Creating an environment where both customers and employees want to pledge their loyalty takes more than good intentions. It takes good planning. Throwing employees in the water to see how well they swim is a recipe for failure, not success.

Creating an environment where both customers and employees want to pledge their loyalty takes more than good intentions. It takes good planning.

By Eugene Sacco, President, DATATrue

Creating an environment where both customers and employees want to pledge their loyalty takes more than good intentions. It takes good planning.

As rent-to-own companies begin to compete as aggressively for qualified workers as they do for customers, we must improve our ability to develop and retain talented staff. Losing talented employees costs more than money, it costs customers.

Young people - Generation-X and the new generation called "Millennials" - don't want their father's workplace. They expect to have fun at work. They want to feel excited and engaged and they expect that you will ask for their opinions. They want work that matters, even if they don't plan on staying too long.

The challenge of finding qualified people is getting tougher and it will get worse. The good news is that there are things every company can do to help create customer and employee loyalty.

Here is a short check list for creating a workforce that will help your business grow:

Hire right
Put the time in up-front to understand what kind of people thrive in your culture. Identify specifically what kinds of attitudes and skills serve your customer best. Remember that a key customer caring skill like empathy cannot be taught, it must be hired. Make sure the applicant gets interviewed by a number of people. Check references. Consider a background check as well because even with multiple interviews, do you really get to know a person enough to entrust them with the care of your customers?

Orientation
It's not enough to show someone the rest rooms, the A/R department and the cafeteria. Companies that deliver world-class service, even small companies, must have a formal orientation program that includes company values and clear expectations.

Training
Rent to Own managers and owners must make sure that their new employee knows what is expected of them. The clearer the job description and the clearer the expectations are communicated, the better a new hire's chance for success. Throwing employees in the water to see how well they swim is a recipe for failure, not success. Train everyone working for you in recovery skills and the art of dealing with an angry customer. Know that today's workers expect you to provide them with more than just the training to do their job. They expect to be taught skills that help them grow professionally.

Create an Environment Where People can be heard
The key relationship skills in business today have to do with building trust, respecting other's ideas and opinions, and communicating honestly without blame or judgment. If you want your employees to care about your customers, you must create an environment where your employees feel cared for.

Just as customer loyalty is critical to the long-term success of your business, so too is employee loyalty. It's never too late to look at the systems you have set up to support your business growth in the future.

One of the services available to DATATrue clients, in addition to the many services geared for improved customer/speed of service, front end fraud detection and back end Skip Tracing/collection tools, is the ability to run background checks for both potential employees as well as higher end clients. Fraud can occur on both sides of the counter. DATATrue clients take the necessary steps through the system to bust fraud regardless of which side of the counter it presents itself. Contact Dan Jobrack at djobrack@datatrue.net, phone 209-951-9375 or visit our website at www.datatrue.net.