Customer Service Management Training 101 Chapter 8 Excerpt: Monitoring Performance for Excellence

Effective leaders get results. They hold themselves accountable for meeting customer, organizational, and team goals. They understand how to get results through their employees’ efforts and they know that the most effective way to determine how well their team is doing is to monitor performance and measure results through involved management, direct observation, and analysis.

Your number one job is to make sure that your employees get the results you need. When you commit the necessary time to monitor team, employee, and personal results, you will stay on track to achieve your goals. Since your customers are the ones who are responsible for keeping you and your team employed, your number one goal should always be focused on customer satisfaction.

When your customers are satisfied, they are an asset to your company because people talk. Whether your customers are satisfied or dissatisfied with your service, they are going to tell others about their experiences Depending on the service they receive, your customers can be your best—or worst—marketing and advertising tools. It makes good sense to make sure you are doing everything possible to provide exceptional service at all times. When you consistently observe your employees’ performance measure results and monitor performance, you will be and ensure they are giving customers exceptional service you can be assured that everyone on your team is giving exceptional service to your customers. And that is your best guarantee that they say good things about your company. that they will say positive things about your company.

First, Before you begin measuring results and objectives, you first need to identify which results and objectives you need to measure and how you will measure them. Reviewing your goal sheet can be an important tool to help you understand exactly what you need to measure. Some results can be measured quantitatively through reports derived from concrete figures. These types of measurements include sales, revenue protection, accuracy, productivity, and expenses. Other results can also be measured qualitatively through direct observation for items such as customer satisfaction, adherence to policies and procedures, interpersonal relations, oral or written communication, and accountability.

The only way you can effectively monitor performance and measure results and objectives is to stay involved with your team and observe them directly. Unless you are a vital part of your team’s day-to-day operation, you will have difficulty knowing specifically what is going on. Results may slip and your employees may lose their momentum. Scheduling observation time in your planner is crucial to hands-on management and monitoring your team’s performance.

Directly observing your employees will enable you to determine the level of service they are providing to your customers, along with other subjective measurements that you include in performance appraisals. Your purpose for observing is twofold: you want to correct poor behaviors as well as and you want to catch your employees doing something outstanding in order to give praise and positive feedback.

When you spend time with your employees, it is important to document any behaviors or actions that will have an impact on an employee’s performance record and personal development. Documenting provides a reference point for individual feedback and performance appraisals. In addition, good documentation helps you spot individual and team trends and helps you correct problem areas.

STEP 1: Measure Results and Objectives

The only way you will know that you are staying on track to achieve your goals is to measure your results. Measuring results brings focus to achieving company goals, shows how effective you are, helps in setting new goals and monitoring trends, identifies input for problem analysis, gives employees a sense of accomplishment, and helps you monitor progress.

Determine What You Need to Measure

You only have so many work hours in a day so it makes good sense to focus on measurements in the order of their importance. Think about the overall picture: who, what, where, when, and how do you need to monitor and measure? Analyze your goal sheet to determine the answers to these questions and what items you need to measure. For example, if you manage a sales team, it is a no brainer that you are going to measure team and individual sales results. Likewise, in a billing environment, revenue protection is a critical measurement.

Most goal measurements will be obvious, but pay attention to the less obvious ones. For example, measuring sales results can be accomplished through quantifiable sales figures, but you will also want to observe your employees to determine how well they are handling the sales portion of customer contacts. For each goal, think of all the ways you can measure and monitor for excellence.

Measure Both Quantitatively and Qualitatively

Certain measurements, such as sales and revenue protection, are derived from reports and can be measured quantitatively. To gain the best overall picture of how well your team is performing, you want to measure results you can quantify and also results that are qualitative, or based on your opinion. Let’s say you manage an escalation team and measure individual results for handling times that can be quantified. In addition, you can observe your employees to measure how well they are performing through qualitative measurements. For example, during your observations, you measure how well your employees determine the cause of the problem, find the best solution, and satisfy the customer. Subjective measurements from observations can help spot problem areas and turn around poor performance.

Quantitative, or objective measurements, are results from data that you derive from reports. They include:

? Sales figures

? Revenue protection

? Accuracy

? Productivity

? Expenses

? Attendance

Measurements such as those above are concrete facts, figures, statistics, and percentages that cannot be disputed. They are useful for feedback and writing performance appraisals.

