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Let’s discuss the team members who are responsible for managing schedules, coordinating logistics, and delivering the essential services that are fundamental to your company’s success. While their roles are not always directly associated with generating profits or interacting with clients face-to-face, their contributions are irreplaceable. Without them, the company would grind to a halt in 2.2 seconds — even faster if someone needs a document that is buried in SharePoint. Administrative Professionals Week is coming up, and it’s the perfect opportunity to highlight your support team’s dedication and indispensability.

Understanding the Backbone of Your Company

The individuals on your administrative and support team are standout examples of reliability. Working behind the scenes to troubleshoot and solve problems, they act as the silent force that sustains the vitality of the company's mission and vision. Their attention to detail ensures that no issue goes unnoticed while maintaining the stability and efficiency of daily operations. Armed with an intimate understanding of the company's intricate systems and processes, they offer timely and adept support across all departments. Moreover, their commitment to the continued mastery of their responsibilities creates a place of excellence and innovation that permeates through the company's core.

Cultivating a Culture of Appreciation

When administrative and support staff feel valued and acknowledged for their contributions, they tend to experience higher levels of job satisfaction. Recognizing the pivotal roles they play not only cultivates a sense of belonging but also nurtures a deeper commitment to the company's objectives. By laying the groundwork, you can significantly boost employee morale, thereby enhancing the likelihood of achieving strategic goals. Leveraging insights from personality assessments, such as The Omnia Behavioral Assessment, can further refine and customize your approach.

5 Ways to Celebrate and Connect

1. Team Building Activity

Engaging support staff in an interactive exercise not only injects excitement into the workplace but also ignites teamwork and camaraderie within the group. A sense of community and synergy among colleagues happens when collaboration is high.

2. Appreciation Awards

Getting the entire company to participate in the recognition event establishes a culture of appreciation and acknowledgment. The benefit of this initiative lies in reinforcing positive behaviors and strengthening team cohesion. Recognize specific skills or traits that make admin and support staff exceptional.

3. Lunch with Leadership

Inviting your admin team to have lunch with you is a pathway to open communication and strengthens relationships across different levels of the company. This fosters a welcoming atmosphere for them to share their ideas and concerns which builds transparency and trust.

4. Wellness Day

Facilitating healthy activities among the support team can decrease job fatigue. By doing this, you are demonstrating your focus on employees’ happiness and well-being.

5. Skill Swap Sessions

Having employees share their expertise advances continuous learning within the team. This can enhance job performance, efficiency, and adaptability as employees learn from each other's experiences and best practices.

Administrative Professionals Week serves as a reminder of the important role played by administrative and support staff in driving the success of the business. Beyond just a designated week of recognition, it underscores the ongoing need to applaud and appreciate their tireless efforts throughout the year. Embracing tools, like the Omnia Group’s assessments and reports, enables a deeper understanding of team dynamics and individual strengths, further enhancing your ability to empower your team.

By having a culture of appreciation, you can nurture an environment where your support team feels seen, valued, respected, and motivated. Let us take this time not only to express sincere gratitude to our admin and support teams but also to reaffirm our commitment to their continued growth and success. Happy Administrative Professionals Week!

We all recognize the pivotal role that customer service plays in business success. When mishandled, it sends ripples throughout the company, impacting not only profits but also employee recruitment and retention. Having the wrong people in key positions inevitably leads to a short-lived tenure for employees. Now, consider the following two statements for your customer service team – who would you chose:

  1. A supportive, flexible, and accommodating person whose natural aptitudes include collaboration, relationship-building, working under time pressure, and attention to detail.
  2. A helpful, sociable, and adaptable individual whose natural aptitudes include diplomacy, multitasking, and creativity and who likes to improvise and focus on the big picture and end results.

What sets these statements apart is one critical difference that could frustrate both you as a leader and your customers. This article will unveil this difference shortly. Your customer service representatives serve as the frontline ambassadors of your brand. Their role goes beyond issue resolution; they're tasked with creating positive experiences that nurture customer loyalty and drive revenue. So, let’s discuss the importance of hiring talented customer service reps, the repercussions of neglecting this aspect, and actionable tips to empower you in the hiring and development process.

