Situation: Customer is concerned that their item is taking too long to return. They call me and voice their concerns, expecting information and a resolution, if possible.

The soft-skills I would employ and how I rate myself: Patience (Self: 9/10), Communication (Self: 7/10), and Teamwork (Self: 9/10).

Others:

Person 1: Patience (9/10), Communication (8/10), & Teamwork (9/10)

Needs Improvement: Following up if needed, which is more situational, If you need help with something you communicate what you need fairly well. Great confidence – you have good knowledge about the product and process. Maybe improve conflict resolution and make it come off as if I know what I’m talking about and say the right thing, instead of looking for a solution elsewhere.

Person 2: Patience (8/10), Communication (9/10), & Teamwork (8/10)

Needs Improvement: Keep doing what you’re doing – stay on track with what you’re working on already. Time Management could use work, and conflict resolution will improve over time. These skills improve gradually, over time, not automatically.

Person 3: Patience (9/10), Communication (8/10), & Teamwork (9/10)

Needs Improvement: Learning the ins and outs that come with the time of working with our Processes and Systems. That’s when you have time to mess around and come across something new.

The situation that I focused on is what soft skills I would apply when a customer calls me with concerns regarding an order taking too long to repair and return. Immediately, I thought to employ my skills of patience with the customer, verbal communication with the customer, and focus on teamwork, as inevitably, I will not be the only individual helping the customer find a resolution, as many teams are responsible for different stages of each order’s processes. After speaking with three colleagues, we determined I have high scores for patience, communication, and my focus on Teamwork, however, I could focus improvement on my Conflict Resolution and Time Management skills. The consensus was that I am improving every day and that these skills improve over time, gradually, not overnight. There was an additional mention that I have great confidence, but that I need to have even greater confidence in my knowledge of company policy and processes to bolster my Conflict Resolution and Creative Problem Solving within my company.

 

My Personal Development Plan:

1. Review what exactly it means to have great Conflict-Resolution and Time Management Skills.
2. Focus some time throughout the day to plan according to my Time Constraints.
3. Focus some time during the day to educate myself on company policy and processes to increase my knowledge regarding teamwork and Conflict Resolution.
4. Employ what I have learned through practice and improve my skills.