More and more businesses are becoming reliant on the internet to remain competitive on the international market. What the web does is make them available and operational 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. This has clearly made technology an essential aspect not only of the sales process, but also in offering quality customer service. However, it is important that businesses, regardless of their size, realize that technology alone will not enable them to give their customers top quality customer service. To make sure your customers get the best service they deserve, you should have your IT team working harmoniously with your customer service personnel. Accomplish this with the help of the following tips.
1. Surround yourself with the right people only.
Before anything else, make sure that you have the people who care about your company and your customers. It is vital that your employees have the willingness to work in a team to achieve the goals of the company. If you notice some individuals who bring negativity to the group, take the time to address this and don’t hesitate to get rid of them if necessary.
2. Make everyone understand their responsibilities and roles.
One common reason for poor employee productivity is the employees’ lack of understanding of their own roles and duties. It is recommended that you clarify things with your staff by writing down your expectations and whatever it is they have to do for you. Through this, they will know who actually does what, which will help prevent any conflict among them in the future.
3. Meet on a regular basis.
Gathering your people together regularly is an important step in improving relationships in the workplace. Your goal is to make your customer service staff and IT personnel comfortable with one another, and there’s no better way to do this than to have them meet and talk with one another on a regular basis. More importantly, this will help them build trust and confidence in each other.
4. Monitoring is key.
There is no use in establishing collaboration between your IT and customer service departments if you cannot keep an eye on their activities. It is your job to require them to submit reports on whatever is going on in their departments. You would want to know results, questions, customer complaints, and other issues that need to be addressed immediately. This way, nothing will be left unnoticed, which could eventually cause customer dissatisfaction.
5. Get the right tools available to your staff.
Since computer and internet technology never stops evolving and developing, you have to keep everyone aware of all the updates, upgrades, trends, and other changes in software and other things related to the internet and their respective career paths as well. Make sure also that your website and other platforms are working in perfect condition because even the slightest glitch can your business to lose customers.
Cecile Peterkin is a certified career and retirement coach, and a registered member of the Career Professionals of Canada and the International Coach Federation. She is also the Founder and Senior Career Strategist at Cosmic Coaching Centre, provider of career and life management services for middle managers and mid-career professionals across Canada, United States and Europe.