Hi, I’m Tracy Barac from GVC, and welcome to the consultant’s notebook. Here’s a question for you, are employees customers too?
In marketing land, we try and capture as much information on our customers as possible. Why? So we know what makes them tick, what excites them, what they want and are interested in with the hopes that they become more loyal to our brand and buy more, right?
So why aren’t we using more of a customer mindset when it comes to understanding our workforces?
Many organizations are still playing catch up when it comes to having a deep understanding of our workforces beyond basic demographic information – gender, tenure, hire date, etc.
We do ask employees to fill out the annual engagement survey, but that only gives us limited information about one aspect of their lives… WORK.
How about we ask people to self-identify orientation, caregiver or parental status, or if they’ve served in the armed forces.
What if we spent some time asking people what they care about, what they’re worried about, and what their hobbies are so that we can engage more fully and enhance the employee experience? The insights we could get from this first-party day would be invaluable in crafting a culture based on what we know.
Some companies have started to do this, but many haven’t even considered it. It’s a fact that all the things that make up customer experience drive brand perception, customer retention and revenue.
If the goal is improved retention, a great culture, and higher levels of engagement, more information is better than less.
When we know more about the people we work with can’t we engage, inspire and influence them more? Can’t we provide the support and benefits that they need? In corporate America, we spend a lot of time saying that culture, values, and talent are important, but what do we really know about what gets our employees up in the morning. If you’d like to have a conversation about this topic or learn more contact Tracy at tracybarac@globalviewcomm.com