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Reducing Day-to-Day on the Job Faux Pas

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  Written by The Procotol School of Washington

  Survey Shows Business Etiquette Skills Dramatically Reduce Day-to-Day Faux Pas

  Here are great tips for recession-proofing your job whether you’re an intern or senior level VP with a corner office. In response to what PSOW Director Pamela Eyring says is a ‘backlash to the informal workenvironment of the past decade’ more and more employers are seeking etiquette training for employees. From learning the basics such as the proper web-to-web handshake to how to host a business meal, employers are becoming increasingly concerned with how their employees represent their business.

  “We know this because enrollment is up 25%-50%. On the employee side, our recent survey found that over 87% of graduates report
  making fewer mistakes after training, so we know the process works,” says Eyring.

  Attribute the trend to a competitive work environment because of the economy. Or, a backlash to the informal
  work environment over the past decade. Either way, the need for business etiquette training among all
  industries is on the rise. “Clearly, employers are reinforcing the importance that 85% of mastering a job is
  learning the “soft skills” like dining etiquette , remembering names, appropriate work attire, appropriate
  behavior and e-etiquette,” notes Eyring.

  Good Etiquette is Good for Business – Avoid the Pitfalls

  According to PSOW, The Most Common Employer Complaints Are:
  -- Lack of dining skills. The biggest faux pas is snagging your neighbor’s dinner roll. TIP: The correct place
  setting is B-M-W: left to right Bread – Meal – Water.
  -- Inappropriate attire. The biggest complaint is ‘showing too much skin.’
  -- Lack of e-etiquette. Using PDAs in meetings is overwhelmingly the #1 complaint.
  -- Forgetting someone’s name. TIP: Remember a name by repeating it three times (when introduced, once in
  conversation and when saying goodbye).
  -- Insensitivity to religions of other cultures and a lack of understanding other cultures. TIP: Research other
  cultures by visiting: (www.state.gov/countries)

  National Business Etiquette Week Tips

  -- E-mail is never private (you don’t know who has been Blind Carbon Copied) and lives forever in cyberspace. Never sound angry, condescending or illiterate
  -- During business encounters (including social ones) don’t discuss ‘hot’ topics like religion, diets, health, or money
  -- A dirty or tattered business card is a ‘deal breaker’
  -- Make eye contact 40%- 60% of the time, looking directly in-between the eye brows
  -- Dress the part by dressing two levels above your position
  -- Keep cellphones on vibrate or turn off

  Global Biz Etiquette

  Major deals are lost every day because of a lack of cultural understanding. PSOW recalls one client, a huge
  U.S. aerospace company, was in Saudi Arabia inking a billion dollar business deal. They didn’t do their homework and sent the wrong level executive to sign the contract. They had to get a VP on a plane, fly to
  Saudi Arabia, sign the contract and turn around and fly back to the States.

  Conversely, as more internationals become Americanized, knowing how business is conducted and how one comports oneself is key. “For the first
  time in the school’s 20-year history, we’re booking classes with not one or two but 11 or 12 internationals who need help learning the specifics of business etiquette.”

  PSOW, whose students come from around the globe and work for the Fortune 100, universities, the military and are entrepreneurs who start their own etiquette consulting business, is sponsoring National Business
  Etiquette Week 2008 to spotlight and reverse the decline in business etiquette and help professionals at all levels behave with more civility and professionalism.

  Visit www.psow.com to take the Business Etiquette IQ test, and request the How to Dine Like a Diplomat flyer, complete with a dining place-setting map.

  The Protocol School of Washington
  Post Office Box 676
  Columbia, South Carolina 29202
  Toll-Free 1-877-766-3757
  

  Posted by Mosaic Blueprint about 1 year ago