They sure think they can. Many a company tries to become more customer-centric by:
• Retraining current staff in the niceties of customer interaction
• Motivating staff to deliver great service
• Hiring new staff more inclined to “play nice”
But doesn’t the right person doing the wrong work – or doing the right work the wrong way -produce the same negative effect as customer-unfriendly people interacting with customers? Shouldn’t we start down the road to customer-centricity by changing what work we do and how, first?
And BTW, changing what work we do, coupled with optimizing who does what work, shuffles the deck organizationally. So what I just called “first” is really second. Making requisite organizational shifts has to lead off.
So can we please put aside the bellows we’re using to inflate employee enthusiasm for customers long enough to get the right people doing the right work the right way – and with the proper technology support?
Isn’t this just common sense? And if it is, why aren’t more companies taking steps in proper sequence?
