Think of an experience walking into a store and being welcomed by a passionate, energetic and a happy employee who walks you through the store, looks after (and cares about) you, and speaks highly of the store, product and services it offers. I can bet out of 10 that 8 of you would mostly not leave the store without buying something (or encouraging/influencing others to buy) even if they were only window shopping.
The same would occur in the same way you would engage with the company, be it electronically (online/digitally) or physically. This is the result of having happy employees, who ultimately create happy customers. Why is it important to make employees happy is the focus of my article this week.
Unless you are among the extremely very few organisations that offers unique solutions (product or service), there will mostly be another organisation (a competitor) that offers a similar (but cheaper or probably better) solution to your organization in one way or another. How then can one organisation be the customer’s choice? Definitely not by just reducing the price (as that has a limit so as reduces the bottom line profits the shareholders demand ultimately), yet by providing a differentiated value as an experience.
If an organisation is looking for a continued growth and consequent profit, then a positive customer experience is paramount, for it creates loyalty, retention and also encourages brand endorsement and support from the customers too. Look at how you promote what you like and buy from a certain organization that also has a great customer service and experience delivered by its employees. How then does an organisation deliver a great customer service and experience? Simply by first having happy employees!
Many studies including the Harvard Business Review has shown that happy employees lead to happy customers. A happy employee would be positive, productive, creative, innovative and most importantly treat the organisation they work for as his/her own and that would ultimately lead to providing a better customer service and experience. Therefore, as an organisation, it is quite important to invest in employee happiness in order to create a successful and sustainable organisation, that is also customer focused.
Happy employee includes feeling valued and given importance in the organisation one works for. Happy employee also includes being recognised for the kind work he/she does and contributes to the organisation as a whole.
Moreover, Happy employees also includes getting opportunities for growth, opportunities for development (personally and professionally) and working in a positive environment. Of course these are generic attributes of what makes an employee happy but I trust the idea is clear. Unhappy employees will only stick around because they have no other option, and trust me, the moment they get an opportunity elsewhere, they will leave.
Why is it important to make your employees happy? I would like to respond to this question by referring to Simon Sinek, one of the popular author and inspirational speaker, quote i.e. “Happy employees ensure happy customers, and happy customers ensure happy shareholders”.
Simply put, if the employees are happy, the organisation in question will see productivity among employees improved, creativity and innovation enhanced, absentees from the employees and turnover is reduced (great retention), positivity is increased, and ultimately the customers are better served (and are satisfied). Happy employees will also attract other talents to join on-board, and your organisation may be touted for being the best place to work for, and getting serviced too.
To conclude my article this week, happy customers is an attribute that organisations must strive for, if they wish to attain sustainable growth and success, apart from differentiating one organisation to another.
Nevertheless, happy customers must not come at the expense of losing happy employees, for there will be a negative impact to the business. Next week, my article will look at how can organization find out and create happy employees. Stay tuned.
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