Managing Customer Service
Managing People for Service Excellence
1
Managing Customer Service Aims • To evaluate the role and importance of staff in delivering service excellence • To iden7fy inherent problems in customer-staff rela7ons as a context for managing service excellence • To look at how recruitment and reten7on, and staff training are essen7al to service excellence • To explore through specific case studies prac7cal approaches to managing staff and training
Managing Customer Service Ac9vity 1: Managing People • What are the inherent problems of customer-staff rela7ons?
Managing Customer Service Inherent Problems in Customer-Staff Rela9ons: • Managing the expecta.on of encounter (managing the Moment of Truth)
Managing Customer Service Inherent Problems in Customer-Staff Rela9ons: ‘Service encounters entail more than just correct technical execu.on of a task. They also involve such human elements as personal demeanour, courtesy, and empathy. This brings us to the no.on of emo.onal labour, defined by Hochschild (1983) as the act of expressing socially desired emo7ons during service transac7ons’ [Lovelock, 1995: 214 cited in Drummond and Yeoman, 2001: 178]
Managing Customer Service Inherent Problems in Customer-Staff Rela9ons: • Managing the expecta.on of encounter (managing the Moment of Truth) • Wide range of customer demands • The poten.al knowledge differen.al • Mo.va.on • The intersec.on of produc.on conflicts
Managing Customer Service Inherent Problems in Customer-Staff Rela9ons: • Rate of throughput – the quality of each encounter is influenced by the rate and quality of previous encounters • The ‘natural’ ignominy of service • Cultural differences between customers and staff • Management structures/culture
Managing Customer Service Inherent Problems in Customer-Staff Rela9ons
Behavioural Influences
Background Influences
Situa9onal Influences
[Riley, 1996: 85]
Managing Customer Service Managing Customer-Sta Rela9ons
Recruitment & Reten9on
Service Training
Informa9on & Environmental Design
[Riley, 1996: 89]
Managing Customer Service: Strategic Perspec9ves
[Drummond and Yeoman, 2001]
Integra9ng the Human Resource Management Func9on
Managing Customer Service: Strategic Perspec9ves
[Wiley, 1996 cited in Cooper and Hall, 2008:328]
Employee-Customer Linkage Model
Managing Customer Service: Strategic Perspec9ves ProďŹ ts Through People Employment security Selec9ve hiring of new personnel Self-managed teams and decentralisa9on of decision-making Compara9vely high compensa9on con9ngent on organisa9onal performance Extensive training Reduced status dis9nc9ons and barriers Extensive sharing of ďŹ nancial and performance informa9on [Pfeer, 2005 in Bealey et al 2005: 224]
Managing Customer Service Ac9vity 2: Managing People • What are the ‘4Cs’ of performance management?
Managing Customer Service: Strategic Perspec9ves Performance Management – ‘4 Cs’ • Commitment – awareness of business objec7ves and understanding how they can contribute to their achievement can enhance staff commitment to the organisa7on • Competence – managerial and employee competence are both cri7cal to the achievement of business objec7ves and organisa7onal compe77veness
[Beer 1984, cited in Beech and Chadwick, 2006:106]
Managing Customer Service: Strategic Perspec9ves Performance Management – ‘4 Cs’ • Congruence – all staff must pull in the same direc7on and share the same vision in achieving business objec7ves; transparency and communica7on are key to enhancing working rela7onships • Cost-effec9veness – managers must be proac7ve and responsive to ensure that human resources are used effec7vely and efficiently
[Beer 1984, cited in Beech and Chadwick, 2006:106]
Managing Customer Service Ac9vity 3: Managing People To do: • Consider the business case study provided and iden7fy ways in which staff could be managed and supported more effec7vely to deliver service excellence
Managing Customer Service
Managing Sta: Recruitment and Reten9on
17
Managing Customer Service Ac9vity 4: Managing People •  What the key issues rela7ng to recruitment that need to be considered for service excellence?
The Recruitment Process Key Considera9ons • • • • • • • •
The person specifica.on The iden.fica.on of essen.al and desirable skills Salary levels The nature of the interview and selec.on process The job adver.sement and where to adver.se Internal or external selec.on Staff induc.on The impact of the wider economic climate on applica.ons • The characteris.cs of the available labour pool
Reward and Recogni9on Ac9vity 5: Reward and Recogni9on • In what ways can you reward and recognise your staff?
