Excellent ethics are less about “formal” policies and procedures and more about a company’s overriding commitment to “do the right thing” and adopt the best business practices. A company creates the framework to foster ethical behavior, but ultimately it is the people of the company who put ethics into practice every day. Think about it, what are the parts of your job, or your human interactions for that matter, to which fairness, honesty, respect, and “doing right” do not apply? There are none! Everything we do as individuals defines whether we are ethical. If we act with conscience and make personal commitments to keep track of and honor our commitments, each of us is doing our part to build and maintain a highly ethical organization.
One of the most valuable business practices I’ve learned in my experience while running Church Hill Classics is the importance of empathy. Every employee must be challenged to empathize, think creatively, and act with conscience. This is most obvious in handling customer service matters, where it is critical to ask yourself how you would like to be treated in a particular situation and then act accordingly. The goal is then to implement ethical principles when communicating with customers and prioritize our customer satisfaction overall. This applies when making decisions in other areas for important business practices as well. If you ever wondered whether this pays bottom-line dividends, here’s an applicable article: The Biggest Factor for Company Success.
Empathy can also spawn a spirit of innovation, where employees feel the confidence to question and challenge, ‘If we did this, wouldn’t it make things easier for our customers?’ Developing a company culture that encourages relating to customers, brainstorming new ideas, and considering employee input is key.
Ultimately, “doing the right thing” pays dividends on several fronts. Even when you may suffer a loss to assure that a customer is happy or a situation is resolved, this cost pales in comparison to leaving a bad taste in someone’s mouth or letting your organization know that anything less than “doing right” is acceptable. The following article provides excellent questions to ask in evaluating the quality of your organization’s customer service: How’s Your Customer Service?
For example, at Church Hill Classics we’ve made it our mission to provide our shoppers with the best possible customer experience while helping them showcase life’s milestone achievements. We’ve built a team of dedicated and experienced employees to make our mission a reality.
When it comes to considering best business practices, you can’t go wrong with building a company culture that engages your employees while caring for your clientele with quality customer service and products that portray a standard of excellence.
Lucie Voves is the Founder and CEO of Church Hill Classics/diplomaframe.com, a certified woman-owned business.
