Navin's Blog

Meeting Employee and Customer Expectations

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen our coworkers in the office. The remote work model has taken hold due to COVID-19, and business and employees are making many changes to remain productive. This is a true test for companies across industries. How we react now, and how we treat our workers and customers, will have significant impacts on how we move forward beyond the current situation.

As a business, identifying what your employers and customers expect from you in a time like this will help you plan for the future. To help you think about how you should be treating internal and external stakeholders, I’ve outlined employee and customer expectations and what you can do to satisfy both audiences.

What do employees expect?

Respect. Transparency. Flexibility.

This is a difficult time for many businesses. But your employees are what make your company work. Without them, you couldn’t provide products or services to your customers. So, during a time like this, taking a compassionate approach to show your employees that you respect them as people will cultivate mutual trust and buy-in.

Being transparent with your company’s plans is part of taking a respectful approach. Be upfront with your workforce and let them know about your plans to move forward. This will provide employees with closure and help put them at ease. In a time like this, employees want to be kept in the loop, so making the extra effort to keep them informed will keep them engaged with your mission, vision, and values.

With so many employees working remotely, they expect an extra degree of flexibility in their day-to-day. Many workers have children at home that they now have to care for, which makes it difficult for them to be at their computers all day. Be understanding of the fact that employees have extra duties to tend to at home, and be accommodating of flexible schedules and work arrangements.

What do customers expect?

Action. Infrastructure. Results.

Customers want to know that you’re taking action to maintain operational efficiency. Make sure that your business recovery and continuity plans are in place, and follow the protocols you’ve established with your internal leaders. Communicate the actions you’re taking for your customers. Ensure them that you’re taking care of all their needs, and keep them up to date with your latest company news and developments.

Part of your plan should be ensuring that you have the proper infrastructure to remain efficient. This includes hardware, software licensing, connectivity for seamless remote work. When you have these things in place, customers will feel reassured that you can continue to provide them with the highest levels of service. At Acara Solutions India, we’ve taken a collaborative approach to ensure our teams have the necessary resources to continue operations. Our IT team has worked tirelessly to provide and maintain the technology and infrastructure we need to serve our clients – which has allowed us to continue our growth through this situation.

At the end of the day, customers always expect results. Make sure that all responsibilities are being taken care of – especially if you’ve had changes to your workforce. Establish regular check-ins with your team to ensure that all needs are met. Don’t micromanage, but establish plans to get all necessary work done. Continuing to exceed expectations is the best way to satisfy your customers, and if you can succeed at a time like this, it shows your clients that you are a resilient, dedicated partner.

We know that there is a large amount of disruption and change happening in the marketplace. But thinking of what your stakeholders expect and taking action to satisfy those expectations will help you overcome any difficult scenario you encounter.

I invite you to connect with me

Navin Gautham P.

naving@acarasolutions.in