Reward and Recogni9on Reward and Recogni9on • Informal or formal reward programmes • For performance management set fair and achievable targets • Carry out appraisal discussions to link objec.ves to rewards • Seek out new ways of recogni.on, not just in the payslip • Ensure staff wear name badges so service is individually recognised • Say thank you (either verbally or in wriaen form) • Put up customers’ leaers of praise
Reward and Recogni9on Reward and Recogni9on • Highlight customer service champions in news leaers • Customer service awards/employee of the month • Embed into appraisal and staff development • As a company enter for awards to highlight excellent customer service
Reward and Recogni9on
Reward and Recogni9on
Reward and Recogni9on
Sta Empowerment Employee Empowerment Approach to Service
[Bowen and Lawler 2005 in Bealey et al 2005: 261]
Managing Customer Service
Managing Sta: Service Training and Skilling
27
The Skills Pledge
The Skills Pledge Key Facts • 32 per cent of employers believe there are more
opportuni.es for career progression as a direct result of making the Skills Pledge
• Employers also say making the Skills Pledge results in: • 38% - increased mo7va7on among employees • 30% - increased produc7vity • 35% - a more skilful workforce
The Skills Pledge Key Facts • If a business increases its investment in HR, training or
people management by around 10 per cent, this would result in: • An increase in gross profit per employee up to £1,568 • An increase in opera7ng profit per employee up to £1,284
Developing Service Training Ac9vity 6: Developing Training •  What are the key ques.ons to ask when developing training programmes for sta?
Developing Service Training Key Ques9ons: • • • • • • • •
What training do staff need? What training should be provided? Who provides the training? What types of training do you need? What are the learning preferences of staff? What training methods will work best? How do you prepare and engage staff in training? How will you follow up and embed training in your organisa.on? • How much will it cost?
Developing Service Training Training Needs Analysis (TNA) • The iden.fica.on of training and development needs
Organisa9onal
Individual
Job/ Occupa9onal
Welcome to Excellence.co.uk
Developing Service Training Welcome to Excellence: • Welcome Host – basic customer service skills • Welcome Management – developing customer service strategies • Welcome All – delivering service for customers with special needs • Welcome Line – customer service for call centres • Welcome Interna9onal – delivering customer service for the interna.onal marke.ng • Welcome E-Marke9ng /Smarter Marke9ng – online customer service • Welcome Farmer – customer service for Farmers’ Markets and farm shops
Investors in People Investors in People
Developing Service Training Types of Training Awareness building Customer service skills Internal customer service Team building Problem-solving Service management
Developing Service Training Types of Training Awareness building Customer service skills Internal customer service Team building Problem-solving Service management
Class-based training Media-based training Work-based training
Developing Service Training Embedding Training • • • • •
Provide follow-up Embed training into staff appraisals Revisit training and monitor the impacts Provide ongoing training and coaching Maintain the momentum – link to the forma.on of staff-led quality groups • Use in-house staff to deliver training • MAD (make a difference boards) to promote the message and keep it current
Managing Customer Service
Service Training – Butlin’s Road Map
40
Delivering Service Excellence Ac9vity 7: Equipping Staff to Deliver Service • From today’s session iden7fy 10 simple steps to ensure that staff are capable of delivering service excellence
Delivering Service Excellence 10 Steps to Success [Canning,1999] • • • • • • • • • •
Iden.fy required service personality traits Spend .me on the recruitment process Find the right people Orientate new staff Ensure all new employees are clear about what you expect Create and maintain a service culture Mo.vate people Correct mistakes construc.vely Recognise and reward people Do not drop people in it: train them
Learning Outcomes By the end of this session, you should be able to: • Evaluate the role and importance of staff in delivering service excellence • Iden7fy inherent problems in customer-staff rela7ons as a context for managing service excellence • Discuss how recruitment and reten7on, and staff training are essen7al to service excellence • Make reference to prac7cal approaches to managing staff and training through specific case studies