Employee Loyalty – Worth Investing In

In the modern business environment, the conditions under which many companies operate are constantly changing. Clients/Customers demand more than simply the core product or service. They often seek a wide range of values, attitudes and experiences. To what extent a company is able to deliver such an expanded product largely depends on whether the company employs staff with the ‘right’ competencies, motivation and commitment.

To develop a holistic and more profound customer experience requires well-functioning teamwork between employees, as well as successful interplay between employees and management. The importance of focusing on employees is emphasised by Hoekstra et al (1999) as they correctly suggest “every employee in a business has his/her own responsibility for creating superior client value”.

There are strong arguments for a series of relationships between employee’s job satisfaction, employee loyalty, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and bottom line results and this conceptual framework has been termed many names including ‘the loyalty-based cycle of growth’ (Reichheld, 1996), ‘the service-profit chain’ (Heskett et al., 1997), and ‘the employee-customer-profit chain’ (Brooks, 2000). Several studies (Brooks, 2000; Dahlgaard et al., 1998; Grønholdt & Martensen, 2003; Homburg & Stock, 2003, 2004 to name a few) provide documented evidence of this employee customer-profit chain, either in its entirety, or some of the links.

The service-profit chain establishes relationships between profitability, customer loyalty, and employee satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity. The links in the chain (which should be regarded as propositions) are as follows: Profit and growth are stimulated primarily by customer loyalty. Loyalty is a direct result of customer satisfaction. Satisfaction is largely influenced by the value of services provided to customers. Value is created by satisfied, loyal, and productive employees. Employee satisfaction, in turn, results primarily from high-quality support services and policies that enable employees to deliver results to customers.

Companies that make an effort to achieve committed and loyal employees are found to achieve significant increases in the earnings per employee (Bashaw & Grant, 1994; Konovsky & Cropanzano, 1991; Mayer & Schoorman, 1992; Moorman et al., 1993).

Given these facts, one may assume every business has a detailed plan and solid processes in place to ensure employees are engaged. Unfortunately, this is generally not the case. Employers typically do just enough to ensure the majority of employees don’t leave; they train just enough, they offer just enough benefits, and they give just enough positive reinforcement. Is this the right way to approach employee loyalty? Consider these two facts:

• Each year the average company loses 20-50% of its employee base
– Bain & Company
• Replacing a lost employee on average costs 150% of that person’s annual salary
– Columbia University

Because the cost of replacing employees is so high, and the fact that so many continue to leave, businesses who effectively manage the employee engagement process can turn these facts around, making the burdens a strength. They can realise increased productivity, happier employees who willingly promote the business, and eventually, greater profits and other positive business outcomes. As an employer, one needs to understand why employees are emotionally connected to the business – and it’s generally much more than salaries, training, or benefits. Research shows that emotionally connected employees are the best employees because they are engaged and productive, and they feel validated and appreciated.

Employee engagement takes a village. Too many companies simply chalk it up to a HR focus and let that department deal with it. In reality, it’s everyone’s initiative – setting a purpose, communicating that purpose, equipping people to serve that purpose, and rewarding them for doing so. It’s every department/office in a company, and it’s up to every individual. It’s much more than just customer service – it’s every employee in the organization. Whether they interface with clients/customers directly or not, they have an impact on client/customer retention (and revenue). Employee engagement equals client/customer engagement and retention.

The reward? Organisations in which employees are primarily motivated by shared values and a commitment to a mission and purpose (also known as self-governing) are more likely to have high client/customer satisfaction than other firms. The employees believe in what they’re doing and they believe in what it can do for clients/customers, so they get invested in maintaining their part of that relationship for the sake of the purpose.

Reichheld and Sasser estimate that a 5% increase in client/customer loyalty can produce profit increases from 25% to 85%. They conclude that quality of market share, measured in terms of customer loyalty, deserves as much attention as quantity of share. Given the well-established link between engaged, loyal employees and the client/customer experience, employee loyalty is worth investing in, even for the smaller business.

