Judgment on the Front Line

Front-line employees constitute an enormous and under-utilized reservoir of improvement and innovation ideas. They are the ones in direct contact with the public. Because of this position, they are ultimately the ones on whom customer satisfaction depends, and they are also in the best position to see what is working or not, spot unmet needs, identify new services to develop, etc.

The problem is that, to capitalize on this potential, they must, on the one hand, feel authorized to exercise their judgment and, on the other hand, possess the knowledge and resources to do this effectively. This is a real challenge for companies that often manage thousands of geographically scattered employees, sometimes with very basic qualifications and a high rate of turnover.

Based on detailed examples of companies like Intuit, Zappos and Ritz-Carlton, this book is successful in showing that creating a truly customer-focused labor force is possible, even in industries where turnover is traditionally high and jobs are not always very well paid or gratifying. It also provides the keys to encourage employees to exercise their personal judgment in order to manage each customer interaction effectively while preserving the consistency of the brand and quality of service. An excellent, well-supported book.