Importance and Value of Professionalism in Customer Care at the Workplace
Business
Power Point Presentation
MLA
4 pages
Paper details:
Executive Summary
The modern-day business environment is highly competitive in nature, requiring companies to work hard to maintain their customers and market share. IN a rapidly evolving business environment, professionalism has become integral to delivering quality and standard services. This document looks at the importance and value of professionalism in customer care and how it affects customer loyalty.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 1
Introduction 3
Method 3
Primary Research 4
Secondary Research 4
Findings 5
Primary Research 5
Secondary Research 6
Summary and Conclusion/Recommendation 8
Works Cited 10
Appendix 12
Introduction
The 21st Century has been lauded as the information, an age defined by an inherent drive and desire for information as the main currency in the economy. However, the transformation to the information age has come with it a new set of challenges for business. As markets become more competitive, business is increasingly finding it important to maintain their share of the market, bringing to the surface the issues of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is defined as a subjective performance that customers hold towards a given good or service concerning its ability to meet their needs and desires. As such, it has become even more important to maintain certain values and principles, such as customer care and professionalism, in the execution and delivery of services to the market. The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the value and importance of upholding the value of professionalism and customer care in the delivery of services to the customer. The scope of the research entails both primary and secondary research, with the primary research relying on a 15-question survey while the secondary research including a literature review of the value and importance of customer care and professionalism at the workplace.
Method
The stud employs a blend of both qualitative and quantitative methods to ascertain the value and importance of professionalism in customer care service. The qualitative methods will be employed to ascertain the factors that influence professionalism and the perceived impact of professionalism on the delivery of customer care. Employing qualitative methods is best-suited to discovering the rich explanation of the relationships of this kind (Creswell & Clark, 2017, p. 99). However, these qualitative methods are inherently limited in their ability to ascertain the relationships between two or more factors. As such, the study will employ quantitative methods to ascertain the nature of these relationships. Taking into consideration the study will entail both primary and secondary research, the primary research will employ a blend of quantitative and qualitative methods while the secondary research will solely rely on qualitative methods.
Primary Research
The primary research employs a survey as a survey that comprises of closed-ended questions. Using this approach, the study is expected to encounter a single challenge associated with the distribution list. Acquiring the distribution list for the participants requires approval from the relevant organizational authority (Creswell & Clark, 2017). Additionally, there may be a concern associated with the reducing response rate associated with surveys. The survey was best-suited for the research as it allowed the researcher to collect information while having little influence on the process (Stephens, 2017). As such, the internal validity and reliability of the study are ensured through the use of surveys. The use of the questionnaire aided the quantification of qualitative data. The attitude and opinions of the respondents have been quantified through the use of a questionnaire. This allows for an objective and scientific analysis of abstract concepts and ideas (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). Data analysis for the survey entailed a regression analysis of the responses provided by each respondent. Each response was coded to protect the identity of each respondent.
Secondary Research
The secondary research employs a qualitative approach and methodology. The secondary research entails a literature review of the issues pertaining to the impact of professionalism in customer care service delivery. The secondary research entailed a literature search on all journal articles available on the impact that professionalism has on the performance of an organization, especially with regard to customer loyalty. The search yielded over 1,300 results. However, after refining for keywords and industry-specific information, ten articles were employed.
Findings
The primary and secondary research provides an interesting overview of the importance and value of professionalism in customer care at the workplace. Both the primary and secondary research highlight customer loyalty as the most significant factor affected by the level of professionalism in customer care at the workplace.
Primary Research
The regression analysis depicts multiple R-value of 0.9125, indicating a strong (91.25%)relationship between the dependent variable (customer loyalty) and the independent variables (measures of professionalism). The R square value of 0.8327 shows that the independent variables in the model can explain 83.27 of the changes in the dependent variable.
The regression coefficient depicts the strength and direction of the relationship between an independent variable and the dependent variable in a model. The regression analysis output shows that all variables except availability and cheerfulness had a positive relationship with customer loyalty. Responsiveness to customer questions has the most significant impact on customer loyalty followed by supportiveness, customer satisfaction useful advice, courteousness, knowledgeability, and customer rating. As such, this indicates that while each measure of professionalism has some impact on customer loyalty, the impact varies in degree and scope. The regression analysis shows that the three leading attributes that influence customer loyalty are useful responsiveness, advice, support. As such, customers perceive a company to be highly professional when they are responsive to their questions and queries, provide useful advice, and being supportive in a situation of need. While customer value customer representative who is knowledgeable about the product and service and are courteous, they value problem-solving attributes above all else.
Secondary Research
One defining factor of a competitive industry and market is market share and customer loyalty, two elements that go hand-in-hand. Customer experience, a factor significantly influenced by the customer’s perception of professionalism by customer care agent or personnel, impacts their loyalty towards a given product or brand. It is generally more difficult and more costly to obtain or acquire new customers compared to retaining existing customers. As such, the level of professionalism associated with a given product, service, or brand affects the customer’s perception pertaining to value and prestige, inherently influencing customer loyalty.
Developing a charter on professionalism in healthcare Egener, et al. (2017) offer a valuable overview of the role of professionalism in a service-oriented industry and market. They argue that professionalism as a concept is a vital guide for decision-making in an environment defined by ethical challenges, fiscal difficulties, and rapid changes. As such, professionalism is inherently tied to the performance of the organization financially as well as within the context of driving knowledge development and innovation in the market or industry.
They hold that professionalism within a profession has to be founded and anchored on a set of principles and commitments (Fitzpatrick, 2018). These principles and commitments inherently define the organizational culture. Organizational culture refers to the underlying value, principles, and beliefs that guide the interactions within the organization and its interactions with external or third parties. There is a significant relationship between professionalism, organizational culture, and performance.
