Service businesses deal with different customers daily. Service businesses offer intangible products rather than physical products. For instance, airline companies offer transportation services for people and goods. The product is transportation, which is intangible. Service business organizations require employees to perform different duties to satisfy customers daily. Some employees meet customers face-to-face while others operate at back offices as support employees and offer managerial services. In this case, service businesses require talented managers who can balance the goals of the organization, its staff, and its clientele (Hoffman, 2008, p. 187). Every organization requires strategies to achieve set goals and satisfy customers while upholding employees’ satisfaction. This paper highlights how service businesses use the management of employees and clients as an operating strategy to ensure service delivery.
Service delivery organizations must employ and retain highly skilled staff. A happy customer is a satisfied customer, and service businesses aim to get the best employees to serve their customers well (Hoffman, 2008, p. 187). Customer and employee interaction is critical for service delivery businesses since it represents the most excellent chances of making profits or losses. Good interpersonal relationships between employees and customers create a profitable environment. With this knowledge, service delivery businesses leverage the management of their employees to achieve their goals. Retaining highly skilled staff is crucial for every organization. However, employees tend to be on the move, that is, looking for greener pastures. For instance, many employees in the United States quit their jobs yearly, while others relocate to other states yearly (Hoffman, 2008, p. 187). Good management ensures employees are motivated and feel appreciated while performing their duties.
Satisfied employees are the key to customer satisfaction. According to Hoffman (2008, p. 188), low employee turnover indicates more significant concerns unresolved; these issues can include low levels of motivation, a lack of a career path, a lack of recognition, poor employee-manager relationships, or a host of other problems. As per Hoffman (2008, p.188), an employee may leave and start exploring other alternatives due to a lack of dedication and contentment with the company. Pay has a different impact on turnover than is commonly thought. Thus, people management, an essential subset of human resource management, encompasses how employees operate, conduct themselves, collaborate, and grow in the workplace.
People management systems influence the organization’s overall operation; therefore, they must be regarded as dynamic, distinct puzzle components while maintaining an awareness of the bigger picture (Hoffman, 2008, p. 189). Understanding the purpose of each team and each member is the key to success. Choosing the proper instruments is of the utmost importance when assembling teams. The initial steps in achieving this goal are to choose the most effective recruiting platforms, establish company branding that retains and draws potential clients, and provide a positive prospect experience. After securing the most qualified candidates, the subsequent phase entails providing them with training and support in acquiring novel skills to align with the continuously changing requirements of the organization. According to Hoffman (2008, p. 188), investing in employee development also enhances commitment and loyalty. Establishing procedures, boundaries, and a solid operational foundation is necessary to establish the optimal team structure. This aspect enables an effective strategy and a strategic plan for success.
Strategically, service employees are crucial points in an organization’s product branding. As per Hoffman (2008, p. 195), customers prefer certain brands to others because of the services offered by the personnel. Customer loyalty directly connects to customer satisfaction. The growth or downfall of service-providing organizations is linked to customer satisfaction, which results from how employees interact with their prospects (Hoffman, 2008, p. 188). The service provision business is a very competitive niche in the market. Many organizations are competing for the same type of clientele. Product branding is crucial since different organizations aim to attract the same kind of customers. Employees are the front-line runners, the first point of contact between the customers and the service-providing organizations.
Every organization that deals with customers on a face-to-face basis experiences customer-employee conflicts. Management is vital to ensuring minimal conflicts since these scenarios taint the organization’s image (Hoffman, 2008, p. 190). Conflicts between front-line employees and customers are common since they interact face-to-face with the clients. There are different conflicts, but the common one is between employees and customers. Organizations should implement a mechanism to resolve conflicts to ensure smooth operations and uphold customers’ trust (Hoffman, 2008, p. 191). Customers look at a company’s reputation before deciding to use their services. For instance, an airline whose employees treat travelers respectfully attracts more customers and retains current clients. The management aspect of handling customer-employee conflicts accounts remarkably for an organization’s reputation. Many customers research the company with whom they intend to use their services.
Customers prefer an organization with good customer-employee relations to one with tainted employee-customer relations. Many organizations have a laid-out process for resolving conflicts between employees and customers. The management resolves conflicts between customers and employees. Despite the standard clause that “the customer is always right,” some conflicts arise from employees upholding the organization’s policies. This aspect requires an effective employee and customer liaison department to handle conflicts amicably.
Similarly, according to Hoffman (2008, p.191), employee reactions during inter-client conflicts are related to the employee’s rank in an organization. Only if they are directly involved may client conflicts bother lower employees. On the same note, clients mock employees of lower rank and respect those of higher rank within an organization. Management must train employees on ways to solve conflicts to avoid damaging the organization’s image.
In an organization, there are role conflicts among employees. According to Hoffman (2008, p. 191), productivity decreases when employees fight amongst themselves; thus, the organization suffers. No one needs to serve satisfactorily in a dissatisfied environment. Evidence suggests that many employees, given a chance, would look for another job elsewhere or get transferred from one company branch to another (Hoffman, 2008, p. 188). This scenario indicates that many employees suffer in silence and feel dissatisfied at their places of work. The management should note any changes in employees’ attitudes towards work and output trends. Internal conflicts affect service providers significantly.
Poor employee performance may result from conflicts within the organization. For instance, an employee whose work depends on another employee’s output will be affected if there is a conflict between them. In the plight of solving the crisis at hand, organizations engage in marketing strategies. However, according to Hoffman (2008, p. 191), marketing performs two duties: create or reduce role stress. The customers reciprocate role stress since the clients see the employee’s stress. Clients like getting served by happy employees, and thus, it is crucial for service businesses to factor in ways of solving role stress. Role stress would make employees act in discord with the set guidelines, which results in conflicts. Organizations have put different ways of sorting internal conflicts in place since they affect employees’ productivity.
Service providers’ employees sit at the boundary between the organization and the clients, often called boundary spanners (Hoffman, 2008, p. 189). These employees must suppress their personal views and feelings to serve their customers better. This aspect creates a conflict between organizational efficiency and customer satisfaction. For instance, employees trying to uphold company policies that conflict with customer needs result in heated confrontations. Hoffman (2008, p. 190) indicates that such a scenario leads to a poor image of the service provider and leaves the employee feeling awful, reducing their productivity. No one feels better after a confrontation, even if they were right in the first place. The best way to handle conflicts is to prevent them from happening. Additionally, service providers could set a supportive working climate that caters to the needs of every employee to avoid obvious mistakes and conflicts.
In summary, service-providing businesses are crucial to the current economic dynamics. Service businesses deal with customers face-to-face. People management is critical to ensuring the success of service-providing organizations. Many organizations aim to hire and retain the best-skilled employees in the market. Generally, employee satisfaction is critical in getting prospects and retaining customers (Hoffman, 2008, p. 188). The management team must ensure that employees are satisfied to serve customers better. Conflicts between customers and employees or internal conflicts are common within service-providing organizations. Organizations employ different ways of solving these conflicts to preserve the organization’s good image.
References
Hoffman, K. D., & Bateson, J. E. (2008). Services marketing concepts, strategies, and cases.
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