Employees Come First
Joann felt the need to prioritize who came first between her customers or employees; she chose her employees. It was an easy choice.
Her business is a mid-size supplier to restaurants and other foodservice accounts. Her belief isn’t based on ignorance of the importance of being customer-centric, but she has a more transparent view that intuitively makes sense.
“My customers will only be treated as well as I treat my employees. If they are respected, happy, and supported, they’ll do the same for those we serve. It is that simple.”
Joe managed a company of architects who put his customers first, even if it meant that his employees had to work overtime often and were frequently overwhelmed. He knew that he had to make his customers satisfied to keep the doors open and do everything to meet their needs. His argument also makes sense.
“Without happy customers, what do I have? A room filled with happy employees waiting for assignments.”
But is it that simple? Is this more of a question of AND not OR? Why can’t both be true at the same time?
And Not Or
Joann and Joe and many other business leaders understand that as their business scales and expand, they can’t possibly engage with every customer. Both depend on their employees to build those relationships. Employees who feel disrespected, poorly treated, and unhappy can’t maybe do what is best for the business.
But at the same time, a team of happy employees and dissatisfied customers is a recipe for disaster. Businesses that offer clear, simple strategic guide rails often win. Allow employees to determine how to meet their needs and customers’ needs.
Both things can be accurate at the same time.
Choosing employee happiness over customers, or vice versa, is like choosing between your left leg and your right. To move forward, you need both of them working together. Who takes the first step isn’t as relevant.
Customers or employees? Who comes first is a false choice.
Pick your metaphor, but you are apt to fail without employees, customers, and stakeholders all working in alignment. You can’t walk forward if you only use your left foot. But happy, fulfilled employees will be more empathetic and compassionate toward your customers. If the employee cares more and can better serve your customer, that’s a win.
Unhappy employees don’t care about your customer’s problems – they care about their own issues.
In my experience, owners should start by serving their employees because if they aren’t happy and engaged, their customers won’t be well-served.
Three Simple Questions
- What’s the Higher Vision: Do your employees (or direct reports) feel they understand the organization’s higher mission and have the latitude to adjust, adapt, and be flexible to meet customer needs? Is it clear where they are walking? Help your employee feel connected to your vision.
- Are You Listening: Do they take pleasure in their work because they are heard and listened to? When managers listen to concerns and work toward accommodating those needs, everyone is being served. Are you working hard at hearing about obstacles and clearing their path? Help your employee feel seen and heard.
- Managing the Workload: Do you keep burdening them with more work without giving them the resources they need to be effective? Sometimes we add to the to-do list for direct reports without helping them sort through the timing, priorities, and urgencies. An effective strategy can be removing one thing from someone’s workload before adding another project. Or, at a minimum, help to prioritize, so they know what is urgent versus necessary. Make sure your managers and supervisors understand that moving forward is the goal, not carrying more weight? Help your employees balance their workload.
Business, like life, requires balance. Most decisions aren’t black or white, and sometimes you can hold two conflicting ideas together simultaneously. Think AND not OR.
Customers or Employees
Managing requires taking steps forward by getting both legs walking in harmony. The role of leaders, managers, and supervisors is to make sure everyone is walking along the right path as they strive toward a common goal.
Happy employees mean happier customers.
You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Watch a short video about working with me.
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
