A study of the effects of employee development on customer satisfaction and financial performance as part of the service strategy in a high contact service environment in Puerto Rico

The management of operations in the service sector presents different challenges than the manufacturing environment. Research in operations management needs to focus more on service than ever before. Guidelines should be developed to improve the work design, competitiveness, efficiency and effectiveness of organizations in the service sector. The study explores the idea that employee development may positively affect customer satisfaction and financial performance. It is based on previous studies and presents the Customer Contact Model and the Service Profit Chain as the theoretical background; which define the service environment and the relationship that results from the employees, customer satisfaction and financial performance respectively. The study was conducted in the commercial banking services area in Puerto Rico, specifically the Credit Unions and no significant linkage was found between the factors studied.