Co-workers Are NOT Clients

Call them “clients” and watch productivity drop.

Steve Surace
Jul 28, 2017 · 2 min read

Years ago I was sitting in a meeting discussing the direction of a particular web application. The folks in the room were from Marketing and Communications, while I represented my team (Software Engineering). It is important to note all meeting participants worked for the same company — we simply were part of different divisions.

One particular comment irked me: “Steve, we are your clients, and as your client we expect X to be done.” (“X” being a particular feature requested for the application.)

It is dangerous to call co-workers your “clients.”

This often happens in medium- or large-sized companies. Someone in IT, for example, who manages the Finance division’s systems may call his or her Finance colleagues “clients” or “internal customers.” From a high-level, the client description is somewhat accurate: the folks in Finance request or ask for something, and the IT personnel work to provide it to them as a service.

However, the term “client” can have major negative effects.

Some misinterpret the relationship to be one where the customer is always right. Where there is no room for collaboration, but rather demands and expectations. Where the intention is to be served at an individual or division level, rather than work toward a common goal for the company as a whole.

Results can be disastrous with this way of working.

Team members may feel pressure to perform tasks which might be unreasonable or short-sighted, just to appease the immediate needs of a particular “important client.” Communication channels become stifled, causing feelings of distrust to emerge. And worse, individuals may begin to withhold their ideas, contrary opinions, or other important information in fear of getting stone-walled with the “I’m the client, you’re the provider” attitude.

This causes a major blind spot of who the business’ true customers are.

Business Partners

I propose shifting the perception to enable more collaboration.

If you work for the same company as someone else, get your paycheck signed by the same person, or roll up to the same CEO, you are business partners. Regardless of job type, everyone in your company should be viewed as a partner working toward common goals.

This means discussions on projects, challenges, and business needs should be collaborative, open, and have a prevailing viewpoint toward benefiting the overall company and its customers.

The executive team must lead by example here — their actions and the adjectives they use get reflected down the chain. Everyone must take a big picture viewpoint, taking ideas from all angles. When co-workers are together in a meeting, there is no “IT,” “Marketing,” or “Sales” — just team members.

With this bias toward a partnership, great things come naturally. Decisions are made inclusively, creativity blossoms, and everyone feels they are contributing to the company’s success.

Steve Surace

Written by

Entrepreneur, author, public speaker, consultant

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade