Engaged Employees Make Happy Customers

• March 13, 2018

Are your employees engaged?

Shep Hyken sits down with Julie Ann Sullivan, author of Blueprint for Employee Engagement: 37 Essential Elements to Influence, Innovate & Inspire, discussing the impact that engaged employees can make on customers.

Top Takeaways:

• When employees feel like they are making a contribution to the company, they are going to become problem-solvers and idea-makers.

 

• When employees feel acknowledged and valued, they exude that to customers. This leads to listening to the customer and showing them that they have value.

 

• A few of the Essential Elements to Influence, Innovate & Inspire:

 

1. Communication – Even just one word can change the whole meaning of a sentence.

 

2. Service – When your job is in customer service, it truly isn’t about you. It’s about the customer. The motive behind service should never be because you have to. The motive should be that you love the company and you want the customer to love it as well.

 

3. Patience – You may never fully get rid of your impatience. But if you are aware of when you are impatient and can catch yourself, then you can change.

 

4. Purpose – When people know the purpose behind what they are doing, they can do it much better.

 

5. Relationships – They grow over time. You don’t meet someone and immediately know them and care for them. Relationships must be nurtured. It’s the same with customers and clients.

 

6. Leadership – People need to feel, without fear, that they can ask questions. If you have a business culture where people are too afraid to approach the leadership about problems, more mistakes get made. Leaders must be able to let go. They must trust their people and give them the power to do what is right.

 

7. Respect – You must give it to get it. You can’t just demand it.

 

8. Gratitude – A little bit goes a long way. The more you are grateful, the more things you find to be grateful for.

About:

Julie Ann Sullivan is the author of Blueprint for Employee Engagement: 37 Essential Elements to Influence, Innovate & Inspire. Julie Ann works with organizations that want to create a workplace environment where people are productive, engaged, and appreciated.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and your host of Amazing Business Radio.

Quotes:

“Customer service is people to people. If the people who are giving out customer service are not happy, that’s what they’re going to portray to the customer.”

“When you have a good workplace culture, people are more productive. And, they’re more careful in what they do so they make less errors.”

“Customer service is easy when everything is going well. I only know how good a company is when things don’t go well.”

Questions:

1. How can I engage my employees?
2. How can I be a better example to my employees?
3. How can I be more approachable to my employees?
4. How can I be a better manager?
5. What can I do about employee turnover?