Effects of reengineering on the employee satisfaction‐customer satisfaction relationship

Abstract

PurposeThis paper seeks to examine the correlations between measures of employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction before and after a major process reengineering initiative.Design/methodology/approachData were collected in 130 branches of a large financial services organization using employee and customer surveys.FindingsScores on some employee satisfaction factors were predictive of customer satisfaction at both time periods. Other employee satisfaction factors were found to have a stronger relationship with customer satisfaction in one period but not both.Research limitations/implicationsThis study needs to be replicated to determine the generalizability of the findings.Practical implicationsWork demands which probably increased due to the reengineering initiative were predictive of customer satisfaction following the reengineering effort.Originality/valueOrganizations need to consider the effects of organizational changes in their efforts to provide high quality customer service.