Investing in our employees: in cooperation with Impulse Counseling and Deloitte (Impulsberatung für Betriebe)

I am so pleased we had an opportunity to? work with Deloitte for the past year on the Impulse consulting project ( Impulse counseling is a free consultancy, which is carried out throughout Austria by the working community ?SB Consulting (Lead Partner) and Deloitte together with the subsidiaries BAB Unternehmensberatung, Merlin and Ximes. We did several workshops together on the topic of "internal processes" in the company, HR and role models. Through these Deloitte workshops we have analyzed our processes, customer journey and different role descriptions? within? the company.?

Project schedule

1. Processes and structure – (Creating clarity in processes)?

The outcome of the Impulse Counseling Projects is that we have restructured our employees network and we have set up their role descriptions for employees' positions. The information has helped us to organize the management, determine who is responsible for what more clearly? and determine the extent of responsibility of each? employee.

Let us take an? example,which is very simple but also happens way too often in any business environment.? If an? employee has an issue with the customer, she or he should get a feeling what is the decision to be made ? - - they should be able to answer the questions: how far to handle? the customer on their own? and? where it all stops -? when is the time to go to the boss? ? Also the next step is crucial: which boss to go to,? is this a managing director or some head of department??

Why is this so important? Well, it plays a crucial role in defining employee responsibilities, establishing accountability, managing customer expectations, and promoting efficient problem resolution. This contributes to a well-structured organization where employees can effectively address customer issues and maintain positive customer relationships. The role descriptions contribute to the overall effectiveness and success of the organization.

The important thing is - we have defined it all!? Now we know that i there is the management and? then there are also department managers,( i.e. Teamlead in Keeping Accounting, Team lead Payroll.) We have very precisely and clearly defined who is responsible for what, what are the tasks of our departments and how it all functions together.?

This project have created a structure to ensure the continued growth of the company.

2. Client journey - (Digitalisation steps, quality management, measures and responsibilities)

The main question of this part of the project? was:

How does the customer experience our company??

The customer experience can vary depending on various factors which include company culture and specific customer interactions. Costumers experience is shaped by various elements that reflect the company's thoughts and actions.

We have been actively working on the “moments of truth” and pain points to avoid. By focusing on these aspects, we are trying? to? enhance the overall customer experience and minimize sources of frustration or dissatisfaction.?

Keeping up the good work often emphasizes the importance of working hard and striving for excellence, but it's true that even with our best efforts, there may be instances when customers are dissatisfied. When this happens, it's essential to address their concerns and find ways to make them satisfied.

This has a strong connection with effective communication which is crucial in any business setting, and it's important to establish a respectful and collaborative tone when addressing clients. Regardless of whether the client has received all the information or if it was presented in an ideal format, it's essential to maintain professionalism and a positive approach. It's important for employees to handle such situations professionally and provide excellent customer service. Maintaining a professional and courteous tone when addressing the costumer,? showing empathy and concern while offering a solution is to ensure a positive resolution.

Each customer interaction is unique, and it's important to handle them on a case-by-case basis. The goal is to achieve a balance between satisfying customers and maintaining a healthy business environment for the? team and other customers.

In this project the employees could? participate in workshops without their bosses, where they could relax, express their views about the company and contribute. Having workshops without the boss present can provide employees with a relaxed and open environment to share their opinions. ?Internal administration: (Meaningful work)

From a workshop, we have also? learned what is considered overly important and? what employees perceive as important. Namely, often, we might? give benefits that are not so? important to the employees and the other way around.

This part of the project was in our special focus.providing benefits that are meaningful and relevant to the employees can help increase their satisfaction and engagement.

Moreover, we understand that? employee preferences and priorities may evolve over time. It is essential to maintain an ongoing dialogue with our employees to remain attuned to their changing needs and expectations.

By continually refining and adapting? the benefits and initiatives, it is possible to? create a workplace environment that truly supports and engages the employees.

3. Employer branding (Systematic analysis and design of the employer’s commitment and communication – targeted, forward-looking, competent and attractive)

Within this project we realized that we didn't know how to present our values, even though we have always had? a very high level of employee and? customer satisfaction. We didn't ever market our employer brand? based on our? company model. In fact we kind of kept it a secret but now realizing this was not good for our employer branding.?

When we started to market our real insights, more people - job applicants and especially clients were interested in our company. We didn't know how important it was to drive our positive atmosphere and business out into the marketing. By actively marketing our employer brand, we started attracting top talents, clients, improved retention and created positive reputation in the job market.??

However, carrying values outward is an ongoing effort that requires consistency, authenticity, and genuine commitment from the organization's leadership and employees. By doing so, we can create a strong employer brand that attracts and retains top talent while positively impacting our overall business performance.

Conclusion

These four outcomes are? the main results that we started implementing immediately. This project was a real help by a very? competent consultancy team and will play a great role in acceleration? of our future journey.?

We successfully brought this project to a magnificent close, capitalizing on the knowledge we have gained, and further developing our finest skills It showcases our unwavering commitment to excellence.?

In the first line, we have determined that each respective task must be clear to every employee and that the? easiest way to achieve this is through well-designed job and task profiles.

In addition, we have learned that transparency in human resources management is important so that every employee feels that they are being treated fairly and also knows how performance is rewarded. It must be clear how career development works in the company, what the requirements for salary increases are and how outstanding performance is defined. Ultimately, personnel management must be seen as a managerial task. A managing director should take the time to do this – or entrust another manager with this task.

Encouraged by this great experience and perspectives employer branding is offering, we are already taking a part in a new follow up project with? the ?GK (Austrian Health Organisation). Soon we will share more about that.