Regardless of the industry, successful companies share four main areas in common:
1. Quality management
2. Quality products or services
3. Quality customer service
4. Quality employees
It can be challenging to maintain a balance in all of these areas, especially when it comes to employee interaction with customers.
What are ways to keep employees motivated to provide the best possible service at all times?
The consequences of disgruntled employees can be dire. Customers can generally tell right away as these employees tend to take their job-related frustration out on customers. Examples of this behavior include being deliberately unhelpful, rude or not returning customer calls.
Employees who are satisfied and motivated in their work will be able to pass their positive experience on to your customers. They will take pride in providing quality service and will take ownership of their stake in the company. They will strive to help it become a successful business.
Tech companies often provide examples of positive employee motivation. For example, Google supplies numerous benefits to its employees, including free snacks, areas to socialize, high salaries, and solid benefits. Happy employees are key to providing quality service.
The challenge to most companies is that providing these benefits costs money; often money that is not readily available.
What are ways that the average company can still maintain high employee morale?
Ensuring that your perspective is focused towards making employees feel valuable is a start. Public relations shouldn't apply solely to customers. Creating internal PR programs can be a great way to keep employees feeling valued and productive.
There are obvious incentives, like high salaries, offering bonuses or competitive benefits. However, at the end of the day, what matters most to employees is feeling like their work matters. It is important to reward employees and make them feel appreciated for providing good service.
"Some companies have found offering rewards that apply to a team rather than an individual create better results," said ERISA Lawyer, Thomas Beedem. "In this way, no one is being singled as out as 'better' than everyone else, and a spirit of camaraderie can be inspired. Employees will benefit by working together, rather than against one another."
One of the easiest and most cost effective programs an employer can institute is simply scheduling time for a director or manager to sit down with their workers individually and express their gratitude for good service. Simply acknowledging that their work is appreciated and valued will go a long way in motivating employees to continue providing quality work. It will inspire them to put in the extra effort to ensure customer satisfaction.