Please note: This post was written by Highlander prior to their rebrand to FluidOne Business IT - Sheffield.
Much of the inspiration for our business culture comes from our long-standing Chairman Richard Field OBE. A former Master Cutler and President of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, Richard knows a thing or two about working as part of a thriving business community, and one message which has always resonated with us is the importance of building mutually beneficial long-term relationships with our customers.
We’re fortunate to work with so many amazing businesses across Sheffield, Yorkshire, and further afield, but more important than the work we do is the strength of relationships that we have been able to build with those organisations. It’s something that truly matters to us, and is just as important for our customers.
Strong community relationships really are worth their weight in gold, so it’s fitting that we could put this into practice on a visit by some of our Core Support and Help Desk teams to the Sheffield Assay Office at the request of Assay Master Ashley Carson.
A long-standing member of the Sheffield business community, Sheffield Assay Office have been a loyal Highlander customer for almost 10 years, but in all that time only a small number of our team have had the opportunity to meet their customer counterparts.
It was great that some of the hard-working members of our business were able to enjoy a well-received day out having lunch with the Assay Office team and spending time learning more about the services they offer. We even found time to get our hands on some gold bullion, even if we did have to hand it back once the cameras went away!
A little gratitude goes a long way
While it’s nice to spend some time away from the office, it’s especially pleasing for our team to see and hear first-hand just how much their hard work is appreciated by our customers.
So much of what they do occurs in the background. They might get to speak with a customer over the phone or through email, but it’s rare that they get to meet the individuals they are working for. We always endeavour to share any positive feedback we receive with those that have contributed, but it always means so much more when that gratitude is shown in person.
I know that Ashley was especially keen to show his gratitude for the support and services we provide, and it’s something that was very much appreciated by everyone here at Highlander.
The whole visit was a thoroughly valuable experience for everyone involved, a sentiment that was echoed by Ashley who commented ‘’It was a real pleasure to welcome the team from Highlander to the Assay Office, and for my staff to put faces to the voices they hear on the telephone. There really is nothing better to improve a close working partnership. I would like to think that we all took away plenty of positives from the meeting’’.
Start as we mean to go on
People have always been the heart of our business, and we’ve worked hard to create a genuine family culture. As the old saying goes, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, and we’ve already seen that giving our people the chance to visit our customers is of real benefit.
We want every member of our team to know that their tireless efforts don’t go unnoticed, and after our visit to the Assay Office we’re keen to take more steps to continue building mutually beneficial long-term relationships.
We’ve already changed our approach to customer engagements and are ensuring that more of our customers receive regular Service Review Meetings where different members of the team travel to customer sites and share important feedback with all those who contribute. Crucially it’s also an opportunity for us to learn more about our customers, and to ensure we continue to deliver the best service possible.
