Service Culture Development Is Critical To Building Value In Any Business

A company's culture is its identity. It's what sets it apart from its competitors and attracts top talent. A strong service culture is critical to building and sustaining value in any business. Here's why.

Team psychologists, Hackman and Wageman, define a positive service culture as a set of shared values and beliefs that guide collective action and shape individual behavior within an organization. It is the foundation upon which companies are built and successful teams are developed. It is a promise made to the public that speaks to reliability, accountability, and loyalty. There are countless examples of companies with strong service cultures—Zappos, Four Seasons, Southwest Airlines, Disney, to name a few—that have achieved long-term success due to their unwavering commitment to delivering consistent and superlative customer experiences. 

There are three primary benefits of having a strong service culture: increased employee engagement, improved customer satisfaction, and reduced turnover rates. In order to build a strong service culture, companies start by creating organic mission statements that everyone can get behind and rally around.

Turnover is expensive. Replacing an employee can cost as much as two times the salary of the employee being replaced. Too often, employees are treated like numbers and objects rather than like people with unique skillsets and valuable perspectives beneficial to company growth. This can lead to high turnover rates as underappreciated and disgruntled employees leave in search of greener pastures. A strong service culture retains top talent by making employees feel valued and appreciated. When employees feel like they're part of something larger than themselves and that their contributions matter, they're more likely to stick around for the long haul.

A strong service culture is critical to building value in any business. Companies with a commitment to created a culture of excellence when it comes to customer experience tend to outperform their competitors over the long term due to increased employee engagement, improved customer satisfaction, and reduced turnover rates. The first step requires companies to create its mission statement, establish a shared vision, and nurture core values that are embraced and lived by all employees at work, at home, and in the community.