Can Great Customer Service Improve Employee Engagement?

As I listened to Kaitlin Stoddard from HubSpot share the biggest lesson she has learnt as a Customer Centric Leader, I realised that there can be nothing more engaging for employees and leaders in organisations than great customer service - be it for internal or external customers. 

Why? I believe we exist in this world to serve others and that's what customer service is all about! Our purpose is to be of service to our family, friends and the community in which we live. Raising a child, helping a mate out or joining the Surf Life Savers club - we get a kick from helping others. This is what creates fulfilment and enriches our lives. 

So how can we bring the same feeling into the workplace to create a sense of purpose and improve employee engagement?  

At work, I've learnt that I need to put my agenda aside and find a way to of achieving what I need, not by taking, but by giving. I need to achieve my objectives by helping my stakeholders achieve their's first. This has shifted my thinking from being outcome focused to being service focused. I now put less pressure on myself and my engagement has increased when I go to meetings because my only intention is to help someone. And when I do so unconditionally, the outcome follows!

The key to bringing a sense of fulfilment to my work has been by creating deeper connections at work - being vulnerable and authentic in my conversations have certainly helped! I can only care about a stakeholder if I can relate to them, which in turns helps me better serve their needs.

So how can you build deeper relationships with your stakeholders to go beyond what is expected of you and feel a sense of fulfilment when helping them? How can you create a feedback loop where you can see the impact your work is having on others so you know you are making a difference? 

It can be challenging to make all aspects of our work meaningful but if we can constantly remind ourselves why we do what we do and who we are serving, it might take our engagement to the next level?

I hope you can join me on at Customer Centric Leadership on March 15 to discuss how we can create great companies with great customer experiences.