Are You Maximizing Your Benefits?

Most organizations have put considerable time and money into developing a benefits package that is a positive for their employees. Rightly, they expect that these benefits will contribute to a positive work environment and overall engagement.

However, Andy Philpott of Accor Services (one of the UK's leading providers of employee benefits, rewards and loyalty services), reports that in a recent study they conducted of rewards, benefits and employee engagement that only one-third of employers (33%) believed staff understand what benefits are available.

More concerning is that just one in five employees (21%) claim to have a good understanding of the value of the benefits available and one in 10 admit they have no clue about the value of these benefits.

Employees also seemed unsure whether their pay, benefits and incentives packages were competitive when compared with people doing similar jobs in similar organisations. Only 33% felt their company was competitive on pay, 25% on benefits and just 17% felt their organisation offered competitive incentives.

It is critical that we communicate the value of our benefits package effectively to staff. Successful communication is an foundational element in building employee engagement and the resulting performance, motivation and productivity benefits are not maximized if people are unaware of what the benefits are.

Cheers!

Bill's passion is improving business results by working with leadership teams to change employee behaviours. He does this by equipping leaders with the principles, processes and tools to cultivate an engaged customer-focused culture.

As well, he is a dynamic, results-oriented speaker on the importance of a customer-focused culture, either as a guest speaker or acting as a facilitator of a group discussion/workshop.

For more information please contact (905) 841-3191
Email: bill@billhogg.ca, Web: http://www.billhogg.ca/

Make it easy for your customers to talk to you?

Quick shout out to Eric at customerservicenumbers.com. He's recently launched a site where customers can quickly find company and product customer service telephone numbers.

This places me in an interesting quandary. On one hand I wish him the best, because obviously it is a service that is needed. But isn’t it a sad state of affairs that a site like this is even needed.

So make sure you are listed -- and then if you do a good job with your own customer service programs, no one will need to visit it for your numbers.

Cheers!

Bill's passion is branded customer service that exceeds expectations. He works with clients to activate a “customer-focused” culture where engaged employees internalize the brand promise and deliver an intentional Branded Customer Experience -- internally and externally.

As well, he is a dynamic, results-oriented speaker on the importance of a customer-focused culture, either as a guest speaker or acting as a facilitator of a group discussion/workshop.

For more information please contact (905) 841-3191
Email: bill@billhogg.ca, Web: http://www.billhogg.ca/

Have you identified your employees as a key target audience?

Much has been written about the need for communicating with employees.

People are often put in charge of internal communications and spend their time creating newsletters and memos that get sent far and wide informing folks about what is going on in the organization. Often we designate the employees as one of our key target audiences or stakeholder in our planning documents. This is all a good thing.

However, being the provocative person that I am, I have to ask, “Is that really what you want to do?”

I would suggest that communicating usually means creating and delivering messages to an audience. Further, I would suggest that what you really want to do is facilitate a conversation or a dialogue with your employee community.

For many, you are probably saying, “That’s just semantics -- that’s what we mean”, so let me ask, “Is that what is happening?” Are you facilitating a conversation? Do you have a process set up that stimulates a conversation or is your messaging primarily just being pushed out from the communications team?

That distinction is more than semantics. It is why organizations struggle - and often fail - to generate meaningful employee engagement. We get blinded by the belief that because we are actively communicating, we believe we are engaging employees in a conversation. Bottom line, if it isn't two-way, it isn't communication. It's simply message distribution.

Let me share how the internal newsletter we set up at ServiceOntario was envisioned. Rather than having someone in the Marketing team write the newsletter, they acted primarily as an Editor who worked with an Editorial Board who was responsible for generating the content. This Board was made up of writers from across all divisions in the organization. Level or function were not relevant, their only commonality was their interest in sharing what was happening in their areas of work. They also had pretty free rein on topics for publishing.

The Editor compiled their articles and reviewed them for general appropriateness, spelling, grammar, etc. They did not re-write the articles. The Editor also included news that was relevant to the organization on behalf of the organization.

Resultant we had a newsletter that reflected the wider organization while still containing important organizational communications/news. It was filled with topics (with lots of pictures) of things that were of interest to the people across the organization -- not just management.

The result? People looked forward to receiving and reading it each month. Plus, people saw demonstrated behaviour that management was interested in hearing from them -- a very important signal to the organization.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was a systematic approach to sharing information and gathering feedback/input. So ask yourself, is your internal communications really communicating -- or just delivering messages.

Something to think about.

Cheers!

Bill's passion is branded customer service that exceeds expectations. He works with clients to activate a “customer-focused” culture where engaged employees internalize the brand promise and deliver an intentional Branded Customer Experience -- internally and externally.

As well, he is a dynamic, results-oriented speaker on the importance of a customer-focused culture, either as a guest speaker or acting as a facilitator of a group discussion/workshop.

