The Role of Management in Improving the Communication between Employees and Customers. An analysis of barriers to communication in customer-employee interaction. The case of Sainsbury’s Richmond branch
Background to research
Communication has turned out to be an indispensible pre-requisite in this era of globalisation for the successful running of any business. Its role cannot be undermined in any of the business functions as it is the key driver for the smooth functioning of an organisation. So, organisations now days are spending ample time and resources in improving their capability in the direction of communication.
Objectives
- To investigate what communication strategies managers can implement to improve the performance of international students who are part-time employees in a supermarket
- To compare the customer satisfaction levels from engaging with local supermarket staff versus engaging with employees who are part-time international students
- To investigate the major barriers in the communication style of supermarket employees who are part-time international students
Significance of employee customer interaction
Face-to-face interaction is the “reciprocal influence of individuals upon one another’s actions, when in one another’s immediate physical presence.
Rationale of the research
There are quite a lot of international students working in supermarkets and similar businesses in order to support themselves while studying in the UK. Apart from supermarkets, many students work in petrol pumps, restaurants etc. These establishments are all service-oriented where customer service is the key driving factor for their business. Many of such establishments employ students as part time employees. So, it is important that students who work as part time employees have the required communication skills to engage with customers. As an employee in Sainsbury, I observe many students working in such establishments. The question arises how these international students manage to get to terms with the local customers in terms of communication as well as how they can overcome certain barriers in communication in order to achieve customer satisfaction. Related to such questions is a wider one, namely the implications for business productivity of international students who are part time workers and are often placed at the fore front of customer services.