What Is Company’s Most Important Job?

Upon heading the headline, I came into this blog ready to put in my vote for "Customer Care" since maintaining good terms with the clients / consumers that are giving your company revenue, but John brings up a really great point.

If the hiring team is good, then the customer care representative will have a higher probability of being good, the personnel responsible for creating the good / service will be better equipped to perform their job function, and (in general) everyone in the company will at the very least have a set of skill points suited for their position.

Initially hiring a good team reduces the work load on customer care.

I have always looked at a businesses hiring tactics as a solid sign of what they really are.

If they have openings for positions that never get filled because they continually turn down anyone and everyone that shows up that has actual experience and applied skills and knows what they are worth for being 'Over qualified' that tells me exactly what type of person or people run the company and that's not the type I want to work for.

The best try to find the best whereas the marginal try to find ways around the laws that are in place that are keeping them from going any lower.

"What Is Company's Most Important Job?"

Quite simply, they all are!

However, what sets a company part from its competitors is it teamwork and the ability for everyone to work together seamlessly.

The most important job in any organization is the Boss's secretary...The one who filters the calls, sets the priorities, maintains the meetings calendar, etc...

PS. I never met a Human Resources type that really, really understood the needs of the business. That's not to say I believe they don't exist- just, I have never met one...

I gave you a GA because you are systems oriented in your answer. However, there is much to discuss regarding whether optimising components will optimise the system.

To me, as a customer, the most important position is the one held by the guy who brings me my correct order at the time I wanted it and thanks me for my business. I don't care about your system. You could magic it all up with elves as far as I'm concerned.

I like your thinking on this.

Milo

Unfortunately I have to agree with Wal. Unfortunately, because as engineers I think
we would like to see ourselves as indispensable? Without a good product they would
have nothing to sell? However the reality is a lot of so-so products are sold, and the
companies survive - because of the sales staff.

For a company to survive it must sell, period. No matter how good the management,
the accounting, the engineers, the best product in the world without sales, means the
company is dead. Even a gold brick is "a paperweight" unless sold.

Some (most) times sales can have it relatively easy. With set regular orders, under
priced products, world shortages, etc. then these are not sales persons, just "order takers."
i.e. anyone could do it. Salespersons are staff when, in a competitive market, your products
are purchased and not the competitors. Without these sales, there is no company.
Sorry, the vote has to go with Wal - sales persons are the critical job.

jt.

My wife and I walked past a swanky new restaurant last night.
Did you smell that food, she said. It smelt fantastic!

Being the nice guy I am, I thought. Sod it, I'll treat her. So we walked past it again.

One for the road.....

Money can't buy you happiness, but it's definitely more comfortable
to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle.

I'll add this, choking on my slide rule....

We all work for the marketing department in the end. Maybe not directly but if you follow the trail up to where the customer hands over the money that's the way it is.

Marketing decides what is produced, how much is produced, , when it is produced, how long it should take to be produced, the target cost.......it's up to the rest of the team to get it done, or tell them why it can't be done.

Of course an unrealistic marketing team is another issue and if that happens you want to be looking for somebody else to work for before the decision is made for you.

I would say final decision maker that is CEO. After all all decisions taken by him, let it be marketing, design, production etc are responsible for growth of the company.

Suresh, the CEO does what ever needs to be done on the advice of the marketing department via the board of directors who have control of the money to satisfy the market and its stake holders.

Any enterprise, whether it be commercial, not for profit, governmental, research....all bow down to the customer.

What is the company's most impotant jobs and what people think is what is the company's most important job.

Some may think its the person that comes up with the most pithy and catchy slogan!

Where quality is job 1

that was the first thing i was thinking of making money!

From the blog:
"The most important job in a company is the selection of employees, suppliers, and customers."

Milo, I wish there were a voting button on your blog for 'Terrific Statement'.

Thanks Doorman!

Appreciate your following my content.

Milo

Your blogs are always interesting Milo. Love to read them.

I had started sort of a sidetrack response, along the line of "Where do you place your least competent employee?", but decided I would wait to see if something like that might be a follow up to this discussion.

The Peter Principle suggest that the least competent employees get promoted up to the level of their least competence, where they stay directing others who are more competent then them.

Milo

Say... could we sew a poka-yoke tag to his shirt pocket?

Along the line of what AH and Wal said all jobs are highly important. If any of them are lacking none of the rest of them can operate properly and make money for those who have started the business.

Having said that, a prerequsite to all the rest of them is the person/s who have and are continuing to establish the vision for the business, the process or system whereby all the rest of the components operate within. Ray Kroc, Walt Disney and Sam Walton are three very good examples of this principle. They each had a vision for what could be accomplished, they were willing to risk everything they had, had the proper thinking of how a business could operate most effectively and then put the process into place with all the other components, i.e. hiring, marketing, R & D, sales, production, distribution, etc. They were then willing to make adjustments to the Systems they had put into place as the need for change came about.

Leadership is the most critical area in family, business, church, government, sports, etc. Once you have an idea you next need to have as Jim Collins says, "the right people on the bus, in the right seats". People have to be suited to the positions according to their skills, interests, physical capabilities, etc. in order for the organization to work effectively and efficiently.

My first thought was:

Which leg of a tripod is most important?

Thanks to all for the thoughtful and well reasoned answers.

I hate forced choice / presumptive questions myself. But sometimes they are needed to help focus our thinking.

I appreciate everyone's well considered input.

Milo