The Needs of Team Members and Customers
I came across this interesting article in my in-box a couple of weeks back. It appears to be so relevant to both team members and customers:
1. “You know me, you remember me”
An important need is “You know me and mine.” When your supervisors and managers understand their team’s family situation and requirements, there will be a much tighter bond, leading to greater contributions and less turnover. We saw this with a global BPO that grew dramatically by focusing on its frontline staff’s family needs during the frantic holiday season, where previously they had ignored this and forced staff to work rosters that varied dramatically and were hard to plan around.
2. “You give me choices”
Team members appreciate being offered choices. For example, “You let me design it” signifies that your processes can flex to allow staff to design aspects of their job which provides them with a sense of control and allows them to feel valued. After all, engaging the frontline to re-design the desktop, knowledge tools, and policies will be more employee-centric and therefore more effective. We saw this work with a laptop manufacturer that replaced its knowledge system with a Wiki, inviting qualified tech support agents to comment or produce superior articles that met their needs.
3. “You make it easy for me”
“You let me make the process easy for me” is an important need for team members (TMs). It recognises that each TM’s version of “easy” may be different. A great example of this is companies that provide TMs with self-service “shift swap” software. Staff can then choose when and how they alter their shifts but in a low-effort manner. This combines the idea of providing choice with a low-effort mechanism to facilitate this choice.
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4. “You value me”
This happens when TMs think “You listen to me and act on what I say.” How many times have you held TM roundtables or collected TM surveys, but didn’t take action on their inputs? Lip service to listening creates cynicism towards the organisation. We saw this work with a financial services company that posted all of their frontline suggestions with actions taken, or why actions could not be taken. Employees spotted their ideas, felt included, and appreciated the detailed feedback and actions that resulted. They also understood what couldn’t be done but recognised their ideas hadn’t been ignored.
5. “You trust me”
Team members like being treated with respect - “You don’t tar me with the same brush.” This one resonates with TMs who, correctly, feel that they are unique and need to be viewed as individuals who can be trusted rather than managed with the concern that some may be “bad apples.” We saw this work with a telco that reduced sign-off and approvals for some processes, trusting that staff would make the right decision instead of adding controls and checks in case one or two of them got it wrong.
6. “You surprise me with stuff that I can’t imagine”
This applies neatly when companies make TMs feel “You treat me like a new team member all the time.” After the fanfare, treats, and speeches when your TMs join your company, how do they feel after others join or six months in? Do you celebrate their success as you did their arrival? We saw this work at a BPO that had recognised steps and celebrations at many milestones. They had check-ins at 30 days, three months, and six months to ensure staff were being engaged at multiple points in their first months in the job. This BPO had far lower attrition than competitors as a result.
7. “You help me be better and do more”
This almost fits EX better than customers. A key sub need is “You coach me.” There is a clear correlation between companies with great development programs for their staff with lower rates of staff turnover. We’ve also seen the opposite where understaffed organizations “skimp” on training and coaching and then wonder why staff attrition increases. In contrast, an e-commerce company that retained its training regimen during peak seasons reduced the level of staff turnover and helped it retain the workforce for the next year.