BusinessCorporations

Corporate standard: rules and stages of implementation

Have you thought about what distinguishes a successful, dynamically developing company from hundreds of small outlets, sales in which for years remain at a low level? In every successful organization, a corporate standard has been adopted. It is he who provides the company with a positive image in the eyes of its partners.

Does any organization need a set of rules?

In the midst of beginning businessmen there is an opinion that corporate standards systems are suitable only for large companies whose managers are difficult to follow the actions of employees. It is believed that for the team of a new, newly established firm, early establish rules of conduct. Why?

  • It is still unclear how to attract potential customers and what actions will lead to increased sales.
  • The staff of a small outlet are always visible: errors can be corrected in the process of work.
  • The corporate standard is usually developed by training companies, and their services are expensive.
  • Candidates for positions of sellers may be deterred by a system of strict rules in a small enterprise. After all, wages at the initial stage are small.

Does this mean that a new company should do better without corporate standards? The answer to this question in each individual case can be both positive and negative. Of course, it is difficult to establish rigid rules for employees when the collective of a small firm consists entirely of family members or close acquaintances. But it sometimes happens that the level of customer service directly depends on whether the small business will survive at all.

For the owner of a small store, a cafe, a beauty salon, it is best to stick to the golden mean: rigid standards are not established, but there are a number of requirements that must be observed.

What can be said about large and medium-sized enterprises that have already occupied a niche in the market? It would seem that they are living easier. Such firms sell high-quality goods that are in demand. They have established advertising, and there are effective ways to attract customers. Does corporate standard need a business that is already successful? Let's figure this out.

It is not rare for a potential customer to come or call a company known to him in order to make a purchase. Can the deal fail to take place? Yes, if the buyer is not served properly. A slovenly office, an eternally busy phone, low-qualified salespeople, difficulties in obtaining a purchase, unwillingness of managers to meet ... It is necessary to admit one of these problems - and the buyer will give preference to competitors.

In addition, every employee, whether he is a sales manager or a branch director, has his own ideas on how to serve customers: how to choose the manner of communication, how much time to allocate for a conversation, what motivates a visitor to make a purchase.

If the enterprise has a standard of corporate culture, every employee knows exactly how he should behave in different situations. And the employees of the firm are interested in using the best business practices in dealing with customers. Due to this, the decision-making time is shortened, unnecessary chains of approvals are removed. Buyers, in turn, have a positive opinion about the company.

Thus, the corporate standard is necessary for the firm to provide:

  • High level of service;
  • Customer loyalty;
  • Brand recognition;
  • Increase the authority of the firm in the market;
  • Facilitate the decision-making process;
  • Economy of forces, time, money resources.

What issues does the standard concern?

For successful work, it's not enough to build corporate standards, which relate only to direct communication with customers. After all, in the daily activities of the company's employees there are many other slippery moments:

  • How effectively co-workers interact with each other, how often differences arise between them;
  • Whether the working day is effectively built;
  • How to prioritize business.

Therefore, introducing corporate standards at the enterprise, it is important to consider the following elements:

  • The appearance of employees;
  • Organization of the working space;
  • Standards of professional activity, procedures for dealing with complex and conflict situations, norms for effective use of working time;
  • Rules of communication with customers;
  • Social responsibility of the company and its employees;
  • Laws for top management.

Let's consider each component of the corporate standard.

Appearance of managers

Many companies set the rules of how the front office staff should look, that is, managers who are directly involved in servicing visitors. The form of clothes, shoes, style of hairstyle, presence or absence of accessories, make-up, ornaments is regulated.

A strict dress code was introduced, for example, in the company of cellular communication "Megaphone". The corporate standard requires that employees working with customers dress in the style of "white top and black bottom." On the neck of the managers there should be a silky scarf of bright green color. Female employees are allowed to apply light natural makeup. Bijouterie and jewelry are excluded: you can wear only an engagement ring and discreet earrings. The footwear of the cellular company manager must be strict and closed. On the chest, a badge with the name of the employee is permanently attached. A similar dress code is adopted in banks and large corporations.

The standards of appearance for employees of restaurants, hairdressing salons, fitness centers, retail stores are set in a completely different way. In image beauty salons, administrators at the reception desk, hairdressers, manicure masters, as a rule, are distinguished by elegant hair styling, tattooing, and original design of nails. With their appearance, they inspire clients to be creative about taking care of themselves. Women, noticing how stylishly the employees of the salon look, get a desire to visit him more often.

