An engaged employee knows and supports the business goals. They know the impact of achieving the goals.

It could be that “winning organization” feeling. It could be the opportunity to acquire resources the person would love to have (like a chef’s showing off a new piece of kitchen equipment).

It could be increased compensation or other types of recognition.

The ability to connect the dots with each person on how they contribute to the needed organizational goals — and how they personally benefit from doing so — is critical to a company’s success. 

Every organization strives to create a culture in which each employee acts like an owner and knows how vital it is to provide great customer service. 

Let’s say it is 6 p.m., which is closing time for a dry cleaner. The person working locks the door right at 6. A customer arrives at 6:01 with a bag of clothes. What happens?

My experience is the owner reopens the door and takes care of the customer. The customer knows that owner did this for them and will be grateful and stay loyal. An employee who knows how important it is to attract and keep customers will do the same as the owner.  

What happens when a customer arrives right at closing time, or even a little before, and finds that the store’s closing is in process? It probably doesn’t create a happier customer.

There might be several reasons people start shutting down operations prior to the actual close of business hours. It could be a noble effort to manage expenses. It could be that the owner, or the person’s supervisor, pushed the employees to leave as soon as possible.

This makes good sense as long as it is not negatively impacting customers. Or, it could be that the owner and/or supervisor hasn’t done a good job of connecting the reality of more customers to a better work environment. (Of course, how customers are treated when the store is open matters too. Most have seen examples of workers on their cell phones giving a cursory, “Can I help you?”)

In the last month, I have experienced three situations in which the posted store hours said “open,” but both the outside signage and internal actions sent the message, “Don’t come in.”

A few suggestions: 

* Be very clear on expectations regarding what “open” looks like. What customer-facing messages say the business is open?

* Be clear on when shutdown is and in which areas employees can begin shutting down. In some areas, it likely makes sense to shut down a few minutes early. In others, it does not.

* Don’t accept statements like, “There were no customers,” and/or, “It was a slow day,” without more context.

For example, my wife and I went into a store that was still officially open, but the staff were starting to shut down. As we were standing at the counter, four more people came in to buy product. It could be they saw us and decided the store was open. That is a good thing.

Every customer creates more customers. More customers create more financial sustainability. More financial sustainability creates job security. Jobs create better quality of life, which creates a better place to live for the entire community.

Make sure your employees understand this big picture and connect the dots on what’s in it for them.

An engaged employee will “own” the customer and do what it takes to make them happy — even if it means unlocking a door after closing time.

• • •

Quint Studer is the author of 16 books on leadership in the workplace and the community. His book Building a Vibrant Community is a valuable resource for civic leaders, business owners, and all citizens who have a stake in building a community they can be proud to call home.

In Sundays with Quint, he shares a selection of his popular leadership columns for leaders, employees, and business owners in all industries. He can be reached at Quint@QuintStuder.com.