Customer Experience & Social Impact

Customer Experience (CX) Focus , more than a business is in fact a social cause. Surprised? But its true. 

Focusing on better customer experience means making lives of customers easier , making them happy with what they buy/consume. Its at the end peace of mind for them.  It brings trust back in business. 

This cannot happen without focusing on employees engagement & happiness. 

This can save customers from misleading & misguiding advertisement & marketing gimmicks.  

With happier customers & happier employees , CX initiatives spread overall happiness in society. It shifts focus from only profit to profit through happiness. Companies focusing on CX are making money by keeping employees & customers happy. 

Today's corporations otherwise are cause of mass unhappiness with their ONLY share holder driven policies. Only PROFIT at the cost of customers & employees unhappiness , social & ethical erosion in values.  

From whatever angle you look at: CX focus is the only way for sustainable competitive advantage & social betterment. 

Are you acting in CSR drama?

Before you spend single penny on so called CSR, please check your  happiness scorecard of  employees, customers and community you operate in , tax evasion  & other corrupt practices your company is  indulging in.  

SR of C starts from with-in and goes with-out after taking care of everyone within. Most companies neither  take care of  their employees plight and life nor sincere in paying their Govt levies and rampant indulgences in corruption for getting benefits.  

This kind of companies doing CSR is neither SR nor desired by the society.

Purpose of any CSR initiatives  is to bring happiness and cheers for the under privileged. Now this objectives can not be achieved by money generated out of unhappy & stressed employees, anti social business practices of tax evasion and corruption.  

First and foremost SR of any corporate is be socially awaken towards people , community and environment impacted by the enterprise. Abide by the laws of the land and then  and only then indulge in so called CSR.  

We do not want a situation where in a thief robs people and donate to temple and by that means justify robbing.   

Don't indulge in corruption, pay your taxes right, keep your people happy, keep your customers happy, keep your community happy and pollution free and if then if something is left  including desire then look for CSR opportunities not before. All CSR initiatives must be judged on this count only. 

CSR Drama Vs Unhappy Employees

Yesterday got news of one more premature death (heart attack) at the age of sub 30.  That reminded me of my 2011 blog We all are dying in EMI - Courtesy Job Related Stress . The deceased was working in forex dealing room. Probably one of the most stressful jobs. 

Forget the nature of job, all jobs have become stressful , huge demand on human being at work place. Why? Cuz Finance professionals have taken over the performance matrix. Only and only finance matrix is considered to evaluate the success of the entity.   At the cost of mass stress and unhappiness , handful of the shareholders are enjoying fruits of success. Our models and matrix have become unsustainable. Forget environment and community, people working for the organisation are facing biggest threat. 

This CSR drama must end and actual CSR must start from within. Within the organisation. Making their people & customer happy is the real CSR for every business. What is the fun of CSR when there is tax evasion , poor quality , mis-sell & pathetic people policies? 

Zapposs of the world and happiness officer like  Alexander Kjerulf of the world MUST spread like avalanche in the business world. We must have happiness matrix given equal if not more importance to finance matrix to measure success of the enterprise. 

We are talking about sustainable business practice, starting point is - happy employees & happy customers and not just shareholders.

2 MUST priorities for every Business Owners !!!! Yes MUST.

Most of us either want to buy our own home or have taken debt to buy our own home. Most of us do not want to do job but with no other option and hence compelled to do job to survive. Its not our natural choice. Yes, this is not any survey result but learning from KBC participants. I think its a representative class of the masses across the globe. 

Manoj Kumar produced Roti Kapda aur Makaan in early 70s. However Maakan has still remained a major problem for most of the population on the earth. How Pity!!!! People spend their lifetime earning to buy one home or indulge in debt which they keep paying during their lifetime. 

I think this is directly related to another inner feeling of masses of not like to do job /dislike their jobs. Shareholder-ism over people-ism is the major cause of this grave situation. People spend their lifetime in doing what they don't like!!!! What a waste , not of time but lives. 

It is the responsibility of every entrepreneurs/corporation to make sure that they do two things:

1)  Make their people love their jobs (Doing whatever it takes).

2) Working for Financial Freedom of employees before they think about shareholder expectations (We have hefty reserves and surplus in company balance sheets but employees working for these are in debt and not happy).

All of us must work to increase gross happiness of people working for us. All other CSR initiatives are meaningless without achieving this first milestone.

We have corporations like Tony of zappos.com (Entrepreneur and author of book Delivering Happiness) or Ricardo Semler (Entrepreneur and author of book - Seven Days Weekend) who thinks on this line.

Ricardo Semler "Concentrate on building an organization that accomplishes the most difficult of all challenges:  to make people look forward to coming to work in the morning"

Yes making work/jobs interesting is MOST important and difficult responsibility of the business. 

Two takeaway - Making jobs interesting & employees reap benefits of success and shareholder should not earn at the cost of employees.

Few Reasons why WE must shed our employer Loyalty Mindset - NOW!!!!

" Applicant should be ready to work 24 X 7 " was the sentence in one of the recruitment Ad in leading national daily today. 

I wonder who would apply for such jobs ???

Under the pretext of loyalty and commitment these type of companies are social evils. They do not want us to be with ourselves, our families and live our lives. 

We are first loyal to ourselves. In Mahabharata KARNA was first responsible for himself but he choose to remain loyal first to Duryodhana knowing fully well that D was wrong. We all know the result of remaining loyal to wrong people ( Boss & Company too) . Likewise all fanatic target crazy and only ROI focused ( not sensitive to employee happiness, customer WOW !!! and social responsibility )   companies wants us to be their slave under the pretext of loyalty and commitment.  { How many companies are interested in happiness and lives of people working for them????  }  ( why no companies measure non financial measure of success like people happiness, customer happiness , social and environmental commitment every year ) 

We all want happiness, time for family, time for self, time to enjoy not once in a year but on an ongoing basis. We all work , yes , for our passion but primarily for money ( lets accept the fact ) and money we can enjoy by spending it on our own life purposes and happiness. 

We spend our (only) life to earn for happiness , earn for education of children , earn for marriage of children and for our retirement corpus. This is possible through working for someone or for our own. 

We are compelled to stay on even through we do not want to is because ;

1) There is no other option

2) We don't want to  dare

3) We are afraid of change

4) We do not want to look at other options

5) Assume that known devil is better than unknown devil

(How abt the reality of - Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara !!!)
 

Today's corporations are INSANE about growth & valuation sans sensitivity towards people influenced by their existence. 

( They give employment and money so they can demand 24 X 7 of our weeks !!! )

Something must change fundamentally, the way we manage our companies. 

[ Add On : Must Read ( by board, CXOs and empoyees at all levels ) : Seven Days Weekend by Ricardo Semler. ]