When we spoke to James Ashby, our 4 Site Security Systems Director, in last month’s Meet the Team, it was clear that good communication was a big passion for James. This month we talk to him further to get to know more about why he believes communication is key to the 4 Site Way of business success. He told us:
 
“Good communication builds trust and we see our Trust value as one of the most important contributors to individual and business success. We feel this makes us stand out from some other businesses.

“When you are communicating frequently and constructively, you are aware of what’s happening currently. This means that you can be proactive, taking positive action, and you don’t risk being on the back foot and behaving in a reactive or defensive way"

“From the management team to the engineers on the ground, we encourage communication. We empower our colleagues to speak to our customers. For example, if an engineer is delayed, they pick up the phone and they speak to the customer directly so that alternative arrangements can be made and the customer can plan their day. Unexpected challenges happen and things do go wrong: it’s a fact. We encourage our 4 Site people to “own” the situation. Good or bad… communicate to understand, and discuss how things can be made better. Customers are understanding, but without open and honest communication issues are very likely to spiral and become bigger.
 
“Effective communication is at the heart of good customer service, and a positive customer journey is key to business development. Good service makes people want to continue to work with you, and news of good service spreads to attract new clients.
 
“Empowering employees and giving them a voice supports them to do the best job they can. Through regular meetings and communications, they have the latest news to enable them to focus on important areas and to make sure that we are all pulling in the same direction. We welcome suggestions from our engineers for improvements. We want them to feel heard, and valued.
 
“They are encouraged to build personal relationships with customers, and to make decisions themselves to resolve issues. This all adds to nurturing a level of trust with our customers and to happy clients who feel confident that they can leave our engineers to get on with the job.”