Treat Your Employees As You Treat Your Customers
When you look at the statistics surrounding poor quality of customer service and employee churn, the numbers tell a similar story: customers and employees are willing to make moves if they feel they can get better service elsewhere.
On the customer side, for example, 89 percent of consumers have stopped doing business with a company after experiencing poor customer service, according to data aggregated by Salesforce. Moreover, a customer is four times more likely to buy from a competitor if the problem is service-related versus price- or product-related.
Your employees feel the same way about stellar treatment. In fact, 80 percent of employees believe that their relationship with their direct supervisor—in other words how they are being treated, what opportunities there are for growth, what feedback they receive, etc.—has a big impact on how happy they are with their job. What’s more, the No. 1 reason people leave their job is because of a poor relationship with their manager.
These customer and employee statistics evidence one core message: how you treat people, no matter if it’s your customers or employees, matters. Therefore, perhaps it’s time to start treating your employees with the top-notch quality of customer service you typically reserve for your long-term buyers. Here are three best practices you are most likely already leveraging with your customers that you can bring to your employees:
- Survey Routinely: Think of how often you solicit feedback from your customers in the form of surveys, live chats and email marketing messages. You want to know what products resonate with them, what pain points they are still experiencing and what new offerings they would like to see from your company. So do the same with your employees. Whether scheduling recurring one-on-ones or holding team-wide meetings, ensure that you are fostering a culture that values employee feedback and uses such feedback to influence change.
- Focus on Problem-Solving: Think of how your agents address customer incidents on the phone. Most likely they leverage a variety of solutions and technologies—think call scripts, presence technology and unified communications solutions—to address the problem expediently and calmly. After all, if your agents act concerned with your customers, you customers’ level of worry may rise. The same goes with your employees. As a leader in your organization, it’s imperative to remember that employees absorb your energy and motivation. Attitude and confidence trickles from the top down so as a manager focus on rectifying problems swiftly, as opposed to exacerbating issues.
- Reward: Do you have a VIP offering for your long-term customers? Does this group, for instance, receive a specific email marketing campaign or access to promotions and discounts that don’t apply to your general buyer demographic? Most likely over the years you have found specific ways to reward your most loyal, long-term brand proponents. So reward your employees similarly. Find ways to celebrate their successes—in the form or public accolade, promotions or monetary incentives. Reward employees for their hard work to show your appreciation, much as you would show appreciation to customers who continually give you their business.
Here at InfoCision we love exploring the importance of not just delivering a high quality of customer service, but also ensuring a high level of employee service. Executives and managers have to be steadfast in their commitment to paying attention to their employees, carving fulfilling journeys for them and supporting their personal and professional milestones.
Here are a few other blogs you can check out on the subject of employee service:
Steve Brubaker began his career at InfoCision in 1985. In his current role as Chief of Staff and as a member of the Executive Team he is responsible for HR, internal and external communications, and manages the company’s legal and compliance departments. Brubaker is a member of a number of professional organizations, including the American Teleservices Association (ATA). He also donates his time to serve on several University boards, including the Executive Advisory Board for The Taylor Institute for Direct Marketing at The University of Akron and The University of Akron Foundation Board. He has also been honored with a number of awards and recognitions for his contributions to the call center industry, including the ATA’s higher honor, the prestigious Fulcrum Award.