In a recent economic research report by Glassdoor, they explored the link between their Glassdoor employee reviews and customer satisfaction of the companies that were being reviewed. As companies look to become more customer centric, the question asked within the report is “Does employee satisfaction matter for a companies’ ability to build a customer-focused culture?”. As organizations continue to compete in a constantly changing business environment, having a solid understanding of this link is important for organizations to make more efficient use of resources to improve their business.
The move to customer service
The trend continues for companies to focus more on providing a great customer experience for all their customers. As this trend continues, additional resources are invested in this space to raise the bar on how customers are receiving service. This raises the expectations of the customer and challenges organizations to constantly innovate to exceed these higher expectations. The stakes are constantly raised in this ongoing loop. Glassdoor asks the right question with “Can employers deliver on the promise of great customer satisfaction without investing in satisfied employees first?”
We continue to see more research emphasizing how important it is to have happier employees to drive better customer service and satisfaction. In a business environment where customer expectations are ratcheting up along with an online 24/7 world where a bad experience or a horrible review can go viral, knowing how to manage resources for better experiences will be vital for organizations as we move forward.
Important takeaways from the Glassdoor Research
Below are some key takeaways from what Glassdoor found when researching the impact of employee satisfaction on customer satisfaction:
- Customer and employee satisfaction are positively linked
- Employee satisfaction impacts the customer satisfaction higher in the industries where there are more customer-facing employees like retail, travel and tourism, restaurants, financial services, and healthcare.
- The main channel where employee satisfaction impacts customers is through direct contact between customers and employees
- Every business has some employees that drive customer satisfaction (As an example, for lower customer-facing businesses, these roles can include Sales along with Customer Service and Support)
- Overall, the research found a clear link between employee sentiment on Glassdoor and customer satisfaction.
As businesses look to provide better service to their customers, continued research shows that having higher workplace morale, especially in customer facing industries, predicts a higher customer brand image. Another positive spillover effect includes the increase in bottom line results and a higher financial evaluation of the company.
SmileyAnswers on accomplishing higher workplace morale
At SmileyAnswers, we like to focus on bring proactive in both customer and employee satisfaction and sharing the positive feedback from customers to boost workplace morale. It can be tempting for organizations to focus only on what goes wrong in the service process and chase service recovery. While it is certainly important to correct mistakes in the best manner for the customer, developing a dual track of proactively addressing pain points and sharing positive feedback is where an organization can make large positive changes to their internal culture.
With real-time feedback using the HappyOrNot® Reporting System, organizations can be on top of pain points for both customers and employees. This allows for quick changes to address these negative experiences. By accomplishing quick changes with real-time feedback, organizations will find less resources being used to address service recovery. This will allow more resources to focus on the positive feedback that customers are giving and sharing this positive feedback to the employees. By sharing the positive feedback with both customers and employees, a business can take on a cultural shift that changes the dynamics of both customer and employee experiences. As seen within the Glassdoor research, having a higher employee satisfaction improves brand image, customer satisfaction, and the bottom line.
Wrapping it up
Glassdoor found in their research a clear link between employee sentiment and customer satisfaction. There is more of a link in areas where customers are in direct contact with employees. This include industries like retail, travel and tourism, restaurant, financial services, and healthcare. As seen within Glassdoor’s research, higher employee morale improves an organization on many fronts.
SmileyAnswers can help increase employee morale to drive a positive cultural shift. With real-time feedback, a more proactive approach can be accomplished which will make the organization more efficient to continuously measure, follow, and improve experiences for both employees and customers. Capturing and sharing positive customer feedback will improve how employees see themselves within the service process. Lastly, having a pulse on both customer and employee expectations with year-round measurement, organizations will be on top of perception changes versus reacting to them.
