Dr.Raj Kumar Sharma
Creating Happy Customers by Building a dynamic Organization with happy employees Some of the well-known and most common mistakes, Managers make today are: 1. Getting business and closing deals is on top of their mind. 2. Spend too much time in monitoring and collecting the data instead of focusing on developing the sales team 3. They drive number of calls per day each sales person should make instead of quality of calls. 4. No focus on leading by example and creating role models. 5. Being too transactional. “Manager-Employee Relationship� is the key to building a dynamic happy sales organization. The number one reason why employees leave or are not able to perform is because of their managers and should be the key food for thought. Most organizations are customer centric and feel that a happy customer is the key to success however this is the result of an organization with happy and motivated employees. It is important to understand that a happy and motivated employee is the catalyst in ensuring customer delight. We all know, customer is the most important thing when it comes to business for any company. The secret to happy, engaged employees is treating them like individuals, nurturing their growth and enabling autonomy to be creative, e take initiatives, and generally be free to be great at their work. Any positive working relationship is based on trust. An environment of trust assumes that both parties will be safe, and it carries with it an implicit message that you have each other's best interests in mind. That is when employees can accept criticism and even anger from a boss they trust. The employees know deep down that the boss really means to help. Without trust in the workplace, communication and teamwork will erode. Additionally, morale will decrease while turnover will rise. However, by creating happy employees you can build employees' trust in management, thereby making their workplace an environment filled
with innovation, creativity, and ultimately higher profits and happy customers. Managers need to be proactive in creating an environment of trust apparent to all.
So how do we build trust amongst employees? Being Role model An employee always looks up to his or her manager as role model and hence a Manager should be a perfect combination of knowledge and leadership qualities. He should be the right combination of being a boss and a friend with his or her subordinates. Set example of success by leading them from front rather than just being an advisor. Is able to strategize and provide solutions to successfully manage various sales and customer situations. Apart for this he should spend quality time with employees with the objective of building and grooming them, it's not enough just to be present for meetings and other essential tasks and at the same time being honest to them. Remember that honesty is the best policy. When you lie to employees, you erode their trust, and that erosion of trust results in a damaged relationship. Even when telling the truth is difficult, bite the bullet -- they may not like what you have to say, but your employees will appreciate you.
Inter Personal Skills People come from different places and backgrounds at the work place without knowing history or back ground of each other. It is important for a Manager to understand each employee and their personal environments understanding are really important. As a manager it is important to develop relationship and rapport with each employee and to achieve this manager should be the right combination of boss and friend. Good interpersonal relations can get things done faster and more effectively .If you want to have good relationship with your employees, you have to be there for the ups and downs. Having a friendly relationship with your workers can be a desirable thing, as relationship of this sort makes the workplace more comfortable one. Being close friends with your employees, on the other hand, could be a poor choice. A proper balance between professional and personal relationship between the employee and manager is the recipe for success.
Be Accessible and Communicate openly Have an open door policy. If employees feel comfortable coming to you with new ideas, concerns, or, in the worst-case scenario, complaints, then it's easier to establish the natural give-and-take that comes with strong relationships. Many organizations fail to retain employees or not able to create a healthy work environment because their managers are difficult to access and are not able to communicate with them openly. This only builds frustration amongst employees and a unhappy employee creates more
unhappiness not only in the work place but also amongst customers. A manager should communicate and remove all roadblocks for employees to approach him or her. If a manager wants to build an effective employee relationship, he/she should try to communicate in a transparent manner regarding what is expected out of them, give the right feedback at the right time and on regular intervals by citing examples and how to improve. This helps in developing the capabilities and imposes trust and confidence in the manager. Only Criticism without feedback may just go opposite.
Inclusion Include employees in important decisions whenever possible. When employees work together to create policy, set organizational goals, choose the tools they need to work and make other decisions integral to the organization, they feel valued and important to the organization and to you. In other words Empower your employees, but this may take time as empowerment is based on trust between Manager and Employees.
Be Fair & Resolve Conflicts As a manager it is important to treat all your employees with equal fairness. Any bias to a particular employee could be detrimental to the manager’s image of being a role model and building trust. Have a positive attitude towards all employees. Instead of allowing your preferences to be known, treat all employees the same, showing them all that they are equally valuable and appreciated within the workplace. Normally conflicts do arise in the workplace between employees or employee and manager .As a good manager and leader do not let it grow , rather as a true leader and as a concerned manager you should proactively resolve the situation by listening and understanding the issue from both sides .
Finally, I would say that great service and customer delight is only delivered by satisfied and happy employees. So as a manager one should focus on building a team of happy and satisfied employees.