listening to the voice of the customer and
responding to customer needs, culture
awareness and integration programs, and
renewed invigoration of the organization’s
vision, mission and values for adaptation
to the staff ’s individual aspirations.
To outgrow a founder and have ownership
of the organization’s dream and corporate
culture, an organization must invest in its
people, else at the first sign of growth and
the stretch it usually comes with in terms
of internal and external resource pressure,
the staff will balk and head for the hills
literally and figuratively.
Employees who have internalized the
bigger picture and have felt part of the
growth process, will stand the test of time
as they are promulgated to spearhead new
products and services roll outs, manage
new branches and outlets, take charge
of new geographies, all whilst ensuring
the original standards and work ethic are
upheld.
Whereas indeed it may not be possible
with growth and expansion and the
accompanying
increased
customer
acquisition, to know every single customer
by name, and to have deep rooted
relationships with them as it was in the
beginning, there are fundamental things
that do not change where customers
are concerned. Every customer must be
handled with courtesy, dignity and respect
and the voice of the customer must be
heard.
Different pocket groups of staff within the
organization should know their customer
groups intimately and that works just
fine, for as long as they make every effort
to have them feel appreciated, seek their
continuous feedback and have a reward
and recognition system for internal and
external customers. These tenets are not
bound by organization size and need to be
applied indiscriminately.
Meeting customer expectations is not
rocket science and requires very simple
interventions - to consistently put them
at the center of all plans, and to provide
them an opportunity to be part of their
customer journey.
To founders of organizations who need to
champion successful transformation, the
words of Fred Rogers (1928-2003) Author
and Producer extraordinaire still resound
- “Transitions are almost always signs of
growth but they can bring feelings of loss.
To get somewhere new, we may have to
leave somewhere else behind and move on
to greatness”.
Carolyne Gathuru is the founder and
director of strategy at LifeSkills
Consulting. She has several years of
experience in customer experience
strategy development and training.
You can commune with her on
this or related issues via mail at:
CGathuru@life-skills.co.ke
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