Summary.
Before their companies went remote or hybrid, non-sales employees usually had some sight line to customers. However, as time marched on, non-customer-facing teams started to lose their connection to customers. They didn’t run into a sales rep in the elevator or sit next to a customer success agent in the cafeteria. The anecdotal, hallway conversations stopped. Losing sight of customers means internal teams are more likely to double down on their own metrics and agendas, putting the organization at risk for silos (in the short term) and at risk of being out-innovated and eventually becoming irrelevant (in the long term). Here are three ways leaders can bring your customers to life for teams who don’t interact with them.
After months of successfully working from home, the finance, HR, and legal teams of a mid-sized bank decided that they were going to adopt a hybrid model, permanently. Covid-induced remote work had proven that physical presence wasn’t a requirement for productivity.
Some employees elected to be 100% remote, others came in a few days a week, and those who wanted to work in the office were given safe spaces to do so. It all seemed fine at first; productivity stayed high. Yet after several months, they began to realize that something was missing from their daily conversations — or rather someone.
One operations leader put her finger on it when she said, “We used to start meetings talking about customers. Now we hardly mention them at all.”
They’re not alone.
While much has been written about the need to keep teams connected to each other in a virtual environment, losing your organizational tether to the customer is more insidious, and perhaps even more dangerous.
Here’s what we’ve observed in our clients: Before their companies went remote or hybrid, most employees throughout the organization had some sight line to customers. Even if they didn’t interface with them directly, they had regular conversations with customer-facing teammates, and when the organization talked about “customers,” everyone was clear on who they were and what they needed. And when the pandemic hit, people rallied. The top priority was keeping the business afloat, so teams leaned into taking care of customers.
Complete Article at HBR
