Executive Summary Delivering excellent service is important for all companies today, but many companies struggle to deliver even just a basic service of a decent quality. The authors of this paper find that the companies who do deliver excellent service are superior in the areas of people, processes, leadership and culture. Companies must be careful when designing their service delivery system. A great service management model is built on a thorough understanding of what is creating value to the customer and how to engage frontline employees in the delivery process. The four key elements in such a system are: 1. 2. 3. 4. Service Culture. Employee Engagement. Service Quality. Customer Experience. These four areas contain a diverse and complex set of processes. It is a key message however, that none of the four focus areas are more important than the others. In fact, a balanced approach proves to be the key to success. Leadership and culture play a greater role in effective service organizations today than ever before. By clearly stating the vision, mission and values of the organization, service employees have a common goal to steer towards. Value based leadership is an effective way to make values and vision become meaningful and relevant when communicated and supported by first-line management and frontline employees. Strong people processes should be at the core of any service organization. The successful execution of the service delivery model requires the right people, with the right competencies, all motivated and engaged to work towards a unified set of goals. Getting engaged employees requires a focus on the right HR processes. But it also requires that employees have a higher purpose in their work other than simply what is dictated by the job profile. Attitude, behavior, commitment and ultimately quality are outcomes of having sound and robust people practices, and leadership is the enabler. Widely varying customer requirements and increasing demand for customization places an even greater responsibility on service employees to perform well. Performing customer surveys gives valuable insight into where and how the service provider must improve efforts in order to ensure customer retention and optimize experience whilst stimulating development and dialogue. Because all companies effectively compete on service, the key differentiator then lies in the service management model and the ability to execute it. We believe the traditional models and themes are no longer sufficient and that future focus should be on the service delivery system and the power of the human touch. Frontline service employees should be empowered to create appreciated service moments and through their service performance influence and preferably leverage the purpose of the customer organization. Proprietary information ISS World Services A/S - Copyright © 2014 3
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