Customer Service Training Tip – FAQ #10 Customer Service Program Engagement

This is the final blog in a series of ten frequently asked questions and answers about customer service. Please feel free to share your answer or comments to these questions.

As you may already know, I asked subscribers to my newsletter (The Shepard Letter) to send in their most important customer service questions. Thus, I have created this list of 10 frequently asked questions. A large percentage of the questions that came in focused on employee engagement, and I have already posted this list once. That is how important employee engagement is! So, how do you get employees engaged in your process, beliefs, mission, vision, etc.? Or better put:

How do we get our employees to engage in a customer service program?

Here is an answer, in the form of a list to this frequently asked question:

1. Hire right. You need the right people in the right jobs.

2. Properly train your employees – both technical and soft skills.

3. Recognize people when they are successful.

4. Celebrate success with the entire organization. Share great stories.

5. Create a learning environment. When employees do well, applaud them. When there is a mistake, make it a positive learning experience.

6. Recognize that everyone is involved in customer service, not just the customer service department, and it starts at the very top of the organization. Customer service is not a department, it is a philosophy.

7. Be polite and show respect. Say please, thank you and let your people know you appreciate their hard work.

8. Finally, practice what I call the Employee Golden Rule, which is to treat your employees the way you want your customers treated – maybe even better.

Please share with us your answer or comments to the above question.
That’s the end of the Frequently Asked Questions blog series. Next week, we start the Should Ask Questions series! Thank you!

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.

(Copyright ©MMXII, Shep Hyken)