Customer Service in Jail ???

I was recently talking to Head HR of a growing SME (just in words is he an head hr, in action poor guy has not much of a team to head) about the results of the Pre-Employment Scan. For those of you who have already been through the analysis, know that it can tell you about the person's ability to be a team leader. The guy in analysis was someone to be hired for Head of Operations or maybe COO. He marked low on being a team player and high on leadership. Besides this, he was low on cheating and high on positive attitude and creativity and other things that he should have scored a high on. There seemed no doubt in my mind over this guy being hired and I was busy concentrating on my next assignment when the Head HR asked for a chat over this profile. Slightly shocked and curious, we spoke immediately and He asked that what did a score of 2 out of 5 mean for this guy. I explained that they like to lead and not be led. Slightly on the bratty side, One (read the Head HR) can be aware of this trait before hand and give them projects accordingly. Also, since he is being hired for a Head position, it shouldn't matter much. The Head HR didn't say much and asked me if I could understand how good will this person be at customer service. My second shock! Ability to be polite was ok, ego was slightly high and sarcasm and harshness was high, so I told him that he might not be good at customer service. The Head HR sounded sad and gave a sad ok and we said our thank you's and goodbyes.

I couldn't concentrate on my next profile as the link between customer service and Head of operations was not making any sense, so I ended up asking him if I could call. He promptly agreed and I asked him. He didn't seem very amazed at my question and answered that customer service for him is a big quality and he shared the following story.

A Miami prison which had the country’s biggest violence and break-away rates. Its new director has all his staff attend a 4-week customer service course and tells them ‘ok now, you have to treat your inmates as if they were your customers’. Two years later, new statistics come out and this jail now has the lowest violence and break-away rates.

He then added that by giving respect can a person gain it and since theirs is a growing company, they want to ensure that people at COO position are willing to work like a executive till the time the right team is in place. Hence he ensures that no matter what or whom he hires, he needs to check their ego and ability to be polite and work hard. It made a lot of sense. I told him that I will check for these pointers specifically next time I analyse his profiles. He also added that the primary reason for using my services is that they can't figure out such traits by interviews.

I wanted to verify the story and checked on google to find this http://projectesinterns.com/2007/02/page/2/ though this could also be an hawthorne effect where simply because workers were singled out for special treatment and thus perhaps felt more valued or more pressured to perform well but I know that respect is one trait you don't get my asking. You have to have have to earn it. :)

Keep smiling
Keep respecting
Keep loving
Keep sharing!

How do you tell a person who has an ego that he has an ego?

I recently met a Civil engineer. He had a career shift from a BMC worker to a highly successful and good earning Civil Engineer. It is not totally his fault that he has full faith in himself and not so much on God almighty. He believes that he is a self made man. In other words, I am trying to justify his reasons for being egoistic.

On top of it, he is a very very selective listener. If things don't sound correct, he makes it very clear. Not just this, he is also short tempered. If one tries to make him understand the logic, but it is not something he wants to hear... then... I had a very hard time during the analysis. I was surprised when he came for the analysis in the first place, Individuals who are so sure of themselves, rarely come to me. Later I learned that it was his wife who forced him citing some issues with coworkers at work.

Normally, when I analyse, I start with things that are intrinsic to the individual's behavior and is slightly uncommon. I started the analysis with something funny. He smiled. Next analysis was also intrinsic and present in almost all his strokes, He gave me an Ok but seemed to be thinking about it. I told him that if he wants to explain something in detail, I would be happy to. As I keep saying, Graphology is scientific and can't be wrong. Only time it may seem wrong is when I don't word it properly or give a wrong example.

What happens is there is a trait - You have good aesthetic sense. 


Manifestations

• You can be good at matching colors - not just for clothes but also for curtains, walls etc
• Your sense of design can be good.
• The prints (if)that you buy (for curtains, towels, bedsheets, dress for wife, handicrafts) can be very pretty and look terrific at home. Because of your keep sense, you probably match it with your home decor, Others might look at it as a piece alone and not like it. There are several other manifestations of the trait 

So, When I mention the trait in the analysis and it doesn't make sense, I try to give the manifestations. It might not be all true but It surely does help reaching to the point.

With this gentleman, He stopped me with the first manifestation and replied that I was wrong. This went on for next 15 minutes even though all the traits that I was saying were positive and present in all the letters. The only thing he sort of agreed though very reluctantly was to stomach issues. He said - Yes, very little. 

Later, his wife told me that he suffers from constipation often. 

Anyway, I decided to be honest with him in the most gentle way I knew. I told him that the issues he was facing was because of a few reasons. He didn't agree to it completely but at this time, his wife got the courage to tell him that I was right. When I gave him the 4th manifestation and he sort of said ok if not yes, I told him that all the manifestations I have given so far mean that he has an ego. He almost jumped from his seat. No one who has an ego likes to be told or agrees to it. I didn't know what to say much, He obviously disagreed and we ended the session soon after that.

This has been the most exciting and thrilling experience during an analysis for me. I still don't have an answer to this. How do I tell a person who has an ego that he has an ego? He is obviously not going to listen to me. 

Ironic na? It is like a mad man trying to prove he is not mad.