This post was originally published by Olivia Adkison on lessonly.com.
At the time I’m writing this, I’ve been at this company for about a year and a half, and I love it here. I’m working with some of the smartest, most creative folks I know, and there’s always something happening around here to get excited about. I’m learning a lot.
One thing though that I have not learned in my time here and could’ve told you coming into this job is that customer service matters. However, before working here, I had no idea how much it matters or why winning in the future will require great service and support. Sure, we provide customer service training software, so customer service training programs probably matter more to me than to the average person, but it’s also part of something bigger. As we move through this decade, I’m convinced that customer service will play an even larger role in determining whether businesses sink or swim.
Here’s why customer service training software matters
Our world is increasingly automated and technology-dependent. People are building solutions and software that do things that would blow the minds of the workforce 100 years ago. (And at this rate, the same will probably be true of us 100 years from now).
Today, simple and transactional customer service requests are evaluated, sorted, and sometimes even resolved by software, bots, and triggered automations. This leaves real humans—customer service leaders, trainers, reps, and agents—to focus on the more escalated, complicated issues their customers have that technology and AI can’t solve. The need for more skilled agents is only rising. And people are a company’s most valuable, critical asset. So put those two facts together. It only makes sense that teams should be investing in the growth and development of the people on the frontlines of their businesses with customer service training software. Retention, churn, CSAT, NPS, revenue, and growth depend on customer service agents. No pressure, right?
The secret sauce
So, what’s the secret sauce to truly leveling up customer service agents so more teams have customer service training for employees that join the ranks of Disney? Or Trader Joe’s? Or Southwest Airlines? Or even Butterball? (Have you heard of the Turkey Talk Line? Look it up, it’s amazing.)
The best way to boost engagement and ensure agents are prepared and enabled to succeed is through training and even by earning a customer service certification. If you’re asking yourself, “What is a customer service certification?” look no further. At its core, customer service enablement provides agents with the information, content, and tools they need to best care for customers. And, a certification means your agents are certifiably great. But before agents can become certified in anything, it’s important that trainers and managers are experts on the content themselves. Let’s look a bit closer.
1. Start by assessing where you’re at
Assess is the first step in the 6-part Do Better Work framework we built for creating a CSE training program reps, managers, and trainers all love. A great assessment includes collecting data from your team and the market to identify successes and challenges, and then evaluating your team’s training needs accordingly.
In practice, this looks like trainers practicing appreciative inquiry, which means constantly asking, what’s working well and how can we get the entire team doing this same thing?
2. Track the metrics that make the most sense for your team.
It’s easy to get bogged down in the numbers and metrics for your service or support team. This certification acknowledges that the best customer service training programs are built by leaders who track NPS and CSAT as a baseline, and then ask themselves what matters most at their specific contact centers. Is it speed and efficiency you’re after? Improved quality of care and increased personalization? Great leaders find right tech to track these metrics over time, and then iterate from there to modify their customer service training exercises accordingly.
Believe it or not, there are four more customer service training free tips the ones we just shared that are included in both our Customer Service Enablement webinar and our Customer Service Enablement 101 certification. So, if you’re ready to build a customer service training program outline or even just need help developing a customer service training manual, we’d love to help you! Chat with us (you can start the conversation in the corner) or check out this Better Work Guide to Customer Service Training if you’d rather read and learn more before talking with a human from our team.
Customer service training topics don’t have to be daunting
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