Company culture and customer relationships

T. Karekalan, -Dept. of Management, Eastern University

What is a company's culture and how can it destroy customer relationships? A company's culture is often hard to describe, but people will know what it is wherever they work if they have been there for awhile. Culture is somewhat like a company's personality. It is usually the result of an accumulation of many people's experiences over time rather than a deliberately orchestrated feature of the business. Over time, people will sense the "unwritten" rules of the workplace or tell new people "this is how things are done around here." These are tell-tale signs of the company's culture, and it may not be what the leaders would want it to be if they were starting anew. Cultures vary from one company to the next - just as personalities vary among different people. If a company's culture is not service oriented, then it can impact the morale for people working there and also cause problems for customers. Here are three very simple things you can do to find out about your culture, and then turn it around if it is destroying customer relationships:

Ask

This is so simple that it may seem silly. However, sometimes the simple things are those that get overlooked when there are seemingly more pressing issues that take up your time each day. A business leader should set some time aside to get out from behind the desk and out of the office to interact regularly with employees and customers. They are on the front lines and can usually tell how things really are, and all you have to do is ask.

Have a few key questions in mind before you go and consistently ask them everywhere you go. For example, ask your sales and customer service staff what is the number one problem that they are facing? Find out why they think it exists and what can be done to fix it. If you have outside sales people, go on a few sales calls or visit some of your key customers. Ask them what they like and don't like about doing business with your company. Then ask them if there is one thing that they would improve, what would it be and why? After you ask enough customers and employees these kinds of questions, then you will likely see some themes of issues that you can address to make things better. If you haven't visited with your employees or customers recently to ask these kinds of questions, then schedule some time on your calendar now. Make it a regular part of your weekly or monthly routine.

Communicate

If customer service is important, then it is important for you as a business leader to communicate this as a priority, and do it often. You can't just send out a memo and move on to the next issue. You must communicate it as a priority to everyone and then follow up with routine communications and your personal example. There are obviously multiple ways to communicate with your staff. Pick out someways that resonate with you and your company. (Different companies will have different styles of communication that work best for them - it is another aspect of culture.) If you are in a larger company, perhaps you will have a large gathering or a rally where you can personally deliver your message and perhaps even make it a major theme for the year. You can do some clever little internal marketing with your staff as a follow up.

For example, you can provide everyone a framed picture of themselves or simply a mirror that they can keep on their desk which has something like "customer service is up to you" inscribed in the frame. You can even communicate by personal example and show people how much you care about service by meeting personally with dissatisfied customers to solve their problems. Word of this will likely get around to people through the" water cooler" chat and you won't even send out a memo; however, whatever you do, you must be sincere about making customer service a priority. If you just send out a memo and go back to "business as usual" then you will be doing more harm than good. People will see through your insincerity quickly, and your reputation as a business leader will suffer accordingly.

Reward

Find people who are already going above and beyond in customer service and publicly reward them. You can give them a certificate for outstanding service, make them and employee of the month, and provide them something of value. It doesn't have to be a big bonus, but rather something like a small gift certificate that is presented in front of their peers.

This is important because it reinforces the behaviour that you want to encourage among your employees. Most people want to succeed in whatever they are doing, so the vast majority of your staff will understand that this is the type of service that you expect. They will try to achieve it themselves once they see that you really mean it. After sometime passes, the legends that people pass along informally to the new heirs will include the stories about "how good service is done around here." It will become part of the culture if you are serious about it and reward positive behaviour publicly.

A company's culture is often hard to assess, and can be even more difficult to change. In most organizations, change does not come easy, and there will be internal resistance to change efforts - even where changes like improving customer service will seem like good ideas to most people.

So if you are a business leader, be prepared to face these challenges. Nevertheless, it can be done, but it will require you and your colleagues to make a consistent effort over time. When you have impacted enough people and reinforced your messages, then you can make customer service a part of your culture. As the old Chinese proverb says, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." So if you are dealing with customer service issues regularly, find out why and start fixing it today by taking these first three steps to change your culture.