07 Jul, 2008
Remove the barrier between the people who pay you and the people you pay.
Posted by: x10 In: Check list| Life
How do you open the doors for conversation between your company and your clients? How do you really know what your clients value? How do you really know what your employees value?
Remove the barrier between your employees and your clients - the barrier being “the company”.
Let conversations happen between real people. Stop with the rhetoric and the protocol and let employees take ownership of their relationships with clients. You’ll be surprised how much creativity can occur with a few small changes.
A few ideas:
- Get Basecamp and use it freely with every client. Don’t edit anything. Don’t hide stuff. Be transparent.
- Don’t monitor employee email or employee IM.
- Empower your employees with decision making power. If that means giving them a budget to work with do it! Stop stifling creativity by making yourself the go-to decision maker on everything.
- Reward your employees for having conversations with clients. Make it OK for an employee to take a client’s side on an issue.
- Encourage your employees to criticize your internal processes - how else will you grow and change?
- Put your product(s) or your company on GetSatisfaction.com and get your employees in there joining the conversation. This gives everyone a name and a face and really shows you care.
