Change management and organizational development experts speak of ‘creating alignment’: aligning organizational strategy with daily business needs. And a big part of this is creating an alignment between customer needs and employee actions as customer service providers. But we must also take note of internal customers, those people within the organization who serve us as internal customers and whom we serve as internal customers. “There is a remarkably close and consistent link between how internal customers are treated and how external customers perceive the quality of your organization’s services. It is almost impossible to provide good external service if your organization does not provide good internal service.” R. Zemke and K. Anderson, Delivering the Knock Your Socks Off Service1981.
And it’s not just about the internal customers within the walls of your organization, it’s also about those internal customers and customer service providers (suppliers and contractors) who are remote, those people who supply your organization directly or enter in contact with your external customers, directly. , as your representative. These vendors and contractors should be considered an integral part of your organization and the service they provide should be measured with the same accuracy and frequency as you measure the level of service you provide.
In my opinion, serving others, whether internal or external (customer, vendor, colleague, peer, supervisor, contractor), should reflect your organization’s values and process for retaining the best customers, whether internal or external. . can be applied in any of these groups. Vendors and contractors must be selected and retained based on their commitment to serving your customers, and their employees, as you require. Although you do not “own” these vendors and contractors, you have the right to demand the equivalent level of service that they provide to your customers. When selecting your vendors and contractors, or measuring those you are currently associated with, the following guidelines can help ensure internal service meets the standard.
Recruit vendors and contractors as you would your employees.
You need to look for the best person for the job, the high performer who will be able to meet your business expectations and increase results for your company. Why not use some of the recruiting tools you use when searching for an employee? Think about it. You will be paying this vendor or contractor to perform services for you or your clients, so expect them to be of the caliber you expect from a new hire. Consider requesting a resume of their qualifications and experience, the clients they have served, any certifications that may be required, and, if available, client testimonials. Interview them similar to the way you interview employees. Check your references and make sure you have a contractual agreement that clearly documents what you expect of them and what they can expect of you (this is just another version of job profiles and job expectations).
In these cases, you are looking for high-performing people who are capable of serving both your customers and your employees. And you have a responsibility to provide them with the information, resources, and possibly tools they will need to serve both of these groups accurately and professionally.
Provide clear performance expectations.
Even if your vendors and contractors have worked with your organization for a long period of time, it’s critical to regularly review your expectations of their role and how you expect them to serve your customers. Clients are retained because they have developed a good relationship with their supplier and any contractor or supplier dealing directly with their client is seen by the client as an employee of their company and therefore; on behalf of your company.
When I was the general manager of a power distribution company, one of our contract service technicians accidentally cut the customer’s phone line. The first problem for the customer was, of course, the phone line being cut and the associated inconvenience. The second problem was that the contractor apologized but told the customer that he would have to call our company to ensure his satisfaction regarding the cost and inconvenience of repairing the line. The third issue was the response the customer received from the branch manager when he called our company office to complain. They told him that we were not responsible as he was a contractor who had cut the line! Yes, I was also surprised when the customer contacted me to complain and he told me what the branch manager had said. Even more distressing was the fact that the branch manager defended his position when I called him about the complaint!
To be sure, we do not clearly identify our expectations for customer service to our contractor. For me, they were simple. Apologize to the customer, call our office immediately to request a solution, and then work with the customer to implement the solution. Simple for me, but certainly not for our contractor or, I quickly found out, my branch manager.
So my next step was to build a contractor customer service agreement and develop a customer service training program to implement with both our employees and our contractors. Then we rolled it out to my entire region. We still had customer service issues with both our contractors and employees on a regular basis, but this was a great first step.
Conduct frequent performance reviews.
Providing your vendors and contractors with specific and regular feedback will not only give you confidence that they are meeting your needs, it will also give them the opportunity to discuss any challenges, issues, or customer service issues with you before they result in cancellation. loss of clients. These regular reviews must be part of the contract between you and the contractor and must be implemented on time. During these reviews, you should include your employees’ primary contacts to ensure that all partners are clear on the issues and can participate in developing the solutions. This ensures commitment to solutions.
Reward and recognize excellence in customer service.
At a minimum, providing them with a reference means you’re satisfied with their customer service performance. But, without a doubt, the best reward for suppliers and contractors is getting more work from you.
Following these guidelines will go a long way toward ensuring alignment between your company, your employees, and your vendors and contractors, with business goals and strategy. All sectors can then focus on delivering the expected level of customer service to the customer base they want to retain.