Qualitative, or subjective measurements, are derived from observation and opinion, although they often hold as much importance as quantitative measurements. They include:

? Adherence to established policies and procedures

? Interpersonal relations and the ability to work well with others

? Setting a positive example

? Oral and written communication

? Leadership abilities

? Personal career development tracking

Qualitative measurements derived from observation can actually be quantified for performance appraisals. First, create an observation form that includes all aspects you will observe: how well the employee answers the call, handles the request (list the nuts and bolts items that your employees need to cover), and ends the call to make sure the customer is satisfied. For example purposes, let’s say that you noted five specific categories on your observation form. Assign a point value of twenty to each category. When you observe, score each item as you call it. Afterwards, you will be able to quantify the measurement. Although it is still qualitative in nature--; that is, it is based on your opinion--, your opinion counts.

For other qualitative measures you may elect not to assign a point system because measurements, such as setting a positive example and working well with others, may not be part of an employee’s performance appraisal. Often, these types of observations are valuable considerations for promotions and other work assignments.

Incorporating both objective and subjective measurements ensures that you are giving your customers exactly what they want. For example, you may measure objectively through a call answer time monitoring system or by employing a company to conduct surveys that give you quantitative results. Whether or not your company uses external measurements, you will be responsible for measuring subjectively through direct observation and monitoring your employees for customer satisfaction.

Another valuable customer measurement tool is to train your employees to conduct market research. When your employees listen to what customers are saying, relate the feedback to you, and you take action on important issues, you will continue to provide your customers with exceptional service.

STEP 2: Manage Hands-on

Unless you make time for your employees and observe their performance you cannot expect them to know exactly what to do and how to perform their best at all times. The only way to know that your team members are consistently providing exceptional customer service is to spend time with them and observe their performance. Consistency is most important. Spending quality time with your team one week but ignoring them the next is not hands-on management. When you commit to managing hands-on, your goal is to consistently observe monitor your employees. The quantity of time is not as important as the quality of time, so when you are with your team, make the most of your time.

Schedule Team Time Every Day

Even if you can only spare a small block of time, this should always be considered a high priority, daily task. Make your attitude I’ll make time now rather than I’ll get to it later this week. Unless you block out your observation time with your employees you will not get to it. You will find other tasks that keep you from your team.

You learned that as a manager, you get results through your employees. Only you can lead them to success. Left alone, your employees will flounder and lose direction. Leading your employees to success means spending time with them to observing, coaching, motivating, and communicating with them. Remember that quality of time is more important than quantity of time, so even if you can only schedule fifteen minutes on some days, make those fifteen minutes count.

Give Your Undivided Attention. Your purpose for observing is to know how each member contributes to the team’s overall success, so give each employee your full attention. Ask how they are doing and find out in what areas they need help. Listen carefully and give them the help they need. When you spend time with your team, you may want to just feel like catching up on their personal lives, because this type of interest is a great way to build camaraderie and build a cohesive team.

Always keep in mind, though, that knowing your employees well helps to build team spirit, your objective is to monitor and observe goal achievement. Keep personal conversations short so that you can pay attention to your most important goal: monitoring and motivating everyone to provide exceptional customer service.

Communicate Goal Achievement. Talk about customer service when you are with your team and communicate customer service goals and successes. Tell them how they are doing, both collectively and individually. When you are talking about areas in which your team excels, praise them and thank them for doing a terrific job. Choose positive words that motivate your team members so they will strive to achieve higher goals

When you are talking about areas in which your team has fallen behind, speak constructively and assure them you know they can achieve the team goals. Share specific ways in which they can improve. Choose words that uplift your team members and make them want to do better.

Model Display Correct Behaviors. Whenever you are with your employees, whether you are spending time with them in their workspace, conducting a meeting, or having lunch with them, model display correct behaviors at all times. Never forget that you are their leader, so show them how to act through your actions. When you are going to spend time with your employees it helps to use visualization and self-talk to fully get yourself into your leadership role and to picture yourself modeling correct behaviors.

