Rules of (Employee) Engagement
I’ve attended two CRM conferences in the past two weeks with session after session on everything customer strategy—social media, CRM technology, capturing customer insight, boosting retention, and more. The one common theme: No matter how terrific the strategy or technology, none of them will fly without great people at the controls.
You’ve probably heard it a thousand times, but it still bears repeating: If you want loyal, engaged customers, you first need loyal, engaged employees. As much as we in this “CRM industry” tout the idea of customers first, and as much as the reality is that without customers you have a hobby not a business, it is employees who deliver those loyalty-building customer experiences, whether through delivering great service, designing unique products, creating and participating in two-way communications, or simplifying processes. Thus, to truly succeed over both the short and long term, a customer strategy must includes a comprehensive employee engagement strategy.
Here is some of the advice on employee engagement shared at the two events.
At the CRM Association’s Return to Customer annual conference, 1to1 Customer Champion Pete Winemiller talked about his approach to employee engagement. Winemiller is the vice president of guest services for the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder (formerly the Seattle SuperSonics) and the WNBA’s Seattle Storm. One thing he said that really caught my attention was how important it is to define expectations. He cited leadership as an example. The Thunder and Storm want customer-facing employees to act as leaders, so management defines exactly what that means. In the case of the Thunder and Storm, guest care leadership means each employee should be a problem solver. Winemiller says the definition of a leader as a problem solver is one of responsibility, not of position, meant to prompt employees to take action. The guest care leadership/problem solver role is further defined with an equation that Winemiller shares with the arena staff:
Know your stuff (being able to answer fans questions)
+ Listen to learn (hear what guests are saying, don’t just rush to respond)
+ Go with your heart (don’t overthink; do what you know is right)
= Being a problem solver
According to Winemiller, this works because employees know “they have the green light to make the guest experiences gold.” He explains that employees are there with guests in the moment, thus best know the circumstances and can make a wise judgment based on that. Empowering employees to solve customers’ concerns in the moment builds employee engagement and customer satisfaction. It shows that management has confidence in its staff and gives them the OK to take risks. And it shows customers that the organization truly appreciates their business and wants to deliver a great experience.
At Gartner CRM Summit, I got some insight on the employee engagement approach at Overstock.com. After a presentation by Brian Popelka, vice president of customer care, and Stormy Simon, senior vice president of customer care, on Overstock.com’s award-winning customer service strategy—Overstock.com captured a Gold 2008 Gartner & 1to1 Customer award in the customer service optimization category—I asked what the company does to engage its contact center staff. Popelka and Simon cited several things that caught my attention.
First was culture. At Overstock.com the customer care employees are the company MVPs. They’re closest to the customers, so best know what customers want and expect. Consequently, they are continuously presented with growth opportunities both within and outside of the contact center. Many employees throughout the organization started with Overstock.com in the contact center.
Another is communication. Employees are encouraged give feedback and share their ideas, whether it specifically relates to customer service or to any other part of the organization. Agents’ close connection with their managers and with both Popelka and Simon also impacts compensation. Bonuses are considered on a truly individual basis because Popelka and Simon know all the agents. Overstock.com also emphasizes excellence and personal growth through an ongoing training program called O University.
Finally, respect plays a key role. This is evident in several areas. Management will not tolerated abuse by customers of any agent. Agents have permission to hang up on customers who use profanity and can escalate customers as appropriate to their supervisor. Management also realizes that like any employee, agents need some flexibility in their schedule, so supervisors will work with agents to accommodate their needs. Management also understands the value of encouraging agents to be themselves and be comfortable in their surroundings, so allows agents to decorate their cubicles to help make their surroundings more personal and pleasant.
What do you do to engage your employees?
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Organizations spend a lot of money on programs designed to teach employees how to treat customers. What you say in your article is 100% on the money. I see a lot of complaints from customers that claim that they are not given the attention they should have. I totally agree with your assessment of the employee/customer interaction.
I am a Mexican industrial consultant. The way I tell my clients to have employees engaged is to take 1% of profits before taxes and make a monthly fund, which will be prorated among all personnel according to their wages. This fund is not cumulative and is it will be distributed if the quantitative corporate objectives are met, together will the qualitative ones (such as the amount of value created and offered to the clients and consumers). If only one of the objectives is not met, the corresponding monthly fund disappears, is lost, and a new fund will be raised for the next month.
This way everyone become a supervisor of the rest of the employees.
Ginger,
Thanks for posting about employee engagement. Peppers and Rogers is a great organization so I know that you especially appreciate working in an environment that helps you and your colleagues thrive.
Michael Lee Stallard