Articles

AAA South Jersey Increases Customer Satisfaction & Employee Engagement

The AAA Club in South Jersey serves members in Camden, Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland counties with 130 employees through two Branch Offices and a main office in Voorhees NJ.

In early 2002 the senior management team engaged the services of a consultant to assist them in developing a strategic plan with a view to increasing membership retention and customer satisfaction. The senior team presented the strategic plan to the middle managers to enlist their support for the plan and to assist them with getting employee buy-in.

What is the High Cost of the Lack of Engagement?

Is your company’s payroll an investment or an expense? In many companies a lack of employee engagement is costing the organization anywhere from 35% to 50% of payroll. Employees are paid 100% of their pay and benefits, but 35% to 50% of that money, if not more, is wasted because employees are not giving the organization 100% of what they are capable of producing. Companies that have learned the value of employee engagement are reaping the reward – turning 100% of their payroll into an investment.

Is Your Organization's Culture Preventing You From Achieving Your Strategic Objectives?
	Peter is the COO of a financial services organization and has established very high standards of excellence for his operations people. He has created an operating procedures and policy manual that ensures there is no uncertainty about how to achieve those high standards. He holds the managers reporting to him accountable for ensuring that all employees stick to these policies and procedures....

Look Out - Increased Employee Turnover is Right Around the Corner
	As we look ahead to the next several years, the evidence seems clear. Organizations that don't implement the necessary practices will face losing key employees, as voluntary turnover is likely to grow and once again become a strategic business issue as it was in the late 1990's

Success Story: A Call Center Transforms its Culture and Gets Bottom Line Results

This client is one of the leading global diagnostics companies, providing diagnostic equipment and consumable supplies for the healthcare industry worldwide. Their Technical Assistance Center (TAC) is a call center with specialists who help clients in pathology labs with technical questions or problems related to use of their equipment and consumables. The TAC plays a key role in the company’s success. After examining customer satisfaction results, the management team realized that this department was simply not meeting customers’ needs. They decided to make some fundamental changes. The TAC’s stated mission is: to enhance people’s lives by providing proactive and responsive solutions that drive excellence in the world of medical technology. This is their story.

The Challenge: In 1998 and 1999, independent surveys rated the TAC as one of the worst in the industry in customer satisfaction. A new Vice President came in to lead the TAC with a vision that they would be: NUMBER 1! ABSOLUTELY THE BEST! No Question —No Compromise!

Success Story: Leadership Transformation

The Department of Social Services (DSS) in Alamance County NC is a state supervised, locally administered agency of 170 employees who provide a wide range of human services to children, adults and the aged.

Like most government agencies, employees’ salaries are below those paid in the private sector, so the additional benefits provided to government employees and the ability to better balance personal and work life, are important in attracting and retaining talented employees.

The Challenge

As a result of the economic downturn of the past couple of years, government revenues from taxation were reduced and with that came the need to reduce expenditure. One of the areas considered for reduction was employee benefits.

Unfortunately, the outcome for DSS in Alamance County was a significant increase in turnover. The interesting thing was that during the exit interviews, one of the main reasons given for leaving was not the reduction in benefits. The primary reasons given for what they would need to stay were: better leadership; a work environment where they could learn and grow; and a more satisfying career path.

The Director of DSS Alamance County, Susan Osborne, was very aware of the need to develop their leaders... there were too many examples of a lack of accountability among their supervisors. Susan was also aware that the department’s practice of promoting the best workers into supervisory roles without giving them the training or tools to do the job was a major contributing factor to the lack of leadership effectiveness.

Leadership for Tomorrow's Workplace

Does your organization have the leadership it needs to thrive in today’s world?

The world of work has changed significantly in the past ten years... technology has created a truly global marketplace. Who would have imagined a few years ago that when you call a local company’s 800 number to speak with customer service that you would end up speaking with someone in .

Customers want high quality products customized to meet their needs... and they want it now. So employees need to be able to respond quickly, solve problems and make judgments that previously could only be made by management.

Do You Have People Smarts?
	Great team leaders have people smarts. They believe that people want to do good work. They understand that their role as a leader is to coach team members to their ultimate success by celebrating each person’s individual strengths.

Building a Winning Team

Written for the Retail Merchants of Hawaii Newsletter

When we think of team building, it is often associated with helping our employees work together more effectively. I challenge you to broaden that perspective and think of team building as strengthening relationships with your employees and your customers. After all, there are 3 key players in any successful business: quality products/services, willing employees, and customer advocates.