The Foundation of Exceptional Customer Service

At its core, extraordinary service involves a genuine commitment to meeting and exceeding customer expectations at every touchpoint. It's about actively listening to customers, anticipating their needs, and demonstrating a sincere willingness to assist. Whether it's addressing inquiries, resolving issues, or delivering products and services, meticulous care and precision ensures that every aspect of their experience is executed to the highest standards. In essence, remarkable customer service is not just about meeting requirements — it's about creating memorable and meaningful interactions that leave a lasting impression of trust, satisfaction, and loyalty.

The Consequences of Subpar Customer Service

A business that neglects to prioritize the hiring and development of their service team risks facing a myriad of detrimental consequences. For example:

Identifying Stellar Customer Service Representatives

Recognizing the traits of outstanding customer service representatives is vital to building a resilient and customer-centric workforce. Some key attributes to look for include:

Know Before You Make the Job Offer or Develop the Ones Who Accepted

The Omnia Group offers invaluable tools to assist with hiring by identifying candidates who possess the essential traits as well as with developing existing employees:

  1. Target Selection Report

    This report provides deep insights into an individual's innate traits, facilitating informed hiring decisions and ensuring alignment with your organization's culture and values. By evaluating candidates' behavioral tendencies, communication styles, and problem-solving approaches, you can identify those best suited for customer-facing roles.

  2. Custom Selection Report

    The most comprehensive offering, individually tailored by skilled analysts, provides a thorough explanation of candidates’ behavioral styles, supervisor and peer comparisons, and management recommendations, empowering you to make strategic talent decisions. By leveraging data-driven insights, you can optimize team dynamics, minimize interpersonal conflicts, and maximize individual performance potential.

  3. Cognitive Report

    Measures an individual's general mental ability, reflecting their aptitude for comprehending ideas and solving problems. This evaluation provides an enlightening picture of a person's ability to understand and apply concepts to different situations.

  4. Omnia Service Style Report

    Crafted specifically to be shared with the service rep to give them and the leader actionable insights for skill enhancement. By understanding employees' service preferences, strengths, and developmental opportunities, you can tailor training initiatives, coaching interventions, and recognition programs to support their professional growth and job satisfaction.

Tips for Hiring, Developing, and Engaging Service Reps

  1. Recruitment Strategies

    Cast a wide net and leverage multiple channels to attract diverse talent pools. Incorporate behavioral assessments and structured interviews to evaluate candidates' suitability for customer service roles. Seek individuals who not only possess the requisite skills and experience but also demonstrate a genuine passion for serving others and exceeding customer expectations.

  2. Training and Development

    Provide opportunities for mentorship, cross-training, and professional development to foster growth and engagement. Encourage a culture of lifelong learning, where employees are empowered to seek out new challenges, acquire new skills, and pursue career advancement opportunities within the organization.

  3. Recognition and Appreciation

    Acknowledge distinguished performance, solicit feedback, and create avenues for employee recognition and rewards to boost morale and motivation. Consider implementing peer-to-peer recognition programs, quarterly awards ceremonies, and milestone celebrations to reinforce a culture of appreciation and gratitude.

  4. Open Communication and Feedback

    Cultivate a supportive environment where employees feel empowered to voice concerns, share ideas, and collaborate on process improvements. Establish regular check-ins, town hall meetings, and anonymous feedback channels to foster transparent communication and trust within the organization.

  5. Compensation and Benefits

    Consider offering service reps bonuses instead of commission, flexible work arrangements, and comprehensive benefits to enhance employee satisfaction. Conduct regular salary benchmarking exercises to ensure that your compensation practices remain competitive and equitable in the marketplace.

As companies continue to evolve and innovate, the one thing that will never change and is the cornerstone of success is a dedication to customer-centric service. Hiring and retaining amazing customer service representatives is not only essential for meeting customer expectations but also for driving sustainable business growth and maintaining a competitive edge in today's market landscape.

Did you spot the difference between the A and B service personalities in the beginning of the blog? The main distinction between the two was attention to detail. Customer service reps need to be detail attentive to help ensure accurate, thorough work results. As a leader, how frustrating is it to find mistakes or, worse, have customers call in about mistakes that were made? When this happens, productivity, profits, and employee and customer satisfaction take a hit. Wouldn’t it be great to know if the people applying for your open service position had these essential traits before you make a hire? You can!

