Competencies defined using customer/client-facing language and concepts provide a more seamless and natural connection between what an organization sells, what its people do, and what its customers/clients experience. While competency models are generally considered internal tools; they really do influence how people behave, prioritize, and communicate internally and externally.
In my experience, people more often than not crave a strong connection between what they do and what their organization does. Customer/client-centric competencies can help translate that connection into a more focused understanding of customers/clients, what they really want, and what they are willing to buy. It's an important step in aligning activity and effort with effective customer/client service.
In some organizations, terms like "client-centric" and "customer service" may be narrowly defined or understood - e.g. as answering the phone courteously (which is of course important, but represents only the tip of the opportunity iceberg). In others, a handful of competencies specific to customer/client service may have been defined for only a subset of the workforce.
The opportunity is to incorporate customer/client-facing language and supporting concepts more broadly throughout competency definitions and related material as a consistent and pervasive theme.
Customers and clients understandably care first and foremost about results - and how much they cost. But some are also interested in how those results are achieved. Their appreciation of value may be increased by some level of understanding of the competencies leveraged in producing/delivering what they buy. We sometimes make the mistake of assuming otherwise.
We may even be seduced by the freedom and autonomy of almost hoping someone will say: "I don't care how you do it; just do it." My years of client service have taught me well that some clients will want to venture "into the weeds" and others will not. Under either scenario, customer/client-centric competencies can enhance customer/client understanding of value by talking about what we do in their terms.
A focus upon customer/client-centric competencies may in and of itself be innovative for some organizations; however, the link to innovation is even more direct and profound when we consider the important role customers/clients play in ultimately funding innovation. They are, after all, the reason any of us are in business.
Following is a generic example that illustrates the difference:
Customer/client-centric competency: Develops creative solutions to problems after listening carefully to and understanding customer/client needs.
Non-customer/client-centric competency: Develops creative solutions to problems consulting internal resources as appropriate and adhering to internal policies and procedures.
Note: Complying with internal policies and following procedures are important for any number of reasons - e.g. managing risk and profitability. It's just that they are not competencies per se - they are policies and procedures.
Benefits:
- A common language of sorts - connecting what an organization sells, what its people do, and what customers/clients experience
- Enhanced customer/client satisfaction
- Appreciation that their needs are a priority and are understood by all those with whom they interface
- Deeper understanding of the value they receive
- Consistent levels of service - e.g. large, multi-location, and global organizations where "seamless service" may be both a priority and a challenge
- Active, aligned, and broad-based engagement in revenue-generating activities
Actions:
- Involving those with client-facing responsibilities in competency modeling and validation activities (yes, something of an investment - a worthwhile one)
- Describing what customer/client service really "looks like" in the form of behavioral anchors supporting individual competency definitions
- Consulting and referencing proposals, marketing collateral, and other external communications in reviewing and refining competency definitions, behavioral anchors, and other supporting materials
- Proposals and marketing materials are typically developed using customer/client-centric language and concepts. The opportunity is to carry that good work forward into the "who/what/how" elements of how people develop and how work is actually performed.
- Recognizing that language is important and choosing it thoughtfully. For example, while acronyms can provide a convenient internal shorthand; the more we rely upon them, the more we create our own insular language not readily understood by others.
- Asking the following questions:
- How would I describe a particular capability (i.e. competency) to my customers/clients?
- How would I explain how the capability directly benefits them?
- Which terms and concepts would I choose to use in my description and explanation?
- When I find myself struggling to frame a competency in client-centric terms, I think of the capability as "getting in on a piece of the action." What would translate to a real sense of ownership for customer/client satisfaction?
- Remembering that these concepts can also be applied to serving internal customers/clients - e.g. shared services centers. Thus, most competencies can become customer/client-centric.
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