The Need for Long-Term Commitment
a service improvement
process, it is vital that the
performance appraisal process
evolves to include specific elements of the initiative. The behaviors
that you’ve identified as core elements of your service initiative
must be included in the frontline performance appraisal mecha-
nism. The leadership team usually attends some kind of training
during the launch of a service improvement initiative. Leadership
appraisals must reflect all of the elements that were discussed in the
leadership training. Leaders must be required to set specific service
objectives for their areas of responsibility and be held accountable
for achieving those objectives. Look at the current appraisal process
your organization uses. Does it significantly reflect the elements
of service that you say are important to the organization? Be very
critical of the appraisal process. Making changes will be hard and
bureaucratic, but such changes must occur to ensure sustained
improvement.
Like the performance appraisal process, all job descriptions
must evolve to significantly reflect the critical elements of the
service improvement effort. Management job descriptions must
reflect expectations regarding leading a service-driven organization.
I’m not talking about a casual mention of service. It must be clear
from reading your organization’s job descriptions that service
excellence is a core expectation. Reviewing and changing job
Promotions
Who is moving ahead in your organization? There is prob-
ably no single decision that more clearly communicates what
an organization values than deciding who gets promoted up the
corporate ladder. It is one thing to say that those employees who
live the values of the company are the ones who will move ahead.
It is something else to ensure that “living the values” is truly a part
of the promotion decision. There are, of course, many factors that
go into a promotion decision. If, however, being a customer service
role model isn’t ingrained in the process, you are leaving to chance
the most powerful factor in developing and sustaining a culture
of service excellence. In your company, what is the process for
selecting individuals for promotion? Is it a carefully orchestrated
process that ensures that those with the right mix of talents and
skills are promoted, or is it a process that relies on contacts and
connections? Instituting a rigorous system for succession planning
is difficult, but it is another action that separates those companies
that are truly committed to service excellence from those that
simply want a quick fix.
Merit Increase/Bonus System
For those employees who are bonus eligible and/or receive
merit-based pay increases, what are the criteria for the various
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Job Descriptions
descriptions is mind-numbing work. Few
organizations are willing to do it. Only those
organizations willing to make a long-term commit-
ment to service excellence will take on such an effort.
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