More on Internal Customers

A frequent reader and commenter, Jennie, responded to my post Internal Customers here.

Jennie wrote:
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have been on this soapbox for a long, long time at my workplace. Employee satisfaction is directly linked to how they perform on the job and how they relate to external clients. Unhappy, unsatisfied, unappreciated employees will leak out their negative feelings which could have small impact, or very large impact. Those employees won't stick around. What costs more, the amount of time and money it takes to advertise for a position, do a search and train a person or the time and expense of express appreciation, improve communication and increase morale?"

I really appreciate that Jennie took the time to respond, but she also brings up some good points that I neglected to mention. If your employees are not satisfied, it will show in their work which can have a ripple effect out to your external customers and their satisfaction with your products or services. There hits a point where the dissatisfied employees will either quit on their own or possibly become such a problem employee (dragging the business down with them) that they will need to be let go.

As Jennie points out, it is much more expensive to replace an employee than it is to ensure their work satisfaction.

The awareness for today is to pay attention to employees (and yourself) and look for ways to improve the work environment. If you cannot come up with any ideas on your own...why not try asking your employees directly?
~Paul