Back in the 90’s the Royal Bank of Canada had a series of TV commercials touting the theme, “Building a Better Bank, One Customer at a Time.” The message, as I recall, was that RBC treats each customer as a unique individual and strives to win them over, one-at-a-time.
I frequently refer to this ad campaign in my management development workshops. The parallels are natural…
- RBC has customers, current and new. Managers have employees, current and newly hired.
- RBC seeks to understand the individual needs of each customer and then find a way to satisfy them. The best managers learn what their employees want from working and, in return for good performance, try hard to satisfy this.
- Customers who are treated as individuals and given good service will become customers that stay and continue to bring their business to the bank. Employees who feel cared about and whose needs are met from their job are employees who remain fully engaged and deliver solid performance.
- Finally, RBC customers who are treated this way will reinforce the message by telling other RBC customers and prospective customers. Employees who are treated this way will tell other employees and overall loyalty to the employer will go up.
The lesson for managers is to really get to know your staff, what they are looking for in their job, and what they aspire to down the road. Periodically, check in on how your people are doing, whether they are still satisfied and engaged, and if there is any way you (the manager) can help them be more successful in performing their job.
Your employees are different. They have different personalities. Each one is unique. Each responds to specific motivators and these shift over time.
The best bosses win their team members’ loyalty, engagement, and retentionone employee at at time!