The profession of a seller, a sales agent, has become widespread in the Russian labor market in connection with the transition to a market economy. The main content of salespeople's work is communication with existing and potential clients. In accordance with the classification of professions, the profession of a salesperson can be classified as a “Human-Human” type, and can be characterized as an activity that requires the employee to have high communicative competence and mobility, and, consequently, mental and physical endurance. It is the stressfulness of the salesperson’s work, which is determined by the intensity and duration of daily communication with clients, the dependence of the number of sales on many factors independent of the seller, the need to interact with “difficult” clients and make new non-standard decisions, that influences the development of burnout syndrome. In foreign literature, burnout syndrome is referred to as burnout (English) - “combustion”, “burnout”, “attenuation of combustion”. Burnout syndrome manifests itself in three groups of experiences: - Emotional exhaustion - the experience of emptiness and powerlessness; - Depersonalization - dehumanization of relationships with other people (manifestation of callousness, heartlessness, cynicism or rudeness); - Reduction of personal achievements - underestimation of one’s own achievements, loss of meaning and desire to invest personal efforts in the workplace; Symptoms of burnout are: - a constant feeling of concern about work; - a feeling of fatigue and emptiness associated with it; - irritation directed at colleagues or subjects of business communication; - attitude towards the work being done as a difficult necessity, and not as something that can bring satisfaction. Salespeople who are “burnt out” at work have a decrease in work motivation, develop indifference to work, and deteriorate labor quality and productivity. As a result, all this affects the financial efficiency, stability and competitiveness of the entire organization as a whole. From the point of view of the concept of professional stress, the risk factors for mental burnout of sellers and sales agents include: - high intellectual load (analysis of the product market, replenishment of the information and client base, preparation for business negotiations); - autonomy and responsibility of activity; - a large number of contacts with target , potential and actual clients; - diversity of clients and their differences in individual psychological characteristics; - a large number of movements around the city and region; - high requirements for communicative competence and social skills of influencing others (the ability to win over the client and convince him to make a purchase ) etc.; - irregular working hours and the dependence of salary on work results, and therefore, work without rest for 10-12 hours a day; - force majeure; Diagnosis of burnout. Employee burnout is a process quite extended over time, and little noticeable in the initial stages of its occurrence. It can be difficult to diagnose the degree of employee burnout with the naked eye. At later stages, when symptoms appear openly, the employer has to spend a lot of effort to return the employee to normal, and not everyone succeeds. How to diagnose burnout syndrome at the initial stage? There are several methods for diagnosing professional burnout, for example, the “Professional burnout”, developed on the basis of the model of K. Maslach and S. Jackson, the questionnaire “Emotional burnout” by V.V. Boyko. In this article, we want to offer you an express method that allows you to identify the first symptoms of burnout. Express assessment of burnout. Instructions: Answer the statements below with “yes” or “no”. Count the number of positive answers. 1. When on Sunday afternoon I remember that I have to go to work again tomorrow, the rest of the weekend is already ruined. 2. If I had the opportunity to retire (due to length of service, disability), I would do it withoutprocrastination. 3. My colleagues at work annoy me. It is impossible to tolerate their same conversations. 4. The extent to which my colleagues irritate me is still minor compared to how my clients (visitors, customers) throw me off balance. 5. Over the past three months, I have refused (refused) advanced training courses, participation in conferences, etc. 6. I have come up with offensive nicknames for my colleagues (visitors, customers, clients, etc.) (for example, “idiots”), which I use mentally. 7. I deal with work related matters “with just my left hand.” There is nothing that could surprise me with its novelty. 8. Hardly anyone will tell me anything new about my work. 9. As soon as I remember my work, I want to take it and send it to hell. 10. Over the past three months, I have not come across a single special book from which I would have learned something new. Score results: 0-1 point. You are not in danger of burnout syndrome. 2-6 points. You need to take a vacation and disconnect from work. 7-9 points. It's time to decide: either change your job, or, better yet, change your lifestyle.10 points. The situation is very serious, but perhaps there is still a spark in you; it is necessary that it does not go out. Prevention and assistance with salesperson burnout syndrome. The development of preventive measures should take into account the characteristics of professional activity and risk factors specific to it, as well as age, gender and work experience in sales. By creating a system of preventive measures against salesperson burnout and agents, we are moving in two directions: The first is prevention or working with organizational resources. We work with companies to find ways to mitigate organizational and role risk factors for burnout at an organization-wide level. This could be: - Corporate development and team building. Strategic sessions with the participation of company employees are used here. At these sessions, in the mode of brainstorming and discussions, new ideas and solutions related to corporate