By leveraging the insights and tools provided by The Omnia Group and implementing actionable strategies for recruitment, development, engagement, and retention, you can build a resilient service team that consistently delivers exceptional customer experiences and stellar results for your company.

The beginning of the year is a great time to reflect and refresh your business practices, and there is no better place to start than with the Customer Success team. After all, these are the people who represent your company on a daily basis.

Think about the best customer service experience you've ever had and what made it stand out for you. Did it stand out because of the solution they provided, or because they truly understood and acknowledged your point of view? Now, consider your worst customer service experience. Was the agent talking over you, not addressing your concerns, or simply missing the mark? The key difference between the two experiences often boils down to one crucial aspect: listening.

In this competitive business landscape, it only takes a few negative customer experiences to impact your company and impede business growth. This article not only explores the pitfalls of bad customer service but also delves into the benefits of exceptional service. We will discuss tips you can start using today to create a customer-centric culture.

 

3 Effects of Poor Customer Service

1. Brand Dilution and Identity Erosion

Your brand is more than the products or services you offer; it encompasses the overall customer experience. Negative interactions can tarnish your company’s image, hindering the development of a positive and consistent public perception.

2. Loss of Revenue

Unhappy customers don't just mean lost sales—they're a drain on your revenue. In today's fiercely competitive market, where options abound, neglecting the repercussions of subpar service could result in a substantial and ongoing financial hemorrhage.

3. Missed Innovation Opportunities

The lack of responsiveness to customer needs could prevent your company from tapping into crucial feedback that might spark ideas for product improvements or new offerings. This hinders your ability to adapt and pivot in response to market demands.

 

3 Benefits of Exceptional Customer Service

1. Enhanced Employee Morale and Satisfaction

Empowering your service team to provide excellent service and allowing them to witness the positive outcomes of their efforts boosts their job satisfaction. This, in turn, can lead to higher employee retention rates, cultivating a more motivated workforce and contributing to a positive work environment for the success of your business.

2. Reduced Operational Costs

When your team resolves customer issues promptly and effectively, it minimizes the need for extensive follow-up or additional resources to address recurring problems. The efficiency gained through customer service excellence can save both time and money, contributing to the success of your business.

3. Enhanced Customer Education

When your customer service representatives assist clients in understanding the benefits of their purchases, it contributes to increased customer satisfaction. This also results in customers making more informed purchasing decisions in the future. The proactive approach of your team enhances the overall customer experience, fostering loyalty.

 

Cultivating a Customer-Centric Environment

It starts with your commitment to prioritizing customer satisfaction. By consistently and emphatically communicating the intrinsic value of exceptional service, you not only set the tone but also serve as a guiding force for the entire organization. Incorporating these strategic practices can play a decisive role in shaping a mindset centered on meeting customer expectations.

1. Cross-Functional Collaboration

Dissolve organizational silos by promoting collaboration among diverse departments. A customer-centric approach necessitates input and cooperation from teams such as marketing, sales, product development, and customer support. Foster an environment where these teams seamlessly collaborate, addressing customer needs holistically and ensuring a unified and positive customer experience.

2. Precision in Hiring

Integrate personality assessments into your hiring process when onboarding new team members. These assessments offer insightful perspectives into candidates' communication styles, problem-solving approaches, and interpersonal skills. By comprehending the personalities of potential hires, you can make decisions, ensuring that those you bring aboard align with and actively contribute to your customer-centric culture.

3. Effective Feedback Loops

Actively encourage customers to provide feedback, and address shortcomings. This commitment to customer satisfaction is further demonstrated by recognizing and rewarding employees for delivering exceptional service, reinforcing the desired behaviors within your organization.

 

Actionable Tips to Start Today

1. Implement "Customer Shadowing" Sessions

During these sessions, team members step into the shoes of the customer, interacting with the company's offerings just as a customer would. This hands-on approach allows them to identify pain points, uncover potential improvements, and gain a deeper understanding of the customer journey.

2. Establish "Customer Journey Mapping" Workshops

Conduct workshops where team members collaboratively create visual representations of the end-to-end customer journey. By mapping out each touchpoint and interaction, teams can identify areas for enhancement, optimize key moments, and ensure a more seamless and customer-focused experience.

