Customer‐focused organisations : Challenges for managers, workers and HR practitioners

The shift from product‐focused to customer‐focused organisational structures is motivated by the need to come closer to the problems the customer is trying to solve. This shift and the continuing demand for customer workers presents managers, human resource practitioners and workers with challenges that go beyond the development of customer skills. Customer relationship management is a mix of technical and human capacities. These challenges need addressing if companies are to continue to compete in a service‐based economy.