If an employee makes jokes at a coworker’s or a customer’s expense, do not laugh or go along with the joking. If you laugh, your employees will see this as an acceptable behavior. Your team members will respect you more when they see that you are above making jokes laughing at someone else’s expense. If an employee complains about a customer or another employee, remain objective and refrain from agreeing, ridiculing, or adding fuel to the fire. Stay out of gossip conversations and never water a grapevine.

STEP 3: Observe Your Employees

Managing hands-on by scheduling time every day to spend with your employees, giving them your employees your undivided attention, communicating goal achievement, and modeling correct behaviors are ways in which you lead your employees to achieve results. The most important task you can do when spending time with your team, though, is to directly observe your employees doing their jobs.

Know What You Need to Observe. When you review the items on your goal sheet, determine your employees’ roles in achieving each goal. Note what and how you can observe about your employees’ job performance as well as how you can observe it for each aspect that you noted. Observing provides you with subjective measurements, so you want to pay full attention to the employee you are observing. Doing so will enable you to make a correct determination of how well the employee is handling the customer contact.

When providing training, it can be helpful, when providing training, to explain to your employees how you will observe a particular item. Now that you’ve been trained on the discovery portion of sales contacts, when I spend time with you to observe your contacts, I will pay attention to see that you are using this training correctly. Now you have taken the guesswork out of your observations and , and your employees will know what you are paying attention to. When it comes time for feedback and performance appraisals, they cannot argue the point .

Stop, Look, and Listen. When you have an opportunity to observe your employees, stop whatever conversation you might be having and pay full attention. If you are speaking with another employee, give that employee the “just a minute” sign and start noting the details of the contact you are observing. Stop. Look. Listen. Paying complete attention is the only fair way you can assess an employee’s performance.

Correct Poor Behaviors Immediately. When you see a situation in which an employee is doing something incorrectly, step in and provide guidance as to how it should be handled and guide the employee to correct the performance. If you determine that the employee has no clue what to do, take over the contact and handle it to completion while the employee observes you. Afterwards, take the time to reinforce the correct behavior through on the job or more in-depth training. Follow up to observe the employee performing the task.

Catch Your Employees Doing It Right. It is your job to make sure your employees are well-trained so they can perform their best. After training is complete, managers often focus more on changing incorrect behaviors than on praising correct behaviors. Catching your employees doing something well is a great motivational tool. People appreciate knowing how they are performing, so always remember to praise your employees when you catch them doing something that exceeds expectations. Especially remember to praise your top performers. It can be something as simple as a pat on the back, a thumbs up, or a heartfelt thanks you for a job well done.

STEP 4: Document Performance

Why take the time to document? You already have a busy schedule and finding the time to spend with your team is difficult enough. You think you will remember all the details… and then you get bogged down, time passes, and you forget. Writing down the details immediately is necessary to correctly and completely document employee performance. When you provide feedback you can cite the specific details. And when it comes time to write performance appraisals, you will have valuable backup data.

Document the Who, What, Where, When, and How

Because documentation is an important tool that provides a reference point for individual feedback and performance appraisals, include the following key points: date, time (if applicable), employee name, and a description of your observation or customer feedback. When you speak with the employee, either to correct or commend, make a note of your conversation and the agreed-upon action, if any is necessary.

Document Anything Out of the Ordinary. When documenting observations that you quantified, you can come up with a concrete percentage for how well your employees are performing. In addition, you can document both exceptional and improper performance—anything that is out of the ordinary that you may cover during feedback sessions. Only document your direct observations and, employee commendations;, but never, ever document hearsay from another manager or an employee. If a coworker refers a problem situation to you, follow up to observe and make your own determination of the situation.

However, if a customer brings a problem situation to your attention that was the direct cause of one of your employees , you will want to document the customer’s comments and then act on the situation immediately. For example, a customer found out that your employee knowingly assigned an incorrect due date, causing a delay in an order. You will want to determine why this happened, so discuss it with the employee. If a customer commends an employee, document the customer’s contacts so that you can praise the employee.

Documentation Helps Spot Trends. In addition to using documentation for individual feedback and performance appraisals, it can be an important tool for spotting trends and patterns both for your team and for individual employee achievements. For example, if you notice that your observations turn up a repeated problem, you will be able to analyze the cause and correct the problem. If your team or an employee is not meeting a goal, your documentation may help you determine the cause and work with team members to improve.

excerpt from Customer Service Management Training 101, available on amazon.com