Introduction
Employees are a critical component of the FedEx company. They send merchandise to customers depending on their addresses and email addresses. To guarantee that the firm achieves customer satisfaction, it is critical that these personnel carry out their delivery tasks with attention, care for the items, and in a way that is appealing to the clients. This case study will examine some of the issues FedEx has with the customer experience and employee conduct when delivering items and giving good service. FedEx’s main difficulty is how its personnel handle packages, whether they are putting them in trucks or having them to the correct places.
Case Analysis
In the current age of digital information, the world is very much connected through the internet. Social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook make it very easy for an individual to record videos and post them on these social media platforms. FedEx has found itself in trouble over recordings of its employees either mishandling customer products or failing to deliver them personally. These videos have attracted criticism from potential customers and already established customers. In one of these scenarios, a FedEx employee had been tasked to deliver a computer monitor that had been packaged. Upon arrival at the gate of the address, the FedEx employee assumed that no one was home; hence he did not ring the bell. To deliver the monitor quickly, the employee threw it over the gate.
Little did he know that the gate had a camera recording the whole event and that he had broken the computer monitor by throwing the package over the entrance. The video was subsequently posted on YouTube and attracted a lot of views and criticism of the organization and its employees. In another scenario, two FedEx employees have recorded loading packages into a truck. At first, the employees carried out their activities with diligence and care. Then, they began hurling the products into the car to conduct their activities quickly. Unfortunately, someone was recording the whole ordeal, how boxes were being bundled upon each other and crashing into the vehicle. This video also attracted many views and comments on YouTube. These cases showcase how ineffective communication among FedEx employees and management has caused the company a bad reputation and poor customer satisfaction.
Recommended Solutions
When defining communication talents, it is crucial to remember that communication occurs in various locations and situations. To communicate and acquire information, we need several skills, from speech and writing to body language. However, conveying knowledge to everyone simply and quickly demonstrates excellent communication skills. It comprises presenting concepts to the audience concisely and effectively. Understanding instructions, learning new skills, making requests, asking questions, and efficiently communicating information are all components of effective communication (Musheke & Phiri, 2021). Although excellent communication skills are among the most basic that an employee may have, they are nonetheless in great demand by employers. Understanding requests, asking pertinent questions, and delivering critical information are all components of good communication.
In the digital era, communicating correctly with supervisors, coworkers, and staff is critical; employees must be able to share vocally and in writing, on social media, mail, and phone. Emotional Intelligence and confidence are the communications skills that employees need to have to effectively communicate with all FedEx stakeholders, including the consumers, suppliers, and customers. According to Gómez-Leal et al. (2021), emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and control one’s emotions, enhancing communication. One needs to stay calm, overcome obstacles, and empathize with others. It’s a skill that is developed over time instead of acquired. Self-awareness and management, social conscience, and relationship control are the main elements of emotional Intelligence that enhance effective communication.
Confidence is essential in all interactions and boosts composure. According to Tiep et al. (2021), customers will have complete confidence that their needs can be met and that an individual can still keep their promises if they exude confidence. Establishing eye contact during conversations or having a firm yet welcoming tone when speaking on the phone can also be effective ways to project confidence. Avoiding being forceful is essential because that would have the inverse result of what you want.
Employee Training at FedEx
Any company’s president, chairperson, or CEO must commit personally and corporately to the process. This action was taken by Jamie Houghton in 1983, not long after he was appointed chairman of Corning. To deliver the best level of service, Fred Smith and his senior executives formed FedEx and took part in quality training throughout the initial year of the business (Qing et al., 2020). Fred Smith has worked closely with FedEx to build the organization’s quality systems and procedures. On-time delivery was employed as the company’s primary performance indicator because he believed consumers would appreciate a time-definite rapid delivery service. He contributed to creating the Service Quality Index in the late 1980s, a more thorough, proactive, and customer-focused indicator of service quality (SQI) and customer satisfaction.
