Shared Service Organizations (SSO) are traditionally used to increase operational efficiency and cut costs, but as noted in a recent post in the Business Reporter, SSOs can have a huge impact on customer satisfaction. This is critical because strategic management is becoming increasingly customer driven. The key to capitalizing on SSOs lies in robust talent management. According to the article, “A survey of shared service directors…found that, while 80 percent of respondents listed customer satisfaction as one of their priorities for the future, just 3 percent paid attention to talent management.” This illustrates a clear disconnect. Today, in order for a customer-centric business approach to succeed, it must be aligned with a strategy to retain, develop, and reward employees.
A Bottoms-Up Approach Can Refine Your Strategy
Integrating employees with business processes is the first step toward a solid talent management program. When employees understand business procedures, they work more consistently, allowing them to provide better customer service. Employees take greater ownership of their role because they have easy access to assigned tasks, and how that supports the business on a larger scale. Over time, they will suggest process improvements, thus becoming strategists for the organization. Daily feedback on the business processes is incredibly valuable. It will improve your efforts incrementally by giving you a far greater granular understanding of how your business processes are affecting your customers. This opens the door to a more targeted customer approach.
Build Your Army of Strategists
The best way to increase process understanding is by ensuring process transparency. A clear channel must be available to employees—which acts as a central repository where all vital process information is accessible and consistent. A strong system will allow employees to assess their own performance by giving them access to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This provides encouragement, and, more importantly, it self-motivates.
For more information on ways to leverage Big Data, read the latest Gartner magic quadrant on application integration.
