Communicating value-easier said than done.

• Author: Cook, Dan
• Position: Randolph Electric Membership Corp.'s customer relationship management - Company Profile

Like most cooperatives, Randolph EMC in North Carolina conducts member satisfaction surveys to ensure that they are delivering the quality of service that will build and ensure member loyalty. When reviewing his cooperative's scores in early 2004, CEO Dale Lambert felt a call to action that would focus his employees' attention on communicating the value of the co-op to members.

Situated in south-central North Carolina, Randolph EMC serves more than 30,000 consumer-members in five counties and has a staff of 88 employees. Dale Lambert assumed the top managerial position five years ago, having grown up in the system as a lineman and a district manager. "We're like any other cooperative in a lot of ways," says Lambert. "We are always looking for ways to improve our day-to-day operations. Our objective is to demonstrate every day our corporate values of integrity, accountability, innovation, and community involvement." To achieve that objective, Randolph EMC believes that its employees should consider excellent customer service to be their most important day-to-day function.

CHARTING A STRATEGIC COURSE

Working with his first-and second-level management team in 2003, Lambert set in motion a process for identifying a clear vision of the futu re for the cooperative. Specifically, the team began work on getting a clear direction for "where the cooperative was headed and how they would know when they got there." In a facilitated day-long retreat the senior staff focused on the single critical issue of building stronger relationships with customers. Three key areas were addressed: communication, teamwork, and exceptional service to the consumer-member. "I had to have my management team on board before I could expect all of the employees to follow suit," explains Lambert. Workingthrough a series of exercises, developed in conjunction with the statewide association's training and education department, the team looked at ways to do more company-wide problem solving, as well as improving simple (but often tough to achieve) communication skills. "We spent the whole day evaluating processes and identifying strategies for serving both the internal and external customers."

The next step was a planning retreat with the cooperative's Board and senior management. "The Board plays such a critical supportive role as the plan is developed," notes Lambert. "You have to have buy-in from the Board to be successful." It quickly became clear that the cooperative needed to adopt a process that afforded continuous input and feedback from the membership. "In order to decide which direction to go in, you first have to establish where you are. We all have preconceived notions on what the members think about the cooperative in a number of areas. Those notions may or not be correct. The only one way to know with certainty is to hear it from the members."

THE RESEARCH--AND A WAKE-UP CALL

In early 2004, Randolph EMC contracted with TSE Services to provide regular quarterly reports on member satisfaction--TSE's Satisfaction TrackingService. These reports are based upon monthly interactions with customers on a broad variety of issues. The reports provided Randolph EMC with the...