Collaborative Practices for organizations to address stakeholder’s complaint

In the past

      (1) Formal face to face communication. For internal, supervisor will talk to the employees in conference room. For external, organization hires research agent to conduct face to face interview to customers in the street.

      (2) Formal but indirect channel such as questionnaire. For internal, Human Resources department sends questionnaire to employees to seek for their comment. For external, like restaurant, questionnaire is put on the table for customers to leave the comment.   

Nowadays

The communication becomes informal and indirect. For both internal and external organization, employees and customers can share their complaint in social media such as Facebook, Openrice and Youtube.

Shift factors

      (1)     Rapid communication

In the past the communication platform between organization & stakeholders was restricted to just by on the telephone, mail and questionnaire. The length of time for both organization & stakeholders to receive complains and suggestions would take a very long time. Nowadays with the internet became our main social media platform; sharing became much shorter and can then avoid time consuming process for complaining even for giving suggestions. Because of that, not only the complaining and suggestion process became easier and shorter, also the actions & response time for organization also became faster. Furthermore, in the past customers tends to not complain and silent protest by not visiting the same restaurant for example; but due to the rapidness of internet convenience, we can complain via Apps such as Blackboard forum, openrice..etc. this help foster for those silent protestor to voice out; also from organization perspective, they can get a more information from various parties (passive & active people)

Photos from www.openrice.com

(2)    More information sharing/ More integration

As today’s internet is a social media platform for a collective of online channels for communities to interact and respond. This is then became one of the most important ways for customers and organization to share and get information. Online reviews, comments and online venue such as Facebook [2], twitter [3] and online forums [4] can also share comments and complaints. Therefore, organization can use these platforms for immediate responds to customers and CRM monitoring.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/retail/walmart_emp.html

(3)      Harmonious environment

The new environment rapid communicate had bring us is not only just convenience but also help from human side to avoid direct face-to-face complain. Indirect complaints and suggestion can help lower the conflicts between organization and customer. On top of that, it could also avoid unnecessary gestures between direct human interactions.

Source from:http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20110218/00176_055.html

(4)     Flattening the organization chart/ Avoid power distance

For both organization and customer context, the ease of sharing information via various internet/intranet platform have also lower the power distance between them. They can freely comment (informal complain) rather than formal complaints which would harmonized the inter-relationship of the 2 parties.

photo from http://www.consumeraffairs.com/retail/walmart_emp.html

Photo from www.facebook.com

Why do organization & customer benefit from complaints & suggestions?

1. More methods to show Logos to organization. Logos are “content of the argument, reasons, data”. As the increasing of communication, more and more information can be shared. Consequently, stakeholders aware what their benefits are and comparison will push them to get more. As a result, the only way to get more is enlarge the pin (Thompson), and get improvement, due to everyone wants more. As David said, “Persuasion promoted understanding; Understanding breeds acceptance; acceptance leads to action”(Garvin, P9).

2. BATNA (is best alternative to a negotiated agreement) is balance to employees. Not like before that people found the job in the same town where they lived, but now where there is the good opportunity, people will go there. All the stakeholders have their own BATNA, and the way to keep them in competitive advanced is getting them improvement.

3. Organizations need for Learning organizations (win-win). The more communication, the more they can interact each other. The more interact, the more they can learn from each other. In the other ways to say is that complaints and suggestions are helping each other to get improvement. According to Hansen said, “As long as there’s an organizational culture where there is no incentive for contributing, there will be no contribution”. (Hansen, P3)

References

[1]http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/community/features/articles/blog/social-media-changes-customer-service-enterprise-collaboration/?cs=50341

[2] www.facebook.com

[3]www.twitter.com

[4]http://www.discuss.com.hk/

Garvin, D,; Roberto, M.(2009). Change through persuasion. Harvard Business Review.

Hansen, M,; Nohria, N.; Tierney, T. (1999). What’s your strategy for managing knowledge?. Harvard Business Review.

Thompson, L.(2009). Win-win negotiation: Expanding the Pie. The mind and heart of the negotiator, Pearson Prentice Hall.