Human Sigma

About the Authors

John H. Fleming, Ph.D. is a principal of Gallup and the chief scientist for Gallup's customer engagement and HumanSigma practices. Before joining Gallup, Fleming spent six years as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota. He holds a doctorate in social psychology from Princeton University.

Jim Asplund is a principal of Gallup and the chief scientist for strengths-based development. Prior to joining Gallup, Asplund spent eight years as a policy expert and lobbyist at the Minnesota Legislature. He earned his master's degree in public policy from the University of Minnesota.

Main Idea

Human Sigma: Managing the Employee-Customer Encounter explores a groundbreaking approach to optimizing business performance by focusing on the employee-customer interaction. Drawing on research involving millions of employees and customers, the authors present a strategy that integrates employee and customer experiences into a single entity to drive financial performance. This approach, known as HumanSigma, provides a disciplined method to assess, manage, and improve the health of these critical interactions.

Table of Contents

1. Introducing HumanSigma
2. The Terminator School of Management
3. New Rules for Managing Human Systems
4. Feelings are Facts
5. Customer Engagement and Emotional Attachment
6. Employee Engagement
7. The Strategy and Tactics of HumanSigma: Evaluate, Intervene and Encourage

Introducing HumanSigma

The concept of HumanSigma builds on the principles of Six Sigma, focusing on reducing variability and improving performance in human interactions. The core idea is to manage employee and customer experiences together, recognizing that they are interdependent and crucial for driving business success.

"You can't measure and manage employee and customer experiences as separate entities; they must be managed together under a single organizational entity." - John H. Fleming and Jim Asplund

This integrated approach addresses the complexities of modern business environments, where customer engagement and employee satisfaction are intertwined. Companies that succeed in aligning these elements create a cohesive and positive brand experience, enhancing both customer loyalty and employee engagement.

The Terminator School of Management

The authors critique the "Terminator School of Management," which views people as impediments to business efficiency. This outdated mindset fails to recognize the value of human interactions in driving business success. In contrast, HumanSigma emphasizes the importance of treating employees and customers as valuable assets.

New Rules for Managing Human Systems

HumanSigma introduces a new set of rules for managing human systems:

• Rule 1: Manage employee and customer experiences together.
• Rule 2: Feelings are facts, and emotions frame the employee-customer encounter.
• Rule 3: Think globally, measure and act locally.
• Rule 4: There is one number you need to know - the HumanSigma metric.
• Rule 5: Improvement requires deliberate and active intervention.

Feelings are Facts

One of the foundational concepts of HumanSigma is that emotions play a crucial role in the employee-customer encounter. The authors emphasize that feelings are facts, meaning that emotions shape and frame these interactions, impacting both employee engagement and customer satisfaction.