Download - Employee’s Role in Service Delivery
Employee’s Role in Service Delivery
Employees’ Roles in Service Delivery
• The Critical Importance of Service Employees• Boundary Spanning Roles• Strategies for Closing Gap 3
CUSTOMER
COMPANYService Delivery
GAP 3
Customer-Driven Service Designs and
Standards
Part 4 Opener
Provider GAP 3
Importance of service Employees
• People – Frontline employees and those supporting them from
behind the scenes are critical to the success of any service
organizations
• They are the service. Ex : Doctors, trainers
• They are the organization in the customer’s eyes.
• They are the brand. Ex : Financial institutes
• They are marketers. They act as walking billboard from promotional
point of view. Ex : Bank tellers cross sell bank products
Service Employees
• Their importance is evident in:– The Services Marketing Mix (People)– The Service-Profit Chain– The Services Triangle
Boundary Spanning Roles• Focus is on the frontline service employees who interact
directly with customers
• Boundary Spanners: Front line employees are referred as
Boundary spanners as they operate in the boundary of
the organization
• They perform functions in understanding, filtering and
interpreting information and resources to and from the
organization and its external constituencies
Figure 11.4
Boundary Spanners Interact with Both Internal and External Constituents
Internal Environment
External Environment
Boundary Spanning RolesEmotional Labor
• All the boundary spanners are characterized by Emotional
Labor.
• Emotional Labor is the labor that Goes beyond the physical or
mental skills needed to deliver quality service. Ex : Giving
Smile, Having Eye Contact, showing interest, friendly
conversation
• It often requires to suppress their true feelings to deliver
service
Figure 11.5
Sources of Conflict for Boundary-Spanning Workers
• Person vs. Role
• Organization vs. Client
• Client vs. Client
• Quality vs. Productivity
Sources of Conflict for Boundary-Spanning Workers
person/role conflict
• Boundary spanners feel conflicts between what they are asked to do and their
own personalities, orientations or values are.
• Ex: wearing of dress as per the job requirement
organization/client conflict
• Front line employees face the conflicts when te rules, regulations of the
organization are not customer centric.
• They Get in conflict when customers have excessive demands whether to obey
customers or follow the riles of organization
• Following the customer, might risk the job
• Following the organization may dissatisfy customer and so no tips.
Sources of Conflict for Boundary-Spanning Workers
Interclient conflict
• Conflict occurs for boundary spanners when incompatible
expectations and requirements arise from two or more
customers
• This occur when servicing customers in turn(Doctor), or
serving simultaneously(Teachers)
• Time rendered for each customer, the degree of interpersonal
relationship expected by customers
Sources of Conflict for Boundary-Spanning Workers
Quality/productivity conflict
• Front line workers are asked to be both effective and efficient
• Frontline employees are asked to deliver courteous service to employees
and also reach their target on time.
• This trade off between quality and quantity, and effectiveness and
efficiency put pressures on service employees
• Internal support from understanding managers and control over job task
can help employees to handle the quality/ productivity tradeoffs.
• Technology is used extensively to handle the quality and productivity
tradeoffs.
Customer-Oriented Service Delivery
Hire theRight People
ProvideNeeded Support
Systems
Retain theBest
People
DevelopPeople to
DeliverServiceQuality
Compete
for
the B
est
People
Hire for Service
Competencies and Service Inclination
Provide Supportive Technology
and Equipment
Tre
at
Em
plo
ye
es
a
s
Cu
sto
me
rs
Em
po
we
r E
mp
loy
ee
s
Be the Preferred
Employer Train for
Technical and
Interactive
Skills
Prom
ote
Team
wor
k
Measure
Internal
Service
Quality
Develop Service-
oriented Internal
Processes
Mea
sure
and
R
ewar
d S
tron
g S
ervi
ce
Per
form
ers
Include
Em
ployees in
the
Com
pany’s
Vision
Figure 11.6 Human Resource Strategies for Closing GAP 3
Strategies for closing GAP 3
Hire the right people
• Compete for the best people
• Hire for service competencies and Service Inclination
• Be the preferred employer
Develop people to deliver Service Quality
• Train for Technical and Interactive Skills
• Empower Employees
• Promote team work
Strategies for closing GAP 3
Provide Needed Support Systems
• Measure Internal Service Quality
• Provide Supportive Technology and Equipment
• Develop Service – Oriented Internal processes
Retain the Best People
• Include Employees in the Company’s vision
• Treat Employees as customers
• Measure and Reward strong service performers
Customer’s Role in Service Delivery
How Customers Widen Gap 3
• Lack of understanding of their roles
• Not being willing or able to perform their roles
• No rewards for “good performance”
• Interfering with other customers
• Incompatible, heterogeneous market segments
Importance of Customer in Service Delivery
• Services are produced and consumed simultaneously.
• Customer play role in efficient service delivery.
• Customers influence the service delivery in two ways
• Customer receiving the service :
– Customers can influence the widening or narrowing of the GAP3
– Depending on the Level of Customer participation in service
delivery influences the efficiency
– Level of Customer participation can be Low, Medium or High
Importance of Customers in Service Delivery
Fellow Customers
• Other customers can detract from satisfaction:
– disruptive behaviors
– excessive crowding
– incompatible needs
• Other customers can enhance satisfaction:
– mere presence
– socialization/friendships
– roles: assistants, teachers, supporters
Figure 12.2
Customer Roles in Service Delivery
Productive Resources
Contributors to Quality and Satisfaction
Competitors
Customer’s role in Service Delivery
Customers as Productive Resources
• “partial employees”
– contributing effort, time, or other resources to the production process
– In B to B, the support of client ensures efficient service delivery
• customer inputs can affect organization’s productivity
• Customers avoid in cocreation of service if they don’t benefit from it
• key issue:
– should customers’ roles be expanded? reduced?
