Discover the power of organizational culture and how it contributes to happy customers. What exactly is an organizational culture, how do you measure it, and how can you make improvements? In this article, we explain how an open corporate culture leads to a better customer experience and share five proven tips to make your organizational culture more customer-centric.
What is organizational culture?
An organizational culture consists of the shared values, norms and behaviors within a company. Although some employees have more influence because of their position, the culture forms over time and is often difficult to see immediately. Yet organizational culture determines how employees think, act and work together.
Why an open culture makes for happy customers
Global leaders in customer experience often share the same characteristics: an open, flat organizational culture with a strong focus on interpersonal relationships and celebrating successes. Employees have the freedom to make their own decisions that make the customer happy. This not only increases employee satisfaction, but also strengthens customer focus.
How do you measure organizational culture?
Want to know how customer-centric your organizational culture is? Traditional employee satisfaction surveys often fall short. With the eXperience Culture Scan of CYS you can gain insight. This scan, based on the Service Excellence Model, measures how far your company is from the ideal customer-centric culture.
The scan includes statements on aspects common to successful organizations. Employees indicate the extent to which they agree with these statements, which provides insight into areas of improvement for your organizational culture.
Change your organizational culture with these 5 tips
Changing an organization’s culture is complex but not impossible. Here are five tips to help you:
- Choose proven tools. Use existing methods such as the eXperience Culture Scan to measure your culture and plan improvements.
- Make measurement a continuous process. Ongoing insight helps you make continuous adjustments.
- Act on insights. Work on concrete improvement points at strategic, operational and individual levels.
- Use up-to-date data. Ensure that your reports are always up-to-date for quick and targeted action.
- Make it fun. Don’t just focus on areas for improvement, but also celebrate what is going well.
Conclusion
A customer-centric organizational culture forms the basis for happy customers. Start by mapping out your current culture and identifying areas for improvement. The eXperience Culture Scan gives you the tools to get closer to an ideal customer-centric organization step by step.