For more information please contact (905) 841-3191
Email: bill@billhogg.ca, Web: http://www.billhogg.ca/

What is Garmin thinking?

I purchased a Garmin GPS for my car in April 2006. I have been generally satisfied with the performance until my recent experience to update the North American mapping. Something they encouraged me to do.

My saga started with a visit to their website which was fairly easy to navigate. After about 10 minutes, I had identified the correct program for my model and started through the check-out process to download my new mapping software.

After 20 plus minutes where it refused to accept my credit card, with no explanation, I finally gave up in disgust and called their customer support line.

After waiting 40 minutes to speak to a CSR I was informed that it was impossible to download or even sell a DVD to people from Canada online. No explanation why, and more importantly, no response when I asked why this wasn't immediately communicated on the website -- before I spent time trying to make an online purchase. Something they encouraged me to sign up for when I purchased the unit.

I was told me to go back to the location where I had purchased the unit (Best Buy in my case) because they sold the upgrades for the same prices as online -- $69.

Not great, but rules are rules.

So off to Best Buy. However, at Best Buy the upgrade costs $99 -- a 50% increase. Meanwhile, they are selling brand new units as low as $149 which already have the current maps installed.

My decision -- don't buy the upgrade and wait to buy a new unit when they are on sale. But not a Garmin.

If they were trying to drive away a customer, Garmin couldn't have done a better job. Wasted my time online with incomplete information and then to compound the issue give me bad information when I get to a CSR.

Simple fix. Communicate early, often and accurately with your customers.

Cheers!

Bill's passion is great customer service. He works with clients to activate a “customer-focused” culture where engaged employees internalize the brand promise and deliver an intentional Branded Customer Experience -- internally and externally.

As well, he is a dynamic, results-oriented speaker on the importance of a customer-focused culture, either as a guest speaker or acting as a facilitator of a group discussion/workshop.

For more information please contact (905) 841-3191
Email: bill@billhogg.ca, Web: www.billhogg.ca

Treat Customers Like They Matter

Recently I had to go to a local collision repair shop for an estimate for some repair work on my car. I was sent to this particular shop by my insurance company for a quote, but was told I could have the actual repair done at any accredited collision repair shop.

The first thing I noticed was a sign on the back wall that stated "Quality starts with great service". I was greeted quickly by the receptionist who took some basic information and then asked me to take a seat indicating an estimator would be right with me.

Well, I sat for 5 minutes watching 2 people sitting at desks working away at their computers. One of them took a phone call and the second commented to the receptionist that she would be awhile. At no time did either acknowledge me.

Suddenly the one who took the phone call stood up and indicated that I should follow him outside to my car. I guess he was one of the estimators.

After asking me some questions and taking some pictures, we returned to his desk where he filled out the forms on the computer and after 10 minutes printed out the sheets and handed them to me. The whole time I sat at his desk, he said not 1 word to me.

So what should I think about the quality of this organization? What do we learn from this example?

They did a good job of setting expectations with their sign. The receptionist was friendly and efficient. But then the problems started to show.

Here are some simple things that I think would have gone a long way to improving the customer experience.

1. Telling me that the 2 estimators were currently finishing a claim and giving me an indication of my wait time would have gone a long way.


2. If the estimator spoke to me rather than the receptionist (I was actually closer) it would have made me feel like a valued customer versus an inconvenience that needed to be dealt with.


3. Introducing themselves when they asked me to come outside to do the estimate.


4. Explaining what the estimator was doing on the computer would have made me feel part of the process instead of a bystander.

As a result of this experience, I will probably take my business elsewhere rather than dealing with this company in spite of the fact they had been specifically referred by the insurance company as a trusted supplier.

The funny thing is, they already had me in their shop and there would have been no cost to displaying some simple customer service behaviours. No one was rude or treated me badly, yet, the customer service experience pushed me away.

Too often we get so busy that we forget the simple things. None of the things mentioned would have cost either time or money, yet because they were forgotten, they lost a $3,000 repair bill.

The worst part is they probably have no idea what they did or why they lost my business. I am sure they think they are doing a good job. Something to think about.

Cheers!

Bill works with clients to help activate a “customer-focused” culture that helps employees embrace the brand promise and deliver an intentional Branded Customer Experience -- internally and externally.

As well, he is a dynamic, results-oriented speaker on the importance of a customer-focused culture, either as a guest speaker or acting as a facilitator of a group discussion/workshop.

For more information please contact (905) 841-3191
Email: bill@billhogg.ca, Web: www.billhogg.ca

The Customer Speaks

I am sure you have heard about the recent "layoff" of an Owen Sound Ontario employee who shaved her head to donate the hair for a Cancer fundraising. It would be almost impossible to miss unless you were on a deserted island.

