“Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.” –Stephen R. Covey
To have a list of loyal, satisfied customers is every business owner’s dream. To make that dream come true, your employees must feel capable of making decisions and taking action to resolve customer service issues that may occur in your day-to-day operation.
Developing a culture of entrusted employees is not something that happens overnight. The good news is that there are steps your leadership can take to help employees increase customer satisfaction and feel empowered at work.
Here are three tips you can use to empower your employees to serve your customers:
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Be aware of your hiring practices.
When the position is defined, and the right person is hired to fit in the role, an entrusted employee is the next logical step. This means being crystal clear on your values as a business owner and the foundation of the company as you build your team. Writing robust job descriptions and using a strategic system to hire the right person for the right position is the first step in developing an aligned, entrusted team.
For example, there are certain qualities and soft skills that a customer-facing employee must possess to provide fantastic customer service experiences. Hiring the wrong person for that role can result in a customer service nightmare, damaging your company’s reputation and decreasing sales.
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Have open, frequent, purposeful communication with your employees.
Empowered teams are developed one conversation at a time, over time. You’re better off having smaller, more frequent discussions to touch base with your employees rather than waiting for the 3-hour performance review at the end of the year. A 15-30 minute meeting every few weeks will do wonders to build an entrusted team and keep the lines of communication open in your company.
The key to encouraging this open communication is to remember that it’s a two-way street. Cultivate a sense of curiosity in yourself and your team by asking compelling, open-ended questions that will provide you with insight on how to better serve your customers. Asking for frequent feedback and input on your organizations’ policies can help you uncover critical gaps in your customer service experience. Try questions like:
- How are you?
- What’s going right for you?
- What could be better?
- Have there been any customer challenges that we could have handled better?
- Why did you make that decision? What was your reasoning at the time?
- Do you have any ideas on how we can improve _______________?
- What are our customers saying about ______________?
Open communication will also foster a sense of trust within your team. Employees want to have a voice and work for an organization who understands them and their well-being. Show your employees you care about their lives and personal growth by asking about their career goals and coming up with a plan to help them get there.
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Encourage accountability and decision-making.
Does your team truly have the ability and autonomy in their roles to provide exceptional customer service experiences?
Give your employees the freedom to make in-the-moment decisions to problem-solve issues for your customers. How frustrating is it to hear the words, “I can’t do that, I need to ask my manager…” – When the solution is rather simple? With the right tools in place, entrusted employees have the power and knowledge necessary to take the right action when challenges arise, leading to increased customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.
Customers expect their issues to be handled promptly and trusting your employees to handle situations as they arise results in a more positive experience for the customer. Also, your employees will develop a sense of ownership and pride in their work when they are empowered to make decisions.
Empowering employees is a culture shift and an ongoing day-by-day process. With effective hiring, open feedback, trust, and purposeful communication, your employees will become your greatest partners.
Creating memorable moments for your customers? Reach out to set up a consultation so that you can increase your employee and your customer satisfaction.