To improve the experience of an external client, we need to recognize that the process starts internally within the team.
Taking care of your team members isn’t only a moral imperative — it’s good business. When we start with providing a great team experience, turnover goes down. Productivity also increases, and our clients’ experience (and satisfaction ratings) goes up.
Here are 20 questions to get you thinking.
- Is the level of trust within our team members high or low?
- How do we intentionally help every team member cultivate a feeling of pride in what they do?
- When we delegate responsibility, do we also assign the necessary authority to see the task completed?
- Do we have a collaborative culture where everyone’s input matters, regardless of their role?
- Is ongoing training and development an important part of our team’s strategic plan?
- How do we show people that we appreciate them and their contribution?
- How do we reward and celebrate displays of great customer experience?
- Do our team members believe they can be open and honest without damaging their future on the team?
- What are we doing to encourage people to consistently make improvements to the processes and systems of the team?
- What flexible work practices are in place to accommodate the growing need for work-life balance within our culture?
- What are the five most important values in our organization? How do we intentionally demonstrate them every day?
- On a scale of 1-10, how much fun are people having on our team?
- What are five things we have in place to support “wellness” for those on our team?
- What are we doing to foster emotional and financial literacy in our team?
- Are we accepting our failures as learning experiences the same way we do our successes?
- Is each person on our team empowered to do their role?
- Are there negative consequences when someone makes the decision to please the client rather than the team leader?
- Do our definitions of success encompass the non-monetary? Namely, things like job satisfaction, work-life balance and individual growth?
- Have we recently surveyed our team and our clients to find out how they really feel about how we’re doing?
- What transparent benchmarks do we use to foster a culture of accountability?
An extraordinary client experience starts internally. If we take care of those on the team, they will take care of their clients. This all takes an intentional focus. Creating the right culture is low-cost, with a high return on investment. It’s good for increasing production and reducing turnover, while also reinforcing your value propositions through providing a great customer experience.
Chris Pollinger, partner, Berman & Pollinger, LLC is a senior sales and operational executive skilled in strategic leadership, culture building, business planning, sales, marketing, acquisitions, operations, recruiting, and team building.
