Book Reviews

By Julie Valencia

Looking for new tricks, inspiration or guidance?

Check out the books that we’ve read lately or the titles that come highly recommended. If you have a great book that you would like to share, email us the details and we’ll share it with the rest of the membership.

	Tribal Leadership – Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organisation, by Dave Logan This book is a result of a 10 year study of 24,000 people which identified traits shared by organisational groups, some positive and some negative. Identifying the ‘Tribal Traits’ within an organisation, allows Leaders to take action to improve culture in their own organisation. Well worth the read if you are interested in making a great work place that delivers outstanding results. Reviewed by Shona MacDonald, CourierPost and CCiNZ Treasurer
	Employees First, Customers Second, by Vineet Nayar One small idea can ignite a revolution just as a single matchstick can start a fire. One such idea – putting employees first and customers second – sparked a revolution at HCL Technologies, the IT services giant. Nayar fired the imagination of both employees and customers and set HCLT on a journey of transformation that has made it one of the fastest-growing and profitable global IT services companies. Reviewed by Harvard Business Press Books (read more)
	90 Steps to Employee Engagement and Self Motivation, by Finlay Morrell What are the key elements that go towards creating a motivated and engaged employee? How do I start going about this? So many questions, well, this book takes you through 90 steps that can be taken in order to achieve a highly motivated team of people. It covers areas of development, reward, communications, respect, collaboration and many more. This is not a theoretical book, it has been written by a Manager who woke up one morning and decided that there must be an easier way. Reviewed by Employee Engagement Books and available in print or e-book
	Total Engagement, by Byron Reeves and J Leighton Read (2009) Although this book focuses on virtual worlds, the theory, ideas and tips provide inspiration for doing things differently in the real world. CSRs enter a virtual world as Avatars, accumulate points and achieve higher levels as they service their customer contacts and achieve their metrics. Reviewed by Angela Shaw, CCiNZ Sales & Marketing Executive.
	Full Engagement, by Brian Tracey (2011) The author says creating full employee engagement is as simple as making our people happy and provides a crash course in happiness, listing 25 common sense acts and outlining what works, what doesn’t and why. He asks us to start with ourselves and provides the tools for establishing a new routine to cultivate happy employees. Reviewed by Angela Shaw, CCiNZ Sales & Marketing Executive.
	Call Center Management on Fast Forward, By Brad Cleveland (2001) A book I rely on and believe that every Workforce Manager should have. Provides invaluable information to help you learn about rostering and forecasting with great examples. Reviewed by Kirsty Walker, Amtel Regional Contact Centre Manager and CCiNZ Committee Member.
	The Power of One, by Penny Reynolds Every Contact Centre professional should read this. It helps frontline and contact centre staff understand their importance and the role that they play in the success of the organisation. A nice and easy quick read. Reviewed by Kirsty Walker, Amtel Regional Contact Centre Manager and CCiNZ Committee Member.