Cut back on plastic by bringing your lunch in a paper bag (instead of plastic) and get a refillable water bottle. In my office, our HR team has given out metal water bottles so we can reduce our use of plastic ones.
10. And last but not least, cut your carbon emissions by working from home a few days a week or replace a trip with audio conference calls or online meetings.

Have you ever experienced the calmness, the coolness and the serenity of nature? Do you take a week off to relax in the lush green nature? Help preserve that by implementing even just a few of the tips listed above.

How does your office treat the environment? Do you have recycling policies in place? How about travel guidelines that ask you to consider conferencing instead of travel?

Anusha Karnad is a post call services lead at InterCall in Bangalore. She’s been with InterCall since 2009, working in customer service, training for new hires and account management where she helped customers with billing and service related questions. Anasha's background is in training voice, accent and soft skills for customer service agents.

I’ve been talking for the last several weeks about how virtual environments can help organizations expand their reach while maintaining a budget. Last week, there was an announcement that is the perfect example of this, making an island (literally) more connected.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2011 Hawaii Host Committee and the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii recently launched the Hawaii Virtual Business Marketplace, an online space where local businesses can advertise their products and services and virtually engage with global audiences during APEC Leaders’ Week next month.

InterCall Virtual Environment was chosen to create the Hawaii Virtual Business Marketplace, which will serve as a virtual campus modeled to look like a regular physical convention or major meeting, including booths, exhibition space and a networking lounge. The best part is that it will help connect local Hawaiian businesses with the 21 APEC Economies and U.S. mainland companies. If this isn’t the epitome of using technology to eliminate any distance barriers, I don’t know what is.

The organizers of the event are setting it up so Hawaii companies can feature their products or services as well as other company images, videos and marketing materials in their “booths” — all of which will be featured at http://events.unisfair.com/rt/hvbm~hawaii. During the event, a showcase hall will highlight the state’s key industries and a resource center will be available to provide a knowledge bank of important and useful resources to help enable the easy exchange of information and promote seamless business transactions. And what event wouldn’t be complete without a networking lounge where attendees can chat with each other in real time.

Delegates will be able to log into the site from their own laptops or tablets available at the Hawaii Convention Center during Leaders’ Week. The event is expected to attract approximately 20,000 attendees including the leaders of the 21 APEC economies, ministers, business leaders and news media.

Have you tried to bring your ‘island’ closer to the mainland? I’d love to hear about examples of how you’re creating new business virtually.

Eric Vidal is considered a leading voice and expert in virtual business, which expands from marketing to collaboration to learning. He has more than 15 years experience in developing, implementing and optimizing strategies in these areas for numerous organizations and Global 2000 companies. As the director of product marketing for InterCall’s event services, Eric manages the strategy and initiatives for the virtual technologies that include virtual environments, streaming, event management services and operator assisted services. Previously from WebEx, Eric managed the virtual classroom product, as well as brand advertising and new media. Over the last several years, Eric has held management positions at Cisco, WebEx, IBM, BBDO Worldwide and Macromedia.

We spend the majority of our day (at least the part when we're awake) at work. If so much time is consumed by what we do in the office (or on the go for our jobs), you want to get some sense of happiness from it.

I found a great article by Martin Addison on TrainingZone that talks about what you can do to train yourself to be happy. He says that when our brains are primed to be positive, we perform better than when we’re feeling negative, or neutral, about something. We can imprint our brains with positive patterns just by creating a series of habits and mindset changes. As managers, is this something we can do to help our employees be happier?

Studies at Harvard University show that people who are happy and have meaning in their lives are not only more productive and more resilient at work, they take less sick days, perform better in leadership roles and receive higher pay. For anyone who isn't a naturally happy or positive person, is there hope?

Change Habits
Below are four things Adison says you can do for yourself to change your mindset (or for your team if you want to help improve their happiness or morale).