development are developed (for example, determining the performance indicators of the sales department and developing an operational plan for achieving these indicators). It can also be trainings for working teams, where ways to implement specific projects are sought, the most productive communications are established in the work on the project (for example, promoting a new product to the market, developing a promotion strategy, defining the functionality of group members, clear powers and areas of responsibility of each participant , methods of communication within the work group); - Development of organizational culture and a healthy atmosphere in the work team. Here, as an example, we can cite the development of a system for adapting new personnel (defining clear procedures and measures for the introduction of a new employee, allowing to reduce the time required to adapt to a new place and start working productively). Training of mentors and implementation of a mentoring system (training of mentors, preparation of methodological materials allowing for training and advanced training of employees in the workplace); - Assistance in organizing an effective management (management) system adequate to the level of organizational development of the company and personnel. Conducting strategic sessions, trainings with managers at all levels. (For example, a working group with top managers to transfer the company’s strategic goals to the operational level. Or training with heads of sales departments “Key functions of a manager”, which determines the operational goals of the sales department, develops the skills of setting goals for subordinates, ways of monitoring the completion of tasks and feedback communications); - Development and implementation of standards of formal and informal behavior in the organization. Here an analysis of the existing system of interaction between employees within the company and with clients can be carried out. Development and adaptation (together with company management) of new interaction standards (regulations,procedures, algorithms). Implementation of interaction standards in the company (staff training, creation of a system of post-training support and control over the implementation of standards, conducting a business assessment of personnel); - Construction of a system of corporate loyalty and career growth of personnel. Creation of a personnel reserve, construction of a system of vertical career advancement of employees within the company (staff rotation , additional training, promotion to new positions) or horizontal promotion (participation in new, more complex projects, involvement in mentoring and training of “young” employees); - Development of a clear and transparent motivation system, a system of fines and rewards. This can be a diagnosis of the existing system motivation and diagnostics of employee satisfaction and their motivation to work. Development of an optimal motivation system that corresponds to the company’s goals (positioning and evaluation of positions, development of a grading system, determination of the variable component of remuneration, determination of performance indicators, development of a system of additional benefits and non-material rewards); - Development and writing of clear job responsibilities. Here, as a rule, is carried out analysis of the content of employees’ work, this can be a discussion in working groups, individual interviews of employees and company managers, sales departments. Next, clear and understandable job descriptions for all employees are developed and written that best correspond to the company’s goals; The second is professional assistance for those who are “burning out.” This can be: - Individual or group psychological support and counseling. This can be individual psychological counseling and support for employees, working with fears and limiting beliefs, as well as group work on resolving conflicts in a team; - Individual or group coaching. Individual work on development of professional and personal life goals of employees. Group coaching to develop the goals of the sales department, work team; - Skill trainings that teach effective interaction and communication, planning your activities. This includes all sales training, product study, all kinds of training to improve communication competence, planning, staging and methods of implementation goals, etc. - Anti-burnout trainings focused on ways to manage stress and self-regulation. Here, psychological self-regulation skills are practiced (relaxation, autogenic training, breathing exercises), techniques for preserving and searching for new resources are studied, work is carried out with irrational beliefs and the development of positive thinking. Methods of behavior in tense conflict situations are being developed. We see the most effective approach to preventing burnout syndrome among sales department employees, this includes both working with organizational resources and individual or group work with sellers and sales agents. It is important for managers and top managers of companies to understand and remember that timely prevention of burnout of sales personnel directly affects the productivity of their work, and as a result, the company’s profit. At the end of this article, we would like to offer you several general recipes for preventing burnout syndrome: 1. Understand the system of priorities in your work. - To do this, you can make a list of all the things that you are solving now and need to be solved in the near future. - Systematize tasks according to their importance, set the order of tasks in accordance with their significance for your activity. Do not forget that urgency fundamentally has nothing to do with the importance or significance of the corresponding task. - Rate your tasks in accordance with categories A, B, VA. A - complete today. B - ideally needs to be done. C - can be postponed. - Evaluate tasks B and C from the point of view of the possibility of their delegation. Please note that tasks in category B are not included in.