What types of collaboration experiences do you create for clients, as they work with you and your teams?
After all, no one sells, produces, delivers or services in a vacuum. Each one of these variables in the order-to-cash cycle involves an army of (or at least a few more) people. And that army of people creates a variety of customer experiences as they generate targeted client outcomes.
The better the quality of workforce collaboration, the better the client experience. Did you know that a collaborative workforce ends up owning customer retention? If you are looking for a dynamic speaker or provocative workshop about customer retention and workforce collaboration for your next event, take a look at my speaking programs and workshops.
Internal collaboration experiences play out big to clients. There’s nothing behind-the-scenes about them.
Much of what happens in fulfilling the order-to-cash cycle, for example, is “behind the scenes.” Out of the client’s sight, therefore out of the client’s mind. Well, not so fast, there.
Let’s say a service person shows up to fix a piece of machinery. However, they are unable to complete their work in one service call, requiring a second call at no charge. That second visit erodes profitability. Just because the person entering the information initially into the system missed important details, critical to meeting the desired outcome.
What message does that oversight deliver to the client about the quality and quantity of collaboration experiences contributing to their customer experience?
Is your company stingy or abundant? Short-sighted or mindful? Collaborative and cross-functional or siloed and old-school?
Not only that. How does that service person handle the fact that he needs to schedule a second service call, at no cost? Does he collaborate with internal colleagues and discuss what processes need to be improved, and when and how? Or, does he get back to work and yell: “Guess what happened again?” And. That. Is. All.
Consider that internal customers, your employees, as well as external customers expect better and better experiences when working with each other. Are you delivering on their expectations?
The quality of internal team collaboration experiences impacts client experiences.
If you have a piecemeal, piecework mindset, everyone figures their role in customer experience ends once they hand their work off to the next person in line. As a result, employees are not exactly sure what precedes or follows their own work. Consequently, they are not proactive and anticipatory about what to do with information they receive when it does not fit into their own job description.
Ultimately, those little bits of voiced customer needs are lost in the shuffle. That is, until the absence of these details costs the company money in terms of rework and duplicate service, thus eroding profitability. Over and over again.
If you want to create remarkable and enduring customer experiences, look no further than how internal colleagues “experience” creating those client outcomes.
Today’s One Millimeter Mindset nugget: Distracted, confused or unengaged internal colleagues cannot experience the commitment and pride that fully-engaged, highly collaborative internal teams experience. Yes, change is uncomfortable. However, I’m only asking you to move one millimeter outside your current comfort level as a leader of worth. Making one small pivot in How You Work Together can spark the change your organization needs to create extraordinary and enduring client outcomes and customer experiences. Are you ready?
Start moving one millimeter forward, today.
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Babette Ten Haken, Founder & President of One Millimeter Mindset™ serves organizations as a corporate catalyst and innovative speaker, strategist, coach and storyteller. Babette’s One Millimeter Mindset™ Workshops and Speaking programs leverage collaboration to catalyze professional innovation, workforce engagement and customer retention, especially in challenging Industrial Internet of Things environments. Babette’s playbook of IIoT team collaboration hacks, Do YOU Mean Business? is available on Amazon. She is a member of SME, ASQ, SHRM and the National Speakers Association.
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This is an Interesting perspective on the overall client experience and how the interaction of internal processes (or lack thereof) can impact the end user. This ties directly into how customer satisfaction can be greatly influenced by collaborative efforts within an organization. How would you quantify the “client experience”
overall if listed as a quality objective for a service oriented organization?
Thank you for your blog. It is wonderful. (:
Caryn, Thank you! I’m so glad you find my blog insightful and valuable. You ask an excellent and timely question. Especially considering the upcoming ISO 9001:2015 that so many companies are wrestling with. Qualifying and quantifying the value and ROI of customer experience, success and satisfaction is THE question – and conundrum – of that certification, isn’t it? And each professional discipline “sees” things differently, depending on their respective KPIs. It all starts with being receptive to Change. And Change makes people uncomfortable, doesn’t it? Hmmmmm. 😉 ~ Best wishes, Babette