Look After Your People And Customer Satisfaction Will Improve Dramatically
David Earlam, Chief Operating Officer at Quantanite discusses
In 2015 the founder of the Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson, said: “Take care of your employees, and they’ll take care of your business. It’s as simple as that.” This is a classic business school lesson, but it is a lesson that often needs to be repeated as so many companies forget the wisdom in this simple statement.
There are several reasons why leaders involved in designing or managing customer service processes should be paying more attention to their people at present though. The post-pandemic ‘Great Resignation’ trend combined with greater demands for a more flexible work environment has led to an environment where customer service people are more focused than ever on engagement and satisfaction at work.
Employers need to be aware of this. The post-pandemic contact centre environment has not snapped back to the expectations of 2019. Greater flexibility over work location, hours, and career support has all become normalised and I believe this will form one of the key trends in 2023 for anyone focused on customer experience (CX).
There are some specific areas worth commenting on:
– Employee Experience = Customer Experience. It has always been true in any sector that if you look after your team then they will perform better, but it is especially visible in customer service. An engaged team that knows they are supported by their employer will deliver a great customer experience. A team that feels their employer treats them like easily-replaced temporary workers will merely be watching the clock and waiting for their shift to end – hardly a recipe for great customer engagement.
– The role of your people is changing. As digital services such as chatbots and self-service using smart speakers or Internet searches all dramatically improve, it is less and less likely that your people will ever need to handle very basic enquiries. They will need to be experts on your products and services and behave more like investigators – tracking down answers to complex customer problems.
– People are harder to find. As the focus shifts from basic abilities in customer service processes to deep domain and product knowledge, it will be harder to find great customer service people. Remote work makes it possible to look beyond people living near to an office, but even so the bar is going to be raised.
Your people are usually hired into their roles because they love interacting with people – they enjoy helping people. You need to start considering the requirement for deeper domain knowledge, but also how to develop and offer interesting career options.
Some people may want to stay in place. The work and flexibility may suit what they want to do, but others will want to explore roles in technology, sales, marketing, or other business areas where direct knowledge of customer service processes can be a useful transferable skill. Help them. Show how their customer service experience can help their career to grow.
The health and wellbeing of your customer service team is much more directly linked to how you provide them with the tools they need to do their job today and how you support them to do what they want to do in future. Think carefully about what they need and deliver this, because they will deliver a far greater quality of customer experience in return.
The entire industry is changing. Digital CX is dramatically improving, but the human touch is still required in many aspects of the customer journey. Managing how this works is essential for your people – ensuring they are involved in processes where they can really add value – and also your customers. Get it right and your customer experience can dramatically improve AND your people will feel more supported, engaged, and ready to deliver for the team.
Quantanite has developed an ebook titled ‘The Key Trends Shaping CX in 2023’
The free download from Quantantite includes the wellness of customer service people.
To download the ebook Click Here
David Earlam is Chief Operating Officer at Quantantite
Quantanite is a Customer Experience and Digital Outsourcing solutions provider for the world’s fastest growing companies.
The company delivers customer experience management services, back-office services, and digital content services, and provides sales enablement and demand generation services through its sister brand Growthonics.
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in the United Kingdom, the company’s nearly 2,000 employees operate on four continents and offer companies a high-tech, personalised approach to delivering exceptional full-lifecycle customer engagement and supporting back office digital services faster, better, and at a more cost-effective engagement
For additional information on Quantanite visit their Website
