The customer is king, right?
Without them, there’s no revenue.
And without revenue there’s no business.
Of course that’s true, but we all know that the biggest asset for any enterprise, no matter its size or sector, is its people.
Sure, the customer has to be served in a way which delivers satisfaction and loyalty, but none of that is possible without a talentedand committed workforce.
Trouble is, ‘talented’ and ‘committed’ no longer cut it alone.
In today’s modern business world, enterprises must add ‘connected’, ‘collaborative’ and ‘flexible’ to that list of workforce attributes.
And, as is so often the case, it is technology that holds the key.
Recruiting the best talent for the role; retaining that talent long-term; equipping them with the tools they need to do their jobs effectively and in ways which derive job satisfaction: these are the new challenges for all organisations in a fiercely-competitive labour market.
From a technology perspective, it’s clear: the employee experience is just as important as the customer experience.
And that presents a kind of double opportunity upon which Managed Service Providers, Value Added Resellers and System Integrators should seek to capitalise.
“Previously, employee satisfaction was based on pay, working hours and the length of the daily commute – today, as a result of the post-Covid working revolution, things like the ability to work remotely and the smartness and effectiveness of tools and processes also play a huge part,” says Gail Ezekiel, who heads up HR Operations at leading provider of voice-centric business communications from the cloud NFON UK, whose solutions are a perfect case in point.
“Employee priorities have changed and employers’ perspectives have changed too. In its simplest form, employees want the flexibility of working from home all or some of the time, and employers have learned that they can be trusted to do so without detrimentally-affecting productivity.
“In addition, the employee experience benefits hugely from employers’ deployment of clever tools and processes which make things easier, faster and more efficient.
“That shift in attitudes has changed what it means to be a valued employee and it has changed how employers must respond.”
The ability to offer employee choice is crucial.
Employees – and businesses – can be very different to each other.
Not everyone craves remote working; many prefer the social aspect of office life. At the same time, not all businesses, such as manufacturing, lend themselves to the provision of remote or hybrid working options for all.
Getting the balance right means having the right mix of modern cloud-based technology which delivers mobility, enhanced productivity and cost savings, whilst simultaneously sweating legacy assets.
“Organisations should be looking across all aspects of their operations and asking themselves if they are investing sufficiently in the delivery of a quality employee experience,” says Ezekiel.
“Collaboration, communication, managing change, performance and accountability: these are all high on the priority list for today’s modern, more demanding workforce. Employees want the same technological experience in their work as they get in their personal lives. That means interaction with slick software, clever applications and frictionless processes.
“Employees also crave personal development and growth and expect the kind of innovation and investment upon which that depends to be present in employers’ long-term strategies.”
Not that an engaged workforce is just an HR issue.
Efficiency, productivity and, ultimately, profitability are all inextricably linked to levels of employee contentment.
In service roles in particular, smart tools and processes enable employees to drive brand-enhancing customer satisfaction scoresand, as a result, increased sales.
The return on investment in the employee experience is, therefore, easy to demonstrate.
In terms of recruitment, old school differentiators used to be things like company cars.
Today it’s more often technological hardware, software and the associated potential for remote or hybrid working.
Enterprises must embrace that new reality or risk missing a big trick.
To learn more about how NFON can help your and your customers’ businesses digitise and thrive, visit www.nfon.com
