I think too often in [tag]business[/tag] we get caught up in the focus of “running the business” that we forget to “run the organization.”
It seems to me leaders have three ‘personas’ they need to manage:
- Shareholder / Customer Relations - the externally visible person who clearly defines and explains the value and [tag]performance[/tag] of the business to the community;
- Organizational Leader - the person whose job it is to make sure the organization ‘works,’ that it’s set up right, that the policies and procedures are sound and are followed, and that [tag]management[/tag] is effective;
- People Leader - the internally visible person who understands employees and their needs, and champions the changes required to drive the right [tag]culture[/tag].
Here are a few points from articles about filling role #3 and the value of treating employees like customers.
- When buzz about a potential change in benefits makes its way through employee networks, they often respond with anxiety and consternation. Companies should approach them with the same caution that consumers get, using market research to understand the workforce, segment it, and gauge its responses to potential changes. When a company tinkers with benefits, it should “brand” the adjustments with themes that research shows are important to employees. Then it should aim those themes at relevant employee segments and actively address the concerns of people who will dislike the changes, while also emphasizing the positive ones that other segments will applaud. [McKinsey Quarterly, read more]
- Southwest Airlines founder Herbert D. Kelleher has a similar theory. He says, “You have to treat your employees like customers.” His final meeting as head of Southwest shows what an [tag]employee-centric management[/tag] style can create…Over the years, whenever reporters would ask him the secret to Southwest’s success, Mr. Kelleher had a stock response. ‘You have to treat your employees like customers,” he told Fortune in 2001. “When you treat them right, then they will treat your outside customers right. That has been a powerful competitive weapon for us.” [37Signals, read more]
- So the question is: does your company use compensation packages to attract and keep employees or does it promote a supporting, fun, and intelligent work culture? Personally, I believe it is a better work culture that keeps good employees at your company. Someone who is motivated by money will leave your company as soon as he or she can get more money somewhere else. [Service Untitled, read more]
- Conversely, the best employee-driven operators ask themselves, “What do we want to be famous for with our employees?” Is it favoritism, mercurial moods, daily doubles, endless closing-opening shifts? Or do you offer [tag]moral leadership[/tag], fairness, energy, equity, balance, challenge and fun? The best operators know that they’re not just selling food and beverages, they’re selling the server’s smile, energy, knowledge, attitude and empathy. The care and maintenance of both your internal and external customers is the key to both guest and employee [tag]retention[/tag]. “A company that is bleeding people,” restaurant consultant Curt Coffey says, “is bleeding value.” [FindArticles, read more]
- Okay, now let’s swap out customer for employee and answer these questions again. Do you approach them with a similar mindset? What if your organization applied the same degree of focus on the internal retention of employees as it does on the external retention of customers? Stephen Covey wrote a few years ago: “Some organizations talk a lot about the customer, and then neglect the employees who deal with the customer. This mindset produces unmotivated employees, worker-manager disputes and poor business results.” [Bailey Workplay, read more]
If you know what your employees are thinking about how they are being treated, what they are concerned about, what they think their critical needs are, how management and leadership are performing, how [tag]communication[/tag] works in your organization, congratulations!
If you only think you know those things, find out! There are some surprising ways to do this:
- Ask.
- Listen – don’t talk, don’t say “yeah, but…”, just listen.
- Start with the simplest concern employees have, maybe one that doesn’t cost anything, and do something about it. Then go back to number #1.
This process builds [tag]trust[/tag], and you’ll soon realize that most of the things needed are not big expensive investments, but rather management behaviors.
If you want to know exactly how your employees think and feel about your organization, management and leadership practices and communication, and other critical factors of [tag]job satisfaction[/tag], I recommend this tool. If you’re a reader, you may be interested in one of these books:
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