WORKFORCE plus recently rolled out JOBS = PAYCHECKS NOW, a two-pronged initiative designed to match hiring employers with the unemployed. The first part of the initiative reimburses employers for hiring by providing up to half of their new hire's first month's wages. The second piece equips job seekers through on-the-job training with the skills they need to keep that gainful employment.

Would hiring that new employee you need be possible if you could get help with their training costs? How much more effective would your business be if you were able to take on a full-time sales associate? Perhaps you would have more time to devote to expansion if you were able to hire a fantastic manager.

WORKFORCE plus is celebrating dozens of new hires already through the initiative. Participating employers find the application process easy to manage, as the requirements are simple: Employers must create a new, full-time position and agree to provide on-the-job training before they fill their vacancy for their new employee to be eligible to participate in JOBS = PAYCHECKS NOW. The job seekers they consider for the position must be unemployed to be eligible. Are you thinking about hiring a new employee? Capitalize on the initiative by clicking here.

As a business owner, you rely on the loyalty of customers every day. You know better than anyone that good Customer Service is the lifeblood of your business- along with a good product or service. Every time a customer enters your establishment, calls you on the phone, or interacts with you or your business in some way, they have an emotional experience. That emotional outcome translates into a positive or negative effect on your reputation, your image, the word-of-mouth relating to your business and ultimately, your bottom line.

So, what is customer service?

Customer Service is an organization's ability to meet their customers wants and needs. Bad experiences do not supply wants and needs while good experiences do. Further, excellent customer service is the ability of an organization to constantly and consistently exceed the customer's expectation.

Therefore, it is important to understand the customer's expectations so that you can meet them. Here are the five things customers expect when interacting with your business:

1. Reliability - Do what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to it. Reading between the lines, this means you must do it correctly the first time, or you end up neither doing what you said or when you said you would do it.


2. Responsiveness - Understanding your customer's needs means more than just having the knowledge: it means taking action to meet and exceed those needs.


3. Empathy - Empathy consistently ranks as one of the most important aspects of customer service, yet across the board, it is one of the most lacking elements. Customers want to feel important and that someone genuinely cares about them. This is especially relevant in today's economy in which customers make buying decisions not only on the quality or reputation of a product, but on the interaction they have with the business.


4. A feeling of being valued - Empathy and making customers feel valued go hand in hand. What can you do to make your customers feel valued? Greeting them right away? Looking them in the eye when you interact? Being open to their criticism and welcome of their praise? There are many intangible and therefore, no-cost, things you can do to make your customers feel valued.


5. Competency - It is crucial to know your business in and out. Why? There are plenty of brick-and-mortar and online companies vying for the same business. Don't let a lack of your industry's knowledge be the reason a customer chooses not to frequent your business. This means having basic services in place to meet the needs of the customer and employing an informed, knowledgeable staff.

What customer best practices have you picked up in your experience as a business owner? How has good or poor customer service affected your business?

You may have noticed that Employ Florida Marketplace, Florida's virtual OneStop center, has gotten a facelift recently. In addition to the visual design changes, there are a few beneficial new features especially designed with employers in mind.

How do you keep up with trends in your industry? Where do you go for cost-effective training, best practices and networking? Power Hour Lunch and Learn Seminars are WORKFORCE plus' way of meeting the growing needs of businesses in the Gadsden, Leon and Wakulla County area.

Featuring expert speakers providing valuable information, Power Hour affords business owners and employers a forum to get the solutions they need for their own unique challenges. This way they can focus on accelerating the growth and development of their business.

October's Power Hour will feature a skill elusive to many: Time Management. Charlie Waters, of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, will teach participants how to take charge of their day so they can maximize their time and their bottom line.