The increased competitiveness in all market sectors over the past ten years has meant that as customers we have far greater choice than ever before. We have higher expectations and organisations have to work harder to differentiate themselves in order to win, satisfy and retain customers. In this article Zoe O’Connor looks specifically at how we can achieve the desired behaviours of those in customer-facing roles.

Much of the work I have been engaged to do at ER Consultants has centred around helping clients to become more customer focused. We can divide this work into three areas: structure; systems and processes; and behaviours.

There is a clear inter-relationship between these three areas, but many organisations tend to focus upon the first two, assuming that the required behavioural change will follow suit. A customer-focus initiative that misses this out is heading for disaster. The effect is like a giant (and often expensive) elastic band that is stretched too far and then snaps right back to its original size and shape – or worse still returns loose and misshapen.

What happens in these circumstances is that the customer, rather than experiencing ‘peak moments’, is faced with either indifference, or at worst scripted and inflexible responses. Either outcome is out of touch with the real need.

So let’s look first at what does good and poor customer service feels like for us, the customer.

Imagine this: You have taken clients for dinner and go to pay the bill only to find your purse or wallet has been stolen. When you call the bank to cancel your cards the customer service representative asks you about your current circumstances and you explain. Not only are your cards cancelled calmly and efficiently but the representative authorises for the dinner to be paid, and for you to be given £100 in cash, saving you an embarrassing moment in front of your clients and the inconvenience of a long walk home. This is done immediately and with no fuss.

Imagine this: You have purchased a new kitchen from a particular store because of their after-sales, refund and delivery policy. The sales staff were helpful and when it was delivered on time everything seemed to be running smoothly. However there were incorrect pieces included and some pieces missing. You felt comforted that in accordance with their policy you would have the correct items delivered quickly. You are then told by customer services that because you have extra items you will have to return them, that the pieces you require are currently not available and that when they do become available there is no delivery slot that fits around your schedule for a further two weeks. The customer service staff do not suggest alternative arrangements, attempt to compensate, or even apologise.

Two very different experiences, so what types of behaviour might have made the difference?

Whatever the product or service, whether it is something tangible like buying a kitchen or less tangible like buying consultancy services, there are certain behaviours that leave us feeling that we have had a positive experience – one that makes us more likely to return and recommend to others. Defining them is one thing, creating this behavioural change is quite another.

Here are our Top Ten behaviours, which we believe make the difference:

1. Takes time to understand the specific needs, requirements and any current pressures the customer may be under
2. Shows an immediate understanding of the nature of the problem and the possible consequences
3. Demonstrates empathy
4. Generates a range of solutions to address a difficulty
5. Uses organisational policy to guide the solutions rather than to act as blocks, or worse, reasons not to assist the customer
6. Takes decisions quickly
7. Is honest about the situation and what the organisation is able to do to help
8. Looks for ways to delight the customer
9. Demonstrates an understanding of the commercial implications of decisions taken
10. Seeks the appropriate guidance where required and does this efficiently, retaining ownership of the customer

Alright, you might be saying: this appears like a fine list, but how can we actually create this behaviour change, without the person appearing wooden and scripted? This is the real challenge.

An overview of our approach

Our approach to delivering tangible behavioural change is based on three principles – for change to occur and really stick there needs to be the will, the opportunity and the capability to change. This is equally applicable to all those in customer-facing roles, from customer account directors to call centre customer service representatives.

Making this happen…

Recently one of our clients came to us saying that they were failing to meet the needs of their customers; repeat business was not happening, and they were failing to meet the business plan targets. Together we undertook a three stage process and here I will focus upon the behavioural change piece within this process.

Stage one: Before the customer-facing staff were able to change, they needed to understand what they were expected to change from, and into. The first step then was to draw up a clearly defined set of customer service standards. This is not simply a ‘Customer First’ programme or a set of charters which no-one buys into. People from the top of the organisation to the bottom needed to understand and align with what the new concept of customer service meant. This also needed to be underpinned by appropriate changes in the structure, systems and processes so that these standards were supported, not sabotaged. This was a critical consideration in this first stage.

In order to achieve this we needed to create the urgency for change. The failure to deliver against the business plan had already created this urgency in the senior team: but this needed to be communicated to the customer-facing staff too, in addition to customer feedback. This was done openly and honestly and was focused not on negativity but on developing a strategy for improvement. Following this, teams worked together to define the standards and ways to improve the customer service offering.

This was what the teams came up with:

• Be clear on the standards and the associated behaviours – behavioural change will not occur if people are not clear about the end goal
• Get staff to generate solutions to any problems and ways to close the gap between the actual and desired customer relationship
• If there are no problems, involve staff in developing potential delight factors thus ensuring that you are using the knowledge and creativity of the front-line
• Identify the levers and blocks to achieving the desired change – this will help you to develop a workable strategy for getting you where you need to be
• Think about the customer of the future as well as the customer of today

As you will see, these behaviours were aimed at generating improved communication and relationships between employees, and about encouraging customer-facing staff to take the initiative – to own the process. Customer service is not just about the behaviours of those in customer-facing roles. This is aimed at building values internally too.

Stage two: Knowing where you need to be and getting there are two very different
things. With staff on board we had come a long way. However we now needed to create the change in behaviour and build commitment to the new ways of working. This was in part about building capability through training and development. Individuals and teams had very different needs and a one-size approach was not going to solve all the issues, so we delivered team training, individual development and internal coaching programmes to transfer skills. In addition it was also about creating the opportunity for a different relationship with customers by helping managers to empower their customer- facing teams.

This is what made change happen:

Developing associated behavioural competencies to deliver customer service and drive development – these were based around the behaviours I identified earlier.

• Understanding the gaps in capability and developing individuals and teams accordingly
• Demonstrating understanding of the internal customer through tailored development
• Creating the space for customer-facing staff to take appropriate decisions
• Encouraging staff to manage customer expectations in addition to attempting to meet them
• Dealing efficiently with any glitches that arise in meeting the standards

Step three: Making the change stick was the final step for us; the challenge for the organisation was to keep all of these elements alive in order to be one step ahead in meeting customer needs. This was done by maintaining the will to change through adapting the reward and recognition system, and more informally through managers’ praise and reinforcement. An on-going coaching and mentoring system is being developed to embed the learning from training-led initiatives and to encourage talented individuals.

This is what needs to carry on to make change stick:

• Maintain elements of the above to sustain the desire to change, respond and stay a step ahead
• Involvement of employees in wider organisational initiatives e.g. new launches, brand activity, to maintain the passion
• Treating your employees as your internal customer – living the customer-focused values internally will ensure that these values are sustainable externally

Creating behavioural change requires time and effort, and is probably the most challenging of the three areas (which is probably why organisations tend to forget it). However, this is what completes the jigsaw. Without it, you are a long way from becoming truly customer-focused.

For further information, contact:  E  topics@erconsultants.co.uk
T 44(0) 1223 31594