You Get What You Expect

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I have worked with a wide range of companies through the years. Large and small, good and not so good, I've tried to capture some simple principles that seem to hold true across all of them. One of those principles is that you get what you expect out of your front-line service providers.

I've witnessed companies who appear to expect that their people are unprofessional slackers who must be constantly monitored so that they can be caught when they make some gross mistake with a customer. Their expectations are low. Their hiring practices, pay scale and organizational structure all reflect the low expectations. The result is, as you might expect, service that is average at best.

Then I've watched companies who expect the best of their people. A high standard is set in professional behavior and service delivery. They set higher standards in their hiring practice, they pay well, they set goals, they educate and equip and they reward excellence while refusing to tolerate behaviors which fall short of the standard. The result is, as you might expect, service that exceeds.

What does you company expect? What do you expect? Are you serving to win, or serving not to lose?