How Can Employee Empowerment Improve Customer Service

Rather than micromanaging them, empowering employees involves giving them the freedom to piece of work through issues on their own.
When you empower your client service team, you increase your chances of having not only a happier client base, but also more satisfied employees.
Providing the proper tools and training is key to empower your workforce.
This article is for business owners and managers who have a client service team and want to help them do their best work.

To get the almost out of your customer service squad, y'all need the members to feel similar they take the authority to make decisions on their own, without asking a supervisor for guidance every step of the way. Empowerment of your customer service reps volition lead to a better experience for your customers, which volition increment customer retention.

Given how critical information technology is to provide solid client service, information technology is important to sympathize what employee empowerment is and the steps you tin take to make that empowerment happen for your client service team.

What is employee empowerment?

Employee empowerment, on an employer's or manager'south part, is making certain staff members experience some sense of freedom to get their work done on their terms, rather than request for permission every step of the manner. In other words, it'south when employees have some autonomy.

Empowered employees go to play a part in making important decisions for the business organisation. For them to feel empowered, though, they need to have all the resources to successfully complete their jobs without help. These resources include both knowledge and tools. Yous need to give your employees the necessary tools to physically complete their jobs and also enough preparation for them to experience confident that they know how to handle most of what they'll see.

"For us [at our visitor], employee empowerment comes through engagement," said Christy Lobst, chief parent officer and general counsel at Colugo. "Ensuring that employees connect with our mission is a primal first step. Then, nosotros give them the tools and confidence to ever answer to client questions in a mode that furthers our mission."

Tip Tip: Employees are empowered when they aren't micromanaged and have the tools and noesis to consummate their jobs.

Why is it important to empower your customer service team?

The importance of empowering your customer service team ties dorsum to reaching your company goals. But why should your customer service team members go higher up and beyond to help yous make more than coin? Certain, wanting to proceed their jobs could be one reason, just if every employee does good work instead of great work, you'll miss out on a greater return on investment. Operating a business is well-nigh more than money – it's near people also, and empowering your customer service team can help you go along your people happier – employees and customers alike.

These are the main benefits of customer service squad empowerment:

Employees experience gratuitous to do their jobs in the most constructive style.

Micromanaging employees is time-consuming and not always possible when it comes to customer service teams who need to handle a constant stream of customer inquiries. When employees are empowered, they feel gratis to exercise their jobs properly past addressing customers' inquiries every bit they come in and also experience good virtually owning the process.

It leads to higher customer satisfaction.

Customers who have a trouble don't want to exist put on concur with long look times or bounced from agent to amanuensis. They want the person they're speaking with to accost their concerns. Empowered employees can take intendance of customer issues without asking others for help. The quicker a client service rep tin resolve a client issue, the happier that customer is going to be.

If the rep leaves the customer on hold while they ask their superiors what to do or the customer keeps getting passed off to someone else, the client will probably leave the encounter far from satisfied and accept their business concern elsewhere. A skilled and empowered service rep, on the other hand, could turn an angry customer into a happy one who would exist glad to go on giving yous their business.

It boosts employee retention. When your employees feel empowered, they are more likely to stay with your company. A LinkedIn written report institute that in that location is a 47% adventure of employers property on to employees who feel they take influence in the workplace for longer than three years. Companies viewed as less empowering merely have a 35% chance of employees sticking with them for longer than three years. High employee turnover often looks bad to customers, peculiarly ones who speak to your customer service team ofttimes and have built relationships with them.

Did you Know Did Y'all Know? Empowerment of your customer service team can issue in a number of benefits, including higher client satisfaction and employee retention.

How to empower your customer service squad

In that location are several things you tin can practise to empower your customer service squad, some of which only price y'all your time. Here are a few tips to get started.

1. Provide the right tools.

Not having the right tools can brand doing business difficult for anyone. There are many customer service tools that can make service reps' lives easier:

Telephone systems
Computers
Internal chat platforms so that reps can get fast response from co-workers while they are on the phone with customers
Help desk software (such as ticketing systems) to serve every bit a resource for customer questions and to troubleshoot problems in a timely style
Automation tools to streamline tasks
CRM systems to shop customer contact information and of import notes virtually support requests
Webcams so reps tin can have personalized calls with customers through video back up
Survey tools to rail how customers charge per unit their service

2. Provide proper training.

As your products, services, and policies evolve, it will be important to keep your customer service reps up to engagement on all the changes. While your client service squad does not demand to know the ins and outs of all your products and services like your sales and marketing teams should, they do demand to exist trained plenty that they can help customers appropriately and know how to solve both common and unique issues without always asking for help.

3. Offer professional development.

Some industries require employees to take ongoing professional development courses. Even if your manufacture is not one of them, offer employees the pick to take professional development classes paid for by your visitor.

In that location are several training programs specifically for customer service reps, many of which are free or cost less than $100 each. Consider these resources:

Udemy. Udemy'southward customer service training courses include topics such every bit how to delight every customer, dealing with hard customers, how to increase sales with fantabulous client service, and hundreds of others. Each of these courses is currently on sale for $19.99 or less.
Alison. This visitor'southward free client service grooming grade teaches participants how to improve their client service skills, with insights into the tricks and techniques involved.
LiveChat. This customer service training course is also free. Some skills that participants tin can expect to learn are how to retain happy customers, techniques to stay positive, and how to best handle customer service complaints.

iv. Provide back up.

To support your customer service team, you must listen advisedly to them. When talking through problems with them, don't interrupt them or think about how you lot are going to respond before they are washed talking. To ensure you are on the same page, try rephrasing their message in your own words and asking if you understand the outcome correctly.

You should also testify appreciation. Permit them know when they are performing well. Thank-you emails or fifty-fifty a handwritten note when an employee handles a hard issue particularly well could go a long style. If yous don't already take an employee appreciation program in place, you may desire to consider starting one. Such programs are structured to ensure employees are being recognized for their difficult piece of work.