How many times have you heard its price that causes customers to leave? The facts are that 68% of customer churn is due to service dissatisfaction.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 68% of customers leave because they are upset with the treatment they received. And, to add insult to injury, they will tell between 9-15 people about their experience.

The fight for customers is a tough one! More competitors than ever and customers have higher expectations. The cost to acquire them continues to rise, while loyalty in some cases has gone by the road side. Polite, friendly communication and prompt handling of customers is not always up to standards. In fact, 10%-30% of customers leave annually.

But can all this misery be laid at the feet of customer service or an external call center? The conditions are certainly ripe for this with 26% of front-line customer service agents leaving annually, and the fact that this group takes the brunt of complaints from customers who are often impatient, rude, suspicious, demanding and threatening to leave.

Is it poor employee engagement or bad  customer service?

 A Gallup State of the American Workplace report noted 7 out of 10 employees (70%) are either “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” at work. That is a big number when you stop and think how it could be affecting your company’s performance.

Gallup estimates, for example, that for the U.S., active disengagement costs US$450 billion to  $550 billion per year.

Good service is a product of engagement, beginning with leadership and flowing downward throughout the entire company.

Today’s senior managers have to be more than good project managers. They are required to build the right team, develop their strengths and enhance each person’s well-being. This goes beyond an understanding of metrics and free-trail offers or that of how many personal days’ employees receive.  It necessitates the need for managers to be self-aware of themselves as well as others: their emotional and strategic drivers.

Top Drivers of Engagement

• Trust – There is an air of trust in the organization.
• Respect – The organization respects employees.
• Recognition – Employees want a pat on the back.
• Security – Employees want to feel confident about their future.
• Truth – Employees can handle the truth.
• Education & Career Growth – Employees want opportunities.
• Work Conditions – Comfortable, healthy and safe.
• Respect for Management – Leadership is ethical and competent.
• Pay – Compensation should be fair and reasonable.
• Personal Expression – Leadership is interested in their opinions.
• Teamwork- Employees love the feeling of everyone pulling together.
• Fairness – Everybody is treated fairly in the organization.

Over my 25+ years of business experience, I’ve seen organizations who have engagement brewing in them, and how the excitement of coming to work floods every office. I’ve sat in meetings and seen people step out of their comfort zones with innovative ideas all because they felt an air of trust. I’ve seen employees cheer for others because things are fair, and how excited they become when applauded over performance issues.

Gallup noted that globally, 44% of engaged employees say their employers are hiring people and expanding their workforce.

The pressure to perform in today’s economy is sometimes overwhelming. Everywhere we look teams are being asked to do more with less, and the fear of job loss is real. Too many employees are simply hunkering down and riding the storm out, but that disengagement has a negative impact on the bottom line.

One the other hand, those organizations that recognize their success is tied in large measure to the creative and innovative energy of their employees, and who implement engagement within their company have a better chance of surviving.

Employees who are positively engaged form and emotional connection with the company. This influences their attitude toward the company’s customers, and thereby improves overall service levels.

70% of engaged employees indicate they have a good understanding of how to meet customer needs according to Right Management.