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Enhancing Your Employee’s Experience and Gaining Customer Service Success

Contributed Article by Shiela Mie Legaspi, President — Cyberbacker 

Going above and beyond for customers is the cornerstone approach for any customer service-based business, but many business owners may not realize that enhancing their employees’ experience can help ensure an enhanced customer experience. 

According to a recent Gallup poll, when employees feel valued and engaged, they are more likely to go that proverbial “extra mile” for their customers, and the Great Resignation has renewed interest in retention rates and employee engagement in many service-based sectors. Today’s employers are interested in how they keep employees happy in their positions not only so they can pass those good feelings along to the customer, but so the employer is more likely to retain top talent. 

The connection between engaged employees and happy customers 

When you run across someone who just oozes positivity, it can be infectious. Employees that love their jobs and feel supported and valued by their employers are likely to care deeply about the customer experience. 

Employees want to have a sense of pride in their work, and a happy customer is a good indication of a job well done. Employers who emphasize a supportive and engaged workplace culture can probably see the fruits of that labor firsthand. 

Our world is becoming increasingly digital, which has led some to feel disconnected from their fellow humans. Yet, the purpose of many — if not all — service-based industries is to create and foster human connection. 

When someone physically comes to your dining table to take your order, that is a human connection. When a person on the phone is willing to walk you through your bank account to find a mistake or to answer a question, that is also a human connection. Even as companies rely on more digital means to help with administrative tasks or social media outreach, the human element is still important and should be an integral part of building a culture within a workplace.

How to enhance the employee experience 

There are many ways a business owner or leader can approach the employee experience, but it all begins with being thoughtful and thorough with the hiring process. Fostering a strong connection between employee and customer begins with hiring the right people for the open positions. 

Once the best people are brought on to the team, those employees should be empowered to use the skills and know-how that drew you — the employer — to them in the first place. Employees should have the ability to make decisions, be creative, make suggestions, and dazzle you with their excellent customer service skills. Instead of trying to micro-manage employees, placing this trust in those employees will make them feel more valued and appreciated within the organization. 

As a customer service-based business, your employees are the ones on the “front lines,” meaning they may have the best ideas in terms of how to cater to customer requests or how to best market a product or service. Employees who know that their manager’s door is always open for suggestions will feel more heard and appreciated. 

Focusing on rewarding and incentivizing a job well done is also important for employers in the customer-service space. Employers can offer time off incentives and cash bonuses, or hold contests to keep employees invested in the overall company goal of great customer service. 

Benefits and pay are another way to incentivize employees. Many customer service-based businesses have begun to restructure their benefits packages to be more appealing to today’s generation of workers by offering generous PTO, work-from-home options, and robust health benefits that lead to better job satisfaction overall.

Encourage your staff to take time for themselves, rest, and engage in self-care practices. Customer service-based industries can frequently be challenging, especially considering the long hours that can be particularly mentally taxing after a long shift. An employer that cares about their employees having a sense of work/life balance is more likely to retain their employees and keep those employees happy with their positions. 

Keeping all of your customers — as well as their varied personality types — happy within a service-based business can be difficult at times. However, if we are to abide by the Gallup poll, employers can be more secure in their customer’s happiness by keeping their employees engaged in their work and engaged in the company culture as a whole.