In our most recent blog series, business writer Lynn Miles Peisker makes a case for why organizational leaders should revisit their understanding and approach to customer service, especially in a post COVID marketplace. To back up this recommendation, she cites a surprising statistic from a Forbes article by Shep Hyken. Highlighting results from his firm’s Achieve Customer Amazement Study, he noted:

 “96.2% of customers are willing on some level to switch if they think they’ll have a better experience elsewhere.”

“Did I read that right?”

This next phase of reopening the economy gives businesses and service organizations an opportunity to rethink previously held beliefs and practices related to customer service. With this perspective, let’s look straight ahead at the 96.2% figure and ask, “How do we keep our customers in place and satisfied?”

The 4 C’s

Peisker shares a personal story involving Bob, a repairman that was sent to investigate her home’s slow internet service – with great success. She uses four C’s to explain why his customer service produced “staying power”.

CULTURE: he liked his job and displayed confidence and courtesy as he went about doing it.

CONNECTION: he made a direct connection with his client, and kept that client updated.

CONTACT: he provided a way for the client to connect with him directly, allowing the client to avoid the automated menu of the parent company.

COMPLETION: He did the work in a timely fashion, and let the client know when the work was completed.

Bob was skilled, trained, and empowered to provide the type of service required in the moment to delight the customer. His employer trusted Bob to get the job done to the customer’s satisfaction.

As you review the four C’s, do you see the links between hiring, equipping employees, and retaining customers? Could a fresh, integrated approach to customer service also enhance your staff’s level of job satisfaction and improve employee engagement and retention?

An Integrated Approach

If you are catching the vision for the potential of an integrated approach, let’s explore the three strategies in Peisker’s second post.

Build Competence – What assessments are you using in your hiring process? Did you know that job simulations are the most accurate tools to diagnose and predict success in a customer service role? And once you hire for skills, are you using data from the assessments to inform a new hire’s onboarding plan?  If the hiring, onboarding, and development functions are in different departments, this is an opportunity to introduce intentional integration.

Empower Your Employees – Do your operational systems reflect an attitude of trust toward the employee?  Does your assessment measure problem solving ability? If so, is that ability recognized and utilized once the new hire is on the job?

Set Expectations and Follow Through – Best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell writes, “We learn by example and by direct experience because there are real limits to the adequacy of verbal instruction.” From an employee’s first touch with your organization, what behaviors are they observing that begin to inform their understanding of customer service?

The 5th C – Commitment

Employment Technologies is passionate about helping people find meaningful work. We typically work with employers, offering talent assessments that accurately and fairly predict job success. We also have a long-standing commitment to workforce development programs, helping them equip and prepare people for today’s jobs using our leading-edge technologies.

Businesses: If we can help you integrate hiring, onboarding, and development to boost employee engagement and customer satisfaction, contact us here.

Workforce Development/CTE Organizations:  To elevate your employability programs with today’s latest technologies, we invite you to visit this section of our website designed just for you.

 

Resources

Check out our award-winning tools specifically designed to assess and develop customer service skills and aptitudes:

EASy Simulation® Virtual Customer

EASy Simulation® Virtual Customer – Sales

EASy Simulation® for Contact Center Agents