EMPLOYEES ROLE IN SERVICE DELIVERY :EMPLOYEES ROLE IN SERVICE DELIVERY


The Critical Importance Of Service Employees :The Critical Importance Of Service Employees Key focus on customer contact service employees because: They are the service They are the organization in customer’s eye They are the brand They are the marketers Their importance is evident in: The Services Marketing Mix (People) The Service-Profit Chain The Services Triangle


The Service Triangle :The Service Triangle Internal Marketing Interactive Marketing External Marketing Company (Management) Customers Employees enabling promises delivering promises setting promises


The Service Triangle :The Service Triangle External Marketing: includes anything or anyone that communicates to the customer before service delivery Interactive Marketing: its the real time marketing were promises are kept Internal Marketing: management aids the providers in their ability to deliver the service promise- recruiting, training, motivating, rewarding, and providing equipment & technology


Ways to Use the Services Marketing Triangle :Ways to Use the Services Marketing Triangle Overall Strategic Assessment How is the service organization doing on all three sides of the triangle? Where are the weaknesses? What are the strengths? Specific Service Implementation What is being promoted and by whom? How will it be delivered and by whom? Are the supporting systems in place to deliver the promised service?


Why Internal Marketing? :Why Internal Marketing? Satisfied employees make for satisfied customers Unless service employees are happy in their jobs, customer satisfaction will be difficult to achieve Employees directly influence all 5 dimensions of service quality Service Profit Chain


Boundary Spanning Roles :Boundary Spanning Roles The frontline service employees are referred to as boundary spanners because they operate at the organization's boundary They provide a link between external customer and environment and the internal operations of the organization They serve as a critical function in understanding, filtering, and interpreting information and resources to and from the organization and its external constituencies


Slide 8:They vary from the least skilled, lowest paid employees like order takers, front desk employees, delivery people to well paid highly educated professionals like doctors, lawyers These positions require extraordinary levels of emotional labor, frequently demand an ability to handle interpersonal and inter-organizational conflict Emotional Labor arises from the discrepancy between the way frontline staff feel inside and the emotions they are expected to portray in front of customers


Slide 9:Sources of Conflict Personal/ Role Conflict: conflict between what their job requires and their own personalities, self perceptions, and beliefs Organization/ Client Conflict: dilemma of whether they should follow the company’s rules or satisfy customer demands. Interclient Conflict: conflict between customers. Eg: speaking o mobile phone in a cinema hall, noisy guests in a restaurant


Slide 10:External Environment Internal Environment Boundary Spanners Interact with Both Internal and External Constituents


Strategies for Delivering Service Quality Through People :Strategies for Delivering Service Quality Through People Strategies for Internal Marketing: To build a customer-oriented, service-minded workforce, an organization must: Hire the right people Develop people to deliver service quality Provide the needed support systems Retain the best people


Slide 12:Customer- Oriented Service Delivery Hire the Right People Provide Needed Support Systems Retain the Best People Develop People to Deliver Service Quality Compete for the Best People Hire for Service Competencies and Service Inclination Treat Employees as Customers Empower Employees Be the Preferred Employer Train for Technical and Interactive Skills Promote Teamwork Measure Internal Service Quality Develop Service- oriented Internal Processes Measure and Reward Strong Service Performers Include Employees in the Company’s Vision Provide Supportive Technology and Equipment


Hire the Right People :Hire the Right People Compete for the best people Identify the people and compete with other organizations to hire them Hire for service competencies and service inclination Service competencies are the skills and knowledge necessary to do the job Service inclination means their interest in doing service related job Be a preferred employer Provide career and growth opportunities, excellent internal support, attractive incentives etc


Develop People to Deliver Service Quality :Develop People to Deliver Service Quality Train for technical and interactive skills Ongoing training in necessary technical skills like cash machine procedures, accounting systems in hotels Interactive skills allow employees to provide courteous, caring, responsive, and empathetic service Empower employees Empowerment means giving employees the desire, skills, tools, and authority to serve customer Frontline providers need to be empowered to accommodate customer requests and to recover on the spot when things go wrong Employees need the knowledge and tools to be able to make these decisions


Slide 15:Positive benefits of empowerment: reduction in job related stress, improved job satisfaction, greater adaptability, and better outcomes for customers Promote teamwork Teamwork enhances the employees’ abilities to deliver excellent service Build an interactive community of coworkers who help each other Encourage the attitude- “everyone has a customer” Team gals and rewards also promote teamwork


Provide Needed Support Systems :Provide Needed Support Systems Measure internal service quality Internal customer service audits can be used to implement a culture of internal service quality Provide supportive technology and equipment Develop service-oriented internal processes Internal processes should be designed with customer value and customer satisfaction in mind Go for “process engineering” (i.e. total redesign of system)


Retain The Best People :Retain The Best People Include employees in the company’s vision Treat employees as customers Make them feel valued and take care of their needs The products that the organization has to offer its employees are a job (with assorted benefits) and quality of work life Measure and reward strong service performers


Service Culture :Service Culture To move an organization towards service excellence, we need a strong service culture that is continuously reinforced and developed by the firm’s management. “A culture where an appreciation for good service exists, and where giving good service to internal as well as ultimate, external customers, is considered a natural way of life and one of the most important norms by everyone in the organization.”