Many businesses believe firmly that the customer should come first. However, you could find that treating your employees and customers on equal terms is much better for your business. When your employees feel that they are valued, they are likely to work harder to make you proud. Below are just a few examples of how treating your employees like customers can be good for your business.
Listen to them
Listening to your customers is important for helping you to meet their needs. However, you should also listen to your employees for the same reasons. When you listen to feedback from employees, it helps you to improve your company and it helps your employees to feel more valued. It’s worth asking for this feedback to help encourage it – either one-on-one or in a team meeting. You should also get to know your employees to help find out what their personal goals are and interests are. This can help you to find personalised ways of motivating and rewarding them (for example, an employee who loves to travel may be motivated by the reward of more paid time off, while someone who loves films may be motivated by the reward of an annual cinema subscription).
Offer a good price
Just as many customers are attracted to a company by a good price offer, many employees are attracted to a company by a good pay offer. Make sure that you are paying your employees equal or more than your competitors to prevent them from jumping ship. You can also enter pay negotiations with employees just as you would enter price negotiations with a customer – give them the power to set their own worth.
Throw in small gifts
It’s common to throw in free extras to please customers. You can do the same with your employees. Celebrate special occasions with small gifts such as these Christmas corporate gift boxes. Bring some snacks into the office or consider taking out your team for lunch. These small gifts can be kind gestures of appreciation and could help to inspire loyalty.
Reward loyalty
On the topic of loyalty, you can consider introducing loyalty rewards for your employees in the same way that you might introduce loyalty rewards for customers. Loyalty rewards could include annual bonuses, more time off or privileges such as being able to work from home. This can help you to maintain your long-time employees and can give your new employees something to aim towards.
Be kind and empathise
We often go out of our way to be kind and polite to customers. This ensures that our customers feel valued. Having the same attitude with your employees can have the same effect. By being friendly and supportive, you can create a warm environment where your employees feel looked after. This includes helping your employees to solve difficult problems, praising them when it is due and standing up for them when someone else is in the wrong.
