Free lunches and growth opportunities are just one side of the happiness equation. Employees generally want to be productive to feel satisfied at work. The reality is, if you want employees to be happy at work (or working from home) you need to empower them with the tools they need to succeed.
Welcome to the first chapter of our Employee Experience + Customer Experience Playbook. We have developed 9 chapters in total, we hope you enjoy reading them all.
Here’s how to improve your customer experience by putting your employees first
Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of the Virgin Group, says his customers always come second. With an empire built on customer-facing businesses, that might seem strange. After all, isn’t the customer always right? Not according to Branson.
“So, my philosophy has always been, if you can put staff first, your customer second, and shareholders third, effectively, in the end, the shareholders do well, the customers do better, and [you] yourself are happy,” he told Inc. president Eric Schurenberg. It’s a philosophy that’s served him well. From trips (Virgin Holidays) and travel (Virgin Atlantic) to sport (Virgin Racing) and space (Virgin Galactic), the business mogul has carved out countless niches across the economy—and he did it all by putting his customers second.
“It should go without saying, if the person who works at your company is 100% proud of the brand, and you give them the tools to do a good job and they are treated well, they’re going to be happy,” Branson said.
It’s an idea that’s starting to spread, too. Businesses are realizing that customer experience can’t exist on its own. Any service relies on happy, motivated, and engaged employees—and that requires a positive employee experience. In this article, we’ll look at the interplay between both concepts, illustrating how organizations require both to effectively improve their service and drive growth.
Read More of chapter one or download the complete EX+CX report now.
Originally published 13 Aug, 2020