If you want your customer service team to live up to your lofty expectations, you have to equip them with the right skills and tools to do their jobs well. The question is, are you currently living up to your end of the bargain? c4b3i
Ways to Equip Your Customer Service Team d5v3b
Customer service plays an extremely important role in promoting higher sales, profitability, customer loyalty, and customer retention. However, it doesn’t just happen by chance. If you want your customer service agents to thrive, you have to equip them with the things they need to improve and grow. Here are several ways to do so:
Hire the Right People 5k193l
It all starts with hiring the right people for the job. If you can get on board people who are naturally helpful, proactive, and empathetic, you’re going to have far greater success.
It’s also important to think about cultural fit when hiring. By hiring people who are already in alignment with your core values and objectives, you don’t have to spend much time retraining the way someone thinks. This is a huge positive.
Make Onboarding Worthwhile 3o6o46
Don’t make the mistake of wasting the onboarding process (as many companies do). While there are certain clerical and logistical tasks that must be dealt with, avoid training new hires in a silo. Instead of using handbooks and videos to train new agents, let them experience it in action. Partner every new hire with an experienced agent and let them listen to calls live. Give them the latitude to ask questions and debrief with the agent after each call. This is the fastest path to learning.
Provide the Right Technology 5d4d4u
Your customer service agents have enough going on – they don’t need to be exposed to unnecessary stressors and pressure. Provide them with the right technology that streamlines mundane tasks and sets them up to do their jobs well.
A good conversational AI platform is a great start. These tools can perform dozens of tasks, including features like “live agent handoff,” which makes it easy for your team to easily pick up tickets and provide flawless service without wasting time triaging the call.
Teach How to Handle Calls 174k34
The data shows that 66 percent of callers want to speak to a friendly customer service agent. Statistically, it’s actually more important than fast call resolution or short hold times. With this in mind, it’s not enough to equip your team with the right standard operating procedures and technical product knowledge. You also have to train them in soft skills.
Agents who know how to build rapport and empathize with customers are much more likely to foster positive relationships with them. Small things like using positive language matter. Words such as certainly, definitely, and absolutely should be used frequently.
Give More Autonomy 1w61c
Put yourself in the shoes of a customer for a moment by thinking about the last time you had to call a service number for assistance with something like an internet service or a home repair. How frustrating is it to hear the person on the other end of the line say something like, “I’ll need to ask my manager” or “I’m afraid I’m not authorized to do that”? When a solution is simple, the customer has an expectation that the person on the other end of the line should be able to help them.
Set your customer service agents up for success by giving them more autonomy to make decisions. As the employee gains experience, you can gradually increase how much authority they have and speed up service. (Everyone will be happier.)
As Intuitive Strategies puts it, “Customers expect their issues to be handled promptly, and trusting your employees to handle situations as they arise results in a more positive experience for the customer. Also, your employees will develop a sense of ownership and pride in their work when they are empowered to make decisions.”
We’re not telling you to be reckless by letting every new hire make significant decisions that impact the company’s bottom line. But as your employees mature, extending an appropriate amount of freedom is a good thing.
Putting It All Together 6x1u4t
Your customer service agents are the heartbeat of your team. They’re the ones on the frontlines – nurturing customers, protecting relationships, repairing issues, and promoting continuity. If you want your business to be healthy in the long run, you need to prioritize customer service from the very start. Hopefully, this article has given you a few suggestions to run with. Begin implementing some of them today and see what happens.