- Writing a customer service vision for your organization,
department or team does not need to be overly complicated.
There are three stages in the process.
It starts with some light prework
to get everyone's input.
Next, we hold a meeting with a small group of people
to draft the statement
and finally, we get buy-in from key stakeholders.
Let's walk through each step together,
starting with the prework.
In the prework stage, we want to give all employees a chance
to provide some input on the customer service vision.
The vision becomes more authentic
and employees are more likely
to buy into our eventual statement
when they are asked to participate.
I like to ask employees to respond
to an open-ended question.
What would you like customers to think of
when they think about the service we provide?
You can capture this input using survey software
via focus groups or using online discussion software
such as Slack.
You then take all of the responses
and create a word cloud.
A word cloud is a visual depiction
of the responses you receive from the employees
where the most common words appear larger and bolder.
Let's say we surveyed employees working
for a company that makes a smartphone app
that helps travelers explore new cities.
The word cloud from the survey
emphasizes certain keywords that were mentioned
by many employees
such as discover, experience and helpful.
The next step is to assemble a group of people
to draft the customer service vision statement
using that word cloud as a guide.
The ideal group has seven to 10 people
plus a facilitator.
It's just big enough to represent
a diverse set of viewpoints
but not too large that writing
the statement become unwieldy.
The people should represent a cross-section of roles,
so various perspectives can be shared.
And the group should include employees at all levels,
from the font lines all the way to senior leadership.
You can download the Vision Writing Agenda
to help plan your meeting.
Here are a few steps to guide you.
Start by sharing the word cloud from your survey.
Discuss the themes and keywords that stand out.
Next, have the group draft a vision statement.
Here's what a vision statement might look like
for the travel app company.
We help travelers discover new experiences.
Notice the vision statement is strongly influenced
by the input received from all employees in the company.
The final step is to compare the draft statement
to the three criteria for a strong customer service vision.
It should be simple and easily understood.
The vision should be focused on customers
and the vision should reflect both who you are now,
and who you aspire to be in the future.
I found this meeting generally takes
about two hours to complete.
By the end of the meeting,
you should have a draft customer service vision.
It's also a good idea to use that meeting
to come up with some examples
of behaviors that fit your vision.
The final step in the process
is to get buy-in from key stakeholders
who did not participate in writing
the customer service vision.
This may include executives,
veteran employees, middle managers,
board members or other influential people
in your organization.
You know you've done well
if your draft vision statement brings
an immediate, positive reaction.
In my experience, the vision statement resonates
with people about 90% of the time.
People sometimes hesitate just a little bit.
When that happens, ask your stakeholders
to describe what they're thinking.
It almost always turns out to be just one
or two words that need adjustment.
Once you get your key stakeholders to buy into the vision,
you'll be ready to share it with all employees.