Benchmarking file: For customers’ sake!

No matter how well-orchestrated, a massive company restructuring will leave employees not knowing many of their colleagues, and confused as to who is doing what in the company. That confusion, if left unchecked, can soon translate to poor customer service and a myriad other unforeseen organizational problems.

That’s why Victor Aramati has created a program aimed specifically at improving communications and relations among 25,000 Digital Equipment Corp. employees all of whom are survivors of a big downsizing and restructuring. ‘Our customers and partners have told us that we are hard to do business with,’ writes Aramati, director of customer and partner telephone support, in an employee-brochure announcing the ‘It’s Your Call’ program. He goes on to note that customers and fellow employees alike ‘don’t know whom to call at Digital and they find it difficult to locate the right person. We are going to change that, and each of us no matter what our job may be has to be part of the solution.’