At J.D. Power, we are fortunate to have the opportunity to work directly with organizations that put in the time and effort to deliver an outstanding customer experience. Building and maintaining organizations with a strong customer-centric culture takes focused leadership. Today, I would like to highlight two companies within the Technology sector that are employing key Leadership Engagement practices to enable that customer-centric culture and drive higher customer satisfaction. While many companies are probably familiar with these practices, we have found notable differences in how top performing companies execute these disciplines.
1. Communicate your strategy effectively and consistently throughout the organization
At Deltek, a leading global provider of enterprise software and information solutions for project-based businesses, leadership engages all employees early in the year to discuss strategy and key components of how to executive that strategy. The CEO leads an initial global employee meeting, and throughout the year, a consistent and continuous update is provided about the progress towards the strategy. This includes quarterly check-ins by each business unit leader and VP and is further emphasized by managers on a regular basis to “ensure that we're going in the right direction and [are] aligned,” said Deltek’s Chief Customer Officer Brian Daniell. We observed the results of this consistent communication in action when we were on-site with Deltek for certification. Their frontline employees were well-versed in the company's direction and progress, which is notably different from lower-performing organizations.
2. Have the CEO recognize the service team and link their performance to strategic success
Informatica, a leader in Enterprise Cloud Data Management, also places special emphasis on CEO communication. As part of their strategy, they focus on communicating the importance of the role of the service function. Ansa Sekharan, Chief Customer Officer at Informatica, explains that a core company value is to “’Think Customer First.” In order to accomplish this, the service team must be highly engaged, satisfied, and know their value. Sekharan states “Our leadership team has consistently linked employee satisfaction with customer satisfaction and our frontline support team is routinely mentioned by our Executive Team as a competitive differentiator in how we compete and win in our space.”
This is a trend we are observing across other top performing organizations as well. In an effort to help all employees understand the value of their role within the organization, the C-Suite is taking on more responsibility for engaging with frontline employees. This attention by the CEO can not only boost employee morale and engagement but also help stem attrition challenges caused by a workforce feeling underappreciated. Low performers, however, rarely receive CEO attention like this, and the majority don’t even know who their functional or divisional VP is, let alone the C-level executive.
3. Be transparent with challenges so that corrections can be made
Lastly, we see leadership at top performing organizations being increasingly transparent with their staff, including the frontline customer support and sales organizations. These leaders are not shying away from bringing challenges to the forefront so they can be addressed. Brian Daniell explained that the Deltek management team brings up challenges regarding execution to give their team the opportunity to discuss and decide “how we course correct and get back” to executing their strategy. While every company has challenges and can veer off course, top performing leaders proactively bring these challenges in front of the team so they can be addressed.
Across industries, the most effective leaders are not only bringing their customer-impacting challenges out to their entire team quickly, they are also, when applicable, involving the frontline in determining the right solutions. Keeping staff both informed and involved helps build trust and mutual accountability and speeds up execution which makes the organization nimbler and more effective at dealing with a myriad of challenges.
Organizations struggling with poor employee engagement and performance should look to incorporate these top performer practices into their leadership strategy. By focusing on early and consistent communication, CEO recognition of service teams’ value to the organization’s success, and transparency around company challenges, you can help your frontline employees feel valued, informed, and engaged. These practices are the building blocks to becoming a leader in customer satisfaction.
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