Employee first customer second approach

 

Introduction

Competition among businesses has become fiercer, leading organisations to focus on increasing employee satisfaction, which ultimately leads to happier customers and success. A new approach called "employee first, customer second" has emerged, emphasizing creating a positive and secure workplace environment where employees feel valued and involved.

Organizations prioritise employee well-being, aiming to create a positive work environment where employees feel appreciated, confident, and engaged. This approach recognizes the link between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction, as contented employees are more likely to provide exceptional service, and building strong customer relationships can be a long-lasting one.

By adopting the "employee first, customer second" philosophy, organizations can reduce employee turnover and lower recruitment and training costs. This fosters continuity and stability for employees, increasing their commitment and loyalty to the company, which in turn leads to higher-quality services for customers. As a result, the company can build stronger and longer-lasting relationships with customers.

Cultivating Employee Engagement and Satisfaction

The core of this employee first and customer second is based on the assumption that the employees engaged and content would thus be more inclined to offer their affected customers better service Companies that put their employees first strive to establish a workplace with solid support and career advancement possibility accompanied by years of ​appreciation for the effort made by at their work. Through the creation of an environment in which staff members are appreciated and involved, organizations can build happy staff morale, productivity, and retention of quality personnel with a track record of providing exceptional customer services (Heskett, 1997).

Empowering Employees to Drive Customer Success

More experienced workers are inherently more competent in anticipating the needs of customers and producing what exceeds their expectations. Companies that start by putting employees first rather than customers next are going to give their employees a freedom to manage customer interactions; make their own decisions; and solve problems instead of waiting for customers to nudge them to do so. Employees can be empowered with autonomy and means to come out with solutions that are personalized and immediate through which an organization can achieve satisfactory, repeat, and more business through word of mouth. Armed employees become the most valued brand representatives who are loyal to standards and they thus stand out when customers have great experiences with them (Wirtz & Johnston, 2003).

Building a Culture of Service Excellence

The "employee first, customer second" principle is a philosophy of service excellence culture in which the entire employees’ group is focused and committed to seeking and delivering superior customer experience. Organizations which have giving employees a close attention create a core purpose and values of their own that will propel employees’ actions. Untying the employee goals and incentives that are tied to top customer rating levels supports the customer focus principle that should be spreading across the organization. Such a peer culture of service excellence leads to innovation, proactive development of new products, new services, and new markets, as well as improved competitive advantage as it enables sustainable business growth (Schneider& Bowen, 1999).

Conclusion

Therefore, to the extent that businesses may not disregard their own staff members, the "employee first, customer second" strategy takes the prevailing position for organizations when it comes to facing stiff competition. Through a well-grounded emphasis of their employees' welfare, engagement, and empowerment, organizations achieve a work scenario that positively feeds into top-grade customer experiences and in the long run, customer loyalty. Many organizations as they persist to develop may find this method to be of help in so the way to bound working relationships between employees and customers, creativity drive, and also competitiveness will be achieved.

Reference

Heskett, J. L., Sasser Jr, W. E., & Schlesinger, L. A. (1997). What is a service? Harvard Business Review, 75(2), 164-174. The Service Profit Chain: The Link of Profit and Growth to Loyalty, Satisfaction, and Value by Leading Companies.

Wirtz, J., & Johnston, R. (2003). Preferences for New Services: Service Relevance Promotion. The Journal of Services Marketing, 17(3), 271-283.

Schneider, B., & Bowen, D. E. (1999). Customer Delight and Outrage. MIT Sloan Management Review, 41(1), 35-45.