Story:
Develop clear Service Climate innovation through Human Resources Development

By Francis Jeyaraj - Specialist - HRD at Boubyan Bank

November 11, 2012 at 3:58am

Moonshots

Expand the scope of employee autonomy

Develop holistic performance measures

Summary

There are 30 years of robust evidence to support the following conclusion:

service businesses where employees have a positive service climate have customers who are more satisfied. This results in increased competitive financial performance and market value. Positive service climates exist in firms where the policies, practices and procedures—and the behaviors that get rewarded, supported and expected— all emphasize service excellence.

HR is well positioned to promote, foster and leverage a positive service climate through the workplace culture, and this focus should be at the top of the HR agenda.

Context

Let’s look at the evidence.

First, here are the benefits, documented in the relatively new field of services

management, for firms able to deliver the service quality that yields customer

satisfaction:

• Higher rates of customer retention;

• Lower cost of sales overall - it is easier to sell an existing customer than to attract a new one;

• Fewer errors are made, so there is less need for recovery and rework;

• A decreased need to compete on price (within reason);

• Improved levels of cash flow and decreased variance in cash flow;

• Higher corporate bond ratings making the cost of borrowing money cheaper;

• Increased market value.