How to create happy customers?
Some of the most frequent and common mistakes, Managers make today are as follows:
1. Getting business and closing deals is on top of their mind.
2. Spend too much time in monitoring and collecting the data instead of focusing on developing the sales team
3. They drive number of calls per day each sales person should make instead of quality of calls.
4. No focus on leading by example and creating role models.
5. Being too transactional.
Today most organizations are customer centric and continuously strive to make their customers happy to increase business. They feel that a happy customer is the key to their success. However in my opinion this is the result of an organization with happy, satisfied and motivated employees. It is important to understand that happy, satisfied and motivated employee is the catalyst in ensuring customer delight. Most of us feel that customers are important but in my opinion it is employees who are important. It is employees who take care of customers and if they are not happy then we can expect happy customers either.
How do we create happy, satisfied and motivated employees? “Manager-Employee Relationships” are the key to building a community of happy employees. The number one reason why employees leave or are not able to perform is because of their managers and should be the key food for thought. The secret to a happy, engaged employees is treating them like individuals, nurturing their growth and enabling autonomy to be creative, take initiative, and generally be free to be great at their work.
Any positive working relationship is based on trust. An environment of trust assumes confidentiality, safety, and it carries with it an implicit message that employee and manager are taking care of each other’s interest. This is when employees can accept criticism and even anger from a boss they trust. The employees know deep down that the boss really means to help. Without trust in the workplace, communication and teamwork will erode. Additionally, morale will decrease while turnover will rise. By creating happy employees you can build employees’ trust in management, thereby making their workplace an environment filled with innovation, creativity, and ultimately higher profits and happy customers. Managers need to be proactive in creating an environment of trust apparent to all.
So how do we build trust amongst employees?
BE A ROLE MODEL
An employee always looks up to his or her manager as a role model and hence a Manager should be a perfect combination of knowledge and leadership qualities. He should be the right combination of being a boss and a friend with his or her subordinates. Set example of success by leading them from front rather than just being an advisor. Is able to strategize and provide solutions to successfully manage various sales and customer situations. Apart from this, he should spend quality time with employees, with the objective of building and grooming them and at the same time being honest to them. It’s not enough, just to be present for meetings and other essential tasks only. It is important to be honest not only with yourself but also with all the subordinates. If we as managers lose trust due to our behavior, the impact on the organization is very negative. As managers we should be straight in our approach and communication with subordinates with right feedback good or bad which should be with the purpose of improving their working. It is important to remember that respect from employees can be only earned and can’t be imposed.
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
People come from different places and backgrounds at the workplace without knowing history or background of each other. It is important for a Manager to understand each employee and their personal environments understanding are really important. As a manager it is important to develop relationships and rapport with each employee and to achieve this manager should be the right combination of boss and friend. Good interpersonal relations can get things done faster and more effectively .If you want to have a good relationship with your employees, you have to be there for the ups and downs. Having a friendly relationship with your workers can be a desirable thing, as relationship of this sort makes the workplace more comfortable one. Being close friends with your employees, on the other hand, could be a poor choice. A proper balance between professional and personal relationship between the employee and manager is a recipe for success.
OPEN DOOR POLICY
Many organizations fail to retain employees or not able to create a healthy work environment because their managers are difficult to access and or are not able to communicate with them openly. This only builds frustration amongst employees and an unhappy employee creates more unhappiness not only in the workplace but also amongst customers. A manager should communicate and remove all roadblocks for employees to approach him or her. If a manager wants to build an effective employee relationship, he/she should try to communicate in a transparent manner regarding what is expected out of them, give the right feedback at the right time and on regular intervals by citing examples and how to improve. This helps in developing the capabilities and imposes trust and confidence in the manager. Only Criticism without feedback may just go opposite.
Inclusion
Planning is an integral part of business for any organization. A bottom up approach in the planning exercise or for that matter in building policies should always be encouraged. It gives the employees a sense of belonging and ownership. They consider the policies and plans as their own with a greater sense of ownership and are inclined to achieving the same in a much better way. In other words Empower your employees, but this may take time as empowerment is based on trust between Manager and Employees.
BE FAIR ; RESOLVE CONFLICTS
As a manager it is important to treat all your employees with equal fairness. Any bias to a particular employee could be detrimental to the manager’s image of being a role model and building trust. Have a positive attitude towards all employees. Instead of allowing your preferences to be known, treat all employees the same, showing them all that they are equally valuable and appreciated within the workplace. Normally conflicts do arise in the workplace between employees or employee and manager .As a good manager and leader do not let it grow , rather as a true leader and as a concerned manager you should proactively resolve the situation by listening and understanding the issue from both sides .
Finally, I would say that great service and customer delight is only delivered by satisfied and happy employees. So as a manager one should focus on building a team of happy and satisfied employees.
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