Employees Love the Story, Too

Last week, I covered the idea of the story. Customers love to read the stories of other customers using the products they are interested in purchasing.

Reviews are where they start.

High ratings can turn into high interest. Customer commentary in the review—as in how much they are enjoying the product and how they are using the product—can push a potential customer to make the purchase.

There is a similar benefit to employees reading reviews. While they may not be buying the product, the reviews help them buy into the company they work for. It provides validation, credibility and even a sense of pride.

One of our clients asked whether they should share survey results with their team. His question was, “Should they go to everyone in the company or just leadership?

On a regular basis, share your positive reviews with everyone. This could be at a weekly team meeting or even a quarterly event. Some of my clients have reviews and surveys returned daily and choose to share them every day in their morning huddles. While that frequency may be a bit much for many, the idea is that there is a steady flow of sharing, whether it’s daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly.

The good stories are great to share, but what about the bad ones?

What about the occasional—at least I hope it’s just occasional—complaint from an unhappy customer? Do you share those? The short answer is, “Absolutely!”

You don’t need to share all negative reviews and complaints, just the ones everyone can learn from. There will be some complaints that are directed to an individual because of a poor attitude. That is not the type of negative review you share with the team. Addressing the individual responsible for the complaint is a teaching and coaching opportunity for that specific employee. The type of reviews and complaints you want to share with the team have to do with customers experiencing a flaw in your process. The lesson on how these are handled is definitely worth sharing.

The accolades are stories you want to share with everyone. After all, everyone loves a good story. The negative comments and complaints along with how they were handled also make for a good story. It’s that second part—how they are handled well—that turns the negative into a positive. That’s the important part—the opportunity for learning—that you want your team to know about.

Everyone loves the story—both your customers and your employees!