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What do I mean by ‘frontline’?
Generally the customer contact functions in an organization.
EXAMPLES: Sales, Service reps., Collection reps., Receptionists, Service Repair Technicians, Baristas, Retail Clerks, Delivery People.
Why is the frontline so important to an organization?
- The frontline plays a HUGE ROLE IN STRATEGY EXECUTION in terms of the customer engagement process.
- They control the brand of the organization.
- They deliver financial and service results — THEY DELIVER RESULTS.
- They control Customer loyalty.
- They create Dazzling customer experiences horrific ones.
- They produce First Impressions.
- They mask imperfections in your business processes.
- They build Lasting customer relationships.
- They are Custodians of competitive information.
- They are a Portal to customer CRAVINGS and secrets. They have insights on what customers desire.
What are the typical challenges frontline people have?
- Currency in the organization: they’re viewed as ‘ junior positions in the organization. Bottom of the organizational pyramid. Entry level positions.
- Wrong fit. Don’t like humans.
- Managing customer engagement in the face of Dumb Rules.
- Stress and pressure of dealing with customers.
- Lack of support from leadership.
- No one listens to them. No one asks them for suggestions to improve operations. They know but no one asks.
- Have to enforce a Say NO! culture. Control engagement, not enable it.
- Lack of empowerment to do what’s right for the customer.
- Lack of trust by upper management. Think they will ‘give away the farm’.
- Viewed as less important than other non-contact functions - engineering, logistics.
- Frontline leaders recruited on being a good frontline person rather than on possessing the right leadership skills.
Do you think organizations generally appreciate their frontline?
THERE IS DEFINITELY ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT!
- Most continue to operate under the traditional organizational pyramid philosophy.
- I don’t really think leadership generally understands how strategically important the frontline is to strategy execution.
- Most leaders don’t “serve around” frontline workplaces much. Not a high priority given.
- Frontline leadership development is generally not given high priority.
- Not used extensively as a “input channel” for leadership decision making.
How can leadership do a better job helping the frontline?
- Invert the organizational pyramid.
- Embed themselves in the frontline operations to understand their reality.
- Declare their importance to the organization.
- Pronounce their very critical role in managing customer engagement.
- LBSA — Ask them “How can I help?”.
- Have Bear Pit Sessions with them.
- Recognize and Reward their efforts.
- Involve them in killing Dumb Rules.
- Get their help in Cutting the CRAP.
- Get involved in recruiting people for frontline positions to get ‘human lovers’.
- Get their input on how effective their managers are. 360 degree feedback.
DO A BETTER JOB RECRUITING FRONTLINE LEADERS.
- Have insanely tough credentials for frontline leader positions.
- Actively engage frontline people in selecting people to whom they will report in this position.
- Recognize the frontline leader as a top notch role that requires support from the rest of the organization.
- Fill these positions with accomplished servers as opposed to technical experts.
- Include a frontline leader assignment in the career path plan for high potential employees.
- Have ongoing recognition events to honor the best of these leaders.
Successful organizations recognize the frontline leader as their ‘guardians of strategy execution’ and give them the critical attention they deserve.
FRONTLINE LEADER JOB DESCRIPTION: TOP ROLES
- Barrier basher — eliminates the grunge in the workplace.
- Execution maniac — has only one focus; act quickly with purpose.
- One-and-only people server — understands that if their team isn’t served well, nothing happens.
- Dumb-it-down fanatic — knows that simple gets done; complex doesn’t.
- Ultimate cheerleader — keeps the energy up for the team.
- Celebration host — loves celebrations of team performance; takes personal responsibility to make them happen.
- Recognizer and rewarder of dazzling moments of service — looks for examples of people dazzling customers; makes a big issue of it.
- Chief custodian of the customer moment — puts their personal fingerprints on how customers are to be treated.
- Relentless advocate of the frontline on the inside — protects and advocates for their team to others in the organization; fights for what they need.
- Customer “secret” gatherer — is addicted to discovering the hidden desires of customers and using the knowledge to serve them better.
- Service recovery — turns the organization upside down to fix a problem when there is a service failure. Has personal contact with the customer at all times.
BOTTOM LINE — TREAT YOUR FRONTLINE RIGHT AND THEY WILL DELIVER YOU A BILLION.
Related: Out-Of-The-Box Thinking Isn’t Enough: Why You Need Fearless Doers