Some believe that the business mantra of putting the customer first is so 20th century. But that doesn’t mean that customers don’t really matter. Today’s businesses have learned that delivering a great customer experience means putting employees first.
The logic behind this trend is that happy employees lead to happy customers; if employees are unhappy, customer discontent is sure to follow.
To implement an employee-first strategy you need to build trust. Employees must believe you want them to succeed. This begins by making managers accountable to employees just as workers are answerable to management.
Businesses need processes for employees to report problem situations, such as instances where managers don’t assign tasks in a timely manner or tasks are given to workers not up to the job. Both create frustrating bottlenecks and slow down other team members.
When employee-centric systems are put into operation, workers learn to trust that management will provide the resources required to do the job. This leads to higher employee retention numbers and reduced staff replacement costs.
Of course when workers feel secure, they deliver superior customer service.
Happy customers become loyal patrons, spreading the good word about your business. And given the speed of communications, it may not take long for this to have an impact.
Studies indicate that employee-centric companies experience rising profits, spend less on marketing and limit the need for wasteful customer dispute resolutions.
Establishing an employee-first policy may seem counterintuitive and risky initially.
But ultimately you can’t argue with success.
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