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Why business must be honest with their customers

Being customer-centric today is non-negotiable – here’s how to do it.

Johannesburg, 13 Jun 2022

One of the first steps to becoming a customer-focused business is a change in mindset and not something tantamount to window-dressing or being superficial – it requires that business leaders place the customer at the centre of everything that is done.

“This means making the customers' needs and wants a priority,” says CRS Technologies General Manager Ian McAlister. “Their needs should be ahead of those of your business, and there is no room for egos and self-indulgence. So, we follow and endorse the message that mindset and behaviour change in the business must be done with the goal to be on a journey with the customer, to change your business model and service portfolio to advance the goals and desires of the customer.”

The days of a customer simply being a number and source of revenue are over. COVID-19 and disruption to supply chains mean businesses are operating in an entirely different market, one in which the customer experience and customer focus are paramount to survival.

Entrepreneurs must understand that in today’s digital, consumer-driven economy, it is simply not ‘business as usual’ and they have to adapt or they will inevitably close shop.

Human capital management specialist CRS Technologies is a progressive business that understands why customer focus is so important and how to change the mindset and behaviour of employees to reflect this understanding.

CRS Technologies learns every day from a substantial global customer base. The company also understands that there are a variety of reasons why people move from one supplier to another, and mostly it is because certain needs weren’t met, service failed to meet expectations or there were personality clashes with consultants.

“Our message to the market is that over 38 years in operation, we haven’t lost many clients, but enough to be cognisant of the input received from our customers across the globe. This input is the foundation of our technology offering,” says McAlister. “It’s what our customers need, not what we think they should be buying.”

CRS Technologies has tailored its technology portfolio to address the needs of today’s human resource, payroll, time and attendance and human capital management requirements.

Its portfolio includes newly developed software launched internationally as Engage, providing international clients with a localised version anywhere in as quickly as four weeks.

Engage is a SaaS solution that eliminates hardware infrastructure costs (unless required, in which case the company implements a hybrid or on-premises version). CRS Technologies integrates with Microsoft, SAP, Workday, Sage and the Oracle stack using the secure Azure platform.

McAlister adds that a unique feature of the solution is that every payroll function has been automated to its fullest extent. “This eliminates costly human error,” he says.

What a market-leading company like CRS Technologies demonstrates to the market is that while any business can benefit from robust, effective technology infrastructure and service, the difference is in service level. It is really about the quality of the service provider and whether or not it is actually part of the customer journey.

“In other words, the service provider understands and embraces customer focus,” says McAlister.

Any business today has an opportunity to leapfrog their competitors by being customer-centric, ensuring that every process, every facet of operation, every aspect of the business is designed to help the customer, make life easier and benefit them.

“It’s not only going to mean being competitive, agile, attracting other business partners, but also retaining customers and attracting new ones. Research underlines mutual engagement that involves the business actually stepping into the shoes of their customers, honestly understanding their situation and the role they can play in adding benefit to customers,” McAlister adds. 

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CRS Technologies

CRS Technologies is a leading provider of solutions and services to the growing human capital management industry, and an authorised South African distributor of the Engage™ suite of human resource and payroll products.

Following its establishment in 1985, the Johannesburg-based company quickly found its niche in the human resources, people management and payroll sector and soon matured into the specialist of choice for blue chip organisations and SMMEs across the globe.

Today CRS is acknowledged as the most proficient international human resources and payroll company, underpinned by solutions and services that help create workplaces of inspired, engaged and rewarded employees. Our approach to market is about maximising value between employer and employee, integrated with innovative technology that unlocks human potential and grows businesses.

CRS achieves competitive advantage through its commitment to global best practice in human capital management and its drive to transform human resource departments into strategic, value-added business units, be it through bespoke software and services or shared industry insight.

For more info, go to www.crs.co.za

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