How customer journey determines organizational structure

1. 1
Customercracy as organization DNA:
how customer journey determines organizational
structure1
Initiatives to improve organizations tumble over each other. 'We have to work
in a more customer-oriented way' is today a common statement in
boardrooms and management teams. The result after an arbitrary
improvement initiative is often disconcerting: a lot of agitation in the
organization, employees have dropped out and started working somewhere
else. And still unsatisfied customers at the bargain.
Why is organizing an organization around customers so difficult? And when are
changes improvements in the eyes of customers?
By taking client requests, or actually the journey that these questions take, as a
starting point for setting up and improving organizations, concrete steps are
possible. Five design variables can always be used.
Customer centricity still proves to be
difficult
o simplify reality, tasks are greatly simplified and standardized. This
division has its origin at the start of the industrialization process late
19th and early 20th century. Mainly motivated by filling in the
explosively growing demand but at the same time the wish to produce at
acceptable costs. In the 20th and 21st centuries all sorts of variants and
themes such as sociotechnics, setting up of shared services, operational
excellence or lean organization originate. There is always a common theme.
That is the intention to reduce complexity. With the reduction of complexity, a
consequence presents itself: the growing need for coordination, aka
management. This increases the likelihood that an organization is more likely
1 author info
Mario Vermeulen works as a consultant at Novisource. He has a lot of experience with (re) design
and improvement of business operations (e-mail: mario.vermeulen@novisource.nl)
T

2. 2
to explore the limits of responsibility, improve structure and reduce production
costs than with what customers really want.
When organizations get started with putting customers first, the effort often
focuses on making (part of) the customer service process efficient and
effective. Attention to the convenience of customers. This will certainly
improve customer focus. But because it often concerns an improvement in
parts, the total experience of customers in delivering the product or service
can still be less positive.
On the one hand the ongoing struggle around design and associated cost level
of the organization, frequently lead by shareholders, and fragmented customer
focus on the other hand, makes it difficult to focus on customers.
Case part 1:
How applying for an account does not go flawlessly
Customer requests for his daughter an account via the website of a Dutch bank. The
choice to open the account via the internet is a deliberate one. Filling in the application
is smooth and promptly the confirmation of the request with the additional necessary
actions is in the mailbox: signing the application, copy of ID and a € 0.01 transfer for
identification purposes.
After a few days, the customer contacts the bank because apparently nothing happens
concerning the processing of the application. There is still no debit card and
confirmation that the account can be used. An extremely friendly employee tells that
the signed request and the copy of the ID have been received and processed. However,
the € 0.01 transfer to identify has not been done yet. This is forgotten by the
customer.
With the transfer, the customer expects that everything is in order. However, a mail is
received: mismatch between the name of the account and the ID. The bank requests to
come to a physical office to do the identification as yet. There is no physical office in
the client's place of residence. That was an important reason to request online. First
contact does not provide a solution. Second contact at the beginning of the evening
starts with the message that the waiting time is +8 minutes. Customer decides to wait
but doubts after 20 minutes if he is still in the queue. Redialing provides the same
message. Also now the customer decides to wait.
After another 20 minutes of waiting, a very friendly employee picks up the phone. The
customer notifies the employee of the longer than expected waiting time and no

3. 3
updates about progress regarding decrease of waiting time. Client presents the
problem and indicates that visiting a physical office is not an option. Based on
additional arguments, the co-worker agrees that there are no insurmountable
problems. Customer suggestions to improve are noted. Unfortunately, the employee
cannot solve the problem. Someone else needs to take the decisions. With the promise
that the customer will be called back, the call ends. The next day employee calls back:
everything is OK. The account opens.
Customer completes an electronic evaluation with notification that conscious
organization can contact always and then hears nothing more...
Customer journey as an important organizing principle!
When in a democracy the people play a leading role in the organization of
society and when customers have this leading role in an organization, the
direction is obvious: Customercracy.
Customercracy is a philosophy to organize the organization at which customer
journey and customer experience are central. It does not stop at a good
website, an apparently efficient process or friendly employees who quickly
answer the telephone and respond prompt to a social media message. What
matters is that the entire organization is focused on giving customers the best
possible experience.
This can be achieved if the customer journey will be used as a guiding
principle. By constantly looking at five design variables, the organization can
look more specifically at this journey and balance its efforts to achieve an
optimal customer experience.
Customercracy:
1. With customers as focal point,
2. and derived strategy / goals,
3. be able to properly interpret and execute customer questions,
4. In order to organize processes & organization,
5. and ensure control in a balanced and optimal manner.

