This was a recent opinion piece by one of our IT Clients. It doesn't come as a surprise to discover they are experiencing strong profitable growth in a tough market. Enjoy....

Jonathon Scott

Customer Satisfaction, employee engagement and improved financial performance – the chicken and egg conundrum

Sukh Rayat, VP Sales, Avnet Technology Solutions, EMEA explores the link between customer and employee satisfaction

What came first the chicken or the egg? This question has vexed philosophers for centuries. While the answer to that particular puzzle is still open to debate the connection between employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction and profitability is easier to uncover. Studies have shown that loyal customers and employee engagement are critical to success, whatever the economic climate.

In common with the majority of its channel partners Avnet recognises that its intellectual property is its people. As such it is important to understand what motivates people and drives them to do what they do best on a daily basis. It is an organisation’s employees who influence the behaviour and attitudes of customers and it is customers who drive an organisation’s profitability through the purchase of it products and services. The link is there but how do you harness and enhance this force for maximum benefit?

Measurement – the missing link

The old adage that what can be measured - can be managed remains true in terms of customer satisfaction and employee engagement. Avnet works with worldwide consulting firm Walker to focus on creating value through customer loyalty. An annual survey of Business Partners is carried out to establish whether they are high risk, accessible, trapped or truly loyal. Customers who are truly loyal are likely to purchase more solutions are less expensive to serve and therefore are the most profitable. It is win, win for all concerned and the goal is to have the majority of Business Partners firmly in the truly loyal quadrant.

Likewise an employee survey is conducted on an annual basis by Watson Wyatt Worldwide. This year over 80% of employees completed the survey which is aimed to help management gauge the level of understanding of corporate strategy and how people are feeling in terms of trust, being heard and knowing their role in the bigger picture.

By looking at the results of previous employee surveys it became apparent that in those areas that scored well in good communication and where managers kept their people informed in terms of “line of sight” there was a high correlation between performance and results. People perform best if they are allowed to do the job they were hired to do and feel their colleagues are as committed to providing a high quality of support and service as themselves.

However, with both of these methods of measurement it is important to look beneath the headline results. Business Partners and employees are all individual and therefore should be treated as such. Sales people have the opportunity to review the detail of the customer surveys and to speak to Business Partners to discuss any issues or requirements. Similarly, managers get feedback on employee comments.

The objectives remain clear, to have happy partners and employees, going far beyond monetary discounts or compensation. Employees need to feel they are valued, challenged and respected while partnership and service is all important to customers.

Internal Communication

A further integral part of customer satisfaction, employee engagement and improved financial performance is keeping people informed. Effective internal communication creates an informed, motivated and engaged workforce that, as we have seen, leads to happy customers and increased profits.

Employees need to know their opinion counts and their voices are heard. To this end Avnet uses the services of internal communications specialists EM (Internal Comms) Ltd. Organisations in the Channel are well known for external communication ie putting across value propositions, differentiators, features and benefits but how well do we communicate internally?

In the current times of economic turbulence and with new technology arriving on a daily basis it is essential that employees are involved in the change process. By advising employees what needs to change, but then going on to ask how that change can be implemented some great ideas and solutions are likely to pop out. In addition there will be a far higher degree of employee engagement. EM (Internal Comms) believes that internal communication is a two-way and discursive process. Discursive means communication should be allowed to evolve, even ramble in order to produce creative thoughts and ideas.

The best way to facilitate this bright idea process is when people are having fun. Avnet recently ran a World Cafe with help from EM (IC). Taking people out of a formal meeting room and into a colourful and energetic environment inspired frank and meaningful discussion. Employees were able to share ideas to replicate successful experiences and to generate pride and mutual respect amongst colleagues. The end result was a far clearer picture of the common themes that people feel passionate about and a wealth of creative ideas.

So drawing on Avnet’s own experience in terms of customer satisfaction, employee engagement and internal communication we are able to help and advise our business partners large and small.

Whether your organisation is a multi-million operation or the smallest of set ups the same principal remains - customer and employee satisfaction are intrinsically linked, but we will leave it to the philosophers to decide which came first.