What does empowerment actually mean?
Dr. Michael A. Grund, HWZ Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Director of the Center for Marketing, discusses a key aspect of the relationship between employees and customers.
Anyone who takes a closer look at the topics of service marketing, customer satisfaction or CRM will soon come across the term "empowerment". The focus is on expanding the scope for action and decision-making of "ordinary" employees with the aim of making customers more satisfied in particular. More satisfied because questions or problems can be solved right from the customer's first contact with the company - without repeated queries to superiors or team leaders. Empowerment is therefore particularly important in direct customer contact, especially when it comes to solving problems (complaint management in the broadest sense). A classic example is the "empowered" receptionist at a hotel, who can decide for herself whether to grant a guest a room upgrade for their next stay or send a bouquet of flowers to their home address in the event of a complaint.
Employees are the second key target group for empowerment. By enriching their work and extending their powers, their work becomes a little more responsible and interesting. However, this requires that employees are not only "allowed" but also "able" and "willing". The extended scope will only achieve the desired effects if employees have the skills to competently assess a situation or solve the problem themselves. They must also be happy to take on the greater responsibility. Some employees do not want to make decisions at all and would not appreciate the increased scope for action. On the contrary, they may even feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable. This once again demonstrates the need for a "fit" between people and tasks and for employees to be deployed in the right places according to their personality and skills.
Anyone who fears that empowerment only increases costs should also calculate the costs of dissatisfaction. What turnover/profit do we lose if a dissatisfied customer often switches to another provider because of a minor issue - and stays there? What damage does this customer cause if he spreads the unpleasant experience in his environment? And what can we gain if this customer stays with us because of an uncomplicated problem solution and tells others about the positive experience? The result has often been a positive surprise.
Employees are the second key target group for empowerment. By enriching their work and extending their powers, their work becomes a little more responsible and interesting. However, this requires that employees are not only "allowed" but also "able" and "willing". The extended scope will only achieve the desired effects if employees have the skills to competently assess a situation or solve the problem themselves. They must also be happy to take on the greater responsibility. Some employees do not want to make decisions at all and would not appreciate the increased scope for action. On the contrary, they may even feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable. This once again demonstrates the need for a "fit" between people and tasks and for employees to be deployed in the right places according to their personality and skills.
Anyone who fears that empowerment only increases costs should also calculate the costs of dissatisfaction. What turnover/profit do we lose if a dissatisfied customer often switches to another provider because of a minor issue - and stays there? What damage does this customer cause if he spreads the unpleasant experience in his environment? And what can we gain if this customer stays with us because of an uncomplicated problem solution and tells others about the positive experience? The result has often been a positive surprise.
