Happiness and human nature go hand in hand. In order to be healthy, humans must be happy. Even well-known texts, from the Declaration of Independence (the pursuit of happiness) to lyrics from Happy Together by the Turtles, make this point clear. What other emotion motivates a person as intensely as the feeling of happiness?
Many studies have proven that happy people are more successful at work and home, more charitable, and have more meaningful conversations. When a person is happy, they often feel more fulfilled in life.
We each have our own definition of happiness, whether it be reaching an important goal or simply enjoying a picnic on a Summer day. Regardless, the radiant effect of a happy and fulfilled individual ultimately impacts society a whole.
Our Approach to Happiness as “the” Metric
So, what does this mean for Calyx, a cloud-based IT firm in Cleveland, Ohio? Happiness may not seem like a top priority for any business, especially in our current climate. But we believe our clients’ happiness is the most important measurement of our shared success. We call it the “Happiness Metric.” It indicates how we’re doing and the quality of experience we’re providing them. In fact, we state clearly that our goal is “to automate happiness” for our clients as well as our team. How do we do this?
At Calyx, we recently created a Customer Experience Manager role, headed by Walt Ely, to ensure we are meeting the expectations of our clients and fulfilling the promises we’ve made to them.
“When a client needs something or wants to discuss a problem, it is vital that they have a dedicated resource to go to and convey their concern. Too many companies rely on an automated system for this type of communication, which is not the relationship we want with our clients. I want them to know that they have a dedicated resource to reach out to for anything that they need,” says Walt. “IT is a dynamic, ever-changing environment, and each time a company releases a new update it has the potential to create a ripple effect across all the other applications. I work closely with the service teams to ensure these ripples are kept to a minimum without disrupting the clients’ day-to-day operations.”
A True Measure of Happiness
It’s easy to overcomplicate business and lose sight of the importance of simple things like happiness. While it may seem like a silly metric, the measure of happiness can ultimately indicate the health of the relationship.
Our business isn’t merely about technology. Of course, the right tech is critical to ensuring our clients’ businesses are more productive and profitable. But it’s just as much about being there for them when they need us most. Great service and support not only improve productivity but also promote happiness.
Calyx prides itself on the exceptional support that we deliver. We want our customers to really love their IT, and if they don’t, we’re there to fix what may be broken. We monitor, maintain, proactively troubleshoot, and even predict failures and replace hardware before failure occurs. It’s quite simple: when we can reduce IT hassle and disruption, we increase customer happiness and satisfaction.
Happiness on the Front Lines
Working with our clients to provide the best possible experience is incredibly important in our function as a trusted provider of their IT solutions. It’s about taking on whatever they may need support or guidance with. Calyx Service Coordinator Kelly Grondolsky shares:
“No one wants to be remembered for making someone feel bad or making a situation worse. But let’s face it- sometimes the bad is remembered most. It’s our goal to change that. We want people to feel happy whenever we get a chance to make it so. We want to improve people’s outlook and help them have the best day, week, or month.”
It’s important that the client feels that they are supported in whatever issue they need assistance with. Kelly recalls an instance in which a client had struggled in resolving an issue with equipment from another vendor. A group conference call was held with the client, vendor, and Calyx, and the issue was quickly resolved. Kelly remained on the call to make sure matters with the client and the vendor was satisfactory. Following the call, the client expressed that her being there for support through the situation and providing advice was incredibly helpful.
And that is the happiness factor at work.
Be sure to read our previous blog post, Make More Happy.