The Customer Experience & Satisfaction index in many organizations today is either in a steep decline or fluctuating year on year. Why so?…. If you look at those organizations carefully, you will realize that their Employee Satisfaction is also on a steep decline. Their employees aren’t content at their jobs. Why?… Because their employees’ experience is poor.
Many organizations in the current era are so focused on customer experience and they do whatever they can including “pushing”, threatening, and challenging their staff to exceed their customers’ expectations.
There is only one thing that most who don’t achieve the level of customer experience score they anticipate achieving don’t do……
Model the aspect of EXCEEDING EXPECTATION.
Many organizations expect their staff to do what they are not modeling and the reason many employees are not aware of what it means to really exceed expectations. They are not hitting the right nail in the right position because they do not know-how.
Their Organizations have not and are not Modeling the same in them. Their organizations are not EXCEEDING their EXPECTATIONS, yet they are required to somehow theoretically know what it means to Exceed expectations.
I wish to challenge organization leaders out here, whatever the orientation of the organization, whether a tech, public, private, religious institution, or others. You all have some form of customers you serve. For you to be at a level where you are EXCEEDING your customers’ expectations consistently with ease, MODEL that to your employees.
EXCEED their expectation. This is not about financial expectations, although that too matters, but in areas that touch on your employees well being, culture, and environment among other factors that would ensure your staff’s workplace is conducive for them.
EXCEED your staff expectation before Requiring them to EXCEED your customers’ expectations.
This is not about TRAINING your employees on customer experience matters, though that is important too. If you are to consistently year-on-year perform exceptionally well in the metrics of EXCEEDING your customers’ expectations; you have to consistently EXCEED your employees’ expectations.
You are where you are today in your customer experience journey because of the level of employees experience you are delivering.
Just like many organizations, I am pretty sure you are very clear on what is required to improve your customers’ experience. This is what you train your employees on, you have taken the time to do customer surveys and understand what your customers need, and that is why you are championing efforts to ensure your employees exceed their expectations.
However, if you would equally invest the same level of focus in understanding your employees’ needs, and invest similar resources in meeting and exceeding their expectations, your organization’s performance metrics across all lines will be over the roof. you will be consistently meeting your revenue or whatever goals you have set year-on-year. your employees’ engagement and productivity index will be consistently exceptional. The challenge is many organizations do not invest this effort in their employees but expect their employees to invest efforts in going out of their way to consistently exceed their customers’ expectations.
It can’t happen, if it happens, it’s not consistent, and that is why probably your organization is operating at non-optimal levels in other metrics besides customer experience.
So…if you wish to improve your Customer Experience consistently if you wish your employees to exceed your Customers’ Expectations, start by understanding how you can improve your employees’ experience, and how you can exceed their expectations.
We can help…
This article has also been featured in a few headline change management platforms.
Author
CEO at Accent Leadership Group
Accent Leadership Group Ltd 