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The connection between customer experience and employee experience is directly proportional. The better your employees feel about working for you, the better your customers think about your services. The relationship between the two may not be apparent at first glance. After all, what does your employee’s happiness about their jobs have to do with how satisfied your customers are with your company? It is common to hear about employee satisfaction, rewards, recognition, and even mental health days for employees. However, what has not clicked so much for some companies is that keeping your employees happy contributes significantly to the customer experience. Read on to know how you can improve employee experience and bring to enhance the customer experience!
Have you ever gone to work dreading the culture waiting for you? Have you ever felt undervalued or totally invisible to management? How productive were you then?
When a company does its best to invest in making its employees feel seen, valued, and happy, employees tend to perform better. They don’t have to worry about surviving a toxic work culture. All of their energies go into their performance and productivity. Imagine a cheerful employee at your favorite grocer. They greet you with a smile, are helpful but not overly so, and have this lightness of being. Doesn’t interacting with them make you feel lighter, too? It’s like seeing someone doing their job because they love it; cheeriness is infectious. This experience translates regardless of whatever products or services a company provides.
They are the face that your customers see, the voices they hear, and the people with whom your customers interact. They identify your company through them. When employees are not satisfied or happy, your customers will invariably observe that. Demotivated employees will most likely not go the extra mile for your customers. You absolutely need to improve the employee experience to boost their productivity.
Your employees are also one of your biggest promoters. In fact, your employees are your secret weapons when it comes to managing customer marketing effectively. They are the ones who interact with your customers the most. Your employees know exactly what satisfies your customers, how your clients feel about your products, and what they think can be improved upon. When your customers see that you treat your employees right, you gain more of their trust. They will see your business as something humane instead of just another money-making machine.
When employees are dissatisfied or unhappy, they will abandon your company. They will take with them the knowledge and experience that you benefited from. This might not seem like a big deal at first, but once they leave, comes a gap in customer service. Perhaps the employee who left had several clients under their purview who preferred to work with that employee. Or they were a subject matter expert of a specific workflow; without them, the workflow is scrambling. And now that team will have to take a few steps back to regroup. Therefore, it is essential to retain your employees as much as possible. Tenured employees know the ins and outs of their work. Their knowledge is as good as gold.
Who does not like a pat on the back for a job well-done? Employees who work hard and are rewarded tend to work even more, because they know that their effort is being recognized and rewarded.
A simple thank-you card or letter or kudos during a team meeting will make your performing employees feel valued. And of course, a performance bonus would be an excellent incentive for someone whose efforts and performance have benefited the company. Remember, a genuine expression of gratitude will go a long way in boosting your employee experience.
Employees who are well-trained are employees who are empowered. They are the ones who are confident about what they are doing. Therefore, providing them with opportunities to improve their knowledge and skills will empower them to help your customers.
Your employees need to be armed with up-to-date knowledge and skills so that the customer service they provide is at par with business standards. No one wants to connect with an employee of a company who does not know much about your products. Nor would any customer want to talk to an employee with no customer service skills. So invest in improving your employees’ skills, and improve the employee experience; the ROI will surprise you.
You need to gauge whether your employees are delighted or if there are things they think still need improvement. Feedback also goes both ways. Your employees need to know their areas for improvement.
Feedback, when done right, can bring about improvement. So you need to provide an avenue for feedback and ensure that feedback is not used negatively or against anyone. Training your employees on how to give and accept feedback can help facilitate this endeavor. Some feedback avenues include one-on-one meetings with managers, town halls, and skip-level meetings.
The happier your employees are, the better they serve your customers. Ensure that you are treating your employees right, giving them proper training and opportunities to upskill, and encouraging feedback. This will go a long way to keep them happy and engaged. And in turn, they will use their skills to help your customers and improve customer experience.
This article is written by Chatty Garrate.
Chatty is a freelance writer from Manila. She finds joy in inspiring and educating others through writing. That’s why aside from her job as a language evaluator for local and international students, she spends her leisure time writing about various topics, such as lifestyle, technology, and business.
