One decision, two strong functions: sales and customer service.
A team that had been doing everything at once regained clarity, pace and motivation. The turning point was identifying differences in values and natural predispositions, then translating them into a coherent operating model.
Challenge
No separation between new business and customer service, overload, and a risk of losing relationships and motivation.
Intervention
Humanet assessment of values and perspectives, role mapping, collaboration workshop and a new incentive system.
Outcome
Sales doubled in three months; the team grew from 8 to 24 people in 12 months; customer satisfaction improved.
Context
The education company, specialising in modern teaching methods for children and young people, grew to more than 40 employees within a short period. Demand increased year after year, while the organisational structure struggled to keep pace.
In the sales department, the same people acquired new customers and served existing ones. This worked well at first, but as the company grew it led to overload, fragmented attention and declining effectiveness.
Challenge
The natural next step was to separate sales from customer service. What seemed obvious from the board’s perspective proved difficult in practice: team members genuinely feared losing ‘their’ part of the work and the relationships they had built.
“I enjoy selling, but solving customers’ problems is also one of my strengths. If I move exclusively into sales, will I lose that part of myself?”
“If I remain in customer service, what happens to the commercial relationships I have spent months developing?”
Managers knew that the roles had to be separated, but they lacked a method that would protect motivation and relationships.
Reflection and diagnosis
We conducted a Humanet assessment across the entire sales team, covering values, perceptual styles and role preferences. The results were unambiguous:
- Group A — achievement, aspiration and competition → natural new-business salespeople.
- Group B — empathy, mediation and relationship care → natural customer success and service specialists.
“For the first time, I could see clearly that this role really fits me. I do not have to be ‘good at everything’ — I can become excellent at what comes naturally.”
Turning point
The assessment alone was not enough. Together with the managers, we took two key steps:
- Integrating the value systems within one process. Salespeople acquire customers while understanding their needs; customer service nurtures relationships and identifies new commercial opportunities.
- A new incentive system. Sales was rewarded for acquisition; customer service for retention and satisfaction. A shared bonus based on the performance of the whole department aligned individual objectives with team results.
“Previously, I felt that I had to choose between working in my own way and working ‘for the company’. Now the two fit together and reinforce each other.”
Results
Sales
Results doubled within three months.
Scaling
Within 12 months, the teams grew from 8 to 24 people.
Customer experience
Higher satisfaction through a more professional process and relationship-focused support.
Najważniejszy wskaźnik
Sales doubled in three months
“We feel that everyone is in the right place. It is hard to believe that a year ago we all fitted into one room.” — manager
Lessons for boards and leaders
- Specialisation liberates rather than limits. People become stronger when they work in roles aligned with their predispositions.
- Use data instead of intuition alone. Assessing values and perceptual styles supports decisions grounded in real needs.
- An incentive system is a signpost. A well-designed system connects individual objectives with the goals of the department and the company.
- Diversity creates advantage. Do not average people out; combine different styles into one shared result.
Następny krok
Do you want to build two strong functions: sales and customer service?
Start with a focused diagnosis of values and role preferences across your team.
⚑ Names, genders and identifying details have been changed to preserve anonymity.