Internal Customer Service is the Key to ECI's Success
November 1, 2005
Elkhart, IN - Is it possible for most businesses to experience phenomenal growth by tweaking their customer service methodologies? A highly debated topic since the 90s and one that has seen tremendous amounts of change with the advent of today’s technology rise, customer service is still seen as one of the most important keys in any successful business.
Electronic Commerce, Inc. (ECI), a leader in business process outsourcing of payroll, human resources, benefits, timekeeping and tax, has been recognized several times for their outstanding growth accomplishments. Most recently, ECI was selected as a 2005 Indiana Entrepreneurial Awards of Distinction finalist by the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation for achieving a 65 percent increase in revenue for a combined two year period. Rapid growth and success is something that ECI continues to experience. How do they do it? Their simple, yet profound secret shouldn’t surprise most.
Jeff Lacy, ECI President and CEO, said, “It is a combination of serious, enthusiastic internal and external customer service partnered with great products that businesses need today. We constantly review our policies and products and develop solutions that result in happier clients.” Lacy believes the insight from this approach will leave an impact on any business when leaders take the time to apply it.
Here is an example of that impact. Jodi Blakenship is the Director of Human Resources at Goshen Coach, a large manufacturer of small to medium size shuttle and paratransit buses. Blakenship decided to switch to ECI’s Time software to manage their time and attendance data. “We were looking for a cost effective solution and with ECI Time we’ll be saving nearly $20,000 a year in processing fees alone.” The only catch was the three week window provided to ECI for software implementation.
ECI recognized the challenge and joined together to get the job done. Blakenship said, “Not only did they pull through, but 2 weeks into programming, I switched from magnetic badge clocks to the biometrics clocks and we were still up and running on schedule.” In fact, she was so impressed she used ECI as an example in her Quality Management class that she’s taking as part of an MBA program. “I have been very pleased with the customer service and the response. The most important thing about customer service is that you leave the customer satisfied.” Chalk one up to ECI for another satisfied customer.
How can you make sure your clients are happily satisfied and your business continues to see growth and success? Here are some tips from ECI on how to implement a good internal customer service program within your business.
- Good morale among employees creates good internal customer service. Make sure you have done what you can to ensure your employees are happy. This will translate in positive relationships and productivity among departments.
- Provide each client with a “team” made up of individuals from each applicable department enabling you to provide an integrated approach. Internal communication is critical to success.
- Develop internal schedules. Make sure each department respects the need for deadlines and answers questions appropriately preparing everyone to better serve customers .
- “Back up” staff should be identified for every client. The “back ups” should receive timely updates on status for applicable clients. Very few employee absences are planned.
- Document everything pertaining to clients in one system. When a client calls with questions, their history can be reviewed and their questions hopefully answered quicker.
- Open the lines for communication. Employees at every level should strive to interact with other departments. This can be done through training events, company picnics, offsite events, day-to-day activities or creative gatherings such as promotion parties.
- Organize “Best Practice” meetings immediately after a project is finished. This allows for everyone on the team to learn what worked and what didn’t work. Integrate what has been learned into future projects.
- Make sure your employees have a sense of ownership and pride of the service or product your business provides. They will be more apt to positively produce if they have a sense of ownership.
These internal customer service tactics coupled with ECI’s highest priority--always be helpful; nothing is more important than being courteous, friendly and prompt--has demonstrated that good customer service can build greater customer loyalty and increased profits.
ECI (www.ecipay.com) offers payroll, human resources, benefits, timekeeping and tax outsourcing to customers in 48 states. ECI’s client base crosses multiple industries from coast to coast; both publicly traded and privately held. ECI’s corporate headquarters are located in Elkhart, Indiana with sales offices in Elkhart, Indianapolis and South Bend, Indiana; Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, Michigan; and Cleveland, Ohio. ECI was a winner of the 2004 Growth 100 award recognizing the fastest growing companies in Indiana. ECI was founded in 1996 and is a SAS70 audited company.