3. Conduct “Customer Persona” Meetings

Facilitate dedicated sessions aimed at crafting detailed customer profiles, covering demographics, behaviors, and preferences. By doing this, your team can attain a clearer understanding of the diverse needs and expectations of your target audience. This insight enables more personalized and effective customer interactions tailored to individual preferences and requirements.

 

The strategic advantage of providing exceptional service can't be overstated. As 2024 has just started, take a moment to reflect on your team's customer service practices. Identify areas for improvement and implement strategies to cultivate a customer-centric culture that revolves around listening: to your team, your customer, and the market.

Recognize achievements and encourage collaboration to enhance the overall customer experience. Opt for customer-focused hiring using personality assessments to ensure your team embodies the values of attentive service.

Your proactive approach not only helps you sidestep the pitfalls of subpar service but also unleashes the potential to transform satisfied customers into enthusiastic brand ambassadors. By taking these steps, you enhance not only the customer experience but also solidify the foundation for sustained success in today's competitive business environment.

If you’ve had your hand in hiring for more than a minute, chances are, you’ve chosen the wrong candidate on at least one occasion. So, when I polled a group of managers about having recruiting regrets, I wasn’t surprised that everyone admitted to experiencing hirer’s remorse.

Finding the right fit for your team can be a real challenge — especially since the customer service role is often entry-level, where you hire more for personality and potential than you do for well-honed skills. To that end, I want to share five customer service hiring horror stories with you as told by those who lived through them*.

You may chuckle in understanding amusement or shed a tear in solidarity with the storyteller. But I can guarantee you’ll also cower in fear of these scenarios happening to you (perhaps again!).

*All names have been changed to protect the guilty!

Angry Ava

We unwittingly hired a woman with a bad temper. Ava was sweet on the surface, but as soon as she experienced conflict, her attitude soured, and she got angry fast.

After about a week on the job, we overheard her screaming at a customer because they displayed frustration over a drawn-out problem. Rather than try to diffuse the situation, she escalated it instead. Unfortunately, Ava’s profanity-laden rant cost our company a major account, which also cost her her position.

Conflict-Avoidant Courtney

We hired Courtney because she was so courteous and organized. For the first couple of weeks, everything went well. But then we started to get escalated complaints from our customers — and other customer service representatives.

Apparently, Courtney avoided contacting customers if she had bad news or knew they were already unhappy. That delay caused irritated customers to become irate, making everyone else’s job much harder. We tried to coach her so she could handle difficult situations calmly and confidently, but she ultimately quit days before we were going to fire her.

Social Sam

We loved Sam’s charming disposition. He could de-escalate any challenging conversation in minutes. However, after reviewing Sam’s output, we realized he was only taking half as many calls as the other customer service agents, putting more work on everyone else’s plate.

It turns out he was befriending many of the customers and having personal conversations with them. In fact, much of his time on the phone involved chit-chat and making social plans — not solving customer problems or selling products. When we called him out on it, he got defensive, saying his presence was boosting customer retention. We offered him one more shot, but he resigned effective immediately.

Bad Information Bob

Bob had ten years of customer service experience in our industry and glowing references. So, hiring him seemed like a no-brainer. However, about a week after the initial training period, we started getting complaints that Bob’s service was less than stellar.

Apparently, he never took the time to learn about our products and services, so he kept giving customers the wrong information. His oversight sometimes led to customers making bad purchases (and always led to them getting angry!). We told Bob he needed to shape up fast and offered to help him learn the information. However, his mindset was that he knew the industry inside and out, so he didn’t need to invest more time studying. Ultimately, his poor attitude and work ethic cost him his job a few weeks later.

Lazy Laura

Laura’s resume checked all the boxes, and she interviewed like a champ. However, once she started fielding calls on her own, we noticed a major issue: she wasn’t entering notes into the system after each conversation. That meant customers had to repeat themselves when they called back because we didn’t have the history as a reference.

Laura’s failure to enter notes caused customer frustration, which often got taken out on other agents. We never figured out if Laura didn’t want to do that part of the job or if she consistently forgot about it. Either way, she didn’t last long at our company.

