Have you thought about what distinguishes a successful, dynamically developing company from hundreds of small outlets, where sales have remained low for years? Every successful organization has adopted a corporate standard. It is he who provides the company with a positive image in the eyes of partners.
Does any organization need a set of rules?
Among novice businessmen, there is a perception that corporate standards systems are suitable only for large companies whose managers find it difficult to keep track of employee actions. It is believed that it is too early for the staff of a new, newly created company to establish rules of conduct. Why?
- It is still unclear how to attract potential customers and what actions will lead to sales growth.
- The staff of a small outlet is always in sight: errors can be corrected in the process.
- The corporate standard is usually developed by training companies, and their services are expensive.
- Candidates for seller positions can be scared off by a system of strict rules in a small business. After all, wages at the initial stage are small.
Does this mean that a new company is better off without corporate standards? The answer to this question in each individual case can be both positive and negative. Of course, it is difficult to establish strict rules for employees when the staff of a small company consists entirely of family members or close friends. But it so happens that the level of customer service directly depends on whether the small business survives at all.
For the owner of a small store, cafe, beauty salon, it is best to adhere to the golden mean: strict standards are not set, but there are a number of requirements that must be observed.
What can be said about large and medium enterprises that have already occupied a niche in the market? It would seem that they live easier. Such firms sell quality goods in demand. They have established advertising, and there are effective ways to attract customers. Does a corporate standard need a business that is already successful? Let's look into this issue.
There are not a few cases when a potential customer comes or calls a company known to him in order to make a purchase. Can the deal not take place? Yes, if the buyer is not served properly. Untidy office, always busy phone, low-skilled sellers, difficulties in making a purchase, managers' reluctance to meet ... One of these problems should be admitted - and the buyer will give preference to competitors.
In addition, each employee, whether he is a sales manager or branch director, has his own ideas on how to serve customers: which way to choose a way of communication, how much time to devote to a conversation, how to motivate a visitor to make a purchase.
If the company has a standard of corporate culture, each employee knows exactly how he should behave in various situations. Moreover, company employees are interested in using the best business practices in communicating with customers. Due to this, decision-making time is reduced, unnecessary coordination chains are removed. Customers, in turn, have a positive opinion about the company.
Thus, the company needs a corporate standard to ensure:
- high level of service;
- customer loyalty;
- brand recognition;
- increase the credibility of the company in the market;
- facilitating the decision-making process;
- saving of forces, time, financial resources.
What issues does the standard address
For successful work, it is not enough to build corporate standards that concern only direct communication with customers. Indeed, in the daily activities of company employees there are many other slippery moments:
- how effectively co-workers interact with each other, how often disagreements arise between them;
- Is the working day built efficiently?
- how are things prioritized.
Therefore, introducing a corporate standard at the enterprise, it is important to consider its following elements:
- appearance of employees;
- workspace organization;
- standards of professional activity, procedures in difficult and conflict situations, norms for the efficient use of working time;
- rules for communication with customers;
- social responsibility of the company and its employees;
- laws for top management.
Consider each component of the corporate standard.
The appearance of managers
Many companies establish rules for how front office employees should look like, that is, managers who are directly involved in servicing visitors. The form of clothing, shoes, hair style, the presence or absence of accessories, makeup, jewelry is regulated.
A strict dress code has been introduced, for example, in the mobile communications company Megafon. The corporate standard requires employees working with clients to dress in a white top and black bottom style. There should be a bright green silk scarf around the managers neck. Female employees are allowed to apply light natural makeup. Jewelry and jewelry are excluded: you can only wear a wedding ring and discreet earrings. The shoes of the manager of the cellular company should be strict and closed. A badge with the name of the employee is necessarily attached to the chest. A similar dress code is accepted in banks and large corporations.
In a completely different way, appearance standards are set for employees of restaurants, hairdressers, fitness centers, and retail stores. In image-based beauty salons, administrators at the reception, hairdressers, and manicurists, as a rule, are distinguished by elegant hair styling, permanent make-up, and original nail design. With their appearance, they inspire clients to be creative in taking care of themselves. Women, noting how stylish the employees of the salon look, are imbued with the desire to visit him more often.
In many retail stores, the form of clothing for sales managers is selected according to the type of goods presented on the trading floor. It looks interesting, for example, when sellers in a toy store are dressed up in costumes of fairy-tale characters.
