New position available! Candidate must be willing to get screamed at and insulted by angry customers. Interactions include phone calls, face-to-face, or online chat – all of which need to be handled with poise. Candidate must keep cool at all times, ensuring the customer leaves every encounter with a positive view of the company, no matter how negative he or she may be.
While that’s not exactly what a job description would say, it’s the reality a customer service professional faces day in and day out. Customer service can certainly be rewarding at times – sometimes a simple solution can leave someone singing praises. However, there will always be people who simply refuse to be happy.
The stress and pressure of customer service often leads to high turnover and lengthy candidate searches. Here are 3 tips to gain and retain quality customer service representatives.
1. Keep up with the times. 42% of customers say they prefer to use a chat feature to connect with a customer service rep. With customer preferences moving towards digitization, it only makes sense to find candidates who are well versed in the digital landscape. Using innovative techniques, such as text recruiting, help to target candidates who are more tech savvy.
2. Make sure employees are informed. One major challenge customer service reps face is a lack of clearly defined company goals. It’s not easy for employees to work towards goals they’re unsure of. With clearly defined goals, customer service reps will have a solid foundation of information to use while assisting customers.
3. Create a helpful environment. Speaking from experience, the stress of a customer service position can be eased by a great work environment. Having snacks, a dedicated break space or a monthly catered lunch are all perks that help in keeping employees happy. Of course, the most important part of a helpful environment is having supportive management that trusts those employees on the front line to make good choices.
Using these tips can help your employees thrive at their jobs, which in turn helps your business. If you’re looking for even more in-depth solutions for hiring customer service reps, read this white paper on using innovative recruiting techniques to hire in high volume.
Nexxt is a recruitment media company that uses today’s most effective marketing tactics to reach the full spectrum of talent – from active to passive, and everything in between. Learn more about hiring with Nexxt.