A Customer Service Skills Training Plan That Pays Off

Your customer service team is the face of your company. Every day, every single agent impacts how your customers perceive your brand. One unpleasant interaction - or one issue that doesn’t get resolved - and the bottom can start to fall out of your bottom line. But you can prevent that from happening with a strong customer service skills training program.

Numbers Never Lie

Studies show that consumers who have a bad service experience are more likely to post, Tweet, text, and tell their friends about it than those who have a positive experience. A look at the numbers might keep you up at night:

Great customer service means more than a pleasant greeting when your reps begin a call or spot a customer (although that’s certainly part of it). It focuses on carefully listening to your customers’ wants and needs, then attending to them as if they were you own. The good news is that, once you know where to start, investing in even a basic customer service skills training program pays off by building a fiercely loyal customer base.

So, what customer service skills should employees be trained in?

OK - You know you need a customer service skills training program, but where do you start? In order to build a complete program, make sure to focus on both “soft” and “hard” skills. Let’s start with the soft skills.

Soft Skills

Company Vision

This is the guiding principle for everything that follows. That’s why we’re putting it first. As an experienced Learning and Development leader, you know your company’s vision and values backwards and forwards. But do your customer service reps? Every good customer service skills training program begins with a thorough look at the company’s mission. Make sure your agents can recite your organization’s guiding principles in their sleep and that they use them as a compass for all of their interactions with customers. CSRs need to live these values so that they can apply them to every conversation with every customer. Remember, this goes beyond business and compliance policies. Train reps on your company’s culture and how your firm wants to present itself to the public so that the messaging matches your brand’s image. Making sure that every customer service agent knows your company’s vision and values will give you a consistent voice in dealing with customers and their service issues. Find the right balance of professionalism and personality, but know your audience. If your company is young and playful, feel free to use a bit of humor (when appropriate) with customers. On the other hand, if your company is more traditional, keep it formal.

Communication Skills

In addition to teaching customer service representatives your voice, make sure to train them on the basics of communication and effective conflict resolution. Things are going to get stressful at times, so make sure they know how to handle it by incorporating these types of scenarios into your training programs. Don’t forget – communication isn’t just speaking. It’s also practicing active listening both in-person and over the phone. Make sure you train your CSRs on that too.

Problem Solving and Adaptability

Solutions to customer service issues are rarely straightforward and seldom the same in every case. Make sure you train your employees on the intent of your policies and not just the wording of them. That way, they can come up with creative solutions to customer service issues on the fly. Then, reps can adapt and apply those principles as they deal with the different sorts of problems that arise.

Empathy

Your customer service reps need to be able to put themselves into the customer’s shoes. This might seem like the simplest idea of all (after all, who among us has never been a dissatisfied customer?) but it’s also one of the most crucial. It can be difficult to deal with an upset customer or fulfill a seemingly ridiculous request. But as long as your agents are trained to show that they understand the customers’ situations and are ready to help, they can often find solutions that benefit both the customer and your company. Part of this is having a thick skin. Make sure your reps know to shake it off and not take it personally when they’re on the receiving end of a customer’s rant.

The Hard Skills

“Hard skills” don’t just mean training for IT and tech support roles. Every customer service job needs some sort of technical skills training. We’re talking about things like record keeping and other “nuts and bolts” types of skills. Having good practices in these areas help your company build data and information that allows you to create the best experience possible for your customers, custom tailored to their needs. These customer service skills are just as important as having cheerful reps.

CRM/Database Management

Having and properly using a CRM is critical to building and maintaining a customer base. Every customer’s history (and potential future) is in there, giving your reps powerful information that can make or break your profit margins. If you’re not using the software (or using it to its full potential), you’re missing out. Most companies offer training on their software. Take advantage of this and also consider designating at least one “super user” to train new hires. You can also explore custom-built systems training solutions from training companies like Unboxed.

Data Analysis

Big data isn’t coming, it’s here and it’s only getting bigger. Train reps so they can understand the information contained in your CRM and apply it to customer interactions. That way, they can make informed decisions that help both the customer and your bottom line. There are software programs that help create visualizations and flowcharts using that data. Make sure there’s training on them, if it’s appropriate to your firm.

Social Media

Not just for Millennials and Generation Y, customers of all ages use social media to connect with businesses. Interacting with those consumers presents its own challenges because it takes all the soft skills above and puts them into a virtual environment. Train CSRs who use social media on best practices, so they don’t end up looking like n00bs. If you choose to use a social media marketing and management tool, make sure reps know how that works as well. Keep in mind that the tone of an online conversation can be tough to detect. So, while your interactions with customers can be less formal, you want to make sure reps aren’t misunderstood when they are having a virtual conversation instead of a face-to-face one.

How do I create a basic customer service skills training program?

First of all, consider training every single employee in customer service skills, not just those who directly deal with customers. No matter their role, every member of your team needs to understand your company’s values and vision and how their job eventually impacts the customer. And, of course, everyone benefits from improving their communication, problem-solving, and empathy skills. Start this training on day one. When you do focus on training your customer service representatives, remember that the best ones aren’t born. They’re made. Building a customer service skills training program begins with hiring. Bring people into your organization based on their attitude as much as their aptitude and make it clear what the expectations are. From there, here is a quick overview of the steps to take: No matter how you structure your training, make it as engaging as possible. Use a mix of online and instructor-led sessions to keep the learner’s attention. Incorporate games, role-playing and simulated scenarios into your training. Those are the types of things that people tend to remember. Here are a few customer service training ideas to get you started.

1. Structure your training: timeframe, format, who to train, etc.
2. Share your company vision
3. Deliver skills training
4. Provide reps a safe place to practice and apply their new skills
5. Measure the outcomes and reward outstanding performance
6. Set up a timetable for refresher training to keep their skills sharp

Bringing it all together

Building an effective customer service skills training program isn’t as simple as it may seem. Every company, culture, and person is different, so there is no one-size-fits-all approach. But making a serious investment into your customer service training program will pay off for you in the long run. Not only will you gain and retain business, you will save money by having fully-trained employees. Remember: trained employees are happy employees. And happy employees tend to stick around. At Unboxed Training and Technology, we deliver custom solutions to your training problems. Our customer service training programs make training easier, faster, and more engaging than ever so your reps can tackle any issue that arises. Give us a shout to find out how we can help.

Get advice from an industry expert about the best practices
and potential pitfalls about transitioning to virtual training.