Operational freedom and Feedback Management

Introduction

The degree of freedom given to operational staff in managing their business units (BUs) is a very important factor in defining the scope and ambitions of a Feedback Management program.
We call the degree of operational freedom the level of autonomy given to field teams in running their business. Whether it's an integrated network or one based on franchises, whether it's a horizontal agile company or a more vertical and hierarchical one, this degree of operational freedom will define the BU's level of independence. Thanks to this, the BU can manage customer satisfaction. It can take charge of dissatisfied customers, define initiatives aimed at continuous improvement...etc.

The richness of the program: operational people first!

Let's make no mistake about it. The success of a Feedback Management program depends above all on the involvement of operational staff. They alone can make the customer experience evolve in the direction desired by the customer, taking into account the constraints expressed by management.
The question is therefore not "should we involve operational staff in our program? but rather "to what level can we involve them?"...bearing in mind that field teams must of course focus on their business first and foremost.
Offering a shield to operational staff by outsourcing the processing of feedback means taking away the possibility for field teams to confront their own dysfunctions; it means taking away any chance of improvement.

When setting up the program

During the many feedback management program implementation phases we've carried out, we've realized that the more freedom operational staff have in running their operations, the more complex it is to set up the program. But, as we shall see later, the gains to be expected are also greater.

It's a bigger investment, but with a bigger return. Why is this? Because you have to sell the program internally. There's no need to impose it, which is faster and cheaper, but also less effective in the long term.

Operational freedom can also mean different questions to ask, different branding or graphic identities (with implications for emails and questionnaires), different internal tools (ERP, CRM...) and different IT teams for each BU or group of BUs... which multiplies the processing of incoming flows for sending email invitations, for example.

Which freedom for which company?

We have found that this level of operational freedom depends mainly on 2 factors: the number of business units in the network and the complexity of the business, which in our case we will identify as the complexity of the customer experience.

Level 1: The degree of operational freedom is very low. All stages of the customer journey are processed. So are all customer interactions. In this case, the Feedback Management tool has a very limited role to play, since it simply monitors the processes in place. It can also be used to identify malfunctions. At this level, open-ended questions are of little use, and any dissatisfaction is dealt with centrally. Grassroots initiatives and suggestions are neither desired nor desirable.

Level 2: The degree of operational freedom is moderate. BU managers have some authority, but the majority of operational actions are dictated centrally. Satisfaction surveys help BU managers to manage their teams. Customer dissatisfaction is managed locally or centrally. Initiatives and suggestions can be taken into account as part of a continuous satisfaction improvement process.

Level 3: The degree of operational freedom is high. Although part of a network and subject to certain rules, the BU manager has a real role to play in improving customer satisfaction. Dissatisfied customers are called back by local teams. Operational staff can be consulted to take local initiatives and make suggestions to head office for improving the customer experience.

Conclusion

A Feedback Management program involving operational staff in a significant way, and consulting them to continuously improve the common NPS, is not for every organization. The important thing is to know this upstream, so as to avoid making a wasted investment. But more importantly, it will enable you to get the most out of your Feedback Management program.
And defining this degree of operational freedom is essential before starting any program.