Have a Layout That Lets Employees Succeed

The secretaries had just completed customer service training, and they were excited. The company had invested in them, and they had learned some great tips on how to effectively manage calls and walk-in visitors.

They had learned great techniques for diffusing upset and irate customers. They learned how to be more proactive in their communications to have fewer complaining customers as well.

Just as exciting to them was that on Monday they were going to walk into a newly renovated office! The secretaries had been operating out of a makeshift office for the past four weeks, and they were thrilled to be getting rid of their tiny temporary quarters and get into a more professional and well-decorated environment.

As they entered the new offices on Monday morning, their excitement and smiles quickly turned to frowns. The new computers were setup facing the far walls, so that as customers entered the offices, the employees would have their backs to them. How would the secretaries know when a customer entered? Would the secretaries have to turn around from their computers every 10 seconds to see if anyone was standing there?

And the telephones were located on the back wall. So if the secretary was helping a walk-in customer, she'd have to turn around, and go to the back wall to answer the phone. The rack that holds the office forms was located at the desk where the computers sat, so the secretaries would have to walk over to the computers to get the forms for the walk-in customers to serve them.
Who designed this office?

It surely wasn't somebody who was focused on delivering great customer service. The employees had been excited about their new knowledge and skills learned in training, but now they had an office setup that was setting them up for failure.

Delivering stellar customer service requires more than smiling and making eye contact. It requires a company with a "systems" mindset for service. What is the entire service process or system like? What's the most efficient and customer-friendly way to serve a customer?

Organizations that truly want to be great at customer service will design their facilities to make it easy on the employee to be organized, efficient, and customer-focused.
Assess your facility for its service shortcomings. Then change the layout to let your employees succeed.