Creating A Great Customer Experience By Focusing On Your Employees’ Experience

3 ways your organization can build an outstanding customer experience

Think about a memorable interaction with an organization or brand that exceeded your expectations. Did you become a loyal customer? Would you recommend this organization to friends and family? 

Chances are this organization isn’t only focused on providing an excellent customer experience, but also creating a great employee experience for its workforce, as well. Herb Kelleher, the founder of Southwest Airlines, said it best: “Your people come first, and if you treat them right, they’ll treat the customer right.” 

If your organization wants to create a top-notch customer experience, start with creating a strong employee experience within your organization. Here are three ways your organization can build an outstanding customer experience by creating a positive employee experience: 

Employees want to feel their work is meaningful and a great way to exemplify this is through recognition that allows employees to feel appreciated for their efforts and furthers a sense of belonging in the workplace. Consider ways to appreciate your entire staff, this can include small gestures of gratitude such as bringing in a coffee and bagel breakfast once a month or providing gift cards to all employees during the holiday season. 

When employees feel they belong, they are more likely to be engaged in their work, interact positively with fellow employees and provide excellent service to your customers. In short, if employees have a positive experience through your organization, they are more likely to pay that forward to everyone who interacts with your organization. 

An engaged and motivated workforce is going to be more productive and inclined to go above and beyond for your customers. One of the key factors of employee engagement is recognition. By finding ways to recognize the unique contributions of the employee, research shows they’re likely to stick around. 

Gallup finds that, “Workplace recognition motivates, provides a sense of accomplishment and makes employees feel valued for their work. Recognition not only boosts individual employee engagement, but it also has been found to increase productivity and loyalty to the company, leading to higher retention.”

To further create a recognition experience that resonates with employees, learn more about their individual recognition preferences through one-on-one conversations and note employees’ preferences for how they like to be recognized. For example, some may prefer a quick thank you note rather than being recognized in front of a group, whereas others may prefer the public accolades. When employees are recognized and rewarded, especially for providing great customer service, they are motivated to continue meeting and exceeding customer expectations. 

Another great way to engage both your workforce and your customer base is through aligning company values with customer values. This shows your organization’s mission goes beyond what is spoken and is actually embedded in how the organization conducts business and interacts within the industry and in the marketplace. 

Alignment ensures your organization’s values resonate with your employees on a personal level. For example, if your organization champions inclusive or sustainable practices it’s important that these values are reflected in your culture and through your employees’ actions. Thus, employees should be recognized when they uphold company values, especially when interacting with customers. 

If an employee exhibits inclusive behaviors when interacting with a colleague or customer, recognize their behavior and mention why their specific actions matter. This not only reinforces your organization's values with this individual, it allows other employees to see model behavior and incorporate that into their daily interactions. How your employees interact with customers influences how your customers ultimately speak to others about their experience with your organization. 

A great customer experience can be a key factor in your organization’s success and helps to differentiate you from the competition. Yet it’s a strong employee experience that will set the stage for your customers’ experience with your product, services and overall organization.