 

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind – Physical Fitness is Good For Business

It shouldn’t be surprising to anyone that that if something’s good for your body, it’s good for your brain too. After all, the brain is part of the body so it makes perfect sense. Drawing on this, it makes further sense then, that exercise is good for the brain. The following image shows the effect of just a 20 minute walk on the brain:

It is perfectly reasonable to consider that there may be a correlation between physical activity / fitness and business performance given that running a business requires energy, sound judgement and clear decision making.

Australia is today ranked as one of the fattest nations in the developed world. The prevalence of obesity in Australia has more than doubled in the past 20 years. Using data from the 2011-12 Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Health Survey, Monash University provides some confronting facts:

• Fourteen million Australians are either overweight or obese
• If weight gain continues at current levels, by 2025, close to 80% of all Australian adults and a third of all children will be overweight or obese.

It is all too common that in the week to week routine of building and running a business and in some cases managing family commitments, time for exercise is sacrificed to make way for other tasks. However if your body isn’t healthy, its quite possible the harder you work the less productive you will be.  Inefficiency and ineffectiveness directly impacts your bottom line in a negative way.

Multiple studies have demonstrated a “significantly” positive correlation between physical activity and academic performance in children, while a 2007 University of Georgia study demonstrated that better ability to focus, improved confidence and enhanced ability to follow through were directly attributed to improved fitness levels.

Dr. John Ratey, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard draws upon ground breaking research in his book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, to explain how exercise enhances learning, lowers stress and anxiety, and can help the aging brain stay young. His proposition that – ‘exercise is the single most powerful tool to optimize one’s brain function’ – is based on evidence gathered from hundreds of research papers, most of them published only within the last decade. In one such study at Colombia University, neurologist Scott Small put a group of volunteers on a 3 month exercise regimen and then took pictures of their brains. The capillary volume in the memory area of the hippocampus increased by 30%, a remarkable change.

Dr Wendy Suzuki started simply – by going to an exercise class. Eventually, she noticed that not only did she begin to get fit, she also became sharper, had more energy, and her memory improved. Being a neuroscientist, a neuroscientist she wanted to know why. She began an impromptu experiment on her own brain and she was taken aback by some unexpected results. She not only looked forward to exercise, but noticed that work such as writing grants and research, came easier on the days she worked out.

Her Ted talk “Exercise and the Brain” can be found by following the link below. In it she describes how what she learned transformed her body and her life. She explains that exercise can improve your learning, memory & cognition.

TED – Wendy Suzuki – Exercise and the Brain

We’re living in competitive times. Exercise can give you an edge to help you succeed in today’s business world. Whether you prefer to stay active through gym, running, cycling, a marathon or yoga class, It’s the author’s belief that a sound body creates a sound mind, which in turn will lead to sound business decisions. Succeeding in this area isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be hard either. A lot of it just comes down to establishing healthy habits and then finding ways to reinforce them. Fortunately, in this day and age there are an increasing number of technology-based tools that make it easier than ever. However like Dr Suzuki, try starting simply – begin by introducing a walk a few mornings a week before work, and build from there.

Simple Business Development Strategies for Professional Advisers

Products are tangible. You can see them, feel them and usually sample or test drive them before you buy. Services, on the other hand, are not. Typically it’s only after a service has been performed for you that you know if you like it, can see how it works, and you’re able to decide if it will solve your problem or produce the results you’re looking for.

When it comes to the provision of financial advice, there is a major shift taking place away from product-based transactional services and towards client-centric strategic advice. As with any change, there are early adopters, who have grasped this evolution, and moved ‘ahead of the pack’ however evidence suggests that there are still many who are struggling with this, and its implications for their existing business models. This mindset shift is however, one that the retail client is also yet to fully accept… Many examples exist of clients who struggle to accept the concept of a ‘fee for advice’ in the absence of a transaction (this will be the topic of a future article)

There is an old saying in marketing, ‘People do business with people they know, like and trust.’ This is particularly relevant for services, and thus with this in mind, below are some simple business development strategies for professional service providers:

• Be Inspiring:

How you come across and relate to a prospective client or centre of influence will often be the difference between an enquiry and a business relationship. When you’re genuine, positive and passionate, and display enthusiasm and confidence in your value proposition, prospective clients will find you inspiring and an engaging person to do business with.