1. Create the habit of gratitude - Write down three new things each day that your are grateful for. Make these things specific. If you spend two minutes a day doing this, your brain becomes slightly happier. Try doing it for 21 consecutive days. The more you think of things you’re grateful for, the less time you have for thinking about hassles and complaints.
2. Exercise - Many people know that exercise releases positive endorphins and that when you exercise you’re more likely to eat healthier. If you could exercise daily for 21 days in a row, the benefits would cascade into other areas of your life.
3. Reduce multitasking - Our brains like to do one thing at a time. When we attempt to multitask, we decrease our success rate on those tasks. To be happier and more productive at work, try to do one thing at a time.
4. Perform conscious acts of kindness - Altruism is a great way to feel good about yourself. Thinking of how you can help someone else changes how you see the world—from how is the world affecting me to how can I affect the world? It may seem a small change but this is very important. Train yourself to find positive things that you can do for, or say to, other people.

Create a Ripple Effect
Adison points out that when we see someone smile, we smile too. Likewise when we see someone yawn. The same thing happens with anxiety, uncertainty or stress in the workplace. Because both positivity and negativity can spread so easily, the key to a happy workplace is training managers and employees to change their mindsets.

As managers, Adison says, we should be expressive, both verbally and non-verbally. This means giving praise or positive feedback, smiling and making eye contact with others. These activities will spread a little happiness and ultimately create a lasting competitive advantage.

Anusha Karnad is a post call services lead at InterCall in Bangalore. She’s been with InterCall since 2009, working in customer service, training for new hires and account management where she helped customers with billing and service related questions. Anasha's background is in training voice, accent and soft skills for customer service agents.

It was a Friday in December last year and the day was going slow.

My agents were relaxed and completing their work for the day. Suddenly I heard my name called from someone on my team and I went to check.

I saw a question mark on my agent’s face and as expected he asked me, “I need to improve the way I communicate, and could you help me?” I felt delighted by his question and my mind started ticking like a clock’s needle for ideas to help him out.

It seems the many people could learn to improve their listening and communication. Did you know:

• We are distracted, preoccupied or forgetful 75% of the time when we are listening.
• We recall 50% of what a person says immediately after hearing it.
• We listen at 125-250 words per minute and think at 1000- 3000 words per minute.

I gave him an assurance and went back to my cubicle to find some information for him. I thought I could send him some articles on effective communication or ask him to read some good books on the subject. As I was preparing to get back to him, like lightning in the clouds, my mind sparkled with a thought of InterCall’s learning management system.

We’re fortunate at InterCall because our company invests in employee training and development. Our learning management system allows us to sign up for several live, online employee training sessions and access archived versions for self-paced learning. For a global company like ours, this allows everyone in the company to take advantage of the courses our training department offers. Because of the availability of the classes, I decided I should also take a couple of classes to improve my own communication skills.

This training we offer not only helps a person improve communication with co-workers, but it helps agents to handle the calls with customers, particularly those with upset customers. Here’s a list of things to avoid when working with an unhappy customer:

1. Interrupting the speaker
2. Not looking at the speaker
3. Showing interest in something else
4. Rushing the speaking
5. Setting ahead of the speaker and finishing his/her thoughts
6. Not responding to the speaker’s request
7. Saying, “Yes, but…”
8. Topping the speaker’s story, “that’s nothing, let me tell you…”
9. Forgetting what was previously discussed
10. Asking too many questions about the details

I received positive feedback from my agent about our online training and have made it part of my team’s job responsibilities to regularly attend these types of training sessions. Not only does it help them develop personally, but it helps them to better serve our customers.

Is there any member in your team who needs some training and development? Have you tried online training to give them more access to a wider variety of topics?

Anusha Karnad is a post call services lead at InterCall in Bangalore. She’s been with InterCall since 2009, working in customer service, training for new hires and account management where she helped customers with billing and service related questions.

It seems like everywhere I go or new service I sign up for, I get another password or PIN number to remember.

These days, our brains are crammed with password and number combinations for every part of our lives, from corporate network logins, social networking sites and email accounts to bank accounts and credit card PINs.

If you are like me, then you often feel as though you can’t possibly remember everything you are supposed to. Studies have been conducted to examine our collective ‘external memory’, which is the Internet. With a few keystrokes on your computer or smartphone, you can get a phone number, address or birthday. Having a GPS means you don’t have to remember how to get somewhere. Even the art of memorizing poems, like my grandmother did, is going by the wayside.

As the need for online security grows, so will our logins and the challenge of keeping them all straight. Even if you store information in a safe place, it’s usually so safe that you can’t remember where it is when you need it. We almost have no choice but to embrace the tools available on the Internet and use them to help you. There are loads of password management software you can use to store it all, like RoboForm and LastPass.

