Workplace Resolutions You Can Keep Dale Carnegie Training Offers Managers Realistic Guidelines For Improved Workplace Behavior In 2005

(Wednesday, December 01, 2004) - A new year, a new perspective and positive change. It's how everyone enters the office after the first of the year. Every January, along with the predictable personal resolutions like dieting and time management, come a few workplace resolutions you hope to employ.

"It's important to make your resolutions realistic and achievable," says Peter Handal, the President and CEO of Dale Carnegie Training. "It's even more important to manage the expectations of these workplace resolutions with your co-workers. For example, don't openly promise to be more compassionate with younger employees and not deliver. It's potentially bad for your office reputation."

Some office resolutions most people can hope to keep:

Use email as a relationship builder.
I've often given advice to companies to connect with their employees on a more personal level -- and speak to them or use written notes. However, it's also important to appreciate the power of email and use it well, "with thoughtfully written messages and compliments," says Handal. We speed through email messages because it saves time in one capacity. However, it's such a powerful communication tool -- particularly internally -- and managers should use it properly to build morale and confidence in the office.

Indulge your employees with unexpected acts of generosity or kindness.
Buying your employees or office team their morning cup of coffee is such a simple thing, but it really resonates with people. "It's the start of the day and you can set a wonderful tone in the office with a small act of generosity," says Handal.

Connect more with people who you may not immediately work with.
Out of familiarity and ease, we typically connect with the same people every day in the office. They might be the people we work directly with, or a favorite employee in another department. A successful office is built on relationships and it's important for every worker to know employees outside their immediate department. "Consider it an exercise in socialization," says Handal. "You all work at the same company and work toward the same goals. Why wouldn't you want to go out of your way to say hello and learn more about each other?"

Lower the mobile phone ringer and lower your voice.
It seems that these days, everyone in the office owns a mobile phone and leaves it on at work -- perhaps they're expecting an important call from their children of spouse, and that's part of the problem. Everyone needs to make the occasional personal call during the workday, but it becomes more invasive -- and obvious -- for your other co-workers when the call is made to your mobile phone. The next important thing after this is the volume of your voice. "Most of us work in cubicle culture and can see and hear just about everything our co-workers are doing," says Handal. "Respect your co-workers privacy as best you can and keep your voice low. Not everyone needs to know you're fighting with your wife or need to schedule a dentist appointment."



About Dale Carnegie Training
Dale Carnegie Training (www.dalecarnegie.com) is a global management training company with experts in corporate management, workplace issues and leadership trends. The company provides leadership, sales and management training to over 400 of the Fortune 500 companies, training over 7 million adults worldwide.

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