The organization-customer interface.

HR's traditional focus is on the organization-employee relationship. In this issue we expand our view and explore HR's role in enhancing the most basic relationship in business: the organization and its customers.

Little did we know of the economic troubles on the horizon when we began planning this issue in early 2008. Now more than ever, strengthening the relationship with customers is an essential concern of all companies. Growth is needed to come out of a recession, and customers drive growth. Plus there is clearly much room for improving connections with customers. Forrester Research's 2008 Customer Experience Index highlighted the deficits: Only 12 of 113 firms received excellent ratings; 43 received poor or very poor ratings.

What is the role of HR in attracting, serving and retaining customers? Three articles in this special issue focus on HR's potential for directly strengthening the organization-customer interface.

* Ben Schneider, Bill Macy, Karen Barbera and Nigel Martin remind us that employees are at the organization-customer interface. They provide a clear and actionable definition of employee engagement and compelling research evidence of the link between engaged employees, satisfied customers and financial returns.

* Jeff Shuman points to the importance of organization design at the organization-customer interface. He shares the experience of Harris Corporation as it redesigned its business-development organization to enable senior executive account managers to build strong relationships with key customers. The new organization was structured around a matrix of the organization's core competencies and groupings of targeted customers. Jeff shares lessons learned in managing the "healthy friction" this design creates.

* Kevin Cox demonstrates how HR services can be a unique offering at the organization-customer interface. As head of Human Resources at American Express, Kevin encouraged his staff to find innovative ways to generate revenue by providing targeted offerings to external business partners. He shares the case of his Organizational Effectiveness department's work with Nedbank, one of South Africa's largest banks.

The organization-customer interface is undergoing major transformation due to the effects of the Internet and of globalization. Other articles in this issue highlight how HR leaders can guide their clients in proactively preparing for and embracing this change.

* Dan Novak argues that customers' ready access to information (via the Internet) and increasing global competition are changing the requirements of an effective interface with customers. Organizations need to become far more open, transparent and collaborative with customers. Such changes clearly have implications for leadership, talent management, culture, marketing and information technology.

* David Altman, Lyndon Rego and Peg Ross focus on a very particular customer set--the vast numbers of people in developing countries who live on less than $2 a day. Known as the "base of the pyramid," organizations are partnering with nonprofit and government agencies to discover innovative products and business models that open untapped markets and have a positive impact on the lives of the poor. The authors share lessons learned and how HR can build a capability to sell to and employ people in emerging economies.

* Anne Kreitzberg describes the potential of Web 2.0 for building and deepening relationships with customers, partners, investors and prospective employees. However, Web 2.0 has certain characteristics, like transparency and blurred boundaries that are not strengths of typical organizations. Kreitzberg shares four strategies HR can use to encourage a Web 2.0-friendly culture.

HR leaders continue to refocus their organizations on higher value and strategic work. In this issue we challenge our readers to look beyond the traditional internal concerns and seek opportunities to directly impact the organization's relationship with customers.

Cindy McCauley

Center for Creative Leadership

Amy Kates

Downey Kates Associates