How Omnia Can Help

Are you shaking in your boots yet? I am just typing up these tales!

But there’s good news. You can reduce your chances of hiring an Ava, Courtney, Sam, Bob, Laura, or any other poor fit by having a thorough hiring process. Your hiring process should include a resume review, interviews, background and reference checks, and pre-employment testing. That last part is where we come in.

Omnia Group’s behavioral assessment can help you ensure your top candidate has the personality traits required to perform like an all-star. The assessment quickly measures their preferences, communication style, work approach, and more. The insight you gain will either confirm your hiring instincts or send you back to the resume pile. Either way, you’ll spend less time and money putting together a frighteningly effective team!

Since the very first business of starting cave fires in exchange for furs and hides, the transition from sales to service has plagued organizations. The early people had it right. Grog, the fire starter, sold the sticks and built the fire. His invoice was a grunt and a snort, and Accounts Receivable was immediately funded with a bundle of wheat. But, when it came time to stoke the flames, where was he? He needed a customer service team. Someone to tend to the fire, and when it got lower, build it back up with upselling opportunities. Grog’s 12-stick fire could have quickly become a bonfire capable of smoke signal advertising. “World’s Largest Cave Drawings, Next Exit!” 

Picture it, if you will. Your customer team is fielding customer requests, providing that excellent service your clients have come to know and love. Throughout each and every day, some of your clients are dropping hints left and right about their expanding needs and how just one small added service could drastically change their operations. Other customers are being vague, they are shielding their true needs behind what they think your customer service team can offer. After all, the sales process can sometimes be an arduous one. They may not want to go through that whole process again.

You need your front-line service team to not only recognize both scenarios as opportunities but also act on those opportunities, to either capitalize on them or send them to the people who can.

Customer service team members have a big role in your organization. They must deal with challenging situations with absolute confidence while still maintaining proper communications and fostering relationship growth. They must command respect while always showing it to others. But the best customer service team members are ones that are trained in the art of sales. Just like the situations above, customer service representatives that can ease the customer burden (and the sales team’s reselling and upselling burden) excel in their positions and streamline company operations.  

How can you identify the inner salesperson in your customer service team? Shameless plug: give them the Omnia Assessment and discover key traits that may lead to the discovery of great sales skills. 

The Right Balance of Service and Sales  

The perfect customer service relationship consists of three main aspects that allow the growth of service to clients: organization, communication, and passion. These three, working together, build stronger relationships and lead to the trust needed in upselling opportunities.  

Using the Omnia behavioral assessment, customer service team leaders can identify ways to develop their talent’s sales skills. Omnia’s user-friendly 8-column bar graph shows leaders exactly what traits a CSR has so they can tailor their coaching sessions to each rep’s specific needs. Even better, sessions can tap into the rep’s learning style and motivators. One size does not fit all!

 

Most successful salespeople have a strong column 1 in their Omnia results. This shows them to be naturally assertive. Individuals with a tall column 1 are driven, competitive, and goal-oriented, perfect for sales. With quotas to meet, they are going to do whatever it takes to close deals. However, most service personalities are the opposite, a tall column 2, which means they are naturally supportive, cautious, and eager to help. It makes sense that they are the people who can assist your clients, solve problems, make account changes, and answer questions. It’s a perfect fit. But with that, comes a reluctance to sell. Let’s face it, if they wanted to sell, they would be in sales. Coaching a customer service representative to sell means shifting your definition of selling. It’s important for them to position additional products or services in a way that does not make them feel like they are demanding or pushy. They need to see it as a service, a concrete way to improve the life or business of their customer.

Additionally, salespeople tend to be energized by social interaction, as characterized by a column 3 on the Omnia Assessment. Give them a zoom meeting or a microphone and watch out! Those with a taller column 4 tend to be more reserved. While you want your customer service team to be diplomatic and friendly (no one likes a grump on a service call), column 4 analytics are often better listeners, needs assessors, and problem solvers. They tend to be factual, direct communicators, so coaching on social awareness and rapport building will go a long way towards helping that service rep connect with the customer and thereby make it a little easier to make product suggestions.

