The Handling Complaints Pocketbook looks at why and how people complain, and the key types of complaint: aggressive, passive, constructive and professional. The author explains that all businesses should welcome complaints because they provide direct feedback and an immediate opportunity to improve the service to customers. The next sections cover a strategy for handling complaints, and the use of transactional analysis in understanding complaint behaviour. The final section looks at ways to turn complaints into compliments and create loyal customers. From the author of The Problem Behaviour Pocketbook.

Recruiting successful candidates leads to improved performance, increased customer satisfaction, enhanced organisational reputation, greater staff morale and a positive reflection on those involved in the recruitment process. The Managing Recruitment Pocketbook explains how to plan recruitment, attract the right candidates, assess CVs and application forms, get the most out of the interview, use different methods of selection and how to make the job offer. Under 'attracting the right candidates', the pocketbook looks at advertising methods, using the internet, employing recruitment agencies and recruiting internally. Selection methods addressed include psychometric tests, personality questionnaires, assessment centres, presentations and work sample exercises. The final chapter covers how to pull all the selection information together, references, medicals, handling unsuccessful candidates and making the eventual offer. Complementing this new title are two other existing pocketbooks, The Interviewer's Pocketbook and The Succeeding At Interviews Pocketbook.

The Customer Service Pocketbook is for everyone who contributes, directly or indirectly, to giving the customer excellent service. This third edition has been fully revised to reflect the changes in responding to customers' needs via a variety of different channels, including social media. The book covers why good service matters, listening skills, how to turn complaints into opportunities, effective communication methods and much more. The importance of setting standards, measuring customer service and mystery shopper programmes is discussed. Recognising and respecting internal customers is also addressed and there are case studies, checklists and an action planning section.

Engaging your audience and holding their attention is the principal focus of the Webinars Pocketbook. It will show you how to design, set-up and deliver internet-based meetings, presentations and training workshops that harness technology for maximum impact and effectiveness. The pocketbook begins by describing the different webinar tools available – such as web cams, polls, messaging windows, whiteboards and breakout rooms – and how and when they can be employed to your advantage. It then goes on to explain how you need to adapt your communication style and method of delivery to suit the virtual environment, including making good use of attractive visuals to support your message. An explanation of how to gain participant buy-in, several case studies, a troubleshooting section (problems and solutions) and the authors’ top 21 tips for successful webinars end the pocketbook on a practical note. Virtually the best advice there is!

Being an effective communicator is hard work, but it is the single most important part of a manager's role. Many of us think we are good at it - it's all those people who don't listen who are the problem! The Communicator's Pocketbook covers the dynamics of communication, how to be effective, likely barriers, styles of communication and technology at work. The book concludes with a series of checklists that will enable you to take stock of your communications skills and shortcomings and to put these into context at both an organisational level and a group or team level.

Grievances and disciplinary matters are immensely disruptive and time-consuming, and most managers struggle to know how to deal with them. The Discipline & Grievance Pocketbook offers practical help. It stresses the importance of understanding the root causes of conflict and identifies the management practices that need to be in place in order to help prevent problems arising. The book first looks at how staff issues can be resolved informally, through mediation, and then goes on to describe the formal procedures for both grievance and disciplinary cases before finally dealing with the dismissal process. Informative case studies bring author Ruth Sangale's advice sharply into focus.

Lack of feedback and coaching to aid development is the third most cited reason for resignations at work. 'Netgeners' with their reliance on social networking and instant messaging have added even greater impetus to the need for performance feedback. Feedback is integral to learning: it helps to develop skills, knowledge and confidence, and reinforces desired behaviours. It can reassure and thus reduce anxiety; and it can help people see the 'bigger picture', leading to greater alignment with organisational goals and needs. The Feedback Pocketbook encourages managers (and trainers) to use informal, formal and generative feedback as part of their day-to-day approach to motivating, managing and developing people. It explains how to construct and deliver feedback, and demonstrates how to use the underlying dynamics (explicit and implicit) to secure feedback acceptance.