An Integrated Approach to Business Excellence

A closer look at the integrated processes for prime, principle, core concepts and business excellence

Integrated Process (ONE)

To achieve business excellence, leadership must have a clear customer focus

 

"Delight the Customer" means:

"Exceeding customers' expectations in what matters most to them"

What am I supposed to do?

place customer satisfaction at the top of the agenda establish goals and systems that enhance customer satisfaction take into consideration the needs and expectations of both external and internal customers monitor changes in customer preferences and, to some extent, anticipating them

What does "Delight the Customer" show?

It shows the extent to which the organisation:

listens to its customers

determines current and future customer requirements and expectations

uses feedback from customers to improve its products and services

Delight the Customer is translated into practice by TWO CORE CONCEPTS: External Customer Satisfaction and Internal Customer Satisfaction.

 

EXTERNAL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION (ECS)

Quality must be incorporated into all activities with a clear customer focus. Customers usually compare perceptions of what they actually received from the organisation with their expectations (what they were expecting to get from the organisation). Customer delight arises when perceptions exceed expectations.

What does "External Customer Satisfaction" show?

It shows the extent to which the organisation...

uses methods for determining and monitoring external customer's perceived quality and value

uses customer feedback to improve product/service quality

handles complaints, resolves them, and uses complaint information for quality improvement and prevention of recurrence of problems

measures performance against customer targets

compares its customer satisfaction results with that of main competitors

 

INTERNAL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION (ICS)

Getting the internal relationships working is essential if external customers are to be satisfied. Every single person in the organisation has an effect on the external customers. Internal co-operation needs to be stimulated to enhance organisational performance. The most effective leadership style tends to give high importance to teams and employee participation.

What does "Internal Customer Satisfaction" show?

It shows the extent to which the organisation:

uses methods for improving co-ordination of interdependent tasks

makes every people aware of the fact that they all have customers and suppliers

there is a strong employee interaction with customers and suppliers

focuses on external customers when tasks are being performed

 

WHY FOLLOW THIS PROCESS?

By delighting the customer you can turn satisfied customers into loyal customers. Loyalty generates repeated purchases and increased revenues, thus leading to organisational excellence Employee satisfaction is needed to support continuous improvement and external customer satisfaction. Delighted employees who feel proud of their work have an outstanding performance, thus having a positive impact on business excellence.