Encourage your analytical CSRs to take the first bits of their service interactions to build personal connections with their clients. Doing so builds rapport and trust. If your client knows you care, they are more likely to care about their relationship with your organization.  

To Process, or to Act?   

Both. Definitely both. In looking at the third personality dimension, pace, people with an Omnia column 5 are fast-paced. “Call now!” “Book today!” Everything is urgent. The sale must close, the deadline is always approaching. Ever noticed how salespeople always ask for dates in the decision process? They are time-driven. Conversely, those with an Omnia column 6 are more systematically inclined. “What’s the process?” “How do we move from point A to point B?” Your CSR team is most likely more systematic. CSRs love processes and procedures. So, train your CSRs to act with some urgency when it comes to upselling opportunities. If they hear an opportunity to sell, put a timeline in place at the first start. Train to ask the question, “And when are you looking to make a decision on this?” That helps set the pace while remaining procedural.  

Lastly, the final personality dimension is linked to rules and guidelines. Salespeople are comfortable with ambiguity and like more leeway in how they handle sales. While it is important they maintain some sort of respect for the rules of the organization, they are often weaving around and through the rules to try to close the deal. Therefore, salespeople are often an Omnia column 7, where most customer service team members are, you guessed it, the exact opposite with an Omnia column 8. They have a greater reliance on the rules and guidelines. Rules provide comfort and increase confidence in column 8 personalities, plus it’s why your service team is detailed and accurate, which we can all agree is pretty important in service. Especially since the sales team has little to no time to pay attention to the details! Still, empower your CSRs to be a bit bolder when faced with decisions. They will want to take action within the rules, of course, but coaching them to ask questions that might open new opportunities, both with customers and within their respective organizations, is a win for everyone.

Using the Omnia Assessment for coaching your customer service team is an easy investment in the growth of your organization from the inside out. Learn your team’s Omnia personality numbers and use these coaching techniques to make sales interactions just a bit more comfortable for your fire-stokers. Grog is counting on them!  

In organizations, we celebrate the sales team for bringing new business to the firm. After all, a company can’t survive for long without revenue. But, on the other side of many org charts sits the isolated, often forgotten, customer service team. This department is usually regarded as a cost center, rather than a company asset.

If you’re considering customer service as a money pit, think again. According to American Express, 90% of Americans use customer service as a factor in deciding whether to do business with a company. Quality customer support is imperative for sales

If your company sees service as a weight, you’re likely leaving revenue on the table and alienating customers. Invesp notes that investing in new customers is between 5 and 25 times more expensive than retaining existing ones. In fact, in 2019 nine percent of American consumers switched companies due to poor customer service, says New Voice Media.

For best results, both sales and service need to work in tandem to provide the best-in-class experience your customers deserve. Let’s explore how to foster a winning dynamic between the two teams.

Also Popular: Managing the Dynamics Between Your Sales and Service Teams

The Significance of Customer Service

Before we dive into strategy, let’s examine the true significance of your company’s customer service department. Although the perception often is that this team exists solely to put out complaint fires and appease customers, the reality is that they do so much more. Did you know, 73% of customers fall in love with a brand and remain loyal because of friendly customer service reps, reports RightNow. 

Customer service is the front line for your business. They make or break the customer experience. Want more proof? New Voice Media also reports that the #1 reason customers switch to a new brand is that they feel unappreciated, while 78% of customers have backed out of a purchase due to poor customer experience. 

Starting to see how customer service impacts sales? If you need more convincing, consider that consumers are willing to spend 17% more on a company with outstanding customer service, reports American Express, and 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies who offer excellent customer service, according to HubSpot Research. 

When the customer service team is operating at peak efficiency, they do much more than resolve issues. They foster relationships with customers. They put smiles on their faces. And they leave a favorable lasting impression of your brand in their minds. All of this equals a high customer retention rate, which means higher revenues. Bain & Company quantified this in a recent report stating that increasing customer retention rates (i.e. keeping customers happy) by just 5% can increase profits between 25% and 95%!

And, if they have the right skill set, personality, and training, your customer service team can actually bring in new business, too. They’ll nimbly move from problem solver to cross-seller or upseller, which increases customer satisfaction -- and your profits. Essentially, they’ll become an extension of your sales team.

