As the Process and Implementation Leader at People Science, I work with a great group of diverse people, whom I refer to as my clients – this includes my internal team at People Science and of course, our customers who make it all possible.
With this comes the challenge of being able to manage each one of those clients successfully; and I’ve found a key way to do this is to define each client’s “value system”. To me, the term “value system”, refers to the client’s own individual preferences that drive and guides their likes and dislikes when working with you. Do they prefer a phone call or email? Do they like a high level explanation or detailed response? Do they appreciate daily or weekly updates? Knowing their value system will give you structure and purpose in your work by helping you determine what is meaningful and important to clients.
First, listen and learn. [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][optinlocker] When working with a new team member or customer really take the time to listen to them. The more you understand their likes/dislikes and thought process, the easier it will be to find ways to improve their experience with you.
Second, get out of your comfort zone. This can be a tough one, but nothing great comes easy, right? Maybe you’re a bit shy and don’t want to get on a webcam for a meeting with your customers, but they value the face to face connection. Just try it! Doing things a different way will help you stretch your limits and in the end, you may even learn a few new things to add to your playbook.
Finally, follow up! You can go out of your way as much as you’d like, but until you receive feedback, you will never know if your effort is being appreciated. Take the time to follow up with your clients and ask them how they feel things are going, or if there is anything you could do differently to improve their experience. Being able to measure your performance and change your strategy based on open feedback is invaluable.
Being able to listen, learn and adapt to your client’s value system will help build appreciation and trust, whether it’s within your own team, or with a customer partnership.
By Jessica Oberto | People Science Director of Process Engineering
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