DRI Consulting: Business Alignment and Quality
Creating and delivering a great client or customer experience can be largely achieved by aligning the whole organization behind the brand promise. Successful organizational alignment means that Marketing, HR and Operations have a collective role in designing and managing a meaningful client experience. Marketing identifies who your most profitable customers are and what they value. It defines a brand promise to attract them and communicates that value to the overall marketplace. HR and Operations must then work together to define the customer experience and how the organization can best deliver its services.
HR has one of the biggest roles to play in the process of aligning functions and improving the quality of services and products provided to clients. From recruitment to retirement, each HR process either enables or inhibits the organization to deliver its promise. HR processes such as training, performance management and succession planning must all be aligned to the brand promise.
Operations includes defining and removing internal obstacles that get in the way of success, and then focusing on strengthening the organizational resources such as communication systems and technology that enable employees to deliver well on a consistent basis. Operations also helps Marketing to measure the customer experience, comparing this to what is promised and then providing this feedback to staff to conduct a gap analysis and develop corresponding plans of action.
Leaders within the organization are key to ensuring that all moving parts, including Marketing, HR, and Operations, are working together efficiently and effectively. In doing so, they may explore whether employees are getting the support they need from management, or whether there are organizational issues serving as roadblocks. They may also explore how certain metrics and measures shape employee behavior, which in turn affects how employees interact with customers.
Leaders are engaged in all aspects of the organization, and are typically the ones who ensure alignment and improve quality. Achieving the engagement of employees and/or departments often entails significant investment in education and training, effective teamwork, performance management, communications and technology. Focusing on an approach that involves investment in all of these areas will ensure the essential organizational alignment that delivers what customers perceive as a high quality, excellent customer experience.
