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Customer services team help!

Posted by on Mon, 12/10/2009 - 14:15

I was hoping someone might have a suggestion to help out with the customer services team in the company I work for?

I've been doing my call recording reviews and have identified an issue with the team. They appear to have got themselves stuck in an "going through the motions" type rut and are sounding increasingly bored and robotic when dealing with our clients - which isn't much in the way of a customer experience!

I've tried a few tricks to try and bring some vibrancy and dynamic to the team's approach - which has worked in the short term - but they seem to just slip into the same habits and no amount of monitoring & motivating seems to work.

I'd like to get them into a workshop or course I can deliver to try and promote the idea of the "Customer Experience" and get them improved for a longer period of time. Has anyone got any interesting suggestions?

Becky Midgley's picture

Could be a training issue or...

 Could be a training issue, but I'm not convinced as there could be a plethora of other factors:

  • Is there a clear vision and plan for what it is hoped the team will achieve?
  • Does each team have meaningful manageable goals and targets?
  • Does the team and the individuals in in it feel valued by the company?
  • Are there regular updates on how they are doing and how the organisation is doing with information clearly shared?
  • Have you put systems in place to support team members ongoing development which is linked to a succession plan?
  • As said before are team members empowered to make decisions, do they have a sense of owenership and responsibility?
  • Are they suitably rewarded for their efforts in a meaningful way with short term wins
  • Is there a positive culture within the organisation with leaders demonstrating that they care and support employees and customers
  • Do the systems and processes in place support the Team Members - do they say continuously 'I need to put you in touch with someone else who can deal with your problem'.
  • Is the organisation and team led well?

Thanks

Posted by on Tue, 27/10/2009 - 11:12

Remuneration, remuneration, remuneration

Lots of good responses from Becky but the key one for me is how they are remunerated. 

My kids respond to sweets and stickers - kid remuneration.  People respond well to praise, motivation etc but they respond best to cash.  Can you pay them based on their performance?  Do you have the measurement criteria in place to allow you to do that?

Having fun days where they all come in in their pyjamas, have team games facing one team off against another, providing a special chair (big leather boardroom thing) to the person with the best call that week etc will get you so far in promoting a good atmosphere but regardless of what anyone says, people are motivated by the opportunity to earn money.

If you have the tools in place to enable it then offering incentives over and above the norm based on quantitative measurements are a great way to focus people's attention.  It's worth noting that poorly thought out incentives are worse than no incentives at all.  If someone will earn more money by acting in a certain way then they will probably do that even if it is contrary to the 'greater good'.

Posted by on Fri, 04/06/2010 - 15:04
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Monica Postell's picture

Choiceless Doer mentality?

-- Monica Postell | Customer Service Specialist | Impact Learning Systems International | www.impactlearning.com | Twitter: @impactlearning

I agree with Becky. It's not about training. The root cause won't be solved by a class. It sounds as though they understand what you want them to do and how to do it but they don't have motivation to sustain the behaviors. The bump up in performance that you've experienced following training is in part the result of being shown some attention. Most people want to do a good job and appreciate anything that will help them do that.

It sounds like your reps may be trapped in the role of "choiceless doers." (The term comes from a Harvard Business Review article "The Execution Trap" by Roger L. Martin, dean of Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto.) The customer service strategy is determined by senior management and passed down to front line reps to execute.  Everything is spelled out for these reps. Measurements are clear and possibly restrictive. (Being wonderful to the customer but do it in under 120 seconds). Consider:

  • What choices can they make?
  • Are they rewarded for making wise decisions, for advocating for their customers, for offering win-win options?
  • What's in it for them to change?
  • Why aren't they inspired to do what it sounds like they know is the right thing to do to make the interaction a pleasant experience?

I think Becky's questions are right on target and will be very helpful. Maybe try holding some brown bag lunches and ask the team how they'd like their jobs to feel. What would they like to be able to do for customers?

Posted by on Tue, 10/08/2010 - 17:10
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