10 Ways To Show Appreciation To Your Customer Service Staff
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Who answers the phones, troubleshoots questions and calms disgruntled customers? The customer service team. Every successful customer-centric company has a great customer service team, but the job can be demanding and is often thankless. When a customer service team does its job well, things go smoothly for everyone else in the company, so it can be easy to overlook the customer service team.
Customer service staff deserves appreciation—both on Customer Service Week and every day. It’s especially important this year, when customer service agents have been put through the ringer with many having to work from home and dealing with new issues and challenges from customers in a COVID-19 world.
Here are 10 ways—large and small—to show appreciation to your customer service staff.
1 . New technology.
Customer service agents depend on technology to get their jobs done. When the tech is faulty or outdated, it can hinder their job performance and happiness. Show your staff how much you care by investing in quality, updated software and devices. Ask what tools would help them do their jobs better and then make it happen.
2 . Training and development.
One of the most meaningful ways you can show appreciation is by investing in someone’s future. Expand the training and development programs at your company or pay for customer service employees to participate in outside training for their personal and professional development.
3 . Open feedback.
Customer service agents are the front lines of the company, but many companies don’t often ask for their feedback and suggestions. Create lines for open communication, such as a transparent town hall or online forum, for employees to share suggestions, ask questions and vent frustrations.
4 . Food.
The way to show appreciation is often through the stomach. Bring in treats or a meal for your employees or take them out to lunch. To make it extra personal, have executives serve the meal and give them a chance to mingle with employees.
5 . Public recognition.
Everyone wants to be recognized for a job well done. Public recognition takes many forms—a certificate, a prize, a post on the company intranet, etc. Whatever you do, make it meaningful and personal. Highlight individuals and teams for their specific work and projects to show you are paying attention and truly value the work they are doing. You can even share it externally on social media.
6 . Time off.
Show you appreciate your employees by giving them a break from work. Life in the contact center can be stressful, especially with the changes and challenges of COVID-19. A day or an afternoon off work can allow employees to re-charge and re-center.
7 . Bonus or gift.
Money talks. Customer Service Week is a great time to give employees a little something extra, either in the form of cash, a gift card or a physical gift. The amount doesn’t matter as much as the sentiment that comes with it. If you choose the physical gift approach, make it something that employees will actually use.
8 . Field trip.
Take your employees out of the office for a day of teambuilding and fun. Off-site field trips can be anywhere—golfing, taking a cooking class together, rafting, ax throwing, going on a dinner cruise—the possibilities are endless. Just choose an activity that employees will enjoy and that allows them to take a true break from work.
9 . Workplace celebration.
The alternative to taking the celebration on the road is to have fun at the office. Do something out of the ordinary to give employees a break during their workday. Bring in a massage therapist or personal chef, allow employees to wear whatever they want, give them a chance to dunk the CEO in a dunk tank—there are plenty of options for creativity.
10 . Written note.
It’s not the flashiest option, but a heartfelt handwritten note of appreciation can be incredibly effective. Customer service can be a thankless job, but getting a personal note from a leader can make everything worth it and build connection within the company.
Your customer service staff deserves appreciation year-round. These 10 ideas can help you find the best way to show appreciation that makes your employees feel valued and recognized.
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Article first published on forbes.com.
Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker and author of the bestselling book The Customer Of The Future.
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Country Head/Managing Director | Sales and Marketing Leader | Science Advocate | Driver of Operational Excellence | Customer Experience Obsessed
4 年Customer Experience, Customer Success, Customer Support whatever we want to call it these days, it is one of the most critical departments in business and sales. It will continue to grow in importance as COVID has shown. However when will businesses realise this and support and invest accordingly? When will business review meetings also include this departments success instead of just sales, marketing and service. Time to start defining what businesses of the future look like, where we invest and how we celebrate success and who are included in the celebration. #customersupport #customersuccess #customerexperience
NMF Founder and CEO, University Teaching, Int'l Development, SDGs; Focusing: Climate Action, Gender Equality, Environment, Good Health, Quality Education, and Well-being for PWD & MH; ex UN (FAO and WFP), and ex CARE USA
4 年Blake Morgan, appreciated from Naifa Maruf Foundation
Director of Marketing at Apprenticely
4 年Great share Blake! If you’re not appreciating those closest to your customers you’re really missing the mark.
Experienced Principal Product Manager delivering results across growth, technical, partner, and outbound (GTM) roles
4 年"rafting, ax throwing" is probably not a phrase you. see often.
???????????????? ???????? ?????????? ?????????????????? | Customer Experience Marketing | Customer Service and CX Speaker, Trainer, and Coach | Facilitated More Than 1,000,000 Customer Service Experiences (and counting)
4 年Great article, Blake. Especially in today's world, it is vitally important to recognize the people who do so much to serve customers. Our company recently invested in some gifting and recognition software and it has been tremendously well received. I'm curious, do you have a preferred method of showing or being showed appreciation in a customer service environment?