Looking for the fastest way to get customers to love your brand? Make sure your employees love their jobs first with employee engagement.
Happy workers put a halo on a brand more than any marketing campaign can. Who knows your brand better than employees? And if they're jazzed about the products and services your company sells, that enthusiasm will rub off on customers. Plus, brand loyalty flows directly to the company's bottom line, says Tiffani Bova, global growth evangelist at Salesforce.com.
A recent study Bova cites shows a unified customer and employee engagement experience can increase revenue by up to 50%. "The needs and preferences of both customers and employees must be considered with every decision made, large and small," said Bova, author of "The Experience Mindset."
Make It Easier For Employees To Serve Customers
How do you get employees pumped about work? Start by improving systems, which are often an employee pain point. Take a good look at the technology your company is using for customer-facing employees, Bova said. It's hard to smile while ringing up a customer if a cash register is frustrating to use.
Don't assume your systems are working well. Most executives think their companies' systems are fine. But only a third of all employees and only 20% of customer-facing employees agree with that statement, Bova says. Torturing employees with outdated technology can have serious repercussions on employee happiness. And customers pick up on that right away.
"Without a concerted effort to reassess what employees need to do their job better for customers, your customer experience will suffer," Bova said.
Define Expectations For Employee Engagement
Another rookie mistake is assuming you, the boss, know what makes employees happy, Bova says. Don't guess. Ask them.
Have your employees tell you what happiness at work means to them. Then "plan a fun way to choose 'winning definitions,'" for your company, Bova said.
And once you know what makes employees enjoy their work, if they're reasonable requests, put them into action. There's nothing as frustrating for employees than asking for their opinion only to ignore it, says Alison Smith. She's chief human resources officer for Cortland, a multifamily real estate company.
"Our core values are embedded throughout our training, rewards, and communications to help reinforce how important they are to the strength of our culture," she said.
Seek And Use Feedback For Employee Engagement
Simply listening to employees and putting their ideas into motion will separate you from competitors. Most companies that survey employees ignore what they say, Bova said. "That kind of behavior negatively affects employee satisfaction," she said.
Start small. Ask just one question about some part of the business, Bova said. "Make sure you communicate throughout the entire process. If employees know what you did is because of what they asked you, they will be much more willing to tell you other things when asked."
Another way to increase employee engagement and the customer experience is to create an employee advisory board. Fill it with people from various customer-facing groups. "This will reveal the realities of what your people face each day," she said.
Employee Engagement: Provide Listening Mechanisms
Employees need to feel heard. If they don't, they'll simply shut down communication with you, Smith said.
And 61% of employees feel their employer needs to do a better job of listening to their feedback, according to a recent survey. Make sure employees know any policy is changeable with discussion, said Frank Devine, founder of Accelerated Improvement, a consulting firm and author of "Rapid Mass Engagement."
Urge employees to challenge conventional wisdom and the company's policies, he adds. "Get rid of policy roadblocks that can quickly dissipate the rapid progress made by engaged employees," he said. You're be amazed at how employees' work quality will rise if they have more of a say.
Remember To Focus On People
Employees' opinion of work changes slowly, though, Devine said. A policy shift on paper isn't going to do anything. Happiness only improves once people change their behavior — and that takes time.
"When enough individuals change their behavior in the same direction, employee engagement has taken place and the culture has changed," Devine said.