In spite of the fact that the events took place in a northern Ontario community, I have read coverage on all the major US news feeds and even in the UK. Clearly this situation got people's attention.

However, I think the most telling quote was from the owner, "the public outcry has been devastating to the restaurant and has upset the other employees". He goes on to say that he wished they could have sorted something out before she went to the media.

I guess he still doesn't get it. It should have been sorted out before he made the statement. He sees the problem being that his behaviour was actually held up for scrutiny, not that his initial behaviour was inappropriate.

How often do we hear about companies that talk a good game, but when the rubber hits the road, they don't walk the talk.

If this company culture was one that put people first, do you think his initial decision would have been to send her home for the summer. The initial decision is the one that gives us the insight into the culture, not the belated apology.

Now, the people have spoken and I am sure that the business will pay the consequences. Would you go to a restaurant that treats its employees with such disrespect? Would you expect good service from employees who are treated so poorly?

So even if the product was great, the experience can overshadow the product to such an extent that it defines the brand.

A real life example we should all reflect on from time to time.

Cheers!

Tim Hortons 2

Wow, what a run of bad luck Tim's is having these days.

First, firing an employee for giving a child a FREE TimBit, and now, not allowing a pregnant homeless women to eat her breakfast in the restaurant.

The important learning is that it doesn't matter that Tim Hortons has a basis for either of these actions. What matters is that customers across Canada are not happy with the corporate behavior.

But in neither case, was this corporate behaviour -- it was a specific individual acting in what they felt was a totally appropriate manner. Can these be any louder warnings for us about the critical importance of working with our employees on the customer service experience they are providing.

Tim Hortons has been a good corporate citizen. They are a big sponsor of local community activities in sports, culture and the arts -- yet all of that money is being totally over shadowed by "unpaid media" that suggests the company is uncaring. Plus, I would guess, considerable time and money are now being spent to minimize and undo the damage created by there 2 recent situations.

How much better to have spent this time and money making sure employees understand and internalize the corporate culture.

So when the value of spending funds to create a customer-focus culture in the organization is questioned -- remember these examples.

It doesn't matter how well the head office gets it or how much you spend on training "what to do", if your employees don't embrace your customer service experience and understand how to interpret the policies in the context of the brand values you have developed, you will continually be fighting fires likes these.

It's the difference between hiring and training for competence versus character.

Cheers!

Tim Hortons

So I imagine by now everyone has heard about the situation at Tim Hortons that resulted in the firing of an employee for giving away FREE Food. The employee's crime? She gave a FREE TimBit to a regular customers youngster.

Within 2 days this event was reported in every national newspaper, was on all major online news feeds and was being discussed on our local All News radio station. This is a perfect example of how the employee, in this case the manager who fired the employee, owns the brand.

By this single action the manager was communicating to the entire Country how Tim Hortons treated their employees and by default how they viewed their customers -- definitely an off-brand Moment of Truth.

Tim Hortons had rightly established a policy that it was inappropriate to give away FREE Food. The issue here was that the manager had not been given (or felt they had not) the ability to interpret this policy against a strong, well-communicated set of brand value that would help them interpret the policy in a manner that was consistent with the brand values.

I think common sense would tell us, that firing someone for giving a free TimBit was not the intention of the policy. But it was totally correct based on the policy.
The positive ending was that the employee that was fired was quickly re-hired by Tim Hortons at another location. Tim Hortons recognized that they needed to respond quickly and they did.

The question is, will they recognize the root cause of the problem and take steps to instill a strong, well-communicated set of brand values/service principles across the organization so their policies are interpreted appropriately.

I always say, "An organization needs a short list of expectations, versus a long list of rules."

Cheers!

Bell Canada

So I thought I would start with a recent experience with Bell Canada about my satellite TV. I had the occasion to contact Bell for the 3rd time this week because my satellite TV isn't functioning correctly. Imagine my surprise when each time they answered the phone "How can I provide excellent customer service today". Boy were my expectations set.

So what was my problem? Well the satellite box wasn't saving the TV Guide, so I couldn't tell what was playing unless I scrolled through every channel. The first time I called I was told to re-boot and then call back if that didn't work and they would send me a new box. After all, this one is a rental.

The second time I called I was assured they would fix the problem from their end, so no need to get a new box.

Obviously, since I was now calling a third time, the problem was still there. So imagine my frustration when I was transfered to 4 different people before getting resolution. And the worst part was I finally had to threaten to cancel my subscription to get what I needed.

So what did I learn from this experience?

1. Make sure that you are not over-promising. When we set customer expectations we have the opportunity to meet and exceed them. However, an over-promise can set an expectation that is impossible to meet, even with the best intentions
   
2. Empower your employees to look after the customer the first time. Don't transfer the customer to get resolution -- particularly when common sense dictates the solution.

Cheers!