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Employee Turnover
Look at Poor Management Practices
Engage Your Employees
Foster a Dedicated Staff
Resources
Employee
Turnover
The occupational health clinic my organization uses seems to have a large employee turnover rate.
Lately, I dread going there or even calling for an appointment. The most-recently hired employee
never smiles, never looks me in the eye, never sounds pleased to answer the phone, and never thanks
me. I feel like she is irritated with me for making her do her work. She looks and sounds very
unhappy in her job.
When an organization has high employee turnover, the
manager may be tempted to hire the first available person. But what this manager fails to consider is
the impact employee attitude has on customer satisfaction. Positive employee attitude and courteous
customer interaction may not be enough to fully overcome problems with service, but they can minimize
the erosion of customer satisfaction. If your service is performing to customer expectations, happy
employees are in a position to “wow” customers by treating them with respect, courtesy,
warmth, and the willingness to “go the extra mile” for them. Happy employees are also
less likely to leave your employ. Paying attention to employee satisfaction leads to improved
customer satisfaction, and that leads to increased profitability.
Look at Poor Management
Practices
I place the blame for high employee turnover and poor customer service on management. As Scott
Madison wrote recently in the Quality Digest, “Although we live in a marvelous age,
one full of high-tech wizardry and leading-edge management theory, customer service, for the most
part, still is in need of improvement. Could it be that the young GenXers, who typically fill many of
the service positions these days, are a bunch of spoiled brats? I don’t think so. I believe,
once again, that the reason lies entirely on poor management practices. As long as managers tolerate
poor service from their employees, their employees will continue to provide it.” Consider the
unhappy occupational health clinic employee above. It’s possible that she is beyond redemption,
in which case she should be terminated. But this should be the option of last resort. Has the
employee been informed of what is expected of her? Does she know how to solve customer problems or
where to look for answers? Has her manager let her know whether she is meeting expectations?
It’s possible that her poor attitude would change if her work environment changed.
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Engage Your
Employees
Organizations that create and sustain both positive service climates and profitability actively
engage their employees. Healthy, committed people are likely to build healthy, productive
organizations, and healthy organizations are more likely to inspire and retain employees. Viewing
both customers and employees as important resources, and creating a corporate climate that clearly
values them, can produce sustained profitability and a competitive advantage. I have often heard
consumers say they choose a service provider based on how they are treated, not on the technical
quality of the care. In one survey, personnel issues was cited by customers as the primary concern in
maintaining confidence in a service provider.
Dr. David Ulrich makes a strong case for connecting
customer satisfaction to employee satisfaction. “Psychologists have identified two major
principles that help determine how individuals develop commitment: information and behavior. When
individuals have access to extensive, understandable and credible information, they engage in
activities consistent with the information.” If, for example, an OH employee has information
about the services offered by the clinic, perhaps she will be more willing to help patients make
appropriate decisions about what services to request. As the employee’s access to information
improves, her behavior changes.
From the customer perspective, however, information alone
will neither cultivate nor sustain commitment to an organization in the absence of the second
principle, behavior. As patients become more comfortable knowing their questions will be answered and
their problems resolved quickly, with respect and courtesy, they become more committed and loyal to
that clinic. Furthermore, they are likely to tell others of the good service they have received.
As a manager, if you have noticed a decline in your customer base, have you checked your statistics
on employee turnover? Consider the relationships shown by the flow chart to the left.
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The profit and growth of your service is stimulated by
customer loyalty.
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Customer loyalty is a direct result of customer
satisfaction.
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Customer satisfaction is influenced by the quality of
services provided.
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Quality of service is created by satisfied, loyal, and
informed employees who behave in a positive manner.
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Employee satisfaction results when management sets
clear expectations, provides support, and enables employees to deliver results to customers.
Foster a Dedicated Staff
Employee loyalty and retention pay in the long run. Poor hiring decisions, inadequate employee
training, minimal employee recognition or rewards, a lack of explicit customer service expectations,
and ineffective management practices all contribute to a loss of customers, productivity, profits,
and reputation. Providing a wonderful service or an innovative approach will not generate higher
profits or a competitive edge without a capable and dedicated staff to make it happen. Without the
human capital, customers will look elsewhere.
Resources
Madison, Scott, “Grading Customer Service,”
Quality Digest, July 2002.
Schlesinger, Leonard, and Heskett, James, “The
Service Driven Service Company,” Harvard Business Review, September/October
1991.
Ulrich, David, “Tie the Corporate Knot: Gaining
Complete Customer Commitment,” Sloan Management Review, Summer 1989.
www.CRMDaily.com (part of the NewsFactor Network).
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