Page 49 - Warwickers Customers Count vflip2

KEY internal TOPIC collaboration Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. Henry Ford The important thing to know is that all employees, whether coming in direct contact with the customers or not, have an opportunity to make a difference. Once a company adopts this philosophy, there is no stopping them. You need to get internal customer service right too. Functions need to recognise they serve the internal customer well to support the frontline 49 CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COLLABORATION delivery to external customers. This is the starting point for employee engagement. Businesses need to foster a culture where people appreciate each other and how to best work together to achieve win-wins for the greater good of their customers. Everyone says they care about the customer but are you putting pressure on each other without realizing it. How well do you work with other departments? Do you get wars between departments where poor teamwork, poor communication and myopic thinking have led to a hardening of positions over time – and nobody really knows why? When it's time to communicate with others from different departments do you take a deep breath, or smile and relish a chance to renew contact with colleagues from elsewhere in the company? Do you relish or dread committee work with other departments? Does it seem their aims are contrary to your department's? When other departments contact you for help do you regard it as a nuisance, a distraction and a drain of your valuable time? Can you see the greater good that comes from helping them solve their problems or fulfilling their needs? The delivery of the customer experience spans many areas of the business. Whilst many excel at their role in silos – what matters is the sum of the parts i.e. when they come together. Many organisations struggle with getting teams to collaborate due to competitive cultures, strong leaders, geography, communication channels and structures. Is your business designed with collaboration in mind? What structures are in place to make it work, what are the barriers and what does you culture depict in the way you do things i.e. the difference between what you say and what you do? Your employees take more notice of what you do than what you say. How do you harness technology to help with this?