Many companies are working hard to create a world-class customer experience and employee experience i.e. ensuring that they offer a compelling, clear value proposition for its customers and employees. At the same time, it is also critical to make sure that these two value propositions themselves are in alignment. For instance, if the customer value proposition is “on the spot resolution of problems”, then the employee value proposition cannot espouse a process-driven culture. After all, a culture of empowerment is more important to support that particular customer value proposition.
It is interesting to think about the fact that Marketing departments don’t really control how employees understand the brand or display the brand values or deliver the customer value proposition. And yet, company brand and reputation are typically drivers of talent attraction. Similarly, the HR departments don’t exercise much control over company brand, customer perceptions etc. And yet, employees are the key factor in delivering the customer value proposition.
More than anywhere else, I think this is particularly relevant in service sector industries like say financial services, hospitality, healthcare, professional services, retail etc. In these industries, every employee is a representative of the company brand. And every employee creates or destroys brand value at each customer interaction point. Companies need to think about how they can get HR and Marketing teams to work together to design and deliver an integrated value proposition to their employees and customers. Have you come across companies who are doing this effectively?
