Jeweller - May 2024

Elon Musk once described this
phenomenon perfectly.
Despite some erratic behaviour these
days at Twitter, he used to be well known
for seeking constructive criticism. When
his electric vehicles (Tesla) were being
developed, he spoke for a long time with the
automobile engineers.
Instead of asking these engineers what
was positive about the design, he wanted
them to tell him what was wrong because
this feedback would open the door to
improvement.
I’m not describing listening in a general
sense.
Many business leaders listen to others to
confirm their views, which is unhelpful.
It needs to be a specific, value-creating
type of listening, what German author Otto
Scharmer calls ‘generative listening’.
Generative listening is about seeing
possibilities rather than the status quo, an
essential skill for leaders in fast-moving
and uncertain times.
It’s about listening with the intent of
changing the future for the better.
A psychologically safe environment is
the prerequisite for this type of listening.
Employees need to feel safe before sharing
constructive criticism with their leaders.
Trust: Marc Benioff of Salesforce believes
that “trust is at the core of everything a
business does”.
You need to build trust with your employees
for them to work efficiently. You need to
deliver trust with your stakeholders who
want to see your business succeed. And
you must build trust with your customers
for them to choose your business over
competitors.
I would add that you don’t just need to trust
employees for them to work efficiently.
You need to trust them to make better,
faster, and more emphatic decisions for the
customer without losing time by asking one
of their supervisors.
As I said above, staff often know more about
the customer than you, so trust them to do
the right thing.
That trust needs to be felt in every corner of
the business to work.
If you think that you need surveillance and
employee monitoring software – apparently
used by eight out of 10 of the biggest
employers in the US – to keep an eye on
employees working at home, then they
will also not believe you if you say you trust
them to make the best decision for the
customer.
Celebrate: If employees make mistakes, do
not penalise them.Look for opportunities to
learn and improve from that.
Above all, celebrate every time an employee
can make a customer happy.
If customer service could put a smile on a
once very frustrated and angry customer,
that’s worth celebrating.
If a fashion retailer called five different
stores to find someone’s favouritedress, or
if someone spent 35 minutes on the phone
helping an elderly lady install a banking
app, reward that publicly!
If your employees help a young couple
find the perfect engagement ring, that’s
something worth bringing to everyone’s
attention.
Don’t just tell the employees that they have
done well in private; tell everyone and show
them that this is precisely what everyone
should be doing.
CREATING A
CUSTOMER-
CENTRIC
CULTURE
Lead
Present a strong
vision to your
employees and let
your actions do
the talking.
Listen
Embrace feedback
from those
who know your
customers best -
your staff.
Trust
Trust your
employees to
make the correct
decisions.
Celebrate
Acknowledge the
good work of your
staff.
Repeat
Celebrate your
wins and remain
humble – there’s
always more work
to do.
What you celebrate and reward is what
you stimulate, and you do want to
encouragehigh-quality customer service.
• Celebrate: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
once said, “Don’t be a know-it-all, be a
learn-it-all”.
When Microsoft became the world’s most
valuable company – by the measure of
market capitalisation – in the late 1990s,
their complacency led to significant
problems.
“People would walk around our campus
thinking we are God’s gift to mankind,” he
explained.
And, unfortunately, whether in ancient
Greece or modern Silicon Valley, there’s
only one thing that has brought companies,
societies, civilisations down, which is
hubris.”
Always celebrate your wins and help your
team stay humble about your success,
especially in the current economic
environment where the next disruption is
just waiting around the corner.
Always remember that creating a customercentric
culture is an ongoing process, too.
You’ll need to continuously measure your
progress, gather feedback, and make
changes as required.
Changes will be needed when customer
behaviour evolves yet again. So always
encourage your employees to suggest ways
to improve the customer experience and
work together on their suggestions.
STEVEN VAN BELLEGHEM is a
business consultant and keynote
speaker, specialising in customer
experience and the future of marketing.
Visit: stevenvanbelleghem.com
May 2024 | 43