In service management, the inverted service pyramid is a traditional organizational structure that the customers are at the top while the senior management and the CEOs are at the bottom of the organizational hierarchy. The inversion represents the service logic, or the priorities the service organizations should utilize so as to communicate to the support front-line employees concerning delivery services to the customers. Mainly, the organizations pay attention to the value systems and culture of their employees, and how they influence the customers in terms of the customers’ expectations and perceptions. In this type of service management, the employees are empowered with the authority to make decisions and the freedom of action. On the other hand, the managers become the facilitators by encouraging team effort among the employees (Nayar, 2013).

A successful inverted organizational pyramid consists of three layers of management, and which must be consistent with one another when shifting decision-making to the employees. These layers of management include the line management, the middle management, and the senior management. The line management includes the frontline employees who support the customers while the senior management comprises the senior leadership that supports the front-line employees. The middle management includes the supervisors and the team leaders who model the behavioral change of the employees, coach and empower the team to create ownership and responsibility; encouraging problem-solving. The senior leadership is involved in establishing key external stakeholders, creating a winning culture, thinking ahead and leveraging key research. They model and link behavioral changes that can lead to increased employee engagement and customer satisfaction. In other words, they keep a clear vision of the strategies and missions of the organization. Also, the senior leadership is concerned with implementing activities that create additional value for the other stakeholders and the customers (Nayar, 2013).

Furthermore, the employees must master the team work skills and have adequate resources to ensure their full corporation and make effective decision-making processes. Also, in an inverted pyramid situation, employees should have more communication and information about the customers’ feedbacks. They should understand the organizational goals for them to make effective decisions. However, in some organizations, the stakeholders participate in the service system for different purposes. The employees are normally interested in autonomy, meaning and learning opportunities. The customers participate to get the service offered while the managers (who are also part of the employees), are interested in making profits or forms of performances. As a result, there are series of tensions are generated because of the different interests. For example, managers may be concerned with the efficiency of the workers at the expense of their meaningful work and autonomy; leading to the tension between the employees and the customers around the perceived control. As a result, this can lead to a conflict between the customers’ expectations and perceptions of the goods and the services offered by the organization; leading to low business performance (Nayar, 2013).

As most leaders need to stay involved in the customers’ level of satisfaction, it is important to note that the customers are the management agents that act as the quality control mechanism. As such, the managers should take the role of being a mentor to the employees. They should also develop trust with the employees and being willing to share authority; for the inverted pyramid to be successful (Nayar, 2013).

References

Nayar, V. (2013). Employees first, customers second: Turning conventional management upside down. New York, NY: Harvard Business Press