When it comes to audio conference calls, how many of us can actually remember a phone number without having it stored in our phones, let alone our conference code and leader PIN? Ever found you need to join a conference call, and out of the office, without a laptop, you are stumbling around for a pen and a bit of paper to scribble the details down?

InterCall’s free Mobile Assistant works just like the password management software. You can access your reservationless conference call with a single click of a button or tap of the screen—all from your smartphone. There’s no need to remember long numbers and codes anymore, freeing up your brain capacity for other important things, like remembering to get your phone, bring your GPS or buy that birthday card.

Sandra Di Giacomo is the Asia Pacific marketing manager at InterCall. Originally starting out as an account manager in InterCall’s Sydney office, she also lived in Tokyo for two years before making her way to Singapore where she is now based. When not working, she enjoys travelling, photography and cooking.

Maintaining the Workplace Peace (Part 2)

Last week I posted a blog about the types of ‘difficult’ people you may work with in an office. So I don’t leave you with all challenges and no solutions, below are recommendations that will hopefully help you navigate the various personalities of the people you work with so everyone stays on track.

Celestine Chua offers these nine strategies that you can practice. Many of her suggestions apply to situations where you share office space, but they also apply to virtual teams. While working remotely can reduce the time you actually engage with the person who pushes your buttons, you can also be challenged with not having as many opportunities to really understand where she is coming from. By applying these techniques and fostering relationships with online meetings and audio conference calls, you can have more productive, and dare I say successful, interactions.

1. Be calm.
   Losing your temper and flaring out at the other person typically isn't the best way to get him/her to collaborate with you. Unless you know that anger will trigger the person into action and you are consciously using it as a strategy to move him, it is better to assume a calm persona.
2. Understand the person's intentions.
   I'd like to believe that no one is difficult for the sake of being difficult. Even when it may seem that the person is just out to get you, there is always some underlying reason that is motivating her to act this way. Rarely is this motivation apparent. Try to identify the person's trigger: What is making her act in this manner? What is stopping her from cooperating with you? How can you help to meet her needs and resolve the situation?
3. Get some perspective from others.
   In all likelihood, your colleagues, managers and friends must have experienced similar situations in some way or another. They will be able to see things from a different angle and offer a different take on the situation. Seek them out, share your story and listen to what they have to say. You might very well find some golden advice in amidst of the conversation.
4. Let the person know where you are coming from.
   One thing that has worked for me is to let the person know my intentions behind what I am doing. Sometimes, they are being resistant because they think that you are just being difficult with them. Letting them in on the reason behind your actions and the full background of what is happening will enable them to empathize with your situation. This lets them get them on-board much easier.
5. Build a rapport.
   With all the computers, emails and messaging systems, work sometimes turn into a mechanical process. Re-instill the human touch by connecting with your colleagues on a personal level. Go out with them for lunches or dinners. Get to know them as people, and not colleagues. Learn more about their hobbies, their family, their lives. Foster strong connections. These will go a long way in your work.
6. Treat the person with respect.
   No one likes to be treated as if he is stupid/incapable/incompetent. If you are going to treat the person with disrespect, it's not going to be surprising if he treats you the same way as well. As the golden rule says, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
7. Focus on what can be actioned upon.
   Sometimes, you may be put into hot soup by your difficult colleagues, such as not receiving a piece of work they promised to give or being wrongly held responsible for something you didn't do. Whatever it is, acknowledge that the situation has already occurred. Rather than harp on what you cannot change, focus on the actionable steps you can take to forward yourself in the situation.
8. Ignore.
   If you have already tried everything above and the person is still not being receptive, the best way might be to just ignore. After all, you have already done all that you can within your means. Get on with your daily tasks and interface with the person only where needed. Of course, this isn't feasible in cases where the person plays a critical role in your work - which leads to the last tip.
9. Escalate to a higher authority for resolution.
   When all else fails, escalate to your manager. This is considered the trump card and shouldn't be used unless you've completely exhausted your means. Sometimes, the only way to get someone moving is through the top-down approach, especially in bureaucratic organizations. Be careful not to exercise this option all the time as you wouldn't want your manager to think that you are incapable of handling your own problems. I have done this several times in my previous job and I found it to be the most effective in moving people who just refuse to cooperate otherwise.

