Here's how you can empower your customer service team to make independent decisions.

I agree with comments and My take is don’t just preach about customer excellence and empowering your team. Actually follow through , ask your team for feedback. Be upfront with them and inform them of things going on within organization. Trust them to do the right things on their own. Treat your team like high performing winners and they will perform as such.

In hotel industry, you may always teach them with "what if" scenario and what they can do to make the guests happy. Initially when empowerment starts, associates tends to be wary with their first time decision making and seek managers for reference. Do encourage and guide them and from there slowly leave them to make their own decision without manager intervention. Associates may give complimentary room upgrade, late check out, one round of drinks at bar and etc. but always inform managers what they have given to guests for managers' record. This build rapport and trust between associates and lessen managers workload.

In my experiences I helped my team to build there confidences by sharing company directives and how we are performing. If we are performing well I encourage them to share out their best practices, giving them ownership of our successes. If we are not doing as well as we would like I encourage them to be involved in the processes to build. What their ideas are for how we get better, and what are some of the things that they are seeing in their interactions. Also, a large part is making sure our leadership is leading by example, so our team has a model to follow and build upon.

When the time comes to make a decision, we can also ask an opinion, and "built" a decision altogether. This could be as a first stage, like a "test". Next identify among the team those decision makers that can have more freedom to decide in specific matters, or when there's room for improvement. Eventually, the constructive feedback

Create an organizational culture that trusts and empowers employees. Encourage open communication, collaboration, and accountability. When employees feel trusted and valued, they are more likely to take ownership and make confident decisions.

Invest in thorough training programs that cover not only product knowledge and customer service skills but also decision-making frameworks and scenarios. Equip your team with the necessary knowledge and tools to handle a wide range of customer situations.

Absolutely! Training is key to empowering your team. It should cover not just your products and services, but also problem-solving, communication skills, and company policies. Role-playing customer scenarios can boost their confidence and decision-making. Plus, ongoing learning keeps everyone sharp and ready for new challenges.

I will always say the most important way to employer a team to make independent decisions starts with strong foundational knowledge through various trainings including hands-on, theoretical and experience. On of my greatest mentors taught me that the most important way to achieve success starts with understanding how to diplomatically approach difficult topics and handle them in a calm collected manner. I'll never forget that was a pivotal change in my mindset, and one that I encourage through training with my team.

Regularly coach and provide constructive feedback to your customer service representatives. Celebrate successful decisions and use less successful ones as learning opportunities. This ongoing support and guidance will help build their confidence and decision-making skills.

Sometimes due to empowerment, associates given service recovery which is over the value (for e.g. associates given complimentary dinner for guest complaining on room without view), leaders should not reprimand them for what they have done to make guest happy. Instead, try explain the situation and give your solution to the problem. This helps associates to grow as when they encounter complaint guest, this will makes them think of the weightage of the issues and what service recovery they can give in order not to hurt company wallet and make the guest happy at the same time.

I believe autonomy is important, but often in retail settings all decisions need to be made by team leaders. Team leaders should be encouraged to train team members so they can act on their own. This will help train and develop future leaders and reduce some of the burden placed on said leaders.