Eliminating Bureaucracy in Small Business
There's something funny about the organizations we humans create. Almost inevitably a bureaucracy develops in every enterprise, and it grows stronger as time goes by.
By definition a bureaucracy can just be a system of rules or a way of doing things, but the kind we're talking about translates as 'red tape', which can really tie up a firm.
Imagine freeing the members of your team to do their best without anything to hold them back. Imagine them using their initiative instead of following rigid guidelines. Imagine letting them find better ways to do things than the way you've taught them. Frightening, isn't it?
There are of course good reasons for having policies in place that govern most aspects of a business. It's one of the benefits of systemizing things; you know what's going to happen when any situation arises.
To a degree bureaucracies are set up to control the people in the business. Predetermined systems and procedures are communicated to all new-hires and become part of the organization's culture and structure.
From a managerial perspective the challenge is to ensure that the bureaucratic elements are restricted only to those areas that need it, and that team members are still free to use their initiative where it will benefit the company.
Bureaucracy is the key reason most enterprises fail to deliver genuine and sustainable levels of service to their customers. The 'company way' of providing service can be experienced during each customer contact and we've all seen the effects - fake smiles, fake interest, and 'have a nice day' when it's over.
In these bureaucracies the focus is not really on the customer; it's on providing a quick fix for any problem that interrupts the flow of money from their pockets into the organization's tills.
Some enlightened businesses have taken a quite different approach and found it highly successful. Federal Express gave its customer service teams the authority to solve customer problems on the spot and two things happened. First, the problems were solved faster and at lower cost to the company than previously, and secondly customer satisfaction was increased.
This didn't mean controls were eliminated completely, but it did mean they were implemented within a framework that gave authority and autonomy to the customer service officers to let them do their jobs. And it worked.
Another classic story comes from Nordstrom's, a department store that has become legendary in the annals of customer service. Nordstrom's sees its customer service people as the most important members of the entire team, from the CEO downward. Team members serving customers have only to use their best judgment in every situation and they fulfill their responsibilities to the firm.
The results are similar to those of FedEx - more satisfied customers, happier team members and higher profits. It's all because customer service - a function that's beset by bureaucracy in most other organizations, had been freed from bureaucratic restrictions and allowed to be performed by people using their own judgment as to what was the right thing to do.
This could be the right time to analyze your service delivery and eliminate any constraints of bureaucracy that are preventing your firm from providing genuine service to customers.
Begin by sitting down with your team to schedule a series of meetings. Each meeting will have the objective of reducing bureaucratic elements that interfere with your team's ability to provide service that will delight your customers.
In the first meeting prepare a list of all your customer types. What products or services do they get from you? What other products or services might they get from you if you raised your levels of customer service? Then prepare a summary of your customers' profiles that will give you an idea of what they're like outside of their interaction with your organization - a bigger picture of each customers' preferences and habits.
The second meeting is to identify what customers expect and what they'd like to get from dealing with you. This should follow a few conversations with customers that seek to determine what they like about the business and what they feel needs improvement. We recommend conducting a client advisory board, which Leslie Philbrook, our Vice President of Consulting Services, can assist you with.
In the third meeting prepare a list of all the complaints you've received, all the problems your customers have had, and areas where you know your business could be improved.
You now know who your clients are, what they like and don't like about you, and where you know your business could be improved. In the fourth meeting you change the bureaucratic rules - or eliminate them, so that your new set of client service policies creates genuine and long-lasting satisfaction. |