– Customers can bring in uncertain expectations
Customer’s role in Service DeliveryCustomers as Contributors to Service Quality and Satisfaction
• Customers can contribute to
– their own satisfaction with the service
• by performing their role effectively. Ex: Health Care, Fitness Programs
• by working with the service provider
– the quality of the service they receive
• by asking questions
• by taking responsibility for their own satisfaction
• IKEA wants its customers to understand that their role is not to consume value but
to create it.
• by complaining when there is a service failure
Customer’s role in Service Delivery
Customers as Competitors
• customers may “compete” with the service provider
• “internal exchange”(produce the service themselves) vs. “external exchange”(someone
else provide service for them)
• internal/external decision often based on:
– Expertise capacity
– Resources capacity
– Time capacity
– economic rewards
– psychic rewards
– trust
– control
Figure 12.4
Strategies for Enhancing Customer Participation
EffectiveCustomer
Participation
Recruit, Educate,and Reward Customers
Define CustomerJobs
Manage theCustomer
Mix
Strategies for EnhancingCustomer Participation
Define customers’ jobs
The level of Customer participation depends on the nature of the
service.
• helping himself Ex: Land Records Kiosk
• helping others
• promoting the company. Ex: word of mouth
• Individual differences:
– not everyone wants to participate
– Few have the need for human interaction and so avoid self services.
Strategies for EnhancingCustomer Participation
Strategies for Recruiting, Educating, and Rewarding Customers
• Recruit the right customers
– Attracting the right customers through advertising or personal selling.
– To this customer can “self select” into or out of service.
• Educate and train customers to perform effectively
– Need to educate skill and knowledge to interact with employees and other customers
– Orientation programs are Given for certain Services
– Orientations can be Place orientation or Function Orientation. Signage can help
educating customers.
– Customers learn through observing the other customers. Companies hire customers to
demonstrate the behavior.
Strategies for EnhancingCustomer Participation
• Reward customers for their contribution
– Rewards can be monetary savings, psychological and
physical benefits, control over delivery process and time
savings
– Not all customers are motivated by same type of rewards
• Avoid negative outcomes of inappropriate customer
participation
Strategies for EnhancingCustomer Participation
Manage the Customer Mix
• Customers frequently interact with each other in the process of service
delivery
• It is necessary to handle the mix of customers who can be incompatible.
• The process of managing multiple and sometimes conflicting segments is
known as Compatibility Management
• Need to attract homogeneous customers
• Attract heterogeneous customers differently or at different time
Delivering Service through Intermediaries and Electronic Channels
Service Provider Participants
• service principal (originator)– creates the service concept
• (like a manufacturer)
• service deliverer (intermediary)– entity that interacts with the customer in the
execution of the service• (like a distributor/wholesaler)
Services IntermediariesFranchisees
– e.g., Jiffy Lube, H&R Block, McDonald’s
Agents and Brokers
• Agent is an service intermediary who acts on behalf of a service principal
• Agents can be selling agents and purchase agents
– e.g., travel agents, independent insurance agents
• Principal pays in the form of commission and not as salaries
• Broker is an intermediary who brings buyers and sellers together while assisting in
negotiations
Electronic channels
– e.g., ATMs, university video courses, TaxCut software
Table 13.1
Benefits and Challenges for Franchisers of Service
• Leveraged business format for greater expansion and revenues
• Consistency in outlets• Knowledge of local
markets• Shared financial risk and
more working capital
• Difficulty in maintaining and motivating franchisees
• Highly publicized disputes and conflict
• Inconsistent quality• Control of customer
relationship by intermediary
Benefits Challenges
Table 13.1 (Continued)
Benefits and Challenges for Franchisees of Service
• An established business format
• National or regional brand marketing
• Minimized risk of starting a business
• Encroachment• Disappointing profits and
revenues• Lack of perceived control
over operations• High fees
Benefits Challenges
Table 13.2
Benefits and Challenges in Distributing Services through Agents and Brokers
• Reduced selling and distribution costs
• Intermediary’s possession of special skills and knowledge
• Wide representation• Knowledge of local
markets• Customer choice
• Loss of control over pricing and other aspects of marketing
• Representation of multiple service principals
Benefits Challenges
Table 13.3
Benefits and Challenges in Electronic Distribution of Services
• Consistent delivery for standardized services
• Low cost• Customer convenience• Wide distribution• Customer choice and
ability to customize• Quick customer feedback
• Customers are active, not passive• Lack of control of electronic environment• Price competition• Inability to customize with highly
standardized services• Lack of consistency with customer
involvement• Requires changes in consumer behavior• Security concerns• Competition from widening geographies• Computer literacy is essential
Benefits Challenges
Strategies for Effective Service Delivery through Intermediaries
• Measurement : Appropriate rewards are Given for top performers
• Review : Terminations, non renewals, quotas are done. Expansion and encroachment are used to control
Control Strategies
• Alignment of goals• Consultation and
cooperation
• Help the intermediary develop customer-oriented service processes
• Provide needed support systems
• Develop intermediaries to deliver service quality
• Change to a cooperative management structure
Empowerment Strategies
Partnering Strategies