How Internal Customer Service Drives Success
- A Customer Service Case Study -
I’ll never forget the moment that the importance of internal customer service really hit home for me. It was early on in my consulting and training journey, and a frustrated client had engaged us to identify why they’d been unable to significantly improve the experience they were providing to customers.
The company manufactured and distributed building supplies, with customers ranging from builders and contractors to wholesalers and retail outlets. A series of acquisitions had brought them significant growth, but they were also experiencing some troubling erosion in their core customer base.
We began our assessment with more than fifty conversations with managers and employees across departments. The mosaic of perspectives we collected painted an enlightening picture of internal dynamics within the company. Two stood out as a poignant example of a core issue:
ANDY
Andy was in their sales/support team. He told me that time was a critical hot button for customers, and said that this was where things were breaking down. The example he gave was of a customer who, on a Thursday afternoon, had called in a large order for delivery the next Monday morning. Andy sent the order to the logistics coordinator, Janice, who responded that Wednesday morning was the earliest they could do. Andy escalated it to a manager, who arranged for the Monday delivery. He shared that this was a common situation, and his belief that coordinators didn’t appreciate the importance of customer service.
JANICE
In a separate conversation with Janice, we heard the same story. It was unprompted, and with a very different take. She told us that getting large orders approved, assembled, packaged, and shipped involved a lot of moving parts. Their internal standard was a three-day window from order to delivery, and even that was cutting it close.
This Thursday afternoon order for a Monday morning delivery, Janice explained, was basically a one-day request that would cause a number of already-planned deliveries to be late. She echoed Andy’s sentiment that this was a common occurrence, but felt that the salespeople were guilty of over-promising with no regard to consequences.
Had they each treated the other as customers - the outcome would have been very different
Janice and Andy both had valid points: Andy about meeting customer expectations, and Janice about not putting other customer relationships in jeopardy. Each, in their own way, was being customer-centric. The problem was that neither was being internal-customer-centric.
Andy was Janice’s customer who needed an important shipment fulfilled. At the same time, Janice was Andy’s customer who needed to ensure expectations were met for all deliveries. Had they approached the situation as if they were each others’ customers, they would have approached things much differently and far more productively.
This is why internal customer service is important
The root of both external and internal customer service is Trust—and its three components of Caring, Competency, and Integrity. In this case, Andy and Janice were both competent, but each displayed a conspicuous absence of caring and integrity. Neither appeared to care about the other’s concern, nor act in the other’s best interest.
They aren't seeing it, and don't know how to fix it
The truth is, Andy and Janice probably did care. They just weren’t seeing how their actions impacted the people around them. More importantly, even if someone pointed it out, it’s unlikely they would know how to fix it. There are a lot of skills involved in building trust, and much of it isn’t intuitive.
Fractured internal customer service is common – and insidious
Janice and Andy’s situation was a microcosm of what was happening in every department of the company. And in the years since working with that company, I’ve come to learn two things:
1. This is a common condition, to varying degrees, in many organizations—and with the majority of companies experiencing change or high growth.
2. Internal customer service is a demonstrable driver of a company’s success. When fractured, the impact is both insidious and progressive. It won’t improve unless proactively addressed.
A key part of rejuvenating a company’s internal customer service involves training. The best outcome is to involve everyone in every role – with courses to help managers and leaders build trust-based departments.
In the case of the company I highlighted in this case study, training had both short-term and long-term impacts. Andy and Janice found a (very creative) solution to their situation—as well as future ones. Less friction between departments was reported, and impromptu collaborations resulted in a number of process improvements.
Leaders make it part of the culture
Training wasn’t the only component, of course. Senior leaders worked to bridge silos and managers became more active in interdepartmental solutions. A unique metric was created to quantify how people were doing. It became part of their culture.
Internal Customer Service Training
Outstanding Training Courses that will:
IMPROVE:
- Employee engagement, enjoyment and retention
- Collaboration, team alignment, workflow and efficiency
IMPROVE:
- Communication errors
- Workplace stress
- Workplace conflict
- Employee turnover
Learn more about Belding Training’s globally-acclaimed Internal Customer Service training