Employee Relationship Marketing
This briefing note discusses the Employee Relationship Marketing (ERM) strategy that uses marketing to influence employee behavior and to create a workforce that values the MFI and its mission so that customer service becomes an operational priority. The note emphasizes that the MFIs need to motivate and incentivize the staff towards achieving that principle.
Describing the prerequisites for effective ERM program, the note argues that:
- Customer service should be a core business strategy akin to growth and profitability and should drive the staff performance;
- Customer service standards should be developed in consultation with the staff and should be communicated clearly to all staff;
- A staff, or a small team of staff, should be made responsible for designing, implementing and evaluating ERM programs.
The paper also lists the steps to operationalize the ERM program:
- Start with small initiatives that reward the staff and build their loyalty towards the long-term vision of improved customer service;
- Draw on employees who demonstrate excellent customer service delivery as revolutionaries to inspire the other staff;
- Not just communicate, but also reinforce, the key values of the organization to the staff so that they internalize the same;
- Recognize and motivate staff performance through financial, and more importantly non-financial, rewards;
- Establish manager's interaction with customers as well as frontline staff;
- Employ the right people, and train them with customer-orientation to achieve better results.
The note also discusses different ways of measuring the impact of ERM program, such as external evaluation, climate surveys, customer feedback, performance management system and process mapping. It states that the feedback loop would help in identifying the scope for improvement in the effectiveness of the program.