Try implementing one or more of these strategies with someone who challenges you. Come back and tell me how it worked.

Anusha Karnad is a post call services lead at InterCall in Bangalore. She’s been with InterCall since 2009, working in customer service, training for new hires and account management where she helped customers with billing and service related questions. Anasha's background is in training voice, accent and soft skills for customer service agents.

Maintaining the Workplace Peace (Part 1)

It is inevitable that in the workplace you are going to have differing opinions and ideas for doing things. That’s just what happens when you bring people together who have their own personalities, backgrounds and experiences.

Have you come across that one person who pushes your buttons? Doesn't listen? Takes credit for work you've done? Focuses on issues that aren’t important? Thinks he knows everything? Always criticizes?

We’ve all come across ‘challenging’ people. You know the ones I’m talking about—they don't turn their work in as promised, always show up late for meetings, can’t see another person’s point of view, refuse to be ‘team players’.

It is easy to wonder “Why me?”, but as Tony Schwartz, president and CEO of The Energy Project and the author of Be Excellent at Anything, says in a Harvard Business Review blog, the problem with being a victim is that you cede the power to influence your circumstances. We have to realize that we can’t change the people who make us so frustrated; we can only change ourselves.

According to an article by Dawn Rosenberg McKay, here are some of types of difficult people you may meet at work and some advice for getting along with each type.

The Chatterbox
The chatterbox usually means well. She is friendly and wants to share all her thoughts (every last one of them) with you. She isn't trying to harm anyone ... her incessant talking is just keeping you from concentrating on your work. Here are some things you can do to quiet down your chattering co-worker so you can get your job done. Rather than risk insulting your colleague, put the blame on yourself. Tell your co-worker you have trouble concentrating while you are listening to her very engaging stories. You'd love to hear them at some other time, just not while you're working. Then, if you truly enjoy her company, have lunch with her once a week.

The Complainer
There's always one person in a group who can never find anything about which to be happy. If she's not complaining about her health or her family, she's complaining about her job, the company or your boss. Of course, some of her complaints may be legitimate, but the incessant whining is getting on your nerves. Generally, the complainer isn't looking for advice so offering it probably won't do any good. Change the subject whenever the bellyaching begins. Your colleague should get the hint after you do this repeatedly.

The Gossiper
The gossiper seems to know everything about everyone and he wants to share it. Should you listen to what your gossiping colleague has to say? Yes, you should listen to it since it is often a good way to hear news that may not make it through more formal information channels. The problem with gossip is that it carries both elements of truth and untruth, so view it with a cynical eye. Listen to your gossipy co-worker quietly. Don't become a gossip too. However, if the gossip being shared is of a very personal nature, for example he shares with you news of another co-worker's marital problems, change the subject or say that you don't feel right discussing someone behind his back.

The Delegator
In almost every workplace you'll find someone who wants to share his work with his colleagues. We're not talking about those who have a legitimate reason to delegate work to others, for example managers or team leaders. We are speaking of those who either can't do all the work they have been given or don't want to do it. If team work is encouraged in your office and you have time to help your colleague, you should. However, if managers are the only ones who have the authority to delegate and you already have your hands full, then you have to turn down the request. Tell your co-worker you have your own work to manage.

The Credit Grabber
The credit grabber does not acknowledge any help she receives from others. She accepts all the praise for a project without mentioning that she didn't do it alone. The first time this happens, consider it a mistake. Mention it to your colleague and ask her to let others know about your participation. If she doesn't, or if this happens again, make sure you let others know about the role you played in getting a project done. Then, unless you are mandated to work with this person, refuse to help out again.

Every experienced any of these types? Have you applied any of these techniques for dealing with them? Check back next week for more tips to keep the peace (and your sanity) in the office.

Anusha Karnad is a post call services lead at InterCall in Bangalore. She’s been with InterCall since 2009, working in customer service, training for new hires and account management where she helped customers with billing and service related questions. Anasha's background is in training voice, accent and soft skills for customer service agents.

Take Care of Your Ears

With all the people in this world, it’s not uncommon to find many wearing earphones or headphones to listen to their iPods or talk on their cell phones. They’ll also do it to block out ambient noise on buses, trains or just the street. And all of it can contribute to hearing loss.

