We’re not used to thinking about the employer/employee relationship in such terms as customer and seller. Changing your thinking on this can give you a new perspective. It isn’t easy, but I think it is something worth the mental effort.
Follow the Money
Maybe you don’t agree with my assertion. Maybe you think the idea that your employer is your customer is ridiculous. In that case, I’ll suggest that you follow the money.
What is a customer? A customer is someone who gives up money and receives products or services in return. If I walk into a store to purchase some fresh fruit, I am that store’s customer because I am giving up money in exchange for the fruit. If I walk into a place to get my haircut, the same thing applies. I am giving up my money in exchange for the service of having my hair cut.
Now consider the relationship between you and your employer. You go to your job, and you perform services for your employer. In exchange, your employer gives you money (and other benefits). This is exactly the same relationship. In essence, you are the store providing the service, and your employer is the customer shopping there.
The Bad Examples
I contend that the behavior of a bad boss is quite similar to that of a bad customer. I imagine that we’ve all seen bad customers. You’ll find them creating a scene trying to scam a business and get stuff for free, or demanding unreasonable interpretations of coupons or sales, etc. No business honestly wants these customers, and no employee honestly wants a bad boss. The bad boss beats up their team, makes them feel small, guilts/threatens employees to get what the boss wants or to take the blame for things unjustly.
Continuing on, I think that the behavior of a bad employee is similar to the behavior you experience shopping at a bad store. We’ve all probably had those experiences as well. You buy something and it takes forever to arrive, and when it does arrive the order is wrong, incomplete, or broken. You call customer service, only to be given the run around of excuses, delays, and finger pointing. Bad stores lose track of your requests and your orders. You are the one that needs to keep following up with them, to remind them of your order or your question. The question is, how much longer are you going to remain a customer of that store?
Now, think about how that relates to a boss who needs to micromanage an employee. What are the cases when micromanagement is justly required? It’s when an employee doesn’t deliver tasks on time, when the boss continually needs to remind the employee of the commitment, and when the employee delivers the task, it is incomplete or wrong. If this is the case, how much longer do you think the customer (your boss) will continue shopping at your store (keep you employed)?
The Good Examples
The bad examples can be illustrative, but let’s move on. What kind of boss is a good boss? I think that a good boss displays the same behavior as a good customer. A good customer is specific about what they want to purchase. A good customer treats the people at the store with decency. A good customer shows appreciation for the service provided, understands that unavoidable risks sometimes manifest, and provides honest, objective feedback. This all applies to a good boss too.
What makes a good employee? It’s the same things that make a good store, providing good customer service. Good customer service means setting your customer expectations appropriately, proactively communicating in the event of unforeseen delays or obstacles, following up with the customer instead of waiting for the customer to call you, standing behind the service you deliver, and resolving issues with delivery.
Summary
I know that this topic isn’t something that’s generally accepted. There’s not many people that I think would agree with me, but I think that this is absolutely true. And I think that if you can get your head around thinking this way, it will help the relationship you have with your employer. It can give you guidance, it can give you the tools to objectively assess your own performance in your job, and it can hopefully get you out of a cycle of negativity with your employer.
Ryan Sawatzky 