The Journal of Applied Psychology finds that job satisfaction among call centre employees is positively related to customer satisfaction ratings.
Harvard Business Review has repeatedly reported that well-engaged employees lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty. As far back as the 1990’s, "Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work" by James L. Heskett et al showed companies building strong service-profit chains to link employee satisfaction and customer loyalty to profitability.
Happy employees tend to stay longer in their jobs, providing customers with a greater sense of stability. High levels of employee turnover evidently have the opposite effect.
Advancing the idea that greater employee satisfaction is commercially advantageous helps leadership teams to reposition staff engagement. Presently many companies veer between resentment at ‘having to do more’ for employees and the other extreme: offering staff far too many considerations.
I recently visited a business whose HR team had created no fewer than 33 different talent development, mentoring and employee wellness initiatives. Full marks for effort! But a few ‘corridor conversations’ quickly revealed the extent and relevance of these offerings was barely understood. Note to the HR team: do fewer things better, and make sure you communicate them effectively.
The key to proving an effective connection between how employees and customers feel comes down to selecting the right metrics and checking in on them regularly. I’m in favour of using Customer Effort Score and Net Promoter Score as key measures of how easy it is for customers to deal with your company, and how willing they are to recommend you to others. There’s a parallel methodology for Employee Net Promoter Score and it cannot be beyond the wit of man to devise a measure of how hard it is for employees to work together productively in your company.
Similarly, the data-driven measures of Customer Retention Rate and Customer Lifetime Value could be cross referenced to Employee Turnover and Employee Contribution stats. All you really need is the will to do it.
Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic is an enthusiastic promoter of ‘‘Look after your employees and they will look after your customers.’ In the same sector (airlines, whose brand differentiation is traditionally almost as low as banks) the standout carrier for many years has been Southwest Airlines. Their winning ambition is to be the highest profit airline in the US, supported by the intention to create the highest levels of employee and passenger satisfaction - deliberately written in that order.
Chris Harrison leads The Brand Inside in Africa
www.thebrandinside.com
