At dragonfish, we know that the key to sustainable and effective culture is the alignment between people, brand, and customer. Our latest research; ‘Redefining the culture code’ (2023) has only enhanced this belief.
What I am most interested in is the ability for culture to be an anchor in times of change, particularly when it comes to changes in the customers that an organisation serves and the employees that make up its workforce. Therefore, this article will take the findings of ‘Redefining the culture code’ and translate them into tangible actions to strengthen customer and employee connection.
When referring to customer connection, this means the understanding that each employee has of their personal impact on the customer experience. Employee connection is the relationship that each colleague has to their organisation’s culture; its vision, purpose and values.
Enhancing customer connection:
Customers are continually evolving. Whether an organisation wishes to support individuals throughout the course of their lifetime or targets them at a particular life stage, this fact remains. Therefore, the key to strategically enhancing customer connection is to widen the definition of customer from existing customer to existing and future customers.
In order for your customer strategy to truly drive increased business performance it needs to account for the changes in your customer base. Therefore, gathering relevant data on both existing and future customers is imperative. This will then enable you to map out the customer journey of your existing and future customers for your entire workforce, even identifying areas within their interaction with your organisation that create new opportunities.
The 3 steps that I am proposing, based on the ‘Redefining the culture code’ research to strengthen customer connection are:
Dial up your use of data
Map your existing and future customer journey
Engage your workforce in the customer journey
‘We see a lot of leaders utilising employee engagement data for insights around culture, but actually, customer data can also shine a light on some really interesting and important insights around an organisation’s culture.’ - Niall Cluley, MD, dragonfish
Enhancing employee connection:
Better understanding the customers that use your products and services will help employees to feel a greater sense of personal impact for the customer experience. This will help to connect them to what the organisation stands for and what it is aiming to achieve. However, there is more that can be done to enhance employee connection.
‘Redefining the culture code’ discovered that making culture feel personal to the workforce increases their loyalty and retention. Therefore, the key to strengthening employee connection is in the alignment of culture to their personal values and beliefs. This means ensuring that the organisational purpose resonates across the workforce and that any EDI or ESG commitments are strategically measured, monitored and shared.
‘Every colleague is different, they all have their own values, their own preferences. The more we tune in to each and every one, and work towards building fulfilment, the better their contribution will be to our organisation, and hopefully loyalty and retention will build.' - Redefining the culture code launch Dec 2023 attendee reflection
The 3 steps that I am proposing, based on the ‘Redefining the culture code’ research to strengthen employee connection are:
Assess your employees’ alignment with your purpose, vision, values and commitments
Review, and if needed, revise your purpose statement
Review your EDI and ESG promises and progress against them, sharing the findings with your workforce
By completing these simple 6 actions, your organisation will create stronger alignment between your people, brand and customer. Enhancing the customer experience, the employee experience and business performance and enabling culture to be the anchor despite changing customers and workforce.
So, what can you do today to begin this journey?
As a leader of today, or tomorrow, ask yourself 3 questions:
What will the organisation that I lead look like or need to look like in 12 months time and beyond?
Who will I need to collaborate with to make this a reality?
What data will I need to help me to be proactive and ensure buy-in for this evolution?
A great example of current and future leaders collaborating to plan for the future of their organisation is at Gucci. They have recently adopted a ‘Shadow Board’ model to align current strategic decisions and the strategic requirements of the future.
How will you set your organisation up for success through strengthening customer and employee connections?
To hear more about our research why not take a look at our recent webinar session where we share the top 6 culture signatures of high performing organisations here.
If you are interested in learning more about dragonfish, get in touch today by emailing hello@dragonfishuk.com and the team would be happy to chat.