Free Your Customer Service Team

Most of my clients are founders or leaders of high-growth start-up companies, so I get to see their evolution along that path. Eventually most of them experience a tension. On the one hand they need their teams to take on more responsibility and ownership over projects and initiatives. At the same time, granting autonomy requires letting go of control, and trusting that the results will happen.

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The issue is not just in start-ups. Every organization must calibrate the degree to which they govern their employee’s behavior with controlling management or give them the autonomy to make decisions on their own. The most successful companies tend to have fewer rules and more latitude for decision-making by individuals – but they don’t accomplish that in a vacuum. Being successful at granting latitude can fail mightily and lead to chaos when it is provided in the absence of enough transparency and accountability.

Some of the most striking examples of creativity by empowered employees are found in the customer service area. It’s easy to see why – that’s where organizations and outsiders intersect – and members of the public promote their experiences – good and bad. (Thanks Yelp!)

Happy (and angry) Customers Talk!

A Reddit user called MaskedKoala shared a story of how Capital One solved his unusual problem. When he complained that he couldn’t access his account online because of the broken key on his keyboard they sent him a new keyboard. That wasn’t in the employee handbook, but understanding the strategic goal of customer service, and having the autonomy to innovate led to that decision. It may seem an unusual choice on the part of the Capital One employee.

There were other ways to solve the customer’s problem. But MaskedKoala is probably now a customer for life, always opting to use Capital One over their competitors when the choice arises.

Principles Power Empowered Employees

The idea of empowering front-line employees to make their own decisions is not a new one. In fact, it's been around for over 100 years. As early as 1901, Karl Wallen and John Nordstrom’s shoe store promised the best service possible to its customers —and charged employees with delivering it.

The basic principle is that when employees are given the freedom to make their own decisions they feel a sense of ownership and responsibility for the success of the business, which translates into better customer service and ultimately higher profits.

One company that has successfully implemented this approach is Zappos, the online shoe retailer known for its legendary customer service. Zappos' CEO Tony Hsieh famously stated that "We believe that the best customer service is when the customer doesn't need to call you, doesn't need to talk to you. It just works."

To achieve this, Zappos gives its customer service representatives the authority to make decisions without having to consult a supervisor. This means that if a customer has a problem, the representative can do whatever it takes to solve it, whether that means issuing a refund, sending a replacement product, or just listening and offering empathy. This approach has paid off for Zappos, which has become a customer service success story and was eventually acquired by Amazon for over $1 billion.

Puttin’ On The Ritz

Another company that has embraced empowerment is the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain. Ritz-Carlton's "Gold Standards" provide a framework for employees to make decisions that align with the company's values and goals. These standards include things like "anticipating and fulfilling customer needs" and "creating a warm and welcoming environment."

By giving employees a set of guiding principles rather than strict rules, Ritz-Carlton enables them to make decisions that are tailored to each customer's individual needs. This approach has helped Ritz-Carlton to consistently rank among the top hotel chains in the world for customer service.

Risk vs Reward

Of course, empowering front-line employees has implicit challenges. Employees may make mistakes or misinterpret policies, upsetting customers in the process. However, thorough training and support can help employees understand the values and principles at stake. They can develop their own heuristics for applying the guidelines in a way that fulfills the organization’s mission.

Additionally, most organizations should craft ongoing feedback and evaluation mechanisms to identify issues and solve problems.

But even with the challenges, giving employees the autonomy to make decisions based on key principles, you can build greater ownership throughout young Sam, and ultimately serve customer more robustly and authentically.

Zappos and Ritz-Carlton show how this can be done at scale —scale far greater than most organizations ever need. In my own client base, largely SaaS business to business platforms, there would never be the sheer volume of customer interactions that a Zappos has. But, the same structure—one in which principles guide decisions —but employees make those decisions—work.

Maybe it would work in your organization too!

Building an empowered and self-directed team that delights customers is every founder’s intention. Executive coaching is one of the. East and most cost-effective ways you can develop the leadership that creates that. Schedule a call with me to discuss how Beyond Better Coaching-as-a-Service can amp your team’s performance!