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Home > Management Training Articles > Replacing existing workforce
Replacing experienced employees for new people with low wages
A DANGEROUS GAME OF TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES
by Eva Jenkins
Companies with a Wall Street-friendly track record for quickly and
regularly replacing experienced staff with new workers at lower
wages “have lost sight of the big picture of their own success,”
warns Eva Jenkins, Business Growth Specialist. Aided and abetted
by technology, U.S. companies can create or reconstitute a workforce
easily to slash budgets quickly. “But what these red ink/black
ink decisions fail to take into account is the consequences of the
quick- hire and quick-shed of employees,” Jenkins observes.
“Revolving door staffing kills effectiveness in one of the
most important departments of all – customer service. And
when customer service dies, so does business.” “I know,
I’ m a consumer as well as a business owner”. Jenkins
points out. “So I translate life lessons from my own service
experiences into customer-centric business processes for my clients.”
“It’s been proven true repeatedly those customer relationship
activities have the most impact on customer retention,” reports
Jenkins who was recently stunned by the lack of responsive service
at major retailers, large banking institutions and at a national
healthcare provider’s office. “Every customer service
encounter has the potential to gain repeat business or drive it
away,” says Jenkins. So, why is it so difficult to receive
good customer service?
Failure to Meet Great Expectations
Despite the acknowledged importance of customer service, up to two-thirds
of all customers’ worldwide leave due to unsatisfactory customer
service. On average, most U.S. corporations lose half their customers
every five years. Yet, despite the proven benefits of an effective
customer service team, clearly defined-company standards and practices
for hiring and training employees, effective internal communications
processes, and a true understanding of customer needs and expectations
are “frequently sacrificed on the altar of fiscal leanness.”
In today’s global marketplace, the all-important ‘human
face’ of a business is customer service. Promises of knowledgeable,
responsive representatives are routinely put front in center in
advertising and marketing efforts. “These promises are used
to gain market share and increase an organization’s visibility
and competitive edge,” says Jenkins.
The impression employees create can make or break, not only the
current sale, but future sales as well, Jenkins says. “And
the consequences of setting up high CSR expectations and then failing
to meet them can be catastrophic.”
Short-Sighted and Short-Circuited
Jenkins points to the recent shake-up at Circuit City. The electronics
retailer, facing larger competitors and falling sales, replaced
3,400 store workers with lower-paid new hires. ““Minimally
trained employees can’t possibly deliver on the promise of
great customer service,” says Jenkins. “And knowledgeable
in-store customer care is what differentiated the Circuit City buying
experience from going to a big-box store like Walmart.”
Faced with unmotivated, uninformed workers, consumers become disappointed,
frustrated, angry, “and ultimately come to view a company
as untrustworthy,” says Jenkins. “I don’t know
what the long term implications will be for the Circuit City chain,
but it won’t be good.”
Jenkins believes that far too few executives really understand the
direct correlation between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
“It’s less expensive to continue to sell to a satisfied
customer in the long run than to constantly find new customers,”
she observes.
The Root of the Evil
Given the incontrovertible evidence regarding the long-term value
of good customer service, why aren’t more businesses creating
lots of positive memorable experiences? Perhaps it’s because
most customer service representatives are “not trained appropriately,
if they are trained at all,” says Jenkins. “Customer
service personnel, in fact all employees in an organization who
interface with customers, need to be trained on how to create and
reaffirm solid relationships with customers.” When this is
done well, explains Jenkins “customers stay, they buy more,
and they refer more.”
Taking service to this level involves empathy and a significant
array of communication skills. “But people can and will provide
service like that if you train them,” says Jenkins. To do
so, a company must first establish “positive, memorable customer
experiences” as a goal. Then “that goal must be communicated
clearly to every employee through proper training, ongoing assessment,
and feedback.”
The marketplace is changing at a breakneck pace, but change doesn’t
matter if the customer isn’t getting problems resolved or
targeted assistance that goes beyond the customer’s expectations.
“A customer who has a stellar experience will remember it
and return,” says Jenkins. “Relationships grow and so
does your customer base. That’s an R.O.I. that you can measure
and ‘take to the bank!”
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