APQC conducted secondary literature search during its 2005 "Managing the Total Customer Experience" benchmarking study to explore the explicit quantitative relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction. This concept is an entrenched one over the years, and a number of studies have demonstrated this relationship. Below are some sample statistics from the literature search.

• A five-point improvement in employee attitudes will drive a 1.3 point improvement in customer satisfaction, which in turn will drive a 0.5 percent improvement in revenue growth. ¹
• A five percent increase in employee commitment results in a two percent gain in customer loyalty, which in turn drives a two percent gain in profit. ²
• Correlation of customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction is 0.86. ³
• Correlation of employee satisfaction and patient satisfaction is 0.89. ⁴
• Taco Bell identified outlets with the lowest levels of staff turnover as generating up to double the sales of those at the highest end. ⁵

¹Source: "The Employee-Customer-Profit Chain at Sears." HBR . January-February 1998
²Source: Hill, Nigel. "Does Customer Satisfaction Pay?"
³Source: Dr. Dale Lake of the University of Michigan, cited in article "Linking Organizational Characteristics to Employee Attitudes and Behavior." by James Oakley
⁴Source: "What Goes Around Comes Around." The Satisfaction Monitor. Mar/Apr 1999
⁵Source: "Putting the Service-Profit-Chain to Work." HBR . Mar/Apr 1994

*Source: Managing the Total Customer Experience. APQC, 2005.