Presentation given to a national disability conference in Melbourne, Australia to help organisations pivot to the customer.

1. What is the biggest change we have to confront in disability services right now?
I can only think of one: we have customers. We didn't used to have customers; we
had "clients" we called them. But now we have customers.
What does this mean for our businesses?
And, that's another change. We are now in business.
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2. In the welfare 'business' model a person came to us with their bag of needs and
desires; and the hope: will they take me in?
They had nothing to give except need.
And the incenFves were wrong. Our funds came from government and every person
in need who came to our door said COSTS.
People with need were a cost. What do you do with costs? You avoid them.
I know most organizaFons ignored the incenFves and met the person's need. But you
can't escape that's how the incenFves worked.
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3. Now its different.
The person with a need comes to check us out. Will we meet their need?
Now they are the customer.
They bring the money!
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4. For supported accommodaFon, over their lifeFme, a person will bring about $3
million. Throw in another $3 million for the SDA payments.
A lot of money...a lot of revenue: this is where our money comes from now, from the
customer, and we want to hang on to our customer to hang on to that money.
How do we do it?
My plumber gives the clue.
He sent a man to replace my hot water heater...it was hard work; the bloke was great;
bent over backwards to do the job in difficult circumstances.
I rang the firm to commend the bloke. The owner told me: "I look aZer my people,
they look aZer the customer."
Now I know who to go back to for my next plumbing need.
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5. Same in the disability business.
Happy customer is produced by happy staff.
In fact, a customer that is only 'objecFvely' saFsfied is as likely to go to another
provider as one who is dissaFsfied! Get that.
You can't just do a good job, you have to do a great job because an emoFonally
saFsfied customer is likely to stay.
And you can't just say it, customers can tell: you have to do it!
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6. L was a new manager of a complex behaviour service. He was fully qualified: aZer all
he had a degree in creaFve wriFng.
One client had PRN meds which were ordered over the phone to be made rouFne. L
signed the med chart change. L is not a medical pracFFoner.
L then accepted advice to lock the back door to stop the client's boyfriend visiFng and
upseang her. A restricFve pracFce, unauthorized.
An experienced support worker explained all this was wrong.
L didn't like that so reduced her shiZs, reprimanded her, sidelined her at meeFngs.
The worker was not happy and made a successful construcFve dismissal claim, nor
was the client: she set fire to her room.
Happy customers are produced by happy staff are produced by engaged
management.
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7. You know the story: most organizaFon charts reveal the not so hidden secret: the
boss is at the top...most important...what its all about...the "main bod."
Where does that send the customer, really?
And the staff?
To the bocom of the pile...we'll get to you when we can...
But, no customers, no business...the customer had becer be at the centre of
everything you do.
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8. The most important part of your organizaFon is your customers; the second most
important part is the direct service staff.
Everything else can turn to porridge, but if your front line workers are happy your
customers will stay...and that's all that counts.
But its more than the front line workers.
Every operaFonal and decision-making part of the organizaFon: the board, the CEO
and execuFves, the operaFonal management, even business services, need to be in
contact with the customer in some way. The whole organizaFon needs to know the
customer, and give their energy to customer-facing acFon...acFon that gives
customers emoFonal saFsfacFon with your services.
That's a tough call! How do we rise to the challenge?
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9. Your business has to be based on a customer strategy.
Thomas Ripsam in a recent issue of strategy + business sets out some ideas: you have
to morph them for human services, but all the ideas are there.
We he is geang at is that every aspect of your business has to strategically support
your customer engagement, in the customer's terms!
10 factors is a challenge.
Only two are essenFal.
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10. Your customers are assets!
Moreover, once a customer is with you, emoFonally saFsfied with your service, the
chance of them buying other services from you is very high.
Much cheaper to enlarge your services to a customer, than to see them defect to a
compeFtor and you have to trot off and find another, repeaFng COB (customer on-
boarding) costs every Fme.
What a drain!
Of course, I know that there are always customers it might be becer to do without.
You can make a mark here too by supporFng them to find and on-board with an
alternaFve supplier.
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11. Front of mind at all Fmes: the customer is your only source of revenue.
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12. To put flesh on the strategy you must act, plan and think about the customer.
How do you do this?
Warren Buffec has the clue, he said "more is to be gained by studying business failure
than success."
Find failure: in the customer's eyes, and use it to learn: change your systems, the way
you train staff...even casuals...the way you engage your staff...that means
management assumpFons and pracFces might need changing too.
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13. At Disneyland every new staff member has 4 days of training...every execuFve has
Fme in customer service.
With the customer at the centre, that has happen for Disney...why would your firm be
different?
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14. Management has a few points to keep on top of this (slide scrolls over 14 points).
W Edwards Deming set out these decades ago, and they sFll work. They focus
management acenFon...and they consFtute management's promise to staff as to this
is how the organizaFon works.
Two of them are essenFal to know:
Drive out fear, and
Remove barriers that keep management from customers.
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15. We drive out fear to keep staff engaged and able to spot system failures.
Management works with staff to fix the system: this might be process, rules that get
in the way, but more oZen it is the assumpFons that management brings to staff
relaFonships.
David Rock suggests five needs that we all have that need to be met for a successful
workplace.
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16. Dignity and respect characterizes all work relaFonships.
Staff have confidence in the future: that means they are free to do their best
tomorrow.
They are able to control the events in the way they work.
People feel safe with each other.
Everything is fair in the totality of the work.
Leadership sets the tone for this. And service delivery has to reflect it:
AcFve Support is a service approach that connects superior customer saFsfacFon and
staff saFsfacFon in the work itself.
AcFve Support = supporFng customers to do, not doing support to them.
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17. My team has developed a maturity model to help organizaFons on the journey to
high performance in AcFve Support.
And it touches every part of the organizaFon.
Embracing AcFve Support in one organizaFon led to a complete change in
administraFon.
All the paper work was taken off support staff and given to front line management. Of
course, the amount of paperwork plummeted to just what was necessary.
Good all round.
Superior customer service has a face, of course...
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18. In real life it is real people happy with their service, enjoying a meaningful life,
engaged in what they want to do.
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19. I'll let Carissa show you how it plays out.
hcps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgCUnkE6La4
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