Employees Roles in Service Delivery

Provider GAP 3
CUSTOMER

Service Delivery
COMPANY

GAP 3

Customer-Driven Service Designs and Standards

Part 4 Opener

Employees Roles in Service Delivery

Illustrate the critical importance of service employees in creating customer satisfaction and service quality Demonstrate the challenges inherent in boundary-spanning roles Provide examples of strategies for creating customer-oriented service delivery Show how the strategies can support a service culture where providing excellent service is a way of life

Service Culture
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. - Christian Gronroos (1990)

The Critical Importance of Service Employees

They They They They

are the service. are the organization in the customers eyes. are the brand. are marketers.

Their importance is evident in:

the services marketing mix (people) the service-profit chain the services triangle

Service marketing mix

People All the human actors who play a part in service delivery and thus influence the buyers perception namely the firms personnel, the customer and other customer in the service environment.

The Services Marketing Triangle

Company (Management)

Internal Marketing
Enabling the promise

External Marketing
Making the promise

Employees
Interactive Marketing
Delivering the promise

Customers

Source: Adapted from Mary Jo Bitner, Christian Gronroos, and Philip Kotler

The service-profit chain

Employee satisfaction Customer satisfaction Profits

Service Employees

Who are they?

boundary spanners

What are these jobs like? emotional labor many sources of potential conflict quality/productivity tradeoffs

Boundary Spanners Interact with Both Internal and External Constituents

External Environment

Internal Environment

Emotional Labor

The term was coined by Arlie Hochschild to refer to the labor that goes beyond the physical or mental skill needed to deliver quality service.

Boundary-Spanning Workers Juggle Many Issues

Person versus role Organization versus client Client versus client

Strategies for Delivering Service Quality through People

Hire the Right People

Compete for the Best People Hire for Service Competencies and Service Inclination Be the Preferred Employer

Develop People to Deliver Service Quality

Train for Technical and Interactive Skills Empower Employees Promote Teamwork

Provide Needed support systems

Measure Internal Service Quality Provide Supportive Technology and Equipment Develop Service-Oriented Internal Processes

Retain the best People

Include Employees in the Companys Vision Treat Employees as Customers Measure and Reward Strong Service Performers

Figure 12.6

Human Resource Strategies for Delivering Service Quality through People

Hire for service competencies and service inclination

Compete for the best people Measure and reward strong service performers

Be the preferred employer Train for technical and interactive skills

Hire the right people Develop people to deliver service quality

Treat employees as customers

Retain the best people

CustomerOriented Service Delivery

Provide needed support systems

Empower employees

Include employees in the companys vision Develop service-oriented internal processes

Promote teamwork

Provide supportive technology and equipment

Measure internal service quality

Empowerment: Giving employee the desire,

skill, tools & authority to serve the customer

Benefits:

Drawbacks:

quicker responses to customer needs during service delivery quicker responses to dissatisfied customers during service recovery employees feel better about their jobs and themselves employees tend to interact with warmth/enthusiasm empowered employees are a great source of ideas great word-of-mouth advertising from customers

potentially greater dollar investment in selection and training higher labor costs potentially slower or inconsistent service delivery may violate customers perceptions of fair play employees may give away the store or make bad decisions

Customer oriented service delivery

If you sincerely believe that the customer is king, the second most important person in this kingdom must be the one who has a direct interaction on a daily basis with the one who is king.

Traditional Organizational Chart

Manager

Supervisor

Supervisor

Front-line Employee

Front-line Employee

Front-line Employee

Front-line Employee

Front-line Employee

Front-line Employee

Front-line Employee

Front-line Employee

Customers

Customer-Focused Organizational Chart

Customers
Front-line Employee Front-line Employee Front-line Employee Front-line Employee Front-line Employee Front-line Employee Front-line Employee Front-line Employee

Supervisor

Supervisor

Manager