Employee Attitude Affects Customer Behavior

How employee attitude affects customer behavior

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio 

“I have always believed that the way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers and that people flourish when they are praised.” – Sir Richard Branson

Research shows that great customer service is possible when everyone in the organization is geared toward it. Stellar service, profitable growth, and profits have a direct link to employee attitude and satisfaction. In fact, the way employees feel about the company they work in has a significant effect on the overall business of a company. Employee attitude is not easy to measure or control beyond a certain point.

However, if neglected, it could have disastrous results for a company. If employees have a poor attitude and low morale, their productivity and work quality would be drastically lower than the required standards. The opposite is also true when employees are happy and satisfied with a company. We cannot emphasize enough, that it’s the responsibility of the company to ensure the happiness and welfare of its employees. In return, the employees will have a positive attitude. With a tool like, interactive decision trees, companies can deliver the right information and provide the best customer service to their customers.

Employee Attitude Affects How Employees Treat Customers

Investing time, money, and sincere effort in employee development have multiple benefits. Engagement, positivity, and stellar customer service are a few of these advantages. Employee attitude affects the way they treat customers. A good attitude would ensure a happy and loyal customer base, resulting in more business and higher spending from customers. The more companies mind their employees, it is ‘transferred’ to their customers.

The employees reflect the values of their organization in everything that they do. There have been multiple studies in trying to understand the link between employee attitude with customer behavior. The results show that there is a direct connection. A positive employee attitude makes it easy to interact with customers with a view to understanding their needs and goals. Such employees remain motivated to serve the company and its customers with added care and effort.

Employee Attitude Increases Empowerment

Employee attitude is also a factor of empowerment. That is, the company they work with provides adequate training, proper resources, and enough discretion to make decisions that fulfill the customer’s needs and demands. This in turn leads to high energy and determination to provide great service to customers within the least time possible. As customers become happier, they provide more business and praise the company and its representatives.

In turn, this leads to an enhanced positive employee attitude that translates to empathy, respect, understanding, and genuine concern for customers. Such positivity encourages customers to trust and depend on the company. They willingly promote the company and its products. The overall business reflects the value and culture of the company. It attracts more customers and some of the brightest talent in the market. Other potential business partners, such as investors, vendors, and suppliers tend to associate with a company that reflects positivity in every aspect, including employee attitude.

It Drives Company Growth and Stability

In order to sustain a positive attitude, the company must consistently communicate with employees and have strategies that encourage engagement. As employees feel engaged in the brand’s values, they reflect their attitude and behavior towards the company, co-workers, and customers. This drives the overall financial growth and stability of the company.

Since the quality of customer service would be at its peak, it leads to positive customer behavior, high spending, and brand advocacy. It all comes down to the way a company treats its employees. Respect and care must reflect in everything the company does. Treating every employee well, irrespective of level and job role enables them to provide customers with the kind of service that delights them and brings them back repeatedly and with friends.

Employees Provide Great Customer Service to Clients

Employee attitude should ‘touch’ and reflect in every transaction and interaction between customers and your company. Positive employees know that providing great customer service is not about being courteous and polite. It extends to cover other different realms. For example, if a salesperson is working on commission, they would not lie about a product/offering of the company. They would be completely honest and provide the customer with the whole truth.

Employees dealing with customers directly ensure that they provide speedy, efficient, and high-quality responses and service to all customers, irrespective of the size of the customer’s business. A clear indication of a positive employee attitude ensures that whoever interacts with a customer remembers to thank them for doing business with the company. In addition, they remain calm and positive, even in the face of high-stress situations, such as customer complaints. In brick-and-mortar stores, a positive employee attitude is reflected by being courteous and helpful, even to customers who may not buy too much or anything at all. The fact is that a business can never be sure which ‘visitor’ will eventually become their biggest customer.

Employees Are Able To Express Their Ideas

A company should give guidelines and list the attributes that contribute to a positive employee attitude. They should give employees the opportunity to express their views and ideas on what they believe leads to a good attitude and great service. Involving employees in the various aspect of business and especially customer service gives them a sense of responsibility to provide stellar services. This results in employee and customer success. By establishing clear and open lines of communication, a company encourages its employees to do the same. Now, this is important from a customer service point of view. Clear and honest communication leads to customer trust. It is a crucial factor in gaining more and repeated business.

Employees Are Able To Give Feedback

As mentioned earlier, employees, especially those on the front-line interact with customers directly and all the time. To appreciate them and encourage a positive employee attitude, a company should constantly ask for feedback about their customers and their perception of the business. Employees should have the confidence to discuss problems and concerns with anyone in the company without fear of reprimand or ridicule. This encourages them to have an open mind to their co-workers by accepting diversity and working with cooperation. Self-esteem and positive employee attitude are built by fostering healthy competition within teams and across the organization. Every effort by employees to enhance the work environment and improve service levels should be appropriately recognized and rewarded. This reinforces such a positive employee attitude and behavior, encouraging others to strive to cultivate such behaviors.

Importance of Positive Employee Attitude

Customer service is not the domain of one department or a small group of people within the company. Rather, it is achieved through a combined effort from everyone in the organization. Therefore, it’s the company’s responsibility to ensure that every employee understands their role. In doing so, they understand the importance of keeping a positive attitude towards customers and one another. The workforce is the face of any company. Without a positive employee attitude, your customers and others would see an ‘unhappy face’ and an unwilling spirit. Consequently, it would have adverse effects on the overall health of the company. Employee attitude is the direct result of how companies treat their employees. Creating an environment of positivity, commitment, and respect drives employees to invest their energy in the success of the company and its customers.

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