Purchase something as simple as a box of ink cartridges from Best Buy or call tech support for help setting up your router and you’ll probably be asked to take an online survey.
Kudos to those companies taking a genuine interest in their customers by asking for their feedback through surveys and perception studies. As markets continue to grow increasingly competitive, companies are getting pretty savvy on how to acquire the intelligence they need to retain precious customers, influence referrals, attract new business and stomp, ahem, I mean, beat their competition. Surveys prove to be the most effective way to acquire and measure customer satisfaction and loyalty.
When companies think in terms of maximizing growth and searching for new opportunities, is it in their best interest to focus only on their customers? Perhaps not. When too much attention is placed on feedback only from customers, some of these companies may be overlooking the very people who are supposed to be their most influential brand-ambassadors: their employees. When you consider that the attitude of an employee can either win a customer for life or send them packing to a competitor forever, ignoring their feedback leaves a company very vulnerable. That’s a problem.
At most companies, employees are given a nerve-wracking annual review when they learn if they are meeting management expectations and it’s also the time when raises are handed out to those who are worthy. However, there is something missing in these traditional review processes – reverse evaluation. Managers are rarely, if ever reviewed by their employees to learn how effective or destructive they are as a leader. There is little opportunity for employees to identify where they believe their managers are falling short. For example, are some leaders poor listeners? Are others unavailable? What if they are autocratic micromanagers? Only the few strong-willed would give such feedback, and it is often blown-off if the manager has long tenure with the company. The timid know to grin and bear, bite thy tongue and keep their eyes open for other opportunities where their contributions will be valued and where they can grow. People join companies, but they leave managers. It’s equivalent to losing customers, but not quite knowing why because they will never tell you.
Companies that succeed and prosper have many things in common, one of which is building a reputation of being a great place to work. In fact, many communities allow employees to enter their company to win an award for being “the best place to work.” Earning this reputation attracts top talent when companies are growing, and it fosters a culture where employees love where they work, love what they do and tend to stick around longer, including top-performers. When people have this emotional connection with a company, they feel good about giving over-the-top customer service which keeps customers longer, and thus has positive impacts on the bottom line. Think of it this way: A helpful employee is a helpful company; a grumpy employee is a grumpy company.
If your company hasn’t invested in leadership training, your employees may not be giving the level of customer service you expect, and your customers are feeling it. It’s a fact that an employee’s performance is a direct reflection of how they feel about their immediate boss. Bad bosses = underperforming and resentful employees. Great bosses = top performers who bend over backwards to keep customers happy. These management skills can be taught, and you will see how well they pay off when your customers give you higher and higher scores on those surveys.