As Smith put it, the management considers that service quality should be mathematically measured. The business monitors each of these 12 indicators daily across its whole system. Every signal is given a weight, and the higher the weight, the more it affects consumer happiness. Lowering the annual SQI totals is one of FedEx’s service objectives. One of the three overarching corporate goals of the organization is service: People-Service-Profit (Qing et al., 2020). Each of those three corporate goals includes annual benchmarks for every FedEx management, notably Fred Smith and the senior management team. With advice from the management board, Smith establishes his personal goals, and the process spreads throughout the company. How successfully managers accomplish their goals determines how effective they are.
Building Efficient Communication Policies
The following entails strategies for effective verbal communication in the workplace. FedEx management should adhere to these strategies to ensure that employees realize what is expected of them and how they should handle customer packages for a more fulfilling customer experience and a good company reputation. Moreover, if well implemented, the strategies below will uphold FedEx’s codes of conduct, which would improve both employee and customer management in the long run.
Attempt to avoid taking things personally; similarly, state your requirements and viewpoints concerning the task. Instead of attempting to dominate others, find solutions to issues. For instance, instead of disregarding a student who frequently responds to questions in class by going off on improper tangents, have a conversation with them outside of the classroom about how this could interrupt the lesson and draw the attention of other student. Being authentic and genuine to yourself also help an individual in self-assessment. Focus on being sincere with yourself, getting along with everyone around you, and behaving morally (Blegur et al., 2021). Although there are some restrictions on how you can communicate with coworkers in business interactions, it’s always crucial to show that you care about them (Qing et al., 2020). When it comes to the workplace, it will be challenging for them to be concerned about you if you do not care about them. Be open to different ways of thinking and other people’s perspectives. Innovation and creativity are fueled by diversity and one readiness to learn from others.
Be adamant about your own needs and rights. When you don’t value yourself, others will do the same. One is treated nicely if they provide their suggestions. This means that one should be confident in himself. Moreover, you must be self-discipline and give other people opportunity to give their views (Joshanloo, 2022). One should also incorporate experiences into their lives and not fall a victim of the same situation. Give others your full attention while acknowledging their experiences while thanking everyone for their input. Even if one disagrees, recognize their right to their feelings. Ask inquiries, share pleasant emotions, and offer constructive criticism when you can. At FedEx, various communication strategies and policies have been enacted to ensure strategic communication. These includes:
- We involve senior managers.
- We are integrating communications.
- Ensuring there are other choices apart from structural integration.
- Ensuring there is long-term orientation in communication.
- Leaders must possess a wide array of general management techniques.
Conclusion
Effective communication is essential in any organizational setting. For FedEx, the management must adopt proper communication skills to ensure that employees realize their expectations. For instance, FedEx employees should be advised on handling fragile packages by indicating the level of fragility. Also, they should be aware that we live in the information age, where every customer is watching closely for a mishap. Effective communication and employee training should be central to the organization to attain reasonable customer satisfaction.
References
Blegur, J., Tlonaen, Z., Lumba, A., & Leko, J. (2021). The importance of self-esteem to students learning responsibilities and group learning commitment of physical education students. JETL (Journal Of Education, Teaching And Learning), 6(1), 53. Web.
Gómez-Leal, R., Holzer, A., Bradley, C., Fernández-Berrocal, P., & Patti, J. (2021). The relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership in school leaders: A systematic review. Cambridge Journal of Education, 52(1), 1-21. Web.
Joshanloo, M. (2022). Self-esteem predicts positive affect directly and self-efficacy indirectly: a 10-year longitudinal study. Cognition and Emotion, 1-7. Web.
Musheke, M., & Phiri, J. (2021). The effects of effective communication on organizational performance based on the Systems Theory. Open Journal of Business and Management, 09(02), 659-671. Web.
Qing, K., Kee, D., Soon, J., Hui, C., Kelvin, C., & Singh, A. et al. (2020). the impact of employee satisfaction, organizational commitment, job performance and teamwork as the success factors in FedEx: A study of FedEx’s employees in Malaysia. International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality in Asia Pasific, 3(2), 48-56. Web.
Tiep, N., Wang, M., Mohsin, M., Kamran, H., & Yazdi, F. (2021). An assessment of power sector reforms and utility performance to strengthen consumer self-confidence towards private investment. Economic Analysis and Policy, 69, 676-689. Web.