{"id":1906,"date":"2025-07-21T12:39:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T08:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/proservice-l.com\/?p=1906"},"modified":"2025-12-08T12:43:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T08:43:55","slug":"if-you-want-to-improve-customer-service-fix-hr-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/proservice-l.com\/en\/1906\/","title":{"rendered":"If You Want to Improve Customer Service, Fix HR First"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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If You Want to Improve Customer Service, Fix HR First<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Every time I encounter low standards of customer service\u2014in shops, healthcare facilities, or public institutions\u2014I can\u2019t help but wonder: what kind of HR structure is at play here?<\/em><\/p>

Often, organizations proudly showcase their achievements in service automation, including HR and CRM systems, yet fail to meet basic customer service standards. Is there a correlation between automation and service quality? It seems automation alone doesn\u2019t guarantee excellence. In fact, even organizations heavily investing in CRM often show disconnects with HR strategies, assuming they have any in place at all.<\/p>

While customer feedback can influence product improvements, HR must also heed those insights. Aligning customer needs with HR practices resonates strongly with Dave Ulrich\u2019s Outside-in model of HR value creation. This model challenges traditional HR approaches by advocating adaptation to external influences\u2014such as customers, investors, and communities\u2014rather than just internal efficiency. It promotes HR practices that deliver value beyond the organization itself, rather than focusing narrowly on staffing, training, rewards, or analytics.<\/p>

One curious tale brings this idea to life: the Pontiac Ice Cream story. A customer reported to General Motors that his car wouldn’t start after buying vanilla ice cream\u2014but started fine with other flavors. At first, the complaint seemed absurd. But the engineers took the issue seriously, initiating a thorough investigation. They discovered that vanilla ice cream was stored in a section allowing quicker purchases, which meant the car remained idle for a shorter time. This led to vapor lock\u2014a heat-related fuel system issue triggered by shortened cooling periods. The finding was groundbreaking, prompted solely by a customer\u2019s unusual complaint.<\/p>

When I asked Copilot about how this story aligns with Ulrich\u2019s model, it pointed out several \u00a0key implications for HR, but I\u2019d like to point out the following:<\/p>

Customer-driven problem-solving<\/strong><\/p>

Data-driven insights and analysis<\/strong><\/p>

Agility and adaptability in responding to external feedback<\/strong><\/p>

From a strategic standpoint, embracing customer-centric problem solving means incorporating external influences\u2014economic shifts, social preferences, career motivations\u2014into HR strategy development. Internally, this approach should shape competency building and learning frameworks.<\/p>

It\u2019s also worth exploring a systematic link between CRM and HR, allowing individual customer feedback to be filtered and analyzed for HR relevance. Ideally, this would enable HR and other departments to proactively address emerging issues. Embedding such analysis into management culture would be transformative.<\/p>

The Pontiac case also underscores the value of analytics. Engineers collected data on purchase timing, weather conditions, and fuel behavior before drawing conclusions. Similarly, organizations should cultivate a data-informed culture to assess consumer behavior, employee engagement, and market dynamics.<\/p>

However, what stands out most is the unwavering professional integrity<\/strong> of the Pontiac engineers. Faced with an unusual complaint, they refused to dismiss it, ultimately uncovering a real mechanical issue. That integrity should be a cornerstone of any organization.<\/p>

Lastly, the story speaks volumes about employee engagement<\/strong>. Investigating customer feedback invites employees\u2014at all levels\u2014to contribute meaningfully to organizational success. It fosters ownership, pride, and a sense of purpose. HR should nurture this connection with customer insights, integrating it into workplace culture and strategy.<\/p>

There is actually more to HR!<\/p>

Author: Lilit Hakobyan, Chartered MCIPD, Founder of Proservicel HR Consultancy<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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If You Want to Improve Customer Service, Fix HR First Every time I encounter low standards of customer service\u2014in shops, healthcare facilities, or public institutions\u2014I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-en"],"yoast_head":"\nIf You Want to Improve Customer Service, Fix HR First - ProService-L<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/proservice-l.com\/?p=1907\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"If You Want to Improve Customer Service, Fix HR First - 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