In many retail stores, the form of trade managers' clothing is chosen in accordance with what type of goods is represented in the trading floor. It looks interesting, for example, when sellers in a toy store are dressed up in costumes of fairy-tale heroes.

Organization of the workspace

Corporate standards of the company regulate the interior decoration as customer service areas , as well as premises for office use (offices, rest rooms, latrines).

In organizations with a large branch network, there are requirements for the interior of premises:

  • What color should the furniture be?
  • How to arrange furnishings;
  • In some cases it is prescribed (especially if we are talking about IT companies), office equipment and stationery of which brands are allowed to use.

The corporate standard also dictates the permissible location of objects on the desktop surface: how to put a computer where to add writing supplies, how many documents can be at the same time "in sight".

Standards of professional activity

Depending on the goals and objectives of different categories of employees for each position is determined:

  • Tasks of what type the employees of the firm should give the highest priority;
  • How to plan a working day;
  • What are the principles to be guided in daily activities.

Standards of intra-corporate etiquette and the order of actions in conflict situations are also standardized. It is necessary to specify how often an employee can take breaks in work, whether he can go outside the office, how long the lunch time lasts, whether it is allowed to smoke during the day.

Rules of communication with customers

This field in many firms is given the most attention. The corporate standard defines:

  • Who of the company's employees is involved in the process of customer service;
  • What rules should be followed when meeting with customers in the office of the company and "in the fields";
  • How to make outgoing and receive incoming phone calls: after which signal on the account to pick up the phone, what words, expressions, phrases to use in conversation.

Social responsibility of the company and its employees

Of great importance are also the standards of corporate responsibility. Entering the market, the company accepts the working conditions that society dictates:

  • Realizes high-quality goods, useful for consumers;
  • Works based on the principles of honesty, legality, humanism, respect for the dignity of people;
  • Takes part in protecting the environment from harmful effects.

Every employee should have a clear understanding that he is the person of the firm in which he works. His actions affect not only the financial results in the balance sheet, but also the business reputation of the company. Therefore, the rules of conduct of employees are set taking into account the standards of corporate responsibility.

Rules of work of the first persons

For large organizations, corporate governance standards are of particular importance, indicating how the firm should be managed. When developing these rules, the interests of shareholders, clients, partners of the company and its employees are necessarily taken into account. The standards of corporate governance indicate what principles the CEO and his deputies should follow in their activities. They include a description of the organizational model of the enterprise, the system of internal reporting, methods of control over the activities of top management. Of the international standards of corporate governance, the most known systems are PMBOK, ICB and ISO.

Stages of introducing new orders

In large organizations, the rules are developed and implemented by professional training companies. However, many owners of small firms, using open sources of information, themselves successfully think over the system of customer service and launch it into action.

Professional development of corporate standards includes the following stages:

  • Analysis of the existing situation. It is important to assess from the point of view of an outside observer how efficiently the work process is organized, which can be improved. Professional companies often attract "secret buyers" for this purpose. A specially hired and trained employee is in the office or trading hall of the company and plays the role of a client. As a rule, he secretly keeps a record of negotiations with sellers on a dictaphone, and at the end of the meeting he fills in the check-list: what he liked about the service and what did not. The owner of a small business can carry out supervision independently or ask friends to "inspect" the enterprise. Based on the results of the audit, it is important to identify the positive aspects and disadvantages: what attracts customers in your company, and what makes them doubt and leave without making a deal.
  • Development of standards. The corporate rules of conduct for employees, the organization of the working space, and the requirements for the appearance of managers of the front office are prescribed step-by-step. At this stage, it is important to take into account all the significant details that affect the future prosperity of the company or its failures.
  • Employee training. The corporate standard is implemented and launched into action. The employee of the company, especially the customer service managers, explains the rules that need to be followed.

  • Check the result. It is important to analyze the effect of the implementation of standards: do they have a positive impact on sales, the depth of relationships with customers, or lead to increased profits.
  • Correction of standards. In the course of work, many shortcomings and roughnesses of the new enterprise management system can be identified. They should be monitored regularly, especially at the initial stages. This is helped by repeated visits of "secret buyers", as well as receiving feedback from customers and employees. When identifying shortcomings, work is being done on the mistakes - the introduction of changes to existing standards.

Conclusion

It is important to note that too zealous, pre-letter adherence to company rules by employees in some situations can do much harm. Compliance with established norms should not lead to unnatural, illogical, from the point of view of common sense, behavior of employees, their inattention to the needs of clients. Implementing the corporate standard, you should proceed with caution, observing the principle of gradualness.

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