How to make time for customer service training
You want to give your team customer service training.
The challenge is time.
There's never enough of it. You've already got your hands full between daily operations and putting out fires.
Any training you do is focused on technical topics. Policies, procedures, products, etc. The stuff you have to do.
There is good news: you don't need to create more time.
Forget disruptive half-day workshops. Ditch plans for an all-staff customer service retreat. (Which, be honest, wasn't ever going to happen.)
I want to show you an approach to customer service training that works with what you're already doing. It doesn't take a lot of time, effort, or money.
And it works.
Step 1: Fix operations
Poor customer service is often the by-product of broken operations.
Many service issues can be naturally resolved by making the operation run smoother. No training required.
You are already doing this anyway, right?
One client hired me to train its contact center employees. The CEO felt they were being rude to customers on the phone. I spent some time listening to calls and talking to the team.
It took 15 minutes to identify the real issue.
The problem was the morning, especially on Mondays. The contact center was understaffed for the morning rush. Customers had to wait on hold for 30 minutes and agents worried about taking the blame.
They attempted to speed up their calls, which made them sound rude.
A staffing adjustment quickly fixed the issue. The 30 minute hold times were eliminated, which made rudeness complaints disappear.
Where's the pebble in your customer's shoe? Fix it and you'll fix service with no training.
Resource: solve issues with the Quick Fix Checklist
Step 2: Embrace microlearning
Microlearning is training delivered in bite-sized chunks. It focuses on one specific skill that's immediately useful.
Your employees are already doing this. You are, too.
Think about the last time you were trying to accomplish a task, got stuck, and went to YouTube for a brief tutorial. The video instantly helped.
That's microlearning.
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It's highly effective for customer service training. It works by giving your team one specific skill that's immediately useful.
My Customer Service Tip of the Week is built around microlearning. Each week, you get one specific tip that you can share with your team.
Share it the way you share other information:
You can use the tips to provide weekly training to your team with the 5-5-5 approach:
Anyone can subscribe here: www.toistersolutions.com/tips
Step 3: Engage employees
Involve your team in solving customer service problems. Employees will learn while they create great solutions.
For example:
An accounts receivable team wasn't sure what to say to customers upset about their bills. We did an exercise where we first listed things you should never say in that situation.
It was a lot of fun to laugh and let it all out.
Then we came up with a list of things they could say. Smart, empowering phrases that would make customers feel better and be more likely to settle their account.
The team tried out the new phrases over the next week and they worked! The team felt better and more customers paid on time. Win-win.
Try engaging your team to solve a problem. Problem solving is more effective than traditional training for two reasons:
Conclusion
You don't need to make time for customer service training. Use the time you already have to continuously focus on improving customer service:
Build a service culture
Keynote Speaker | Host of the 'SIMPLE brand' podcast | Helping you create loyal customers and loyal employees - all through the power of simplicity.
2 个月That pebble in the customer's shoe is like the pebble that causes so many ripples in the water. Remove the pebble and things get a lot smoother.
Expert Customer Experience Management Training ? Mystery Shopping & Business Assessments ? Event Services
2 个月You are so right training doesn't need to be a half-day or all-day workshop. Training can be done daily in pre-shift meetings or weekly 5-minute one-on-ones. Communication is the key. If you use mystery shoppers reviewing the report with everyone (no names mentioned) can educate everyone on the key mistakes, this can be done either at a pre-shift meeting or by posting the review.
Jeff, I'm a huge customer service guy and think it should be done at all levels, not just the face of an organization. We have quality assurance personnel in our organization that everyone pretty much despise. They aren't considered fair and also can be rude. I think customer service skills are there shortfall. Our Commander (we're Air Force) has the attitude, "They work for me, so you just need to do as they say." Any feedback?
Director of Global Support @Brightflag | Creating experiences Customers love | CX Fanatic
2 个月Jeff, what’s missing here, arguably the most important aspect, is leadership training. No amount of employee training can make up for poor or inadequate leadership.