Culture and customers

There is a direct link between corporate culture and the quality of -- or lack of -- customer care. What good is a company's corporate literature that says, "At our business, our customers are number one," if employees and customers perceive that the truth is closer to, "Around here, customers are a pain in the neck unless they spend a lot of money."

To see if your culture matches your delivery, have employees complete statements like:

"Around here, customers are..."
"Around here, if you've got a problem, the bosses..."
"Around here, loyalty is..."
"Around here, you are valued when..."
"Around here, when you're stressed at work..."

The answers will help you see where the gaps are between your company's talk and your company's walk. It will give you a sense of whether employees are committed to, neutral about or disconnected from what they're doing, and whether customers are motivated to be loyal.