Researchers from Harvard Business School and UCL wanted to know what happens when you take down the wall between the people doing the work and the people it's for. In a set of field and lab experiments in food service, they set things up so that cooks and customers could see each other while the food was being made.
In what way could you reduce the distance between you and your customers?
The results were positive all round. Customer-reported quality went up by 22.2% and throughput times fell by 19.2%, so the food was rated better and arrived faster. The part I love is what happened to the staff. Employees who could see their customers felt their work was more appreciated and more impactful, which left them more satisfied with their work and more willing to put in effort.
Most of us work behind some kind of wall, whether it's a kitchen, a spreadsheet or a ticketing system, and the person who benefits from the work is someone we rarely get to meet.
How to use it at work
Bring the customer into the room: Invite a client or end user to a team meeting for fifteen minutes to talk about what your team's work means for them.
Pass on the evidence: When a thank-you email or a glowing review comes in, forward it to the people who did the work.
Show your working: Let customers see some of the effort behind what you deliver, whether that's a short progress update or an invite to meet the team.
It's hard to feel appreciated by or connected to people you never see, so take the wall down - and see what the connection creates.
If you'd like to talk about ways to connect your team to the people they serve, book a free 30 minute consultation with me.
Source
Buell, R. W., Kim, T., & Tsay, C.-J. (2017). Creating reciprocal value through operational transparency. Management Science, 63(6), 1673-1695.