Your frontline staff who answer the phones or field service professionals and technicians, are a few of the many roles that make up your front line staff. Your front line staff is a crucial part of your business since these employees are your first line of communication with your customers.
How they interact with customers and perform their jobs has a determining effect on your customer experience and reputation. Everything they do reflects the value, culture and vision of the company. In other words, they are the face of your business.
We all have experienced frontline employees who were unengaged and not allowed to make decisions, thus creating
- Frustration
- Inconsistent messaging
- Not understanding the bigger picture
- Lower productivity
- Impatience
- Poor customer experience
Customers reach out to your employees for several reasons, and they want quick and meaningful responses. Remember that a poor customer experience continues to be one of the most common reasons that drive lost customer turnover.
Therefore, empowering front-line employees should be a major priority in your business.
“Front-line empowerment results in increased productivity for your business, leading to higher profitability.”
Here are the important considerations to drive front-line empowerment.
• Share the vision.
Front-line employees must understand the business vision and objectives of your business. What is your purpose and where do they fit in the big picture.
• Give them resources for quicker and better responses.
You must ensure that front-line agents have, at their fingertips, all of the necessary knowledge and resources to address customer needs promptly.
• Provide them with decision-making abilities.
You should consider arming your front-line employees with a certain level of decision-making about offers and resolutions. It can help them provide instant solutions to a disgruntled customer.
• Invest in their training and development.
Make a commitment for excellent customer service and support your staff with the training they need.
• Reward good performance. Aim to develop a positive and rewarding business culture
Studies show that loyal customers are more profitable, better business advocates and more likely to buy more than new customers. Customer retention is as important as customer acquisition, and therefore, front-line empowerment should not be optional or considered an expense. It’s an investment in your people and business. Now that would be “Magical”!
Need help? Contact Coach John for a FREE 45 Minute Strategy Session Call Today. No fluff and nothing to buy! Info@johnformica.com