Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is one of the most delicate departments in a company. It takes a lot of intent, attention, and compassion to really succeed in a customer service environment. The demands placed on the representatives to resolve concerns and please the customer can be result in a very high-stress work environment, which has a heavy negative impact on your business. Here are some of the top tips for decreasing stress levels in your customer service department:
Know where your pressures come from, and when. Mapping out the tendencies of customer trends can help you plan ahead for those heavy days. Being taken by surprised by a huge influx of customer complaints can be demoralizing and distressing for agents. By collecting and organizing data on your customers’ history you can make good predictions for the future and keep your team prepped and prepared to perform.
Know your limits. Cross-training your staff may have a positive effect on the efficiency of your work place, but it also increases stress levels. With employees who feel responsible for multiple jobs, the strain they might feel from trying to field any and all service call topics will actually produce less satisfactory results for the customer. Organizing tickets into their particular department and letting your representatives stay in their field of expertise will improve customer AND employee satisfaction.
Be an enabler. With the proper tools, your team won’t think twice about a busy day. Enable your agents to become the customer service gurus they were meant to be by providing reliable, versatile resources like a knowledge base, a self service center, internal support (from management), and a powerful customer service software system.
Make it personal. Be sure to honor and acknowledge your customer service representatives for the rock-solid base upon which your company can continue to thrive. It can sometimes feel like a thankless job, but there are times when one simple “thank you†can make all the difference in the world to a stressed out agent.
Navigating the world of customer support is inevitably emotional, so keep in mind that a stressful day is only a single day. Representatives in the field give their all to ensure that your customers are happy with their product and pleased with their service, which is the cornerstone of a good business. Use these four tips to help ease their days so that everyone has a little bit of a better day! It can’t hurt to bring donuts, either.