Frequent use of headphones/earphones can be harmful to our ears, yet we still use them, or need them, for work or to be in compliance with hands-free laws.

If you are on audio conference calls all day, a headset is the only thing that can save your neck (holding the handset between your ear and your shoulder while you type on your keyboard for an hour could send you to the chiropractor). Even if you are answering the phone or, like my agents, listening to and editing recorded conference calls all day, a headset is a requirement. Still, you can’t ignore the toll this can eventually take on your ears.

Here are some tips which will help you to take care of your ears and your earphones/headsets:

• Place your headset/earphones in a hygienic place.
• Use good quality headsets/earphones.
• Never keep your headset volume set at a high level.
• Turn the volume down on your phone or MP3 player.
• See your doctor if you have an earache. Ear infections can damage the ear drum or the bones of the middle ear, eventually causing hearing loss.
• Stop smoking. Smokers are more likely to lose their hearing than non-smokers.
• Keep your ears clean (it may be gross, but it’s the truth).

Anusha Karnad is a post call services lead at InterCall in Bangalore. She’s been with InterCall since 2009, working in customer service, training for new hires and account management where she helped customers with billing and service related questions. Anasha's background is in training voice, accent and soft skills for customer service agents.

Global Warming in the Office

What is global warming? It is often debated, but lately even scientists who said it wasn’t real are changing their views. Global warming is when the earth heats up (the temperature rises). It happens when greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapour, nitrous oxide and methane) trap heat and light from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere, which increases the temperature. This affects people, animals and plants. Those that cannot take the change evolve or become extinct. There are lot of contributors to global warming, and it is increasing day after day.

It is November here in India. Winter arrives every year with chilling waves of cold air and sprinkles of water from the sky most days. For the past two to three years, we’ve seen warmer days, even in winter, which is alarming to many of us and indicates that the earth heating up.

Can we avoid this? Maybe not, but we can surely try to make a difference.

Regardless of your opinions on global warming, there’s no denying that we can all do things to at least save our resources, starting in the office where we spend most of our days.

Here are some tips to get started:

1. Educate yourself and others about global warming.The more facts that you have, the more you can persuade others to make simple yet effective changes in daily behaviour.
2. Influence your colleagues and management to replace old phones and email instead of printing documents.
3. Encourage your company’s facility team to provide recycling bins, composting, etc.(15-25% of people do not recycle).
4. Use compact fluorescent bulbs, are better for the environment. And, when a room is empty, remember to turn off the lights.
5. Before you print, decide if it is really worth printing or maybe you can save an electronic version to your desktop. If you do have to use paper, go with those generated from recycled paper, then recycle it when you’re done.
6. Switch off ovens, microwaves or coffee pots when you’re done and unplug them when not in use.
7. Speaking of unplugging devices when not in use, that goes for electronics. Even when they are turned off, they use energy. So make sure to unplug chargers, laptops or speakers when you aren’t using them.
8. Place a few indoor plants in your cubicle, entrances or pantry areas to get some extra oxygen flowing, not to mention adding a decorative touch.
9. Cut back on plastic by bringing your lunch in a paper bag (instead of plastic) and get a refillable water bottle. In my office, our HR team has given out metal water bottles so we can reduce our use of plastic ones.
10. And last but not least, cut your carbon emissions by working from home a few days a week or replace a trip with audio conference calls or online meetings.

Have you ever experienced the calmness, the coolness and the serenity of nature? Do you take a week off to relax in the lush green nature? Help preserve that by implementing even just a few of the tips listed above.

How does your office treat the environment? Do you have recycling policies in place? How about travel guidelines that ask you to consider conferencing instead of travel?

Anusha Karnad is a post call services lead at InterCall in Bangalore. She’s been with InterCall since 2009, working in customer service, training for new hires and account management where she helped customers with billing and service related questions. Anasha's background is in training voice, accent and soft skills for customer service agents.

You Are Not an Island

I’ve been talking for the last several weeks about how virtual environments can help organizations expand their reach while maintaining a budget. Last week, there was an announcement that is the perfect example of this, making an island (literally) more connected.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2011 Hawaii Host Committee and the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii recently launched the Hawaii Virtual Business Marketplace, an online space where local businesses can advertise their products and services and virtually engage with global audiences during APEC Leaders’ Week next month.

