In Sales, there's a basic concept that "people buy from people". As much as I may be looking for a business solution, I'm more inclined to buy something from someone I can trust. This principle extends to consumer purchasing as well; I am more likely to buy something from a brand that I trust.
I am also more likely to give my all as an employee to a company that I trust.
Good Business is about PEOPLE. That does include your customers. But it also includes your employees. And while many companies are talking about "corporate culture" and "employee happiness", one thing that continues to fly under the radar is the value of good employee communication.
Let's look at some key CX communication standards and see how they can add additional value when incorporated into the Employee Experience...
Building Trust
Each time we communicate, whether that's to our customers, or to our spouse, we have the opportunity to create more trust. We have an equal opportunity to LOSE trust. When we look at building our customer communications, this should always come into play, otherwise, you risk slowly chipping away at your customer experience; which leads to poor customer retention.
The concept is equally important with your employees. Each time the corporation as a whole, or an individual manager, communicates to the team, they have the same opportunity. Unfortunately, as a whole, managers don't tend to take advantage of these opportunities; let's look at an all too common scenario.
Imagine you're standing on an iceberg. Then, imagine an ice pick slowly chipping away at you (that's your direct manager). Now imagine a giant polar bear starts clawing at you (that's the corporate communications team). And then, the ice pick asks you to turn around and pleasantly sell ice cream to a small child.
Uhh, what?
Yeah, not the best way to get the best out of your people.
The best way to provide a great customer experience, is to have employees that believe in the brand. In order for them to believe in the brand, you need to use every opportunity to show them that you care. Not about profits or KPI's (although those are of course important). But that you care about THEM, as people.
And once you've built this level of trust, it can't help but shine through in customer interactions.
Do a Thing
When your customers interact with you, they are trying to do a THING. Buy a product. Pay a bill. Make an informed decision. So, when you are creating communications for them relating to these activities, you build them so they HELP do the thing.
Your employees are also trying to do things. And whether or not that's directly related to serving a client, they also need help.
Companies LOVE to tell employees things. We post useful notices on our company intranets. We have town hall meetings to give updates on numbers and industry challenges. We have monthly employee newsletters that provide yummy recipes to try. We have team meetings with icebreakers that tell us things we wouldn't otherwise know about our co-workers.
None of these things help an employee do things.
Now, I'm not saying that any of these things are bad.They just don't meet the above need, and therefore we need something else as well. So, again, when you are looking at your opportunities for communicating with your employees, make sure you include how you can help them do a thing, and they will thank you for it.
Be Where You Need to Be
We know that our customers like to interact with us different ways. So, we put different solutions and technology in place to make sure they can access us from wherever they are. Then, we tailor our communications on those channels to make sure we are providing the right message, at the right time.
This, again, is equally important with employees. Some employees may prefer email communication (for a paper trail). Some may prefer text messages (for quick to-dos). Other's may prefer an internal messaging tool (for building a personal relationship). Others may appreciate a phone call (with a supportive tone).
Your organization has ALL of these people in it. And each type of communication has it's place. If you want to ensure that your employees really internalize any corporate message, it's important to distribute it in their channel of preference.
And the great news is, as employees, they are much more likely to give you this information! So, get your systems in place to support your employees with the same level of care you do your customers.
In Summary
Good Business is about PEOPLE. And the people that make your organization what it is, is your employees.
When you enable your employees to provide the best experiences for your customers, that's truly where you succeed as a "customer-first" organization.