| Quality Standards in Customer Service | ||
| Instructor: Brad Cleveland |  | |
| Released: 6/14/2019 | Course Details 52m Intermediate | |
| Skills Covered Customer Service Management | Course Link | |
| Professional Certifications and Continuing Education Units (CEUs) N/A | ||
| Customer service strategy can mean many different things. Quality standards ensure your team provides a consistent level of service—and customers receive a consistent level of care. This pays off in improved loyalty, increased revenue, and better employee engagement. Whether you’re leading a dedicated customer service team, a small business, or a large contact center, this course provides the practical know-how and real-life examples you need to establish quality standards and get the most out of your customer service initiatives. Brad Cleveland divides the lessons into three sections, covering quality and customer service definitions, quality standards for individuals, and quality standards for the overall organization. Along the way, he shows how to implement a process, measure progress, and effectively coach employees, so that your entire team performs at its very best. Learning objectives – Defining quality in customer service – Identifying customer expectations – Quality standards for individuals – Measuring and scoring individual performance – Coaching individuals – Quality standards for the organization – Establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) Source: LinkedIN Learning | ||
Principles of Quality Standards for Customer Service
Defining quality in customer service
Quality
Characteristics of a product or service
Standards
Requirements or guidelines established for customer service
Things to Consider
- Customer expectations
- Vision, mission, values
- Stakeholders
Customer expectations of service delivery
Customer expectations are always changing.
Common Customer Expectations: ICMI
- Being accessible
- Treated courteously
- Be responsive to needs and want
- Do what I ask promptly
- Tell me what to expect
- Well-trained and informed employees
- Meet your commitments and keep your promises
- Do it right the first time
- Socially responsible and ethical
Make it easy for customers to do business with you.
Tangibles
Appearance and functionality of your retail environment.
Ensuring your quality standards are effective
Setting the right number of quality standards
- Clear vision, mission, values
- Automate where that makes sense
- Improve the support of processes and technologies
- Build a strong team
Addressing misconceptions
One common misconception is that quality standards are overly rigid and scripted. Base standards on customer expectations. Another common misconception is that quality standards for customer service will increase costs. Use quality standards to optimize your resources. Show your team that poor quality has a price.
Quality Standards for Individual Performance
Effective standards for individuals
Quality Standards
- Aligned with company ideals
- With employee control
- Clear and manageable
Setting the Right Number of Quality Standards
- Safety
- Courtesy
- Show
- Efficiency
Two types of standards
Foundation Standards
Foundation standards measure if something is done. Identify foundation standards first.
Finesse Standards
Finesse standards measure how something is done. Finesse standards help strengthen customer relationships.
Have a mix of foundation and finesse standards.
Surveys and service observation
You can get input from surveys or focus groups from customers, direct observation, role play, recorded interactions, mystery shoppers, analytics and there’s operational data such as repeat calls or product returns.
At the minimum, it is recommended to explore customer surveys (external) and service observations (internally).
Measures and scores
Use data to improve.
Recommendations when using measures
- Include employees
- Uses scores positively
- Interpret customer input thoughtfully
- Adjust your approach
Calibration
Calibration
The process of minimizing variations in results. Calibration helps you measure performance objectively.
Four steps for successful calibration
- Overall agreement
- Consistent ratings
- Effective coaching
- Internal and external alignment
Effective coaching
- Expectations
- Status
- Improvement opportunities
The best coaches build relationships of trust, respect, and accountability. They help clarify goals, serve as role models and develop their team members. Coaching has more impact when you have clear quality standards. Coaches should use a proven model, like SAFE (Summarize, Ask, Formulate, Express). Effective coaches focus on the toughest and most important challenges. Approach coaching as an opportunity to empower individuals.
Quality Standards for the Service Organization
The customer service process
Process
A system of causes
Components involved in Customer Service
- Customers (knowledge, expectation, communication)
- Employees (technical support, training, communication)
- Systems
- Policies
Work on processes. For example, what training do employees need? Aim to meet standards.
Standards for the service operation: the enablers
Developing Standards
- Predict customer workload – accurate workload forecast
- Plan and manage resources (right resources, right place, right time)
- Manage wait times – service accessibility
Standards for the service operations: Quality and value
Developing Standards
- Quality of interactions – service that meets or exceeds expectations
- Employee engagement – committed employees
- Customer loyalty – service experiences that encourage brand ambassadors
- Strategic value – customer insight and data
Establishing a key performance indicator
Common KPI Metrics
- Customer satisfaction – how would you rate your experience? (1-5)
- Net Promoter Score – how likely is it that you’ll recommend us to others?
- Customer Effort – How easy was it to handle the issue? (1-7)
Consider more than one metric. Understand the sample. Show metric’s alignment with quality standards.
Secret to quality service
- Develop standards with your team
- Keep them on display
- Gain support from team
- Maintain a customer focus
- Focus on employee engagement
 | Remember! To experience the full benefit of this guide, I highly recommend you watch the full training session. |
 | Brad Cleveland recommends the following courses: Customer Advocacy Customer Service Leadership Managing Customer Feedback |
