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Business-to-business companies need a new approach to understanding their customer relationships. Replacing a balanced scorecard with an account impact scorecard helps B2Bs measure their true impact with their customers.

Organizations going through change should involve their employees as much as possible in the process. Employee surveys are essential to hearing people's feedback, as one company has learned.

Only 22% of business-to-business customers are engaged, and just 13% are fully engaged. The reason? A small percentage of B2B companies focus on engaging customers emotionally. The other companies believe they need only emphasize price, speed, and efficiency.

This element is measured by the statement 鈥淚n the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.鈥� Some people think a performance review will suffice. But it鈥檚 not nearly enough, write the authors of 12: The Elements of Great Managing.

Proposals to increase the federal minimum wage continue to come before Congress, and continue to generate intense controversy. Opponents of hiking the wage say it will victimize small-business owners. But is that the case? Gallup's chief economist isn't so sure. In this Q&A, he assesses the potential impact of a minimum wage hike on the economy and explores other pressing issues, such as illegal immigration and job offshoring.

Business leaders, take note: You can learn a lot from the federal government. This profile delves into how a Department of Labor agency became a model purveyor of customer engagement.

The balanced scorecard is a powerful approach to managing high-performing organizations. But if it鈥檚 not implemented correctly, the scorecard is just a set of data that has little impact on the bottom line. Gallup鈥檚 research has found four key elements that make the balanced scorecard work. This article, the second in a two-part series, highlights two of those elements.

Many companies that use a balanced scorecard approach to managing performance aren't seeing the expected returns -- or worse, their organizations have become more bureaucratic. Gallup's research has found that four key elements are required to make the balanced scorecard work. This article, the first in a two-part series, highlights two of those elements.

If your company has identified and removed all employee-related roadblocks to creating customer engagement, you're ready to take the next step: focusing your organization on the right performance outcomes.

鈥淧utting Customers First.鈥� 鈥淲e鈥檙e Customer Centric.鈥� 鈥淏ecoming a Customer-Focused Organization.鈥� Initiatives like these are well-intentioned, but only a handful ever succeed -- because too many companies are structured in ways that keep them from achieving world-class levels of customer engagement.

A company's assets include two key human components: its employees and its customers. Optimizing the performance of both of these assets can yield powerful business outcomes.

Once you understand the best practices used by the most successful call centers, it's time to see how they work together in practice. The most important tool of all is the balanced scorecard, which measures several facets of a great CSR's job. Once the scorecard is in place, you can implement improvement programs that can change the workplace culture.

Many call centers confuse production and performance, so they pay agents for the wrong thing. Performance determines call value, and three criteria determine performance -- measurement, agent talent and a supportive work environment. Overlooking any of these measures may drive down call center value -- and profits.