WHY YOU NEED TO STOP JUST FOCUSSING ON YOUR CUSTOMERS AND SHARE THAT FOCUS ON YOUR TEAM

Do you find that so often the focus is on Customer Service and the Customer Experience?

So do I. In fact, I find that too often, this is the ONLY priorities businesses are making.

Do you know what’s JUST as important? It’s the Internal Customer Service, the service afforded to each team member from their peers and management.

And you know what, there really is a link between Engaged Customers and Engaged Team Members through Service.

Over the past two decades my company has developed thousands of assessments and surveys to measure the link, and believe me, there is overwhelming data that certainly confirms that if a team member is engaged, then the engagement they have with the customer moves the interaction from “SO SO” to “WOW”, going above and beyond their expectations.

Let me ask you: What do you do to engage your team members?  What service are you providing your team? Are you providing anything for your team members?

It’s a tough question. Here are 7 areas to review in your business to make this answer easier:

WORKPLACE CULTURE

Team members who are positively engaged in their role will provide an enthusiastic welcome and offering to your customers.

Engagement won’t happen if managers don’t get to know their team members and then give them the role that match their strengths.

• Know their stories – take time to get to know the people who you work with
• Ignite the potential of individuals – getting them into the right role
• Build Trust through delegation. Emphasise the positives

BEHIND THE SCENES

Are you all front? Whether you are the CEO of a restaurant with amazing décor, a showroom proudly displaying products, a reception area with the most comfortable lounge and the latest magazines or a venue with facilities that have your guests “oohing and ahhing”. When you pull back the curtain and take a peep what do you see? Is it a backroom that is used for storing Christmas decorations, recycling, paperwork that needs filing, boxes of products, a swivel chair with one roller missing, a chair that desperately needs a new cushion and your old kitchen table to be used by staff when they are having a break or your weekly meetings!

The “back room” unfortunately becomes the dumping ground and eventually is so taken over that is no longer a pleasant place for the team to sit and they certainly don’t feel welcome.

• Take a close look at the furniture, what needs replacing?
• Crockery, drink ware and cutlery is it chipped and mismatched? It’s great to be funky but when it’s mismatched because it’s ten years old and 90% of the pieces have been smashed then it’s not.
• The walls, decorations what is it saying about you, the business and the team?

TRAINING

All team members need training (even the CEO). Changing demographics and needs of our customers requires us as Leaders to be ahead on what’s happening and for the whole team to be knowledgeable on what the “new thing” is in your industry.

Skills training is a necessity and may just be a one off course with annual updates, whereas Customer Service needs to be a continual cycle so as to get the best from your team and provide the VIP experience to each and everyone of your customers every time.

Having the team engaged and accountable for the customer experience in the business is critical in growing the business.

TEAM MEMBERS NEED TO BE ENGAGED

Disgruntled customers will not return or refer others to your business, no matter how good your product is, there will always be some other business that can provide the same (or close to), no longer can we assume “we are the only provider”, in an ever changing and “copying” world.

The engaged customer is the customer who “feels” the service experience. It’s the delivery of the “please and thank you” from the team member who is engaged with the business. Six (6) top ways your team can be engaging with your customers:

• Natural smile – mouth and eyes
• Positive body language – open arms, standing tall
• Recognition of regular customers – the use of their name or remembering what their “usual” order is
• Friendly and warm welcome to new customers
• Dressed and groomed to suit the business culture
• Premises presentation – clean and well maintained

RECOGNITION

Team members need to know they are appreciated and what they are doing is meaningful. Whatever it maybe, team members that have a purpose at work achieve higher productivity they want to know what the outcome will be, how the customer reacts, how it will make a difference to their productivity, how it will create a more unified team.

CELEBRATING THE WINS

Teams need to be involved in the journey not just being told the end goal, you never know they must just have some great ideas or at least a different way of seeing things than you. You may not always be able to implement the ideas, however, it’s giving them a voice and then working out how it could be included, viable. Planning the steps together.

When I was a little girl I watched Neil Armstrong take the first step on the moon at that moment it showed the world that if “man” put his mind to it and didn’t give up when the stumbling blocks came along then we would achieve anything. I saw this an achievement not just for Neil or NASA but for all human kind. John F Kennedy gave those at NASA the date and end goal and they worked out the steps how to get there within the time frame and they had. When I wrote my first book I chose the completion date to be the day I flew out to New York for the first time so I could say when I attended the conference that I had a book that was being published as we spoke.

ENGAGED TEAM = ENGAGED CUSTOMERS

Your business depends on the service that your team provides to your customers as a business owner or manager you need to stop and review the following and create an Action Plan:

• Recruiting team members with the right attitude that fit your organisational culture.
• Updating policies and keeping current with trends that may impact on your business, directly or indirectly
• Communicating to your team the expectations and changing needs of the customer.
• Reviewing Frontline training for all team members
• Reviewing customer feedback with team members
• Recognition programs for team members
• Recognition and loyalty programs for Customer

From years of research we know that businesses who engage their team have long term growth as well as long term team members who are proud of the company they work for. You cannot be a “solo” CEO you need the team and they need you. Take the time to engage them and see the positive link that transpires with your customers.

WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO UNDERTAKE AN INTERNAL
CUSTOMER SERVICE AUDIT ON YOUR BUSINESS?