Workspace organization
Corporate standards of the company regulate the interior decoration of both the customer service area and premises for official use (offices, lounges, restrooms).
In organizations with a large branch network, the requirements for the interior of premises are established:
- what color should be the furniture;
- how to place furnishings;
- in some cases it is prescribed (especially if we are talking about companies in the IT sphere), office equipment and stationery of which brands are allowed to use.
The corporate standard also dictates the permissible arrangement of objects on the surface of the desktop: how to put the computer, where to put writing accessories, how many documents can simultaneously lie “in sight”.
Occupational Standards
Depending on the goals and objectives of various categories of employees for each position is determined:
- what type of tasks should employees of the company give highest priority;
- how to plan a working day;
- what principles to follow in everyday activities.
The norms of corporate etiquette and the procedure for dealing with conflict situations are also being standardized. It is necessary to stipulate how often an employee can take breaks in work, whether he can go outside the office, how long lunch time lasts, and whether smoking is allowed during the day.
Rules for communication with customers
This area in many firms is given the greatest attention. The corporate standard defines:
- which company employees are involved in the customer service process;
- what rules should be followed when meeting with customers in the office of the company and in the fields;
- how to make outgoing and receive incoming phone calls: after what signal account to pick up the phone, what words, expressions, phrases to use in a conversation.
Social responsibility of the company and its employees
Corporate responsibility standards are also important. Entering the market, the company accepts the working conditions dictated by society:
- sells high-quality goods that are useful to consumers;
- works based on the principles of honesty, legality, humanism, respect for the dignity of people;
- takes part in protecting the environment from harmful influences.
Each employee must have a clear understanding that he is the face of the company in which he works. His actions influence not only the financial results in the balance sheet, but also the business reputation of the company. Therefore, the rules of conduct for employees are established taking into account corporate responsibility standards.
Rules of work of the first persons
For large organizations, corporate governance standards are of particular importance, indicating how the firm should be managed. When developing these rules, the interests of shareholders, customers, partners of the company and its employees must be taken into account. Corporate governance standards indicate what principles the general director of the company and his deputies are obliged to follow in their activities. They include a description of the organizational model of the enterprise, the system of internal reporting, methods of monitoring the activities of senior management. Of the international corporate governance standards, the most well-known systems are PMBOK, ICB and ISO.
Stages of introducing new orders
In large organizations, the rules are developed and implemented by professional training companies. However, many owners of small firms, using open sources of information, themselves quite successfully think through the customer service system and put it into effect.
Professional development of corporate standards includes the following steps:
- Analysis of the existing situation. It is important to evaluate from the point of view of an outside observer how efficiently the workflow has been established, what can be improved. Professional companies often attract "mystery shoppers" for this purpose. A specially hired and trained employee is at the office or trading floor of the company and plays the role of a client. As a rule, he secretly keeps a record of negotiations with sellers on a voice recorder, and as a result of the meeting fills out a check list: what he liked about the service and what he did not. The owner of a small business can conduct an observation on his own or ask friends to "inspect" the company. Based on the results of the audit, it is important to identify the positive aspects and weaknesses: what attracts customers in your company, and what makes them doubt and leave without making a transaction.
- Development of standards. The corporate rules of employee behavior, the organization of the workspace, and the requirements for the appearance of front-office managers are being phased in. At this stage, it is important to consider all the essential details that affect the future prosperity of the company or its failure.
- Staff training. The corporate standard is being implemented and put into action. The employees of the company, especially the customer service managers, are explained the rules that must be followed.
- Verification of the result. It is important to analyze the effect of the implementation of standards: do they have a positive effect on sales, the depth of relationships with customers, or lead to increased profits.
- Adjustment of standards. In the process of work, many shortcomings and roughnesses of the new enterprise management system can be revealed. They should be monitored regularly, especially in the initial stages. Repeated visits of “mystery shoppers” help this, as well as receiving feedback from customers and employees. If deficiencies are identified, work is carried out on the errors - making changes to existing standards.
Conclusion
It is important to note that too zealous, literal following the rules of the company on the part of employees in some situations can do harm. Compliance with the established standards should not lead to unnatural, illogical, from the point of view of common sense, the behavior of employees, their inattention to the needs of customers. Introducing the corporate standard, you should act carefully, observing the principle of gradualness.