For the thrid year in a row, the Wall Street Journal and Winning Workplaces have teamed up to identify the top small-to-midsize business.
This year, some of the companies noted really highlight their thinking that goes into creating the kind of value chain that yields the kinds of value propositions that win … that is to say, it’s not enough to promise something to the marketplace unless you’ve thought through all the way back into how your people feel about it and how your people are brought into it.
Among the small-to-midsize companies that were highlighted in this article, a common thread emerges:
Commitment to “strong people practices” in the workplace creates a better work environment, and in turn reduces turnover, increases retention, and facilitates satisfied and happy employees.
Inside these successful companies - companies that are weathering the recession and economic downturn – there’s a lot of discussion, and a lot of time spent with people – breakfast meetings, annual meetings, idea sharing, etc. All this internal activity pulls together to make a better work environment, which manifests itself in the quality of service the company provides, and in the positive image the company is able to sustain – whcih translates to growth and revenue, even in a tough business environment. These companies have figured out how to maintain “service with a smile.”
Disney made this concept famous; it’s the difference between dealing with a surly person at the ticket counter versus a warm welcome with a broad smile – regardless of how the employee is feeling that day – and how you as a customer feel about that.
It’s true – you can actually hear a smile on the phone, and a lot of companies have lost sight of that.
Look at it this way – if you are browbeating your employees – or just stressing them out as you stress about things – your customers are going to know this. Your customers will sense the difficult and negative work environment because it will “bleed” into your employees’ interaction with customers.
It’s important that you build out your value from the ground up – whatever it is from a “discipline of market leaders” point of view – that is, customer intimacy, product superiority or as low cost operator.
As I’ve written about before, even at McDonald’s – it has to be service with a smile, not service with a growl. It is “good morning” even though the choices are still from the same finite breakfast menu day after day. And it usually is: as testimony to the most consistent franchise training in the world.
Lowest costs and lower operating margins to gain market share doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to create a bad work environment which (as this study illustrates) yields a bad customer experience.
Thoughtfulness in the work environment, especially in small companies, yields tangible “emergent” or secondary properties that come out of people dealing with your firm and result in how people feel about your company.
The simple message?
Take care of the people who take care of the people that pay you money.
