I Love Working With You!

I recently got a client referral from a long-time colleague. Her client, Mark, called me and we spoke as I was battling Silicon Valley traffic. He had not seen my friend’s work but had been told about the graphic recording she did for a previous conference, and he wanted something similar for an event he was organizing at the company’s upcoming conference in Orlando. While the date was rapidly approaching, Mark thought he’d reach out in the hopes I was available.

As good fortune would have it, I would actually be able to rearrange my scheduled travel to help, with a redeye flight to get me to the location. I asked if he could provide me a room to rest and freshen up before beginning work, and he said this was not a problem.

All of this is pretty standard to this point: client checks to see if their desired date is available, they book you, logistics such as travel and lodging are discussed. This is generally as far as it goes — then you show up and do the work, invoice, and get paid at some point (this is a touchy subject for most independent contractors, as companies have stretched payment terms from 30 days out to 90 days).

Here is where my new favorite client, Cognizant, departed from the script.

They were in contact with me before I needed to nudge them: they asked what I needed logistically to do my work. They helped arrange my sleeping room, shared their agenda so I would know ahead of time what was needed. When I arrived, I had not one but three sleeping rooms to choose from! (I’m not sure this was actually in the plan) I was able to rest for a few hours before getting ready to work. They let me know where to meet them, and when I got there, they had a table ready for me to put my supplies (usually I need to find a hotel staff member and request this). They had a name tent at the table for me. Everyone from their staff came up to me and introduced themselves to me, graciously adding how glad they were to have me there.

I had the feeling that this was not just because I had rearranged my travel schedule to do the work. I felt that this was genuinely how they treat each other, their vendors, and their clients on a regular basis. As I set up, I watched and heard them interact with each other — this was definitely just part of their culture.

Having this much kindness and gratitude made me want to do a great job for them and leave them delighted.

At the end of the two hour session, which was a roundtable discussion comprised of four panelists who were current Cognizant clients describing their experiences working with Cognizant to prospective new clients, I finished up my work. Several people from the audience came up to me and commented how much they appreciated what I had done and how interesting it was — this happens a lot, as people are not used to seeing their ideas and conversations visualized. But this was beyond just that “wow” factor, it was truly gratitude for allowing them to focus on listening. And Mark and his colleagues again came up and thanked me for my work. And said they would pay me by credit card (no 90 day wait!).

And they insisted on treating me to a spa massage at the top notch Ritz Carlton spa at the hotel before my flight later that evening. Which I very gratefully accepted.

Here’s the thing: when you treat people like they matter and you truly care about them, they will respond in kind by giving their full effort. Gallup calls this “discretionary effort” and is the mark of true engagement. And engagement isn’t limited to an employer-employee arrangement — it is anytime we are interacting with others, be it customers, vendors, or clients.

My experience with this client was exceptional, all because I felt like they truly cared about me as a person. They made sure I had what I needed to do a good job. And they repeatedly said “thank you.”