Staff with the Best

Part 1 in a series: 5 Factors to Delivering Exceptional Customer Care

I’m happy to launch AFFINA Blog, an ongoing forum to share insights, advice, and observations on the business of inbound customer care. With 36+ years of customer care experience, we’ve learned a thing or two about what customers really think, how to respond to their inquiries, and the impact that we all have on overall loyalty. We’re happy to share with you our thoughts, hope to offer tips that you can implement right away in your own center, and engage in an open discussion to share ideas.

Today, I introduce a five-part series: 5 Factors to Delivering Exceptional Customer Care. I have to admit, there are so many things that drive exceptional customer care, that I’m a little hesitant to limit this series to only five factors. The five covered in this series are ones that set a strong foundation to deliver unexpectedly exceptional customer care that sets your brand apart. They include:

1. Staffing with the best
2. Training the culture
3. Reinforcing quality
4. Rewarding success
5. Driving continuous improvement

In this post, I’ll address the first: Staffing with the Best. Hiring the right individuals that are a best fit for your company, its culture, and contact types is an excellent way to get off to a great start.

Staff with the Best

Putting the most appropriately skilled and motivated front-line resources in place can be easier said than done. The task is critical and its level of success is pivotal to exceeding long term goals. Who are the ideal candidates that will knock the socks off your customers and blow the doors off your customer care objectives? Staff a team with individuals who have a passion for helping people and the skills and knowledge to back it up. Here are four tips:

1. Seek out individuals who are passionate about your products or industry. It seems simple, but in our experience, matching personal interests with products supported works great. For example, when we staff technical support for the consumer electronics industry, we seek out those individuals who are the go-to person in their extended family for electronics hook-ups and troubleshooting. Their interest and passion for the topic is already there.

2. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can train anyone to do anything. Hiring a team of individuals with customer service experience and then training them to up-sell and cross-sell products or accessories can be a recipe for failure. Be sure to match candidates’ experience and aptitude with the requirements of your specific customer care contacts.

3. Whenever possible, staff a new team with some internal, existing employees to assist with mentoring. There’s certainly an appropriate balance to strike between new employees and existing agents. Maximize the benefits of both by ensuring a good blend.

4. Finally, put a staffing structure in place that allows the front-line team to focus as much time as possible on customers and quality. As much as practical, move tasks off the desks of your supervisors and allow them to work on reinforcing your culture, driving quality, and coaching agents to deliver service beyond what your customers expect. As an example, we staff a separate team responsible for monitoring service levels and schedule adherence in real time so our supervisors can spend more time with our agents, providing coaching and motivation.

Leave a comment and let us know what you think. Are you facing challenges with staffing a team that exceeds your customers’ expectations? Have you found success with specific approaches you have implemented? We want to hear from you.