You may believe that you have a powerful customer value proposition but if your team is not on board it will never be fulfilled. If they are not on board then, perhaps, you are not leading them. When I consult with business owners in Westchester County New York often I hear comments about getting the staff to do the right things. Sometimes an owner is willing to place all the blame on the staff being lazy, unmotivated, or the like. Fortunately, most will ask how they can improve their ability to get the team behind them.
You can change things by being laser focused on the goals and leading by example. Your laser focus empowers your employees who in turn create loyal customers by their actions.
Being Laser Focused - You may be the owner but that does not mean you are seen as the leader. As owner you can influence the process through which people recognize your leadership by creating an environment where people will join “the team” because they see the purpose of what they are supposed to do and understand the vision, the “big picture” as well as the values of the organization for which they work. Today’s fast-moving business environment demands that the effective leader be both, a well-organized administrator and highly adept in understanding people’s basic needs and behavior in the workplace. Be open with your communication. Share the vision and values but also share your goals. Also, share organizational results. A CEO that keeps results secret breeds distrust. The most successful businesses and business leaders conduct “open book” management. This is the way to gain trust and commitment.
Engaged Team Members and Employees - Since the business environment is always changing and evolving, the way we do business and communicate must also change with the environment. Some engagement drivers have also changed. Be aware. Many findings in older Gallop engagement surveys remain important while other points relating to economy and generations have begun to show up. For example, the desire of employees to have the opportunity to do what they do best is still important as is being recognized for a job well done.
There is much room for improvement. Results of a study by MSW Research and Dale Carnegie released in 2012 showed only 29% of employees are fully engaged while 26% are disengaged. Bottom line-- In all of these surveys many employees listed their relationship with their immediate supervisor, belief in senior leadership, and pride in working for the company as very important. Business leaders must understand this. Why? Because disengaged employees do not contribute, and worse, they could alienate your customers.
Loyal customers are the key to success. Careless unengaged employees can ruin a business by driving away customers. An engaged staff create customer loyalty by wowing customers and exceeding customer expectations.
The right people need to be placed in the right positions. Jim Collins talks about this when he says, “Get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats”. Then focus of the vision, the goals, train, develop, and engage.
Once again it comes back to this statement: Focused leaders engage employees who will create loyal customers and more business success. Make that a goal for your business. For a similar post on our web site see EMPLOYEES ARE THE KEY TO CUSTOMER LOYALTY.
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