InterCall Virtual Environment was chosen to create the Hawaii Virtual Business Marketplace, which will serve as a virtual campus modeled to look like a regular physical convention or major meeting, including booths, exhibition space and a networking lounge. The best part is that it will help connect local Hawaiian businesses with the 21 APEC Economies and U.S. mainland companies. If this isn’t the epitome of using technology to eliminate any distance barriers, I don’t know what is.

The organizers of the event are setting it up so Hawaii companies can feature their products or services as well as other company images, videos and marketing materials in their “booths” — all of which will be featured at http://events.unisfair.com/rt/hvbm~hawaii. During the event, a showcase hall will highlight the state’s key industries and a resource center will be available to provide a knowledge bank of important and useful resources to help enable the easy exchange of information and promote seamless business transactions. And what event wouldn’t be complete without a networking lounge where attendees can chat with each other in real time.

Delegates will be able to log into the site from their own laptops or tablets available at the Hawaii Convention Center during Leaders’ Week. The event is expected to attract approximately 20,000 attendees including the leaders of the 21 APEC economies, ministers, business leaders and news media.

Have you tried to bring your ‘island’ closer to the mainland? I’d love to hear about examples of how you’re creating new business virtually.

Eric Vidal is considered a leading voice and expert in virtual business, which expands from marketing to collaboration to learning. He has more than 15 years experience in developing, implementing and optimizing strategies in these areas for numerous organizations and Global 2000 companies. As the director of product marketing for InterCall’s event services, Eric manages the strategy and initiatives for the virtual technologies that include virtual environments, streaming, event management services and operator assisted services. Previously from WebEx, Eric managed the virtual classroom product, as well as brand advertising and new media. Over the last several years, Eric has held management positions at Cisco, WebEx, IBM, BBDO Worldwide and Macromedia.

Can a Change in Mindset Make You Happier at Work?

We spend the majority of our day (at least the part when we're awake) at work. If so much time is consumed by what we do in the office (or on the go for our jobs), you want to get some sense of happiness from it.

I found a great article by Martin Addison on TrainingZone that talks about what you can do to train yourself to be happy. He says that when our brains are primed to be positive, we perform better than when we’re feeling negative, or neutral, about something. We can imprint our brains with positive patterns just by creating a series of habits and mindset changes. As managers, is this something we can do to help our employees be happier?

Studies at Harvard University show that people who are happy and have meaning in their lives are not only more productive and more resilient at work, they take less sick days, perform better in leadership roles and receive higher pay. For anyone who isn't a naturally happy or positive person, is there hope?

Change Habits
Below are four things Adison says you can do for yourself to change your mindset (or for your team if you want to help improve their happiness or morale).

1. Create the habit of gratitude - Write down three new things each day that your are grateful for. Make these things specific. If you spend two minutes a day doing this, your brain becomes slightly happier. Try doing it for 21 consecutive days. The more you think of things you’re grateful for, the less time you have for thinking about hassles and complaints.
2. Exercise - Many people know that exercise releases positive endorphins and that when you exercise you’re more likely to eat healthier. If you could exercise daily for 21 days in a row, the benefits would cascade into other areas of your life.
3. Reduce multitasking - Our brains like to do one thing at a time. When we attempt to multitask, we decrease our success rate on those tasks. To be happier and more productive at work, try to do one thing at a time.
4. Perform conscious acts of kindness - Altruism is a great way to feel good about yourself. Thinking of how you can help someone else changes how you see the world—from how is the world affecting me to how can I affect the world? It may seem a small change but this is very important. Train yourself to find positive things that you can do for, or say to, other people.

Create a Ripple Effect
Adison points out that when we see someone smile, we smile too. Likewise when we see someone yawn. The same thing happens with anxiety, uncertainty or stress in the workplace. Because both positivity and negativity can spread so easily, the key to a happy workplace is training managers and employees to change their mindsets.

As managers, Adison says, we should be expressive, both verbally and non-verbally. This means giving praise or positive feedback, smiling and making eye contact with others. These activities will spread a little happiness and ultimately create a lasting competitive advantage.

