Pictured above: Ellen Morley, Principal of The Business
Company
A Midlands business consultant has warned that business owners
and managers need to keep a closer eye on what is happening to
their staff if they want to keep customers and clients happy and
stop them going elsewhere.
Ellen Morley, Principal of The Business Company in Shrewsbury,
says "service" is in danger of becoming a thing of the past in the
county as more and more demotivated workers adopt a mundane
attitude towards both the job and the people they are dealing with.
But she believes this workforce apathy is a psychological response
to a lack of investment in people, on the part of business owners
and managers.
"How many times do you hear friends and family say 'where has
the service gone these days?'", she asks, "and people always blame
the staff who are the public face of the business. Yet in my
experience the problem nearly always arises because bosses are
failing to engage their people - until of course they get a
complaint."
"In the current climate customers are more discerning, business
to business sales are more challenging, profit margins are
diminishing and businesses have fewer resources with which to
deliver their services and goods. The first things to get cut at
times like this are training and people development programmes, but
if employers don't motivate their people, they are only going to do
the basic requirements of the job rather than ensuring customers
have the right experience and want to come back for more."
"Managers need to get out of their offices and consult with the
staff on the ground. If you are a Manager, ask for their opinions
and suggestions. Offer them incentives. Train them in Customer
Service, get them involved in designing 'the customer experience'
and help them to develop the skills that will enable them to
recognise opportunities to add value to customers."
"Your staff are the people who ultimately have the greatest
impact upon your customers and who deliver your products and your
business services experience - and they deserve recognition and
consideration. Over the past 25 years I have designed and
developed a wide range of customer service development programmes
and have seen the impact that the right kind of development has on
a business. Cutting back on these key elements is false
economy."