Pre-Employment Testing, Employee Onboarding, and Customer Service Excellence.

 

Valentine’s Day is almost here!  We pay special attention to relationships this time of year, don’t we?  Whether new and full of promise, or sweetly successful over time, February 14 is when we go all out for love!  But if our focus is limited to one day out of the year, we miss the lasting impact of daily attentiveness.

Isn’t this true in business as well? If we devote just one day or even a week to customer appreciation, we are likely to create short term, transactional relationships. But if we invest regularly in foundational actions that help establish a work culture of putting the customer first, then long lasting, relational customers will be your loyal, most profitable clients. And the best way to do this is to invest in your team of employees, the valuable folks that will treat your customers well, every day, all year long.

Here are some ideas that will help improve on what you’re already doing to invest in your team – so they will give your customers the best possible experience.

1. Invest in Hiring the Right People.

In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins talks about putting the right people on the bus. Have you? Are you taking the important steps of pre-employment testing to make sure those you are hiring are compatible with the type of customer service you want to provide? Do they want to be on the job?  Are they happy to be there? Do they treat your customers the way you treat your customers? These are the right people to get on board.

2. Support Your Team Once On Board.

Prepare employees by providing practice opportunities in dealing with customer complaints and solving challenging customer issues. Give them a listening ear and empower them. Stand up for them. Get between them and a customer when necessary. Help them know that you have their back when dealing with the customer.  Marketing consultant, Lynn Miles Peisker, writing for Tim Miles and Company observes, “Remember that the front line is a tough place to serve. Every customer service soldier deserves a general who cares enough to notice, to support, and to run interference when necessary.”

3. Give Your Team Confidence.

The commitment to excellence and constant improvement of your product or service is a commitment to your customer. Not content just to maintain, but to improve, also helps your employees serve their clients well.  If your employees know you are providing the best, they will believe in the product and serve the customer with confidence.

Continue to celebrate your customers by providing them with the best customer service team possible.  We can help! If even small changes seem overwhelming, Employment Technologies can help you plan action steps that can take your team to the next level. Give us a call at 888.332.0648. There’s absolutely no obligation.