FEATURE sTOrY overqualified. Of course not! We would pay as much as we could afford to get the best lawyer relative to the expected value of possible sanctions. Yet old school views of employees as expenses cause us to make silly decisions like looking for the cheapest help instead of investing in expertise and labor that will give us the best possible returns. One of the most glaring workplace examples of fixating on costs at the expense of value shows up in customer service groups. Customer service employees may be the lowest paid in the company, yet they often have the greatest direct impact on ClV. If elV were considered when hiring and evaluating customer service employees, they would, no doubt, get a bump in social stature along with a bump in training, empowerment, pay, and other investments. a high elV employee in customer service can extend the lifetime value of customers by keeping them beyond the average time customers stay with the brand. Besides retaining customers as loyal buyers, customer service employees can influence how often customers refer friends and write positive reviews, which are make-or-break propositions in some markets. so, rather than being distracted by how much time representatives spend with customers and how many calls they handle in a day, it may make more sense to track how much customer value they add each month and then invest to help them do even better. something as simple as reducing turnover in this group could make a huge impact on ClV. just like ClV changed the world of marketing, elV could do the same for the world of work. By quantifying employee value and encouraging research and investments that boost employee results, elV can also improve company profits. Who knows? a little research may surprise us, as it did with some customer groups, by showing how the brunt of boardroom jokes – think silicon Valley’s seemingly silly preoccupation with free air hockey, m&ms, and smoothies – really does improve employee value. Kevin Herring is coauthor of Practical guide for Internal Consultants and president of Ascent Management Consulting, which specializes in performance turnarounds, leadership coaching, and appraisal-less performance management. Learn more at www.ascentmgt.com. Kevin can be reached at kevinh@ascentmgt.com. ©2014 Ascent Management Consulting, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. ADVERTISE IN Reach your target audience by advertising in Billing. We have multiple advertising options available. If you are interested in learning more, please contact: THe jOurNal OF THe HealTHCare BIllINg aND maNagemeNT assOCIaTION 33 David Merli, HBMA Sales Manager dmerli@hbma.org 202-367-1219
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