Inspired by Valentine’s Day celebrations of love and relationships, can any of the relationship advice we hear be applied to business? What can shared service centers do to improve their relationships with the business, their customers?
Shared service centers are taking on increasingly complex and important functions from the business. Where there may not have been much interest in how the shared service center processes invoices, there is increasing interest when the shared service center is taking on tasks such as business intelligence and pricing. But how does this relationship evolve and how do you build the trust between the organizations?
Make time for each other. As your shared service center evolves and takes on more services, it is important that the key stakeholders in the business know who the leaders of the shared service center leaders are. Frontline customer interaction and regular, face-to-face meetings with the business will help you build relationships and give both of you important points of contact.
See things from their point of view. Mutual understating of each other’s needs and requirements is essential to ensure you are providing the service the business wants. What do your customers expect from you? What does value for money look like to them? You need to be fully aware of what the business expects from you, and they need to be aware of your requirements and limitations. This will enable you to get the best value from working together.
Open the lines of communication. Both in romantic and business relationships, open communication is crucial to maintain any partnership. Improve communications with your customer on your current performance and on upcoming changes that they need to know about. Regular communication can help you stop problems from arising and ensure smoother processes.
Make them a priority. While shared services exist to capitalize on economies of scale and improve efficiency, ultimately it is all about making it easier for the business to function. Your customer should be core to business strategy and all shared service activity should be customer focused.
So, will you be sending Valentine’s Day cards to your customers?
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