5 Ways Employee Engagement Impacts Customer Satisfaction

Employee Engagement, Experience

The impacts of employee engagement extend far beyond the office. It’s not limited to the workforce, but rather extends across customer borders, impacting customer satisfaction. For all organisations, no matter the industry or the product or service they provide, without customers they would not survive. And, of course, the one way of building customer loyalty and a successful business is by keeping the customer happy. In fact, in a recent study 81% of consumers from around the world said they’d increase their spend with an organisation in return for a better customer experience. While factors such as product, service and brand reputation play a role in customer satisfaction, it’s the people and the experience they provide, that really drive it. But what promotes customer satisfaction in the workplace? The simple answer is employee engagement. 

1.The attitudes and behaviours of employees are the main drivers of customer satisfaction

Personal interaction with an organisation accounts for the bulk of customer experience and satisfaction. Unfortunately, one customer-facing employee represents the entire organisation and its brand. If that employee fails to present the company as a positive, friendly and helpful place that value their customer and their loyalty, the entire organisation takes the fall. Losing customers affects the bottom line, while the business’s reputation is at risk of damage. Ensuring that customer-facing employees are creating a pleasant customer experience goes beyond personality or even incentive. The way in which an employee approaches and performs in their job is largely attributable to their personal satisfaction in the workplace. This is managed and improved by establishing employee engagement. An employee that feels valued and is recognised by the organisation as an individual with needs and goals, and who is encouraged to fulfil them, will be as loyal to the organisation, the brand and their customers. 

2. Customer satisfaction helps boost employee engagement

Customer satisfaction and employee experience influence each other. When customers are satisfied and happy, employee engagement is positively impacted. If customers have previously dealt with an organisation, were displeased with their experience and for some reason returned, chances are they’re going to have their back up. This makes an employees job much more difficult than needed to be if customer experience were always prioritised. Brand reputation is another important factor to consider. Consumers talk and word of mouth can not only damage a brand, but affect employees negatively too.

3. Customer satisfaction is not the responsibility of front-facing staff alone

While we have mentioned customer-facing staff in the previous two points because of their direct relationship to the customer, customer experience and satisfaction is not their responsibility alone. It begins at management level. Managers are responsible for workplace culture, setting targets, establishing guidelines/KPI’s and most importantly in this case, responsible for employee engagement. By becoming more people-focused, managers can boost customer experience.

4. Office culture influences the way employees promote business brand

A positive, success-driven office culture is one that prioritises employee engagement. A culture of open communication, personal development, growth and positivity does not only impact the way in which employees view their jobs but the entire business, the brand and its value in the market. This viewpoint is more often than not expressed to the customer in various ways such as attitude and behaviour. Employee engagement lays at the core of customer experience; if an employee is happy and has invested in the organisation, they’ll want to see it thrive. 

5. Market-reputation influences customer thoughts

A customer complaint due to dissatisfaction with service or experience is not to be taken lightly. Today, competition amongst businesses is cut-throat and there is no room for error. Customers will take their business elsewhere, but not without letting people know about their bad experiences with a given organisation. Social media has made it easy for news to spread, and an organisations market-reputation can plummet fast. Losing one customer to poor customer experience is, in fact, not just one at all, it becomes much more. 

The trick is to ensure your customer experience does not just begin when the customer arrives, but with the employee.  

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