Create a Customer-Centric Culture

Organizational culture is "the way we do things around here." It is a learned set of behaviors that is common to all employees and drives how the organization performs.

If customer service doesn't seem to be highly valued at your organization, recognize that YOU have the power to change that mindset.

Engage Your Leaders

• Demonstrate how a great customer experience helps your agency achieve its mission
• Document how exceptional service can save money or increase revenue
• Describe what a "customer-centric-culture" means for your agency
• Establish practices and procedures to move your agency to that culture
• Lead by example and model behaviors you want to see in others

Treat Culture as an Asset

• Measure return on investment in a "service culture"
• Nurture, motivate and excite employees to provide awesome service
• "Hire for attitude and train for skill"

Demand a Customer Service Focus

• Embed customer service into organizational goals and mission
• Train and empower employees to deliver exceptional customer experiences
• Live it, breathe it, don’t fake it

Establish Standards and Values

• Ensure employees understand their role in achieving customer service goals
• Define rules of behavior and monitor to reinforce
• Hold employees accountable, and regularly measure and report results

Listen to Your Employees

• Make employee engagement a priority. Employees who care about customer service will deliver it
• Focus on results and improvements over time
• Employees know what works (or doesn't!), so ask them, and share your findings
  • Start an Employee Ideation  or Voice of the Employee (VOE) program
  • Regularly survey employees and report results
  • Visit Challenge.gov for more ideas

Examples

• Starbucks Mission Statement
• Zappos.com - "Customer Service Isn’t Just A Department"

Next Step

• Learn how to Understand Your Customers

Content Lead: Alycia Piazza
Page Reviewed/Updated: September 6, 2012