Tag Archive: Customer Service

  1. How Identify a Top Talent Chat Agent

    There is no doubt about it – today’s consumers have come to expect instant gratification. In fact, according to a recent survey, more than half of today’s consumers think a company should be available 24/7. This growing demand has led many companies to depend on live chat agents to provide this round-the-clock customer service. The good news is that the vast majority of consumers (92 percent) are satisfied with live chat services.

    {{cta(’38ad49e5-f227-4237-bde5-0fa050fca804′)}} The reality is, however, that not all chat agents are the same. While a top talent chat agent has the power to boost customer satisfaction, reduce costs and even increase sales, an inefficient chat agent can damage your company’s reputation. This is why it is crucial to make sure you (more…)

  3. What To Do about Hourly Turnover?

    Hourly turnover, especially in a competitive talent market, can feel much like a revolving door. In an hourly work environment, the pay is low and the job isn’t all that “sticky.” (Unless you’re pulling gum off the bottom of dining room tables, or cleaning buttered popcorn from a movie theater floor.)

    What we’re talking about here is the challenge of retaining employees in not-so-desirable jobs, or jobs that are easy to walk away from. That’s the reality for companies with large hourly workforces, like restaurant, retail, property management, manufacturing, call centers, and countless others. You can’t change the job, and often you can’t bump the pay. HR leaders in these industries have come to accept high turnover as a fact of life.

    Maybe you can’t stop turnover at the hourly level. But what if you could slow it down? Stretching an hourly employee’s tenure from 30 days to 90 days can have a surprisingly big impact.

    Think of it like this:

    • You hire A, who stays for 30 days.
    • You replace A with B, who stays for 30 days.
    • You replace B with C, who stays for 30 days.

    In 90 days, you’ve made three different hires. Now compare that scenario to this one:

    • You hire Z, who stays for 90 days.

    Here, you’ve only made one hire. Let’s say the cost of each hire is $2,000, conservatively. In scenario 1, you spent $6,000 in 90 days. In scenario 2, you spent $2,000 in 90 days. When you multiply that out across your entire hourly population, it adds up to big savings.

    Here’s an example: A retail client of ours hires over 60,000 hourly employees per year. That’s 15,000 hires per quarter on average (not accounting for seasonality). Hiring people who turn over early (within 30 days, for example) could potentially triple this client’s number of vacancies from 15,000 to 45,000 per quarter. On the flip side, hiring people who are more likely to stay for 90+ days could reduce their number of vacancies from 15,000 to 5,000 per quarter. What a difference!

    To learn more about hiring’s effect on turnover, as well as internal promotions and customer experience, check out our white paper: The Business Case for Hourly Assessments.

  4. Grinches and Whos: How HR Practices Impact Organizational Culture

    As an HR leader, you’re not out there on the front lines boosting morale or infusing company culture into the workplace. Not directly, at least. But you play a huge role in shaping a harmonious (or hostile) workforce.

    Here’s an example: Let’s say Suess & Co. has a reputation for poor customer service. They’re known for hiring Grinches. Now, unless that’s an intentional hiring strategy, these Grinches will sully the Suess & Co. name, and create negative associations with everything the company sells.

    Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot…
    But the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did NOT!

    Grinches aren’t good for business, especially during the holiday season. And while Suess & Co. may claim they’re a Who-company, and profess Who-values, this vision won’t match reality until they change their Culture DNA.

    So how does Suess & Co. shift their customer service from folly to jolly? It’s starts at the top. Suess & Co. executives will set a goal for improving customer satisfaction, then it’s HR’s job to put that goal into action. Performance evaluations and benchmarking reveal a few Whos at Suess & Co. that generate exceptional customer service reviews. A job analysis then identifies the job-specific traits and competencies unique to these top-performing Whos.

    Knowing what makes a Who successful at Suess & Co. empowers HR to build a Who hiring profile and bolster Who culture across the workforce. By screening out Grinches and hiring more Whos, Suess & Co. will see a positive shift in culture that has a direct impact on customer service ratings and net promoter scores—just in time for the holidays!

    Interested in hiring fewer Grinches and more top-performing Whos? Whether you’re undergoing a culture shift, or you’re looking to more closely align your recruitment and hiring efforts to your existing culture, we can help.

    See how we’ve helped American Airlines create a hospitality culture, or schedule your demo today.

  5. 5 Ways to Reduce the Incidence and Impact of Customer Incivility

    How to Reduce the Impact and Frequency of Rude or Impolite Customers

    Working on the front line of any industry presents unique challenges, particularly when working with clients and customers. While helping customers can be very fulfilling, it can also be difficult and emotionally-draining work. With common phrases such as “the customer is always right” and “the customer is king,” employees can often be at the mercy of their less-than-understanding customers. In recognition of this, researchers and managers have begun investigating customer incivility. (more…)