• Have a professional online presence:

Having an online presence not only gives you credibility as a business, but it reduces your need to personally address frequently asked questions, over and over again. Although people often still rely on recommendations from people they know and trust (family/friends/colleagues) when choosing a service provider, a ‘Google’ or other online search is the most popular way people do their own research to help them choose among service providers. Ensure your online presence is modern, easy to navigate and clearly articulates your value proposition and ideal clientele.

• Encourage referrals and word-of-mouth business:

It’s often said that the best client is one that is referred from another ideal client.  While the author’s recent work involving a number of client surveys by professional services businesses indicates that many clients are prepared to refer, (particularly to a business that they trust and that provides a good service experience), asking for a referral is still something that many service professionals do not do often. Regularly ask for referrals from your existing clients and actively refer your clients to others whenever possible. This will help grow your network and encourage the people you’ve referred business to, to look out for business to refer to you.

• Form strategic alliances:

Create relationships with other business owners with a similar target market and ask them to refer their clients to your business when they notice an opportunity and offer to do the same for them.

• Become an expert in a particular niche:

When you’re viewed as an expert in something, often you will find that even people within your own profession/field will refer business to you when their clients need assistance that’s outside their area of expertise. Another benefit is that the media will often seek out your comments for news items.

• Speak at conferences or events:

Sharing your expertise with others through speaking is another way to be more visible and to demonstrate your credibility to potential clients. People are more likely to remember who you are once they’ve seen you speak at an event.

• Network with your target market or potential business referrers:

Choose networking events where you’ll either have an opportunity to meet your target clients or potential strategic alliance partners or referral sources and actively connect people whenever you see an opportunity to do so.

• Get published / Use Media:

Write articles and where possible publish them through multiple mediums. A newsletter, blog or even a regular column in a local newspaper will increase your credibility and encourage clients to want to do business with you. Prospective clients or centres of influence may peruse your blog to get a feel for your experience and knowledge.

• Follow up effectively:

After meeting a potential client or centre of influence, ensure that you follow up by arranging a subsequent meeting, phone call or coffee. Stay in contact by inviting them to join your newsletter mailing list or ask them to be your guest at an upcoming event. Whichever approach you employ, build a sales and marketing plan that you action easily and on a regular basis. Remember, it’s often said that the best time to be marketing is when you don’t need the business… If you’re always adding to the pipeline you will rarely find yourself short of opportunities.

While it’s not rocket science, and as outlined above there are many simple strategies one can employ to assist with the business development function, it is all too often the case that practitioners get caught up in their day to day work, in particular when things are busy, and don’t think about business development until things quieten down. Remember, business development requires lead time, and new clients take time to convert, so to reiterate, the best time to be marketing is when you don’t need the business. Keep it simple, and regular.

Client Segmentation

Many financial professionals have traditionally taken great pride in treating all their clients equally, and providing the same excellent service, regardless of their value to the firm. However, in a modern, competitive business environment, is this approach realistic? Regardless of whether one is an advisor with a mature practice (often reflected by a large book of clients and struggling to keep up service levels while remaining profitable), or an adviser with a relatively young practice that is looking to grow over the coming years, a more pragmatic approach to managing your clients is highly beneficial. Properly segmenting your book of business, or reviewing your segmentation framework is an extremely important element of robust business model.

Client segmentation can provide an excellent way to serve each tier of client, leaving you room to develop your most valuable clients while avoiding burnout. Categorizing your existing client relationships and developing internal service models for each one allows you to prioritize how your team’s time is spent. While some segmenting methods focus on the dollar value of each client, there are multiple approaches (some very simple, some much more complex) financial advisers and other financial professionals can take to evaluate clients. An ideal segmentation model remains flexible enough to evaluate each client’s present and future potential while clearly quantifying the cost to serve.

