Why Comcast Should Use My 8 Ways of Employee Delight

Comcast is in the midst of a customer service epidemic. It seems every week there is a new customer service horror story involving Comcast in the news. Most companies get it wrong when it comes to delivering exceptional customer service. They try to focus on the customer first putting those who are there to satisfy the customers (the employees) last if even at all. This is usually the first point of failure when you have poor customer service and I believe the main contributor to Comast’s customer service failures.

Companies who focus on their employees first almost always deliver exceptional customer service. GoDaddy, Zappos and Amazon are a few who do this really well. Here are 8 ways to delight your employees so they can deliver high customer satisfaction.  Doing these 8 things well will give an immediate lift in customer service, especially for Comcast.

Their needs come first – You have to satisfy their needs above all else. When their needs are satisfied they are more than happy to satisfy the needs of the customers they serve. Some of their needs include training, coaching, recognition, breaks, fun, and work-life balance. Fulfill these needs and they will be driven to do a better job and will consistently deliver award winning customer satisfaction.

Keep your promises – If you tell them you are going to do something you had better be prepared to do it. That means gaining the proper approval before you tell them they can have it. If you aren’t sure you can give them something then stay silent about it. Letting them down and breaking your promises will create distrust which will lead to them not caring about the work they do or thinking they do not matter.

Get to know them – Know who they are and where they want to go then help them get there. Knowing who they are as a person is as important as knowing who they are as an employee. Get to know them and you will better understand what motivates them.

Hear what they aren’t saying – Most people won’t be so bold with what they want or need. Learn to hear what they aren’t saying and then work to address those things.

Ask them how you are doing – From time to time you should ask them how you are doing as their boss. You have to stay silent while they answer and not get defensive. Once they have told you how you are doing you have to be brave in reflect on those things and them work to correct them.

Value the time they have given you – Yes you gave them a job and yes you pay them to be there but you need to show them you value the time they are giving you. Regularly reward their contributions and publicly recognize their successes. They spend more time at work than anywhere else, do not forget that.

Give them your full support – Give them the right tools for the job, the right training to do the job well and support their ideas for improvement. They should be given a certain level of autonomy and the ability to make decisions on their own to satisfy the customers. Give them freedom within a box that doesn’t require escalation to another team. This is another thing that Zappos does really well. They empower their employees just enough that they are able to solve most issues during the first point of contact.

Treat them all fairly – Remember fair is not equal. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and given the same level of your attention, training and opportunities for growth.

The relationships you build with your employees need constant attention. Don’t wait until you have a customer service crisis like Comcast to start working on these 8 ways to delight your employees. Start working on them today to increase employee engagement, loyalty and ultimately customer success.

Last updated on March 5th, 2018 at 12:49 pm