It may sound as a cliché but the
fact of the matter is people are
quite impossible to deal with. And with good reason too. One
may buy trolley machines, a tractor or even install a sturdy chimney
or furnace. One will have to pay the bucks through the nose. It is
quite easy to figure out where the trolley or furnace will be kept, when it
is likely to worn out, how much it is going to burn holes in your
pockets by way of maintenance cost and when it is likely to turn into
a veritable junk piece. People will not absolutely meet these
conditions. Predictably, people are so unpredictable and
unfathomable. Given this unpredictability, one can never say with a degree of
certainty that it is quite easy to figure people out. Since people—and by
the natural corollary the customers and employees, are so
unpredictable than climate, it is preposterous to assume
that they can be managed in set ways. It takes hell lot of a
work and shameless audacity to manage the people. Few companies
succeed. Many companies fall by the wayside. It is not uncommon to
find companies religiously examining the quality of the processes
involved in production. Companies seldom measure the quality of
interactions employees have with external customers.
There is no gainsaying the fact that every
employee-customer interface can add or destroy the value for
the organization. In spite of this pressing reality, many
organizations take a dim view of managing or assessing every
employee-customer interface. If only organizations
care to keep tabs on every employee-customer interfaces, it can
unravel the extent of differences in customer and employee
satisfaction levels cutting across the divisions and layers in the company.
Some banks in India are widely perceived to be excellent places to
work. Some retail malls run by retail behemoths may have become the favorite
place to hang out and shop until you drop dead. Many banks or super malls
are equally worst. Not-so-pleasant employee-customer interfaces
can dent company's bottom line and top line beyond repair. The
overarching question that begs an answer is "how to ratchet up the quality
of employee-customer encounters and diffuse such experiences across
the company." The way forward is to assess the extent to
which customers-employees are emotionally connected with
the company. The fact is that highly satisfied, spirited and
committed employees can connect with customers better. Customers
who are engaged with your company can remain absolutely loyal
and continue to buy your product. When employees and customers
feel satisfied and connected, company's bottom line may skyrocket.
By putting the entire array of customer-employee interface under
the microscope, companies can manage it effectively and possibly
identify few red flags or dangers signals that may threaten to whittle away at
the bottom line.
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