In brief, the purpose of client segmentation is to:

• Divide your existing client base into smaller segments that allow more efficient service
• Determine which segment(s) to target your business development efforts towards

Most financial advisors can easily name their top clients, but in order to segment a whole book, a more formal approach is required. In order to segment effectively, one needs to develop an intimate understanding of how much each client generates in revenue as well as be able to quantify the time and effort it takes to serve each client in order to develop an accurate measure of profitability for each.

There have been numerous articles and studies aimed at estimating average cost to serve various client demographics, but the reality is, costs to serve is dependent on a number of practice specific elements, and as such, undertaking a genuine costing exercise is beneficial for all business owners.

To obtain the information one needs to begin (or review) the segmentation process, consider the following questions:

1. How much revenue does each client generate?
2. What is the cost-to-serve for each client?
3. Which clients are most profitable?
4. What are the practices growth areas?
5. What qualities does practice’s ‘ideal’ client have?

Once adequate information has been collated for analysis, one needs to determine what metrics will be used to guide the segmentation process. Many advisors have historically used simple calculations based on funds under management (FUM). In an old world of commission-based revenue models, this was often sufficient, however in a new world of fee based advice, there are alternatives that are better suited to the revenue models of the modern practice, which can capture more detail about the current and potential relationships with each client.

Whichever methodology one chooses to employ, it is important that one allows enough flexibility in the model for special cases or niche clients that may offer opportunities for future business. The following are a few of the most common metrics the author sees used in segmentation methodologies:

1. Segment by Revenue to the Practice – This methodology is very popular with practices that employ an asset based remuneration model. Under this method, clients are segmented by the total revenue the practice receives from the client, and it will often result in a similar client breakdown to segmentation by assets under management. Similar to the assets under management methodology, there is potential to push a wealthy client into a lower service bracket if one purely considers revenue received and overlooks wealth not under advice. Whether it is the sole driver of the segmentation model or an overly to other metric, the revenue metric is one that should definitely be considered.
2. Segment by Total Client Net Worth. Segmenting clients by their total net worth, including assets held elsewhere is a popular way to segment a book, particularly among advisors who charge fees based on total wealth. For example, many HNW clients hold significant wealth in real estate, but may ask the advice of a financial professional, even though the assets are held away from the firm. The advantage of this system is that it doesn’t privilege clients with more assets under management over wealthy clients with significant outside assets.
3. Segment by Total Client Investable Assets. Another popular metric is to segment clients by total financial assets, including those held in outside accounts. Many clients choose to spread their financial assets among multiple advisors and investment accounts. One reason some do so is to maintain direct control over some portion of their wealth. The benefit of this segmentation approach is that it allows you to include assets that you could bring over.
4. Segment by Assets Under Management. This is the simplest and most common approach used by advisors to segment their books. Under this method, clients are segmented by the financial assets directly held by your firm. The obvious downside of this metric is that you will not account for client assets held elsewhere, potentially pushing a wealthy client into a lower service bracket and risking the future of the client relationship.
5. Include other metrics. While the metrics listed above use various measures of client assets, there are many more that one can use. Here are a few more metrics one should keep in mind:
   • Complexity of client advice
   • Type of Advice
   • Client Life Stage
   • Advocacy (Number of referrals provided)
   • Professional or important affiliation
   • Cost to serve (be sure to get input from all client-facing members of your team)

A simple segmentation matrix is outlined below as an example:

A client segmentation project is an excellent way to determine a practices most profitable clients, evaluate where to focus marketing efforts, and quantify how much effort is required to serve the client. While many financial professionals spend most of their time and money on general business development efforts, a targeted approach can increase one’s return on marketing investments, and improve the overall profitability of the business.

