WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:06.640 --> 00:00:09.530 To become a customer focused organization, you need to give more 00:00:09.540 --> 00:00:12.850 power to the employees who know them best, your frontline staff. 00:00:13.489 --> 00:00:17.189 In our years advising companies on how to do this, my co author Noel Tische 00:00:17.190 --> 00:00:21.849 and I have identified five ways to break down those barriers and unleash the 00:00:21.850 --> 00:00:23.850 creative talent of your frontline workers. 00:00:24.300 --> 00:00:26.880 First, change the organizational context. 00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:31.240 Move from a top down organization to one that empowers frontline employees. 00:00:31.605 --> 00:00:35.934 One CEO of a quick service restaurant initiated a 10 policy 00:00:36.125 --> 00:00:40.465 empowering any employee to spend that much to fix a customer problem. 00:00:40.995 --> 00:00:43.565 Second, get rid of unnecessary work. 00:00:44.064 --> 00:00:48.114 We use a tool from General Electric asking people to identify unnecessary 00:00:48.114 --> 00:00:53.115 reports, approvals, meetings, measurements, and policies that get 00:00:53.115 --> 00:00:54.735 in the way of serving customers. 00:00:54.915 --> 00:00:55.735 It's called RAMP. 00:00:56.285 --> 00:00:58.974 Third, streamline the processes you do need. 00:00:59.545 --> 00:01:00.965 Pepsi's Bottling Division. 00:01:01.375 --> 00:01:05.885 Has, for instance, invested in handheld technology to optimize routes and 00:01:05.895 --> 00:01:08.015 inventory for its delivery drivers. 00:01:08.645 --> 00:01:12.275 The company then asked those drivers to spend the time they saved with their 00:01:12.275 --> 00:01:16.354 customers in their stores, identifying product display or cross promotional 00:01:16.354 --> 00:01:18.355 opportunities that could boost sales. 00:01:19.035 --> 00:01:21.855 Fourth, get real time data from the front line. 00:01:22.435 --> 00:01:26.855 Spanish fast fashion retailer Zara asks its store managers and salespeople 00:01:26.865 --> 00:01:28.664 for information on a daily basis. 00:01:29.190 --> 00:01:33.649 This includes not only quantitative cash register receipts, but also qualitative 00:01:33.690 --> 00:01:37.350 customer comments about things like color preferences or skirt lengths. 00:01:37.960 --> 00:01:42.169 The company can then quickly adapt a product globally or for a specific region. 00:01:42.830 --> 00:01:47.490 Fifth, deliberately promote multi level and multi generational collaboration. 00:01:48.080 --> 00:01:51.190 Crowdsourcing and internal idea markets are just two of the ways 00:01:51.230 --> 00:01:54.560 that leaders can encourage this sort of cross hierarchical dialogue. 00:01:55.060 --> 00:01:58.429 A simple example was a retailer that put iPhones and a protective 00:01:58.429 --> 00:02:01.870 case on a security cord which only the store manager could unlock. 00:02:02.270 --> 00:02:05.580 Customers hated the policy because they couldn't pick up the device 00:02:05.600 --> 00:02:06.899 and easily get a feel for it. 00:02:07.509 --> 00:02:10.389 When the policy was changed based on frontline feedback, 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:12.390 sales rose more than 30%. 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:15.790 The idea is to get intelligence from the frontline about 00:02:15.790 --> 00:02:17.350 what customers really want. 00:02:17.940 --> 00:02:19.339 Hierarchy gets in the way. 00:02:19.880 --> 00:02:22.070 It's your job as a leader to change that.