Customer Service: Create a Culture of Accountability

By David Reed

How do you develop an organization where excellent customer service is practiced daily at all levels? You can spend a lot of energy ensuring that your leadership team is trained and that you have correct policies, which is important, but it will be a waste of money if your frontline employees are not motivated, incensed, and trained to implement the policies designed to satisfy your customers. How many times have you had a problem with an employee at another company only to hear “I just work here. You need to talk to my boss”?

One of the keys to consistent world class service is to create systems of accountability so that every member of your team is held to a high standard. You should ask yourself the following question: “If I had an employee who was mistreating my customers, how long could this go on before I found out about it?” Look for areas or processes where one person has a lot of authority without any check and balance.

I have heard it said that 96% of unhappy customers never complain, and of that 96%, 91% will never buy from that company again. Rude or improperly trained employees could be losing you business and you would never know it. So how do you develop an accountability process without employees feeling that “big brother” is watching over their shoulder?

Before an employer can hold staff members accountable, they must ensure that they have been properly trained. There are three parts to an effective training program.

1. Orientation. It all starts with new employee orientation. This is the perfect time to set high expectations in the area of customer service.
2. Job Specific Training. In order for an employee to be confident in their position and handle customer requests effectively, they must be trained in the details of their job.
3. Cross Training. Every employee, including your receptionist, should have a basic understanding of the products and services your company offers to customers. This is accomplished through cross training and having a good quick reference document that answers basic questions and gives names and numbers to call for more information. Your customers do not care what department someone works in, they just want their needs met.

Once this basic training need is met, then leaders should hold their staff accountable. Most employees want to do a good job; unfortunately, most leaders do not provide balanced, timely feedback to help them along the way. An effective leader is always looking for opportunities to coach and develop staff. This is done using a variety of tools.

• Informal Feedback. Look for examples of good and incorrect behaviors to discuss with each employee. Just remember that constructive feedback should be given in private.
• Formal Reviews. The key is simplicity! Employees in their first year need a formal review every quarter, after that every six months will do. Each review should contain the following three elements:
1. Positive Feedback. What did the employee do that was excellent or above your expectations?
2. Constructive Feedback. What should the employee start doing, stop doing, or improve?
3. Job Specific Goals. Develop in advance four or five measurable goals and record whether the employee met, partially met, or did not meet the goal.
• Employee Recognition Programs. Utilize a system appropriate for the area to encourage team and individual behaviors that benefit the customers.


Don’t be afraid to deal with poor performers and inappropriate behavior. Many leaders feel that having a warm body in a role is better than having a vacant position. This is simply not correct! Failing to deal with poor performance drags the rest of the team down and lowers standards. Top performing employees appreciate it when their leader deals with personnel problems. Give the opportunity for an employee to respond to your feedback, but don’t hesitate to terminate someone if it is not working out.

Finally, ensure your leadership team is not isolated in an executive suite. Get out and spend time with your staff and customers. I recommend every leader spend several hours every two weeks interacting with your customers and soliciting their feedback. Executives have a tendency to get caught up in their management responsibilities and they forget that their primary responsibility is to develop their team and remove roadblocks so that the front line employees can meet the needs of your customers.

Accountability systems will help ensure that your policies are executed and your customers are treated just as you would treat them if you could be in multiple places at the same time.

David Reed is the founder of Customer Centered Consulting Group, which works with organizations of all sizes to improve their effectiveness through enhanced customer service, strong leadership, and simplified processes. For more information, visit: www.cccginc.com or call (469) 628-9032.