leadership matters
The Link Between
Culture and Customer
WHAT DOES HR HAVE TO DO WITH CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE? MORE THAN YOU MAY THINK. By Karen Stone, CHRE
We know that the role of
human resources includes
stewarding effective
recruitment functions,
professional career development and
performance management programs
within the workplace.
And yet many of us may not often
consider HR’s contribution and impact
on the day-to-day experience of the
clients, customers and business partners
in workplaces.
As this month’s cover story details,
HR can have a lot more influence on the
customer experience. As the architects of
high-performing cultures, HR can play a
large role in designing workplace strategies
and programs to support a great employee
experience, which in turn can have a direct
correlation to an employee ensuring a
positive customer experience.
The example in our cover story is that
of a well-known retail chain – Lululemon
– that had an instance whereby a
customer-facing retail staff member had
made unprofessional comments about
a customer’s weight in their presence.
Some may conclude the staff member
who made the comment is solely at fault.
However, in examining a little deeper, the
cause of this behaviour is rarely just about
one factor (in this case, the individual
employee’s actions), according to customer
service expert Marc Gordon. It’s about
HR’s implementation of the culture
they’ve designed as much as it is about an
individual employee.
Continued on page 7
HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA ❚ AUGUST 2017 ❚ 5