No work with clients – and other humans in generally – is just sunshine. There will be bad days, misunderstandings, cultural and social differences, and above all, people who expect especially a different or new employee on the job to magically transform into the person they are used to working with.
This is neither fair nor optimal for cooperation; it also bears a high possibility of bias where diversity is concerned. In my experience, people seriously do tend to ascribe traits as perceived socially in situations where they are unhappy, or simply invent them for Other. In this case, for instance, a dissatisfied person may end up blaming their own bad communication, unwillingness to concede that a different person simply is a different person to the one they are used to, and any results that may follow, to one’s race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status and so on; it’s not that the person is “bad” at the job, they are “bad” because they are Other. At the same time, the “bad” in the situation is never truly addressed, and the results therefore cannot be changed and approaches adjusted.
Even without the added diversity issues, there is a certain doggedness to never wanting to work with someone different, that can include outright hostility and rejection, cautious undermining, subconscious undermining through lack of flexibility and anything in between where work with clients is concerned. For many, the expectation of a mind-reader on the other side of the business situation (whether that is consulting, ordering or anything else, and via media as different as in person contact, emails, phone calls or video conferencing), is a solid fact, and an integral part of their approach to all business dealings. When coupled with a new person, who has perhaps not yet developed a strategy for figuring out the client in question, this behaviour quickly becomes untenable.
Above all, it can easily lead to dissatisfaction, complaints, arguments and bad cooperation, not to mention bad reviews and ultimately damaged reputation especially for small businesses.
So how does one rein the situation in a bit? What can be done, actively, to de-escalate it?
The first step is realising that you do, in fact, need to de-escalate the situation, ideally before it becomes heated. If you are putting a new employee in the position where a client that has been dealing only with one person thus far is now suddenly facing change, particularly if you have reason to believe that the client in question happens to expect a mind reader who will fill in information they have failed to provide, or have provided only in part, let them know that they are not expected to in fact be a mind reader. It is highly useful for them to be given all information their colleague(s) can provide prior to taking on a difficult client, along with the added protection of company or legal policies that they should follow, but above all, they should know to be prepared for potential difficulties, but not scared of them.
Considering tactics of de-escalation is crucial in this case. Kindly explaining that there is a rule to follow, or a new office policy, can, for instance, place the “blame” they may incur by trying to obtain more information or having a slightly different approach to how they work for those who are very introverted and who want to avoid being put on the spot where they may freeze at all costs. (And you want to avoid that too, because they may be a star employee, but freezing will ruin their efficiency for good in that case.)
For more extroverted, self-assured employees, addressing how you usually work with the previous colleague can work, as it immediately addresses the differences the client can expect as well – and it does not need to be confrontational. Mentioning how the colleague explained the process they followed, and then following this up by saying something like “now, when I work with clients, I like to… because…” is actually a good, friendly manner of not only introducing the client to a new way of approach, but also a clear signal that a certain era is finished – the time when xyz applied is now transitioning to abc instead.
Whatever approach an employee uses, they should be aware of the fact that efficacy comes from two directions – the clarity and openness of the client and the employee’s own approach to the case. There are many ways this can go right, and as many or more for them to go wrong. And wrong does not have to be final – we all learn throughout our lives, and learning includes finding ways to do something better, or fix a mistake… our own or someone else’s if we are in a position to do so (but it is still useful for the other party to be aware of their part in that mistake, so that the potential of things going wrong again is minimised).
Another important thing is that the employee should know that, whatever happens, they should never be the target of bullying, anger, dismissive behaviour, deliberate refusal to cooperate or any other disparaging, work hampering behaviours for having a different approach and for essentially being a different person than their previous counterpart. They have a right to be a different person, and they have a right to kindly ask for information that their previous counterpart has perhaps learned to go without. Any claims and behaviours to the contrary are not acceptable.
None of us can expect to have perfect clients all the time. But it is up to us to :
– protect ourselves and our employees, as well as the clients, by establishing a clear, flexible, respectful communication habit on both sides
– let each other in on what we are thinking and what we need to know to work well
– let the client know that bad behaviour isn’t going to be tolerated, because it is not acceptable
– let the employees feel safe to address difficult clients and their behaviours to their colleagues and managers
– let the employees feel safe to try to optimise their work by finding their own way to deal with challenges, and celebrate success while discussing why something went wrong to learn from it
– be aware that minority groups may be portrayed as less effective workers by some due to bias, and work on dismantling this perception
These are the steps that anyone can take, and they can be highly effective. And while it takes more than just a few steps to create optimal work environment, every step counts.
Many warm thanks to C. R. for input.
