03/09/2024
A sense of ownership is a pre-requisite for problem-solving in customer service. What I mean is this: if your representatives do not have a sense of ownership in their roles, they will not be moved to go all out to solve a customer's problem. And you won't be making your team as formidable as they could be.
Great customer service is not produced through a rule book. For years, employees at Nordstrom, the legendary American retailer well respected for its customer service culture, were expected to follow only one central rule in all they did:
β "Use good judgment in all situations" β
Exceptional customer service is the result of a thousand little initiatives taken by representatives in serving customers, many of which may not be by the books. These corporate servants make these moves because they feel responsible. A sense of ownership has been nurtured in them.
What can your business do to cultivate this? How can you nurture a sense of ownership in your customer service team?
I will offer 3 non-negotiables.
β³ Set a clear organizational ethos (purpose, mission, vision, values, etc.). Your staff need to know what the organization is about. It needs to be clear and we need to believe you. Don't tell us you value integrity when we don't trust the CFO.
β³ Have clear job descriptions. Your agents need to know EXACTLY what is expected of them. What does their job entail? Are they in sales or in customer service? Or, like many organizations do, are they performing sales, account management, and customer service functions, yet are being paid as customer service representatives? At the end of the day, what are the metrics that really matter to the business?
β³ Empower them. Give them the freedom to use their heads. One of the tragedies of the modern work world is that people are hired for their abilities but are prevented from engaging them. The only reason you need people on the frontlines is for them to fight with the enemy! How then would a business have a set of frontline agents who have to escalate 80% of complaints? Your CS team should be empowered (with a budget, tools, access to information) to resolve at least 90% of complaints, including refunds, without escalating to anyone. It's simple: if you don't trust them, don't hire them.
When these are in place, then we can resume the discussion.