Ask Pam | How do I get an employee to go the extra mile?

This bi-weekly LinkedIn Newsletter will address common and not-so-common questions leaders and executives, like you, have about the culture of the C-suite.

I've been serving in executive roles, reporting to Boards, CEOs, and Executive Directors since my early 20's. I've seen and experienced quite a bit, but mostly, I've learned a lot. These experiences are what led me to executive coaching.

If you're serving in the C-Suite or are headed in that direction, I'd like to hear from you. It's not often you can find a trusted advisor to answer your most pressing questions - for free. So here I am, let's talk!

This Week's Question:

Dear Pam,

How do I get an employee to go the extra mile? I work in a small office, and we have customers who call for a number of reasons. This person focuses only on their expertise or our services and doesn't see the need to go above and beyond. Without this customer-focused mindset, we could lose customers to our competitors. We might not be able to do what they're asking, but we can continue to serve as a resource, teaching them to come to us FIRST.?

Customer Concerns

This Week's Response:

Dear Customer Concerns,

You are correct - surfacing your client's needs will allow you to go above and beyond, but it can also help you determine if you need to innovate your service offering. Sharing this with employees is important, but allow me to take a step back.?

I wonder if your desire for "extra mile customer service" is a core value that hasn't been clearly communicated to employees, is not measured, and, therefore, is a behavior that will likely not be adopted? And if it's not their core value, they may not intuitively take actions to embrace and support it.

If extra mile service is a core business value, communicate it, clarify what it means, and role-play some examples of how it could be carried out within your organization. THEN, find a way to measure it. How will you know that your employees are going the extra mile??

In addition to customer feedback, one tracking method is to have them record the extra-mile support they offer or a list of the extra-mile requests they get. You'll want to capture the customer requests to know if there are opportunities to scale your business.

Helping others adopt a customer service mindset is a difficult skill to help people develop. It could be that this is not their core value, and you do risk losing them, but if you do, make sure you hire replacements who bring a customer service mindset with them.

What do others have to say?

-Pam

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