In short, the department is absolutely vital to your company’s longevity and growth.

Why Sales and Customer Service Must Align

It’s tough for customer service to shine when they’re in conflict with the sales department. And you want them to shine, because as many as 49% of buyers have made impulse purchases after receiving a more personalized experience, according to a Segment Survey. Often selling on commission, your sales team is typically concerned with one thing and one thing only: closing the deal. This revenue-oriented drive can lead them to over-promise things to your customers. And, when the company can’t deliver, customer service is left holding the bag.

Over promising and under delivering comes with a whole host of problems for your customer service department. Those issues include:

And -- the detrimental impact to your customers can’t be overstated. When your company fails to serve them as promised, they’ll rightfully become angry and distrustful. Even worse, you’re likely to lose repeat business and, according to American Express, angry American customers are likely to share their negative experiences with about 15 people. 

So, when sales and service are at odds, interdepartmental communication will be poor, job satisfaction will plummet, customer retention will worsen, and the company’s bottom line will suffer. If you can get them in sync, though, you’ll have a happy, tight-knit workforce that closes more deals and delights customers. So, how can you get the two departments on the same page?

How to Improve the Interdepartmental Dynamic

As a leader, there are four key things you need to do to improve the interdepartmental dynamic:

Let’s look at each in turn.

Align Indicators of Success

The first place to look is your scorecard and your company metrics for success. Do sales and service match up? Are they working towards the same established goals? And, more importantly, do employee behaviors align with those stated success indicators? 

For example, if customer service has a goal of responding to all inquiries within two business days, the sales team shouldn’t promise a same-day response. The two teams must act as one and present a clear and consistent message to customers. After all, they are both working towards the same ultimate goal of making the company successful.

Create a Culture of Collaboration

Your company needs to make collaboration a normal, celebrated part of doing business that gets prioritized. Ideas and data should flow freely between the two departments. And everyone in the firm, including the sales team, should adopt the mantra that customer service is a mindset, not just a department. Bottom line: the lines of communication must stay open, and the once near-adversarial relationship should become more team-oriented.

Offer Team Building Opportunities

To promote unity between the two groups, offer ample opportunities for team building. When sales and service get together in an informal but planned way, they’ll get to know each other as people and gain empathy for one another’s perspective. Sales may think twice about promising the moon to a customer just to make a sale when they know service could have to deal with customer disappointment down the line.

In addition, seeing each other perform their respective roles can be eye-opening. They’ll understand the other department’s challenges and gain respect for everything that goes into being successful in that position. Consider arranging cross-department job shadowing between sales and service at the time of hire - and on an ongoing basis to cement these new perspectives. 

And, if appropriate, consider job swapping. An extroverted customer service representative with a competitive streak might enjoy being in sales for a day or two. And a detail-oriented sales associate may benefit from taking on a temporary customer service role. Just be sure you’re not setting your employees up to fail. If their personality doesn’t lend itself to the opposite role, this strategy isn’t a good fit for them - or your unsuspecting customers.

Provide the Right Structure, Tools, and Resources

The best philosophies and attitudes don’t mean a thing if the actual company structure and business processes don’t support them. As a leader, you must provide the structure, tools, and resources your teams require to perform at their best. That could mean ensuring adequate communication systems exist (think interoffice messaging) or physically situating the departments closer together in the office to facilitate more face-to-face conversations. The key is to make collaboration as easy as possible.

How Omnia Can Help

If you want to better understand your team members and discover ways to help them function as a cohesive group, a Team Dynamic Report can help. Based on the results of our signature behavioral assessment, this report shows how likely each team member is to communicate with each other and reveals deeper insight into their individual strengths and weaknesses. The report will give you an action plan to facilitate collaboration, improve communication, and unify your team.

The report can be customized to fit your firm’s unique circumstances. Getting one is easy. Simply fill out a questionnaire and hop on a quick call with us, and we’ll do the rest!

Final Thoughts

Sales and service have long been at odds. But, the truth is -- they’re both playing for the same team! Sometimes, employees just need to be reminded of that. As a leader, you have the power and responsibility to foster a winning dynamic between the two groups. When you do, you’ll have an unstoppable, connected workforce that wows your customers and positions your company for long-term success.

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