Drawing out instead of explaining
Stimulating the "client first" mindset
Being client-focused is a priority, an essential condition for the company's development. But do the teams always share this orientation? How can you make it into a real area of continuous improvement?
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Remember
Avoid top-down discussion of how the client is "at the center of our concerns"! It will be too general to engage the team members. The "client" mindset is first and foremost a set of attitudes and practices which must be meaningful for the team: In what ways is (internal and external) client satisfaction a priority for us?
Work togther to define objective indicators
Nothing is more vague than the notion of a client-oriented mindset!
An essential step: together with the team, define concrete indicators which are easy to observe, and which will show us that we are making progress in our client relations.
You construct thereby a commence reference for how you work. It may be a question of response times, habits of communication, types of responses...
Engage the team in tracking progress
Transforming the objective into concrete actions implies that everyone be invested in the monitoring aspect: Where do we stand now? What is working? What is holding us back...?
Several ways to share this information: etablishing regularly-scheduled steering meetings, choosing a tool for supervision and collaboration...
Evaluation
Each question has only one correct response, but be careful: among the possible responses there is one that is "almost correct" and might make the choice harder!
1 / 3
Complaints
Several people who are in regular contact with Jeanne complain about her agressive tone and terse responses. "She gives the impression that you're disturbing her," they say. What do you do?
During a team meeting, you remind them about the priciples of quality communication: "we have obligations toward those we are in communication with..." You hope that Jeanne will understand the message.
⚠
Don't bet on it! And if the problem only concerns Jeanne, the team is likely not to receive your reminder very well.
After receiving a complaint, you call Jeanne: "I've had another negative comment about your performance, you really need to try harder."
⚠
Jeanne will defend herself and you will have an exchange that is not very productive.
During a feedback meeting with Jeanne, you tell her: "Our internal clients have expectations regarding the responses that you (and everyone on our team) gives them. I would like for us to define an objective for response quality, with an aim to increase their satisfaction."
✓
Yes, your response is factual and is oriented toward the expected result. Jeanne will probably ask you the reason for this proposal, which will lead to an exchange regarding what's at stake in being client-focused. Then it will be a question of co-constructing a real objective (cf the following question).
2 / 3
Goals for quality
You have just begun a dialogue with Jeanne. Internal clients complain of her agressive tone, and you wish to co-construct an objective with her to improve the quality of her responses. What do you think is the most pertinent question to ask her?
Concretely, what would make the people in contact with you say, "I am satisfied with the response I received"?
✓
Yes, you start with specifics. Jeanne will need to envision herself in relation to expectations. You will then determine together how to measure the level of satisfaction under these criteria.
What objective could you set for yourself?
⚠
Premature and too general at this stage.
What do you think of "zero negative feedbacks" as an objective?
⚠
You are no longer doing co-construction, so Jeanne will be less engaged!
3 / 3
Problems of coordination between départements
You've set up "client focus" workshops and your team reports the the following problem: "We do what we're supposed to but clients complain about our lack of coordination with the other departments." How do you respond?
Then I suggest that we meet with the other departments in question.
⚠
A good idea, but for later, once the diagnosis is clearer. And ideally, it's the team who should propose the solutions.
And what is your view on this topic?
✓
Yes, an essential question. Others will further enrich the analysis: With which departments in particular? On which matters? Why, in your opinion ...?
Once everyone has the problem clearly identified, you can envision a plan of action.
What could you do to coordinate better?
⚠
A useful question, but a premature one. The problem has not been described sufficiently, so the solutions are likely to be less pertinent.
Your score is
0/3
You finished!
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