How Leadership drives exceptional customer experiences
When customer service fails to meet expectations, the frontline often receives the brunt of the blame. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that people do not wake up in the morning with the intention of delivering poor customer service. Various factors contribute to the customer experience, such as processes, resources, technology, logistics, and critically, leadership. In my experience, leadership plays the most significant role in ensuring exceptional customer experiences. The level of customer focus exhibited by the team directly correlates with the emphasis placed on it by the leadership team. Therefore, fostering strong leadership is paramount.
Leadership that prioritises customer focus is not only beneficial for customers but also holds significant value for the business. Research by Deloitte and Touche found that customer-centric companies were 60% more profitable compared to companies that were not focused on the customer. And in the local government, government and not-for-profit sectors, it is equally important given the role leadership has in shaping a service culture. Key areas where leaders can make a significant difference to the customer experience include:
Culture
The strongest service cultures have an organisation-wide commitment to taking care of the customer driven by the CEO, executive and leadership team, whether in customer facing or internal support roles. The organisation has a deeply embedded service culture. One of my favourite quotes by Jan Carlzon is, “If you’re not taking care of the customer, your job is to be taking care of someone who is.” Everyone recognises they have customers, not just the customer service department.
A customer-centric culture is built on engaged and empowered employees. Leaders have the opportunity to create an environment where people feel valued, cared about and look forward to coming to work each day. The team are given ongoing training and development, coaching and meaningful recognition.
Empowerment
Leaders have the ability to empower their team through knowledge, decision-making and discretionary spend. The more a leader can empower their team, the better the experience for everyone, including customers, team members and leaders. Decisions are made quickly, customers are not kept waiting, and team members feel more pride and satisfaction.
As you may already be aware, I am a huge fan of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. It offers the best example of empowerment I have come across. Every Ritz-Carlton team member, at every level, is empowered to spend up to $2,000 per guest per incident. The company reports that while the full amount (or more, with the general manager’s permission) can be used, it rarely is. When there is an incident, the team member is closest to the customer and can resolve the issue quicker. They can do this alone, without having to go through multiple levels of leadership for approval which involves more time and cost. They are encouraged to devise memorable ways to elevate the guest experience. When team members feel trusted, they are empowered to act in the best interests of the customer and the organisation. As I once heard, “The best way to make someone trustworthy is to trust them.”
Role-Modelling
Great service leaders lead by example. They walk the talk and set the standard of behaviour for the entire organisation. By living and breathing customer centric behaviours, leaders inspire their teams to emulate these principles. Each leader must recognise they set the benchmark for exceptional customer service through both their words and actions.
Accountability
Accountability is at the heart of every customer-focused organisation, resulting in cultures where everyone not only genuinely cares about the customer, they take ownership for results. Leaders must establish clear standards and hold employees accountable in positive and humane ways for delivering exceptional customer experiences. Each person takes responsibility and ownership for their decisions, actions, performance and behaviours.
When leaders prioritise and nurture a culture that values outstanding customer service, it creates a ripple effect throughout the organisation. This results in increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, superior customer experiences and importantly, happy and engaged teams. It is through effective leadership that the journey to delivering outstanding customer experiences begins and ends.
How customer focused is your leadership team?
