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Leadership and customer service - is there a link?
It's your first day in a new job.
This is the job that you really wanted. The one that you saw
advertised and immediately knew was for you. The one that you
spent hours crafting an application letter for. The one that
required you to beat all the other applicants at interview. The
one where you anxiously awaited the postman to see if you'd been
successful.
New suit. Clean shirt and your favourite tie. Shoes freshly
polished. Hair cut just the way your Mum would like it.
You're keen. You arrive early. You greet each new person with a
warm smile. Trying hard to build rapport without seeming to be
over confident. You go out of your way for customers. There's a
spring in your step and a friendly ring to your voice.
Now look around. No matter what job you're in and no matter how
long you've been there. Does everyone around you have the energy
and enthusiasm of new starters? Or has their energy and
enthusiasm dwindled? Are they still there because they love what
they do or are they simply there because they haven't been able
to escape yet?
Is there a link between leadership, customer service and
business success? Absolutely! Research by the Strategic Planning
Institute found that businesses which gave good service grew
twice as fast as those with poor service. And, in all my years
of researching customer service, I've yet to find a business
with weak leadership giving great service.
So what are the qualities that I've observed?
Leaders need to have a vision of what they want to achieve. How
will anyone ever sign up to a cause if there is no cause to sign
up to?
The vision needs to be communicated. Let everyone share in it.
Let them see what is in it for them by becoming a follower.
Great leaders have passion. The strength and the energy to work
against the odds to achieve their vision.
Great leaders delegate and empower. That doesn't mean that they
simply dump on their people. But they create structure, they
allocate responsibility, they help to create systems, they
provide support and training and resources. And they empower
their people to make decisions. This is part of what makes
people feel significant.
There's respect. Great leaders sometimes have to take tough
decisions but there's always respect for their people. They
treat their employees as customers - internal customers.
More communication. How are we doing? What are we doing? What
new is happening? Successful business leaders are masters at
keeping their people informed. Notice boards are up to date and
informative. Key performance indicators are understood and
displayed. Targets are set and success is celebrated. This is
how leaders create a sense of community.
People are motivated to do what's important. If you believe that
customer service is
important to your business what are you
doing to motivate your people to deliver great service? Bonuses
based purely on profits are not the answer.
Great leaders stick to principles. In my previous article I told
the story of Pret A Manger and what great service they give
their customers. I once wrote to their Chief Executive, Julian
Metcalfe, and asked if I could spend time in his business
researching what they do and how they do it. I promised that I
was only looking to report a positive view and that Julian would
have the final say on anything that I wanted to publish.
The next day, Julian called me up to thank me for my interest
but explained that he would decline my offer. He went on to
explain that he is incredibly proud of his people and what they
achieve but he could not collaborate on any project that might
be seen to praise his business. Julian told me of an old Chinese
proverb - "The higher that the monkey climbs the tree the more
that you can see of it's backside". I understood what he meant
and admired his principle.
Great leaders walk the walk and talk the talk.
There's a famous story about a group of visitors to Disney. They
were walking in the Magic Kingdom when they saw a grey haired
man walk out of his way to pick up a piece of litter. One of the
group approached the man and asked, "How many custodians are
there here?" The man replied, "45,000". The guest was surprised
at so many.
The next day the group attended a Traditions meeting and the
same grey haired man was there. His name was Michael Eisner,
Chairman and CEO of Disney.
And great leaders keep the energy going.
I have been fortunate enough to spend some time at Richer
Sounds. Richer Sounds is a hi-fi store that has been in the
Guinness Book of Records six years running for the highest
retail sales per square foot of any retail business anywhere in
the world.
Throughout my day at Richer Sounds, members of the Team were
regularly checking their performance against target. They kept
reminding each other about hitting target and getting together
for a drink at the end of the week. There was a buzz and the
Team was loving it.
How would I sum up leadership in one sentence? It's simply
creating a Team of people with the skills and experience of
older employees but the energy and enthusiasm of new employees.
If you're the boss, does this describe the people who work in
your business?
About the author:
Derek Williams is creator of The WOW! Awards™ an International
Professional Speaker and Chief Executive for the Society of
Consumer Affairs Professionals in Europe.
For more information about Derek Williams visit www.MrWow.co.uk.
For The WOW! Awards (including access to a FREE customer service
newsletter) visit www.TheWowAwards.com
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