Creating value is an essential aspect of any organisation’s success. It is the process of providing what customers, employees, and stakeholders need or want in a way that also benefits the organisation. This topic will explore how creating value can benefit employees, customers, and wider stakeholders. We will discuss how providing value to these groups can improve performance, satisfaction, and loyalty and ultimately drive the organisation’s success. By understanding the importance of creating value, organisations can ensure that they are providing value to all stakeholders and, in turn, create a positive impact on their well-being and satisfaction.
How people professionals create value for people, organisations and wider stakeholders
People professionals are critical in creating value for people, organisations, and wider stakeholders by implementing policies, procedures, and strategies that support and drive a customer-focused strategy.
- Supporting employees: People professionals can create value for employees by providing them with opportunities for professional development, career advancement, and positive work culture. They can also provide employees fair compensation, benefits, and work-life balance.
- Meeting customer needs: People professionals can create value for customers by understanding and meeting their needs and expectations through effective marketing and communication strategies and by providing high-quality products and services.
- Managing relationships: People professionals can create value for wider stakeholders by building and maintaining positive relationships with suppliers, partners, and other organisations. This can be done through effective communication, collaboration, and negotiation.
- Compliance with laws and regulations: People professionals can create value by ensuring compliance with laws and regulations related to labour, employment, and equal opportunities, this will ensure that the organisation is not exposed to legal risks and maintain a fair and respectful workplace.
- Promoting diversity and inclusion: People professionals can create value by promoting diversity and inclusion within the organisation. This can lead to a more diverse workforce, bringing different perspectives and ideas and ultimately leading to a more innovative and successful organisation.
By implementing policies, procedures, and strategies that support and drive a customer-focused strategy, people professionals can ensure that the organisation meets all stakeholders’ needs and expectations while promoting diversity and compliance with laws and regulations.
| People Professional’s Role in Value Creation | How they add value |
|---|---|
| Selection and hiring of new employees | Selecting and hiring the best candidates who will meet the organisation’s goals and objectives |
| Onboarding | Ensuring that new employees are properly trained and integrated into the organisation |
| Developing employees | By providing opportunities for professional development and career advancement |
| Performance and reward | Recognising and rewarding employees for their contributions to the organisation |
| Job autonomy | Providing employees autonomy and ownership over their work can increase job satisfaction and productivity. |
| Employee engagement | By promoting engagement and fostering a positive work culture |
| Employee relation practices | Promoting positive relationships and communication between management and employees |
| Employee retention | Promoting employee satisfaction and retention |
| Compliance with laws and regulations | Ensuring that the organisation is compliant with relevant laws and regulations |
| Promoting diversity and inclusion | Fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace |
| Managing relationships with suppliers and partners | By building and maintaining positive relationships with suppliers, partners, and other organisations |
| Managing employee benefits and compensation | Providing fair compensation and benefits for employees |
| Managing employee data | By effectively managing and protecting employee data to ensure its accuracy and security. |
Customer-focused and standards-driven
Achieving and maintaining a strong customer-focused ethos is crucial for the success of any organisation. A customer-focused approach helps organisations understand and meet the needs and expectations of customers, which can lead to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and, ultimately, growth.
- Customer satisfaction: A customer-focused ethos helps organisations understand and meet customers’ needs and expectations. This can increase customer satisfaction, resulting in repeat business and positive word-of-mouth marketing.
- Customer loyalty: A customer-focused approach can help to build customer loyalty by providing customers with a positive experience and meeting their needs and expectations. This can lead to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth marketing.
- Growth: A customer-focused approach can help organisations to grow by attracting new customers and retaining existing ones. This can be achieved by providing high-quality products and services and building positive customer relationships.
- Cost-effective: By providing customers with the products and services they want, organisations can avoid the costs of developing products or services that the customers do not want.
- Innovation: A customer-focused approach can lead to innovation by identifying new and unmet customer needs, which can be used to develop new products and services.
The approaches used to preserve and grow the customer base through high customer satisfaction and a value-driven philosophy can include the following:
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM): CRM is a strategy to manage customer interactions to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- Market Research: Market research gathers information about customers, their needs, and the marketplace. This information can be used to develop products and services that meet customer needs.
- Quality management: Quality management ensures that products and services meet customer requirements and expectations.
- Continuous improvement: Organisations can continuously improve products, services, and processes by identifying areas for improvement, gathering feedback from customers, and implementing changes.
- Employee engagement: By engaging employees in the customer-focused approach, organisations can empower them to provide excellent customer service and identify improvement opportunities.
Applying and maintaining customer service standards
People professionals can apply and maintain customer service standards by implementing policies and procedures that support and drive a customer-focused strategy.
- Customer Service Policy: People professionals can develop and implement a customer service policy that outlines the organisation’s commitment to providing excellent customer service and sets out the standards and procedures employees should follow when dealing with customers. This policy can be used to train employees on how to provide excellent customer service and to ensure that all employees understand the expectations for customer service.
- Employee Training: People professionals can provide employees with training on how to provide excellent customer service. This training can include information on the customer service policy, communication skills, and how to handle difficult customers.
- Monitoring and Evaluation: People professionals can monitor and evaluate the quality of customer service provided by employees. This can be done through customer feedback, employee evaluations, and mystery shopping. The feedback can be used to identify improvement areas and recognise employees who are providing excellent customer service.
- Continuous improvement: People professionals can continuously improve the organisation’s customer service by gathering customer feedback, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing changes.
- Compliance with laws and regulations: People professionals can ensure compliance with laws and regulations related to customer services, such as accessibility, data protection, and fair trading.
- Reward and recognition: People professionals can recognise and reward excellent customer service employees. This can help to promote a culture of customer service excellence and to encourage employees to continue providing excellent service.