Should Employees Satisfaction Come Before Customers?

I have often gone on the record as saying, if forced to make a choice between a great customer or great employee, I would choose the employee every time.

Now, thanks to a great new book out called "The Employee Satisfaction Revolution", there is much support for my passion of taking care of people, pleasing them, and enabling them to excel. In this very way, I get to have my cake and eat it too, delighting in great customers AND great employees!

The first chapter formalizes a long-time premise of mine: employee satisfaction is a source of competitive advantage. It is tangible, measurable, and can add actual value to the bottom line. Motivated people attract other motivated people; we seek others with values similar to ours. It's not an accident if your customers make fewer complaints, if your workers do also.

It all starts with a culture of trust, ample communication, empowerment, and actually having fun. Employee satisfaction results in satisfied customers, low turnover, increased productivity, improved recruiting, and financial success with a great bottom line.

Basically, dedicated employees WANT to go the extra mile; it's only natural. Going to greater lengths creates better business results; the data confirms it. Volume not only increases, but so does profitability; customers will pay more for the same product if their experience in getting it is superior.

This study, done by a PhD., is very well documented. It is a quick read; get a copy and experience it for yourself.

Especially in these troubled economic times, it is refreshing to see a conclusive case study that documents how important our employees are to our bottom line. Instead of cutting staff deeper, perhaps we should take some of this to heart. When the recovery comes, as it surely will, how effective will each of us be in retaining our top folks so we can beat our competition, win the very best customers, and have an ever-increasing bottom line?