4. 4
Figure 1: customer (journey) determines organization; simple representation of reality
Customers as focal point
Customers enter organizations differently. Customers determine much more at
what time, in which way and for which product they approach the organization.
You must ask yourself as an organization: Who is actually our customer? What
would our client want to purchase ideally? What is our willingness to fulfill this?
Do we distinguish how or want to give substance to that?
Customers as focal point does not mean
that every customer wish is also given
substance. Making choices is the motto!
Strategy/goals
If you, as an organization, know which customer questions come in and how
you will respond to this, formulate your goals and you can determine which
consecutive steps apply to achieve these goals.
In- and exterpret
View on how questions enter the organization and how products / services are
delivered. So it is actually a view of the logistics process or how customer
cases ‘flow’ through the organization. Control of the total work offer. But also
answer the status questions regarding customer cases in the organization.
Processes & organization
Design and organization of processes and organizational structure. Of course,
on the basis of the smoothest possible handling of the customer journey. Use
of technology where possible or necessary. Considering laws and regulations,
whereby employees make the difference.

5. 5
Control
Timely adjustment of both the organization and customer expectations.
Steering vertically from organizational goals based on contribution and process
based horizontal steering on process indicators such as processing and lead
time.
Figure 2: ways of control
Customercracy=
putting customer journey and customer experience central
When customer journey and customer experience really have a leading role in
organizing and improving organizations, the organization must have a good
view on which questions are coming in and how. The organization will also
have to make an estimate of the moment at which this work will arrive. It is
obvious to organize more about specific questions.
A good dose of courage is needed to organize the organization in such a way
that it does not focus on the own 'sub-area' of a manager, but on the customer
journey and thus the customer experience. An organization does well when
customers are satisfied and recommend the organization to others. Not when
the phone is picked up within three times, this is only a partial improvement of
customer focus, but when the case has been completed within the expectation
of customers.
De organisatie heeft zelf een belangrijke rol bij het zetten van deze
verwachting(en) en het eventueel bijsturen als de verwachting uiteen gaat
lopen. Hiermee kan verandering ook echt verbetering worden.

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The organization itself has an important role in setting this expectation (s) and
adjusting it if the expectation starts to diverge. With this ‘change’ can also
really become an improvement.
Customer journey and customer
experience get a leading role in
organizing and improving organizations
Case part 2:
Requesting an account viewed from Customercracy perspective
The starting point is that the bank has a conscious choice to facilitate the opening of
an account via the Internet (strategy / goals). With this the bank would have to take the
complete journey, in concrete terms, the question of opening an account, and go
through it virtually.
Several improvements can then be seen fairly quickly:
1. Help customer to remember about identification payment. It can be seen from a
procedural point of view that this has not yet happened. Sending an early mail
prevents unrest among customers and an unnecessary phone call (process &
organization + vertical steering)
2. Check the connection between forms and correspondence. Show clearly what you
expect from customers (process & organization)
3. Customers choose the moment when they make contact. It is more likely that
someone, for example, calls after dinner time and when children are in bed or doing
homework and it is quiet in the house. This can be estimated based on experience.
Make sure that there is sufficient occupancy (in- and exterpretation)
4. If there is sufficient staff, you as an organization would not have to be clear in
waiting time and updates on this (in- and exterpretation)
5. Give employees sufficient mandate to solve the problem on the spot. This saves
research and callbacks (process & organization)
6. Sometimes a problem is not a problem if you just look further behind the hatch.
Account and ID seem to match after all (process & organization)
7. Where it can and may rely on others. By paying with an account, does another bank
already own the copy ID? (process & organization)
8. Give the customer the idea that you are doing something with given feedback.
Feedback is a gift (customer as focal point)