Employees First

Companies cannot survive without consumers, but they also cannot survive without employees working on their behalf.  Although both are necessary for the continued success of a firm, it is common for people to hear about the idea of putting consumers ahead of employees, and many people might even say that they prefer for their favorite companies to take this stance.  Even so, putting consumers first is, ironically, not the best way to ensure that they are satisfied!

A focus on customer satisfaction above employee satisfaction might lead to consumers being catered to even when they are deceptive or gratuitously difficult in a general sense.  In order to please all customers, a firm must often sacrifice some degree of employee satisfaction, as clashes between the two groups might occur from time to time, with workers being the second priority in such scenarios.  However, dissatisfied employees hinder the goal of effectively impacting consumers.

When employees are treated well and provided with incentives to invest time and effort into a company, consumers will likely benefit, as satisfied employees are more likely to appease customers.  After all, a satisfied employee can approach consumer relations with a vitality and eagerness lacking from employees who are disappointed, or perhaps even embittered, with their corporative lives.  Anyone who has worked in a firm that thoroughly emphasizes employee wellbeing knows that this approach can have an empowering effect that benefits internal and external stakeholders alike.

Putting employees first is an easy and potent way of minimizing turnover rates and augmenting productivity, innovation, and the quality of corporate cultures--in other words, it is an easy way to most effectively utilize human capital (employees and their skills).  Creating such a work environment can be as simple as making the atmosphere of the company a more pleasant place to be, though additional measures and incentives are always optimal.  In contrast, a work environment where employees know pleasing consumers/clients is the primary goal, no matter how incompetent or difficult they are, might provoke a disdain for the customers in question.

The customer is not always right ("the customer is always right" is a motto that would never survive in a rationalistic world!), but simply conceding this does not go as far as a business needs to in order to have a right set of priorities.  A company that has sound priorities will focus on pleasing its workers before it tries to please its consumers.  It is certainly possible to please the people in both categories at once, but it is far easier to do so when employees are rewarded, motivated, and content.