 

How (and Why) to Build Employee Loyalty

For years companies have invested in customer loyalty through programs, incentives, customer service operations and more. Meanwhile, not nearly as much attention has been placed on a segment that has proven, direct correlations to customer retention: employee engagement and loyalty. In business you need people you can depend on to ‘have your back’, to commit to your business vision and make the journey to success with you. Your employees are your income protection. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a service or product/merchandise business, it’s important to have loyal employees that stand with you. Finding them may just turn out to be the easy part. Keeping them, on the other hand, is a totally different story and explains the importance of building employee loyalty. This article will refer to financial services businesses in particular due to the author’s affinity to this profession, however the key points are equally transferrable across other businesses within (and without of) the financial services profession.

Your ‘Front’- In any type of business, the boss is rarely the one to greet a customer at the door. It will, more than likely, be an employee.  A loyal employee will extend the same welcome to a client as you yourself would, because he/she understands the importance of keeping the client happy and the consequences if you don’t. How do you achieve this? The answer is quite simple: You lead by example. There are a number of great promoters of the service experience. Ron Kaufman is one who has a passion for service that is as strong as any the author has seen. Engaging your team in a process of identifying client contact points, and challenging them to contribute ideas for improving the service experience will reap benefits on several levels. It will increase their engagement, get their ‘buy-in’ to the concept and demonstrate that their ideas and input are valued. You have just created a win/win situation. The engaged and loyal employee will provide a far superior client experience both upfront and ongoing to that of a disengaged individual with lower loyalty.

Your ‘Engine Room’- No matter who the boss is, there will always be workers. In the case of the financial services business, the author often refers to these people as the ‘engine room’. While you are busy acquiring or reviewing clients, they are the ones taking care of production (it doesn’t matter if it’s chasing down outstanding information for an application or corresponding to set coming meetings) so you can have maximum time available for revenue producing work. Why is it important to have loyal employees for this? Because, you can rely on them to get the job done effectively and efficiently without major fallout. Furthermore, they love their job and they are well trained and know what they’re doing. If you have to keep training new people because you haven’t built loyalty with the veteran employees, you will only be hurting yourself. Not only is it time consuming, it’s expensive.  A study by Columbia University suggests that replacing a lost employee can cost up to 150% of that person’s annual salary. Not only do beginners work slower, because they’re unfamiliar with the business’ systems and processes, there is a higher likelihood they will make more mistakes, requiring more time  to be spent double checking work. This leads to inefficient operations, ergo less time to spend with clients on revenue producing activities. You can motivate your team by clearly articulating the business vision, getting their ‘buy-in’, setting goals and rewarding them for reaching them. It doesn’t have to be a huge thing, or even monetary; it’s about recognition and demonstrating that you are aware of the effort put forward by each of your employees. Regularly updating them as to how things are tracking is crucial. Have a function once a year to celebrate their accomplishments and the success of the business. This need not be an expensive exercise.

Your ‘Dependents’- You are responsible for your employees. Let them know that you understand this responsibility and that you have their best interest at heart. If you show your employees that you genuinely care about their welfare, there is nothing (within reason) they won’t do for you and your business. It’s your job to make sure there is plenty of work for them and it’s their job to make sure it gets done. Just as a well-oiled machine runs smoothly, an appreciated team works optimally. Above all, don’t forget to stop and say hello, ask how he/she is, pat a shoulder now and then.  Even when you get to the point where you have managers, don’t forget you are the boss, their team leader, and they want to know you still see them. The magic to loyalty is to be a true leader.

All in all, building loyalty is about being aware of what is going on in the business, and with your subordinates and subsequently acting upon it. Studies demonstrate that companies who make an effort to achieve committed and loyal employees will achieve significant increases in the earnings per employee (Bashaw & Grant, 1994; Konovsky & Cropanzano, 1991; Mayer & Schoorman, 1992; Moorman et al., 1993). A little creativity and a lot of common sense will get you to the point of optimizing your workforce and letting you build a solid foundation for a prospering business.