A mark of a good organisation is when the little guy (like the receptionist, or the office boy) is as representative of the company as the General Manager or Managing Director is. He (or she) feels as much of an ownership of the company as much as the top management do. But this, unfortunately, is rare; though, in this day and age of social media, it shouldn’t be.
First interaction
How often have we made a phone call to an organisation (don’t get me started on the call centres) and the phone has been wrongly or rudely answered or not at all. What kind of impression has that left with us? What did we think of that organisation? Now reverse it and call your own company back and see what happens. Better still, get someone you know (but your receptionist doesn’t) make that call. See what that call says about your company. Think about it. If it was an enquiry, that person better be really motivated about talking to your company to have the patience to get through a bad reception at the other end, worse still, someone who is so indifferent it shows in their voice. Not good. I’ve lost count the number of times, I have called to place an order and hung up and moved to someone else because communication was such hard work. And this in the service industry.
Or how about that first visit? And the receptionist has (a) no idea who you are talking about or (b) doesn’t care and spends YOUR waiting minutes painting her nails or taking personal calls. What does that say about your company?
Failed interaction
Worse than the reception/office boy is the accountant. He is, by definition, really rude if he even bothers to answer the phone. He does not communicate with the suppliers. Some of our ex-clients (notice the use of the word ex) had accountants that did that to us and no matter how much we highlighted the fact that there was no proper communication, the management failed to grasp that there would be other suppliers that may not be quite so restrained. And that their reputation could be in tatters for the lack of a courtesy email or a phone call.
Communications IS key
What most (small) organisations fail to understand is that it is important for a unified voice that delivers the same consistent message. Not just the top management. Not just the sales and marketing/PR team. But EVERYONE. From the lowly office boy that serves the water being presentable to the receptionist that will be welcoming or the accountant that has people skills to “handle” difficult payment situations (most businesses have them) with a degree of respect for themselves, the companies they are working with and the company they represent.
So what kind of communication changes are you going to make within your organisation this year? Will it make or break you?
