Strong Service Climate, Essay Example

One cannot underestimate the influence of organizational leadership over organizational culture and it is also true for service climate. Thus, one of the most effective ways to create a strong service climate is for the leadership to demonstrate personal commitment to highest standards of customer service. One of the greatest examples in corporate America was set by Southwest Airlines’ founder Herb Kelleher who called service as one of the four values that define Southwest (CNBC). Another key to creating a service-oriented climate is to develop both qualitative and quantitative measures of service quality which can be accessed and understood by everyone in the organization (Morrow). This will not only help everyone understand the level of customer service being delivered by the organization but will also provide hints as to how service quality can be further improved.

The management should also make sure it doesn’t only preach commitment to service but also explain the potential benefits of doing so (Morrow). If employees understand the rationale behind commitment to customer service, they will be more committed to high levels of customer service. It also pays to offer both monetary and non-monetary awards to those who display exemplary commitment to customer service. In addition, measures could be taken to communicate such episodes of exemplary customer service by certain individuals to inspire other works. A major utility organization dedicated an entire company magazine to customer service. An organization should also take measures to train employees in customer service principles so that they have better idea of what is expected from them. Disney is one company that devotes considerable resources to customer service training (Morrow).

It is clear that a strong climate for service is not the outcome of random events but requires active efforts by the organization such as commitment to service at all levels of organizational hierarchy, monetary and non-monetary rewards for exemplary customer service, and training in sound customer service principles.

References

CNBC. (n.d.). Herb Kelleher. Retrieved July 10, 2014. Web.

Morrow, P. (n.d.). Eight Keys to Creating a Customer Service Culture. Retrieved July 10, 2014. Web.