Anusha Karnad is a post call services lead at InterCall in Bangalore. She’s been with InterCall since 2009, working in customer service, training for new hires and account management where she helped customers with billing and service related questions. Anasha's background is in training voice, accent and soft skills for customer service agents.

Improving Communication: 10 Tips to Turn Upset Customers into Happy Ones

It was a Friday in December last year and the day was going slow.

My agents were relaxed and completing their work for the day. Suddenly I heard my name called from someone on my team and I went to check.

I saw a question mark on my agent’s face and as expected he asked me, “I need to improve the way I communicate, and could you help me?” I felt delighted by his question and my mind started ticking like a clock’s needle for ideas to help him out.

It seems the many people could learn to improve their listening and communication. Did you know:

• We are distracted, preoccupied or forgetful 75% of the time when we are listening.
• We recall 50% of what a person says immediately after hearing it.
• We listen at 125-250 words per minute and think at 1000- 3000 words per minute.

I gave him an assurance and went back to my cubicle to find some information for him. I thought I could send him some articles on effective communication or ask him to read some good books on the subject. As I was preparing to get back to him, like lightning in the clouds, my mind sparkled with a thought of InterCall’s learning management system.

We’re fortunate at InterCall because our company invests in employee training and development. Our learning management system allows us to sign up for several live, online employee training sessions and access archived versions for self-paced learning. For a global company like ours, this allows everyone in the company to take advantage of the courses our training department offers. Because of the availability of the classes, I decided I should also take a couple of classes to improve my own communication skills.

This training we offer not only helps a person improve communication with co-workers, but it helps agents to handle the calls with customers, particularly those with upset customers. Here’s a list of things to avoid when working with an unhappy customer:

1. Interrupting the speaker
2. Not looking at the speaker
3. Showing interest in something else
4. Rushing the speaking
5. Setting ahead of the speaker and finishing his/her thoughts
6. Not responding to the speaker’s request
7. Saying, “Yes, but…”
8. Topping the speaker’s story, “that’s nothing, let me tell you…”
9. Forgetting what was previously discussed
10. Asking too many questions about the details

I received positive feedback from my agent about our online training and have made it part of my team’s job responsibilities to regularly attend these types of training sessions. Not only does it help them develop personally, but it helps them to better serve our customers.

Is there any member in your team who needs some training and development? Have you tried online training to give them more access to a wider variety of topics?

Anusha Karnad is a post call services lead at InterCall in Bangalore. She’s been with InterCall since 2009, working in customer service, training for new hires and account management where she helped customers with billing and service related questions.

Too Much to Remember?

It seems like everywhere I go or new service I sign up for, I get another password or PIN number to remember.

These days, our brains are crammed with password and number combinations for every part of our lives, from corporate network logins, social networking sites and email accounts to bank accounts and credit card PINs.

If you are like me, then you often feel as though you can’t possibly remember everything you are supposed to. Studies have been conducted to examine our collective ‘external memory’, which is the Internet. With a few keystrokes on your computer or smartphone, you can get a phone number, address or birthday. Having a GPS means you don’t have to remember how to get somewhere. Even the art of memorizing poems, like my grandmother did, is going by the wayside.

As the need for online security grows, so will our logins and the challenge of keeping them all straight. Even if you store information in a safe place, it’s usually so safe that you can’t remember where it is when you need it. We almost have no choice but to embrace the tools available on the Internet and use them to help you. There are loads of password management software you can use to store it all, like RoboForm and LastPass.

When it comes to audio conference calls, how many of us can actually remember a phone number without having it stored in our phones, let alone our conference code and leader PIN? Ever found you need to join a conference call, and out of the office, without a laptop, you are stumbling around for a pen and a bit of paper to scribble the details down?

InterCall’s free Mobile Assistant works just like the password management software. You can access your reservationless conference call with a single click of a button or tap of the screen—all from your smartphone. There’s no need to remember long numbers and codes anymore, freeing up your brain capacity for other important things, like remembering to get your phone, bring your GPS or buy that birthday card.

Sandra Di Giacomo is the Asia Pacific marketing manager at InterCall. Originally starting out as an account manager in InterCall’s Sydney office, she also lived in Tokyo for two years before making her way to Singapore where she is now based. When not working, she enjoys travelling, photography and cooking.