Empowerment For Better Customer Service
Many companies have found a direct correlation between customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. Companies like Disney and FedEx are known for their strong customer service. They understand that to provide outstanding customer service, employees must be empowered.
Empowering employee’s means giving them or someone who manages them the authority to do whatever it takes to satisfy the customer. Often you have to trust your employees to make the right decision without waiting for management to provide approval.
This level of empowerment requires that employees be trained to recognize and act on opportunities to improve customer service. Managers must remove the constraints that keep employees from making decisions on their own. They also must give the employees the confidence that their contributions do make a difference.
It is not just “being nice” to employees that leads them to provide better customer service. The continuous improvement of the organizational processes removes many hassles that produce disgruntled employees, who in turn produce dissatisfied customers.
Empowered Employees
Some of the benefits of employee empowerment for the employee include:
- Workers feel they are given the opportunity to do what they do best every day.
- They believe their opinion counts.
- They sense their fellow workers are committed to quality.
- They’ve made a direct connection between their work and the company’s mission.
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Why Management Should Go to Gemba
IT departments are always looking at Leadership training, ITIL or other best practices to improve their department. A Gemba walk performed one or more times a day is a zero cost, high impact practice that will give you a better understanding of the work in progress and the people who do the work. Quickly you will find your Gemba walk to be the most valuable part of your day.
Gemba is a Japanese term meaning “the place where the truth can be found”. If you seek solutions to problems to that need to be fixed, go to Gemba. If you want to see the work behind the reports, go to Gemba. If you want to show leadership, go to Gemba. Go to where the work is performed and observe and engage with those who do it.
The purpose is to observe what is going on in the workplace. To gather information on any current problems so they can be resolved. To look for work and workers that are outside of normal business practice. To engage with workers as they do they work. To see and be seen.
In planning for my day, one of my first tasks is to go to Gemba. I walk the floor and every area where work is being done that I am responsible for. Since Gemba visits should be unscripted and unannounced you should do them at various times of the day. This will allow you to see work as it is really done, rather than work that is staged for you.
The best way to observe during a Gemba visit is to find a remote corner where you have a clear view of the workplace and just stand there. Observe what is going on. See what work is being done. See how employees are doing the work. Take a notepad with you to write down any thoughts you may have such as follow-ups or ideas for improvement.
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Don’t Get Caught In The Blame Game
A project goes wrong. A flaw was missed. A product was released into production that has caused many problems. Who is to blame?
- “Well it wasn’t me!”
- “We did our part!”
- “I told them this would happen!”
- “Not my problem!”
Too often the blame game is started. People are more concerned about covering their collective rear ends than the mistake. Often extraordinary measures are taken to deflect any blame. Insulating oneself or department is seen as a defensive measure to ensure blame for any failure cannot be reflected back on them. I see this as counterproductive, but that is another article.
Mistakes WILL happen and the blame game has been around a long time. How you choose to handle situations like this will say a lot about you personally and as a manager. Your first reaction should not be to find the person or group that made the mistake and rail them up one wall and down the other.
Your first reaction to should to step up and take control of the situation.
- If upper management is not yet aware of the mistake you should be the one bring it to their attention. It is much better if it comes from you than someone else.
- Take the lead with a proactive approach to reducing any further damage the mistake may cause.
- Find the root cause of the mistake and put into place measures to try and ensure such a mistake cannot happen again.
- If the mistake can be traced back to a particular employee look at what you could have done or can do to help them.
- Examine your Quality Assurance process to see how it slipped through.
See a mistake for what it can be, an opportunity for growth and improvement for you, your group or team and the individual. Don’t look for others to share the blame. Whatever has happened step up and take responsibility for it. If you try to affix blame on others you play yourself as the victim. Rise above such petty thoughts. Even if it is not your fault to play the victim will be seen as a weakness.
The Role of a Leader
Brian Tracy a best selling author and speaker shares his insight in getting results from your team in an article posted on Entrepreneur.com. Brian starts by explaining the four phases a team goes through in development. The article then gives five qualities needed to foster throughout the stages of team development and explains how to lead your team effectively.
Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy on Amazon.com
Read the full article on Entrepreneur.com - The Role of a Leader
