I have always been a firm believer in the old adage that “people are our greatest asset.” There is nothing quite as powerful as your employee’s passion, dedication, energy, and drive to make customers happy and ignite a relationship that stands the test of time. A happy customer wants to deal with you, they enjoy the interaction with you and ultimately, they see your company as a vital component in their success.
But for our people to truly be an asset, we must empower them and provide a culture that engages them and enables them to thrive. Think about that for a minute, we as managers, a big part of our role is to pull together a group of individuals who often have had no previous association, from different cultures and backgrounds and meld them into a cohesive team. Whether it’s a production, sales, service, or finance team, a team who understands the company’s objectives and goals and has the tools, resources and is empowered and engaged to deliver.
We can achieve this by investing time in our teams, listening, showing respect and leadership to maximise employee engagement. This can then deliver real and tangible benefits.
Customer Loyalty
Those in customer facing roles and are interacting directly with our valued customers are the face of your business. With every contact they impact your customers and when your people are engaged, passionate and motivated they enhance your brand and help build customer loyalty. On the flip side, if they are unmotivated, disengaged, and unhappy then your brand image can suffer, and customer loyalty is tested, leading to customer churn.
Brand Loyalty
Not all your employees will be directly involved with your customers, but none the less they do interact with the wider community. So, what and how they feel and speak about your company can either enhance or tarnish your brand and reputation. A passionate employee will speak enthusiastically about their role and working at your company. Think about the last BBQ or gathering you went to and hearing people talk about their job, was it positive or negative?
Profit
Greater employee engagement and empowerment leads not only to happier loyal customers but sales and bottom-line growth. Empowered and engaged employees are often more creative and driven to deliver innovative solutions whether it’s a better more efficient way to do something or listening to customers about their needs and then coming up with solutions that meet those needs. New streams of revenue and improved productivity are often the outcome.
I leave you with the thought that success is a Team Sport, and your team can only flourish when you, the coach, provides an environment where empowerment, respect and a culture of trust is cultivated. We as managers need to cultivate a customer centric culture and ensure that our people are engaged and empowered. If you can achieve that, then your people will live up to the old adage.