Professionalism within an organization is a vital component of the processes controls. While organizations are inherently characterized by different individuals with varying personalities, professionalism helped institute controls that ensure a common and shared standard in the delivery of service of the customer. Mitigating the magnitude of variation associated with the delivery of services to customers is a critical component of ensuring customer satisfaction, inherently affecting customer loyalty (Smythe, Hennessy, Abbott, & Hughes, 2018; Rahmani, Ranjbar, & Gara, 2017). Professionalism helps develop internal organization process controls that provide employees with the requisite support for the execution of roles and responsibilities (Verburg, et al., 2017). These controls are vital in augmenting coordination within the organization, inherently strengthening the reliability of inter-team cooperation.
An organization that eschews professionalism inherently pursues best practices within the context of their market and industry. Best practices are inherently designed to ensure the best plausible solutions or approaches are employed in the execution of functions, roles, and responsibilities (Hannan, Suharjo, Kirbrandoko, & Nurmalina, 2017). Through professionalism, leaders can evaluate their current and preferred operating methods and approaches (Egener, et al., 2017). As such, professionalism allows for the development of a continuous improvement system and approach in dealing with customers.
Not only does professionalism affect the client’s perception of the organization, but it also influences an employee’s perception of the nature of the organization and its operations. The professionalism that is defined by professional competency in an organization is vital to directing quality improvement initiatives. This is especially evident in healthcare organizations and the healthcare industry where professionalism is tied to the level of commitment and loyalty to an organization by healthcare professionals. Professionalism in dealing with patients has been found to be a determinant and indicative factor of the level of commitment and loyalty to the institution by a healthcare professional (Karami, Farokhzadian, & Foroughameri, 2017).
In a study that focused on the Royal Malaysian Police, Selvanatha, Zeni, and Tan (2017) highlighted customer satisfaction as one of the major challenges encountered by individuals in the police force (Selvanathan, Zeni, & Tan, 2017). They find that poor and unreliable structures have contributed to the glaring inability fo the RMS to provide the quality customer service. They identify three critical elements associated with the issue of quality service delivery, i.e., professionalism, accountability, and work quality, all of which influence customer satisfaction.
While professionalism may be intended in an organization, structural factors can impede the ability of staff living up to the values, principles, and standards that guide services delivery (Egener, et al., 2017). Existing organizational structure may predispose an organization to unprofessional tendencies where employee actions and performance is significantly varied and is not guided by a specific set of values and principles.
Summary and Conclusion/Recommendation
As shown by primary and secondary research, professionalism has a significant impact on customer care, inherently a critical success factor in a highly competitive environment. While companies may employ different measures of professionalism, they have varying degrees of impact on customer perception of professionalism, inherently affecting their loyalty towards the brand or company.
Taking into consideration the results of the primary and secondary research, three recommendations are proposed with regards to professionalism in customer care. Responsiveness is regarded as the most significant factor that influences customer loyalty. As such, it is recommended that the company develops communication systems and channels that increase the quality of communication with customers. Customer care representative has to be always available and ready to respond to customer queries and questions. As such, outsourcing or expanding the customer care call center can be ideal. Supportiveness is also a vital metric of loyalty. As such, it is recommended that the company develops a training program that educates their customer care personnel on industry best practices that ensure customer satisfaction. Finally, a customer care representative has to be able to provide advice that is useful to the customer. As such, there is a need for the training program to include different scenario simulations that will equip employees with the requisite skills to be able to identify the ideal strategies and information to provide to a client.
Works Cited
Egener, B. E., Mason, D. J., McDonalds, W. J., Okun, S., Gaines, M. E., Fleming, D. A., . . . Andres, M.-L. (2017). The Charter on Professionalism for Health Care Organizations. Academic Medicine, 92(8), 1091. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000001561
Fitzpatrick, L. (2018). The importance of communication and professional values relating to nursing practice. Links to Health and Social Care, 3(1), 26-40.
Hannan, S., Suharjo, B., Kirbrandoko, K., & Nurmalina, R. (2017). The Influence of Customer Satisfaction, Trust and Information Sharing on Customer Loyalty of Professional Services Company: An Empirical Study on Independent Surveyor Services Industry in Indonesia. International Journal of Economic Perspectives, 344-353.
Karami, A., Farokhzadian, J., & Foroughameri, G. (2017, November). professional competency and organizational commitment: Is it important for human resource management? PloS One, 12(11), e0187863. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0187863
Rahmani, Z., Ranjbar, M., & Gara, A. A. (2017). The study of the relationship between value creation and customer loyalty with the role of trust moderation and customer satisfaction in Sari hospitals. Electronic physician, 9(6), 4474. doi:10.19082/4474
Selvanathan, M., Zeni, N. A., & Tan, P. J. (2017). Impact of Professionalism and Accountability among Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) Staffs in Selangor, Malaysia. International Business Research, 10(8), 249-256. doi:10.5539/ibr.v10n8p249
Smythe, E., Hennessy, J., Abbott, M., & Hughes, F. (2018). , and Frances Hughes. “Do professional boundaries limit trust? International journal of mental health nursing, 27(1), 287-295. doi:10.1111/inm.12319
Verburg, R. M., Nienaber, A.-M., Searle, R. H., Weibel, A., Hartog, D. N., & Rupp, D. E. (2017, August). The Role of Organizational Control Systems in Employees’ Organizational Trust and Performance Outcomes. Group & Organizational Management, 43(2), 179-206. doi:10.1177/1059601117725191
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