“A Business’s staff are the most important people it serves. Satisfy and challenge them and you will almost certainly exceed your customers’ service expectations.”
Before we begin to examine the importance of staff to your business take one minute to answer these three (3) questions…
1. When was the last time that a business you purchased something from rang you up to ask whether you were happy with your purchase?
2. Has a business you regularly buy from ever sent you a Birthday Card?
3. Name three (3) businesses that you have been to in the last month which made you feel welcome and went the extra mile with service?
Well if you struggled to answer these questions you are not alone. The harsh reality is that with the growth of franchised small businesses, and larger low staffed variety stores we are seeing the continued drop in quality customer service. This in turn is leading to less customer loyalty and more price/convenience buying for customers.
The frustration of this is that it costs you a lot of money to get a customer to buy from your business and yet owners seem happy to just provide OK service and HOPE customers might come back.
So WHY are owners happy to settle for OK service?
Well in reality a lot of business owners want to control everything within their business including service standards.
Unfortunately this leads to staff being ‘told’ what to do and pressured to do it. This also means that the business owner is left with the sole responsibility of both coming up with the standards for the business as well as enforcing them across the business. There is rarely enough time in a day as such this approach leads to business owner burn-out and frustration, as well as high staff turnover, inconsistent staff performance, and OK customer service.
To achieve a better result you should consider the following;
1. Take the time to choose the right staff and be prepared to pay them what they are worth.
2. Once hired, take the time to make all new team members feel welcome and involve them in team activities.
3. Create a True Team Culture which encourages all staff to find ways to improve the way the business is run and customers are served.
4. Measure, review and reward both individual and team performance achievements.
5. TRUST and EMPOWER your Team members to take on more responsibilities.
Your staff are your business’s most valuable asset and one of your points of difference from your competitors. Take the time to nurture and involve your staff and watch your business improve!