Zooming Into The Customer Service Week

It’s about that time!

For a long time, just like most, I thought the Customer Service week was a Kenyan celebration!

It’s amazing how companies in Kenya have embraced the Customer Service Week and ran with it! We are known for running anyway right? Pun intended!

I also thought it’s a time for companies to show some appreciation to their customers which is what is given more weight here in Kenya. While there is some truth in that, it’s interesting what the initial intention of the celebration was.

Every year, in the first week of October, numerous companies in Kenya and globally celebrate the Customer Service Week. It is widely recognized that customer service is the foundation of any successful organization; therefore, many companies will be celebrating this upcoming customer service week.

 

I bet you are curious to know where it all began…

The Background of the Customer Service Week

The International Customer Service Association started customer service week in 1984 as a way to acknowledge and appreciate customer service teams and their work’s impact, in propelling customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention as well as business development.

On 8th October, 1992, President George H. Bush signed a Presidential Proclamation that declared the first week of October every year as National Customer Service Week.

A key statement in the proclamation emphasizehttps://nationaldaycalendar.com/customer-service-week-first-full-work-week-in-october/s the need to listen to employees and empower them with opportunities to make a difference in order to take care of the customer.

Customer service week is celebrated every first full week of October.

 

Celebrating The People Who Make Customer Service Happen

Ever had an issue or question about a product or service and you probably made a call or visited the company’s premise? It is quite likely that you spoke to a customer service representative.

While the focus for any successful business is the customer, it is imperative not to forget the employees who are on the front line of every customer interaction.

In this regard, they should be empowered in order to properly undertake their tasks; with the backing of the appropriate processes and technologies.

We cannot ignore the fact that it is the humane aspect of people that really positively impacts the customer experience. It is therefore important to not only take care of customers, but also the people who take care of the customer.

 

Why Should Organizations Celebrate Customer Service Week?

Let us look at 8 key reasons why it is important to shine a light to the hard work done by the customer service team.

 

1. Employee Experience is the New Customer Experience

Gone are the days when every business believed that the customer was always right and hence, the emphasis was on being “customer-first”.

Companies now understand that in order to deliver a positive customer experience, they should adopt a “people-first” approach.

Employees determine the experience that customers will receive and that is the reason why it should always begin with the employees. Customers receive great customer service when employees feel valued and respected in the workplace.

Employees and especially those that have direct interactions with customers, play a vital role in the long term success of a business and organizations that have realized this, have adopted a “people-first” culture.

 

2. Raise Awareness

Without the hard work of these skilled and dedicated team members, customers would not get served and this would lead to customer dissatisfaction.

Celebrating customer service week helps in raising awareness to the rest of the team on the vital role that the customer service agents play in the success of the company.

The leadership as well can often get so caught up with the strategic planning of the company that they lose touch with the customer service teams who are responsible for ensuring great customer service delivery.

 

3. Unify the Entire Organization

Involving all employees in the recognition and celebration of customer service week can help boost their morale as they participate in the activities lined up for the celebration.

Employees also get a sense of connection with the company when they see their fellow colleagues get recognized and honored.

As the organization gets ready to celebrate customer service week, it is important to get everyone to acknowledge and honor the customer service team for their immense contribution in the success of the company.

Encourage the whole company to take time and commend their peers in customer service while empowering them to use their own words.

 

4. Encourage Teamwork

Celebrating customer service week serves as a reminder to each department that they are all customer service locations.

Oftentimes when there is poor communication among different departments, it creates confusion and inconsistencies. This then results in frustrations for the customer service team, the customers or both.

During these celebrations, various teams can come together to get feedback from each other. This brings an understand of how they can work together in order to push for great customer experience.

It also offers an opportunity to appreciate other departments for their support.

 

5. Promotes High Performance

We have established that the customer service team is the backbone of any successful company. It is therefore important to recognize the customer service team because acknowledging them has the potential to bring out the best in the team.

When customer service representatives feel valued and recognized, it causes a ripple effect. It promotes high performance and the employees positively represent the organization which in the long run benefits the customers.

 

6. Builds a Sense of Purpose

People will put their best foot forward when they feel what they do matters. It goes beyond just doing the job that one is paid to do.

Customer service representatives, just like other employees, get a sense of purpose when they feel their work is making a difference in the organization and are recognized for their outstanding work.

 

7. Boosts Morale

Leaders ought to understand the importance of acknowledging and shining a spotlight on team members who have performed exemplary. That way, they are able to boost the morale of the employees on a personal level.

Majority of the customer service team work long and odd hours, away from their friends and loved ones. Managers who are conscious about recognizing their employees, help in building contentment and job satisfaction for their team.

Consequently, the team’s morale grows and there is a positive environment at work.

 

8. Employee Retention

Can you imagine working in an organization where you give your best, day-in-day-out and no matter how well you do your job, no one acknowledges your input?

This can be very disheartening which ultimately will lead to a decline in morale.

Employees get better at what they do via their experience at work. Overtime they are able to learn and identify new efficient and effective ways of doing their work.

Losing such a resource in customer service jeopardizes the customer experience. This is because a replacement has to be made and the new agent will require time to acquire the knowledge needed to do the job.

They could also not be as competent as the previous employee.

People will only stay where they feel valued and appreciated.  Recognizing and appreciating an employee will motivate them to stay longer on the job and as an organization, evade the risk of losing a skilled worker.

Any organization that truly values their employees should have an employment engagement strategy that looks into recognizing employees.

 

So how can companies shine a spotlight on their outstanding employees in a useful and effective way?

 

Five Ways to Celebrate Customer Service Week

1. Reward Excellent Customer Service Moments

As a leader this would be a great time to recognize and spotlight various instances that took place over the months that would be considered key customer service moments.

It could be rewarding employees who went above and beyond their duties to assist a customer; subsequently offering great customer service which helped to showcase the company in higher standards.

And while customer service sometimes involves an effortless gesture of responding to simple questions, you could take time to recognize an employee who was able to handle a rather difficult situation with a client and still managed to salvage the relationship.

As a customer service manager, you could also consider coming up with various certificate awards spotlighting different people or instances where people put special effort to their work. For instance – “Always Has a Smile on Their Face Award”, “Top Customer Turnaround Award”.

Cash awards or gift cards are also ways in which an organization can reward their top performing customer service agents.

 

2. Visit from Executive Team

It is very affirming to have the executive go to speak and acknowledge the work of the frontline employees thereby making them feel valued.

The executives could take this time to communicate the organization’s vision and mission, making it clear the role the employees play in accomplishing it.

The executive could make this fun by taking the role of an agent; maybe take a few calls or just assist one customer.

This is a pleasant way to build a connection with the team as well as an understanding of what an agent’s work entails. They are also able to get first-hand information of the challenges they experience in their day-to-day operations.

 

3. Plan a Team Building Activity

To help strengthen the among the customer service representatives, it would be ideal to plan for team building activities. It is possible to plan activities catering to the different work arrangements such as on-location, hybrid or remote. This could entail:

• To promote employee engagement with one another and rejuvenate the team, the company can plan for a business retreat.
• To build and strengthen team bonds, allocate some time at the end of the day for relaxation with some easy meals and drinks and maybe play some games e.g. trivia, for the team to get to learn each other more.
• To encourage problem solving in the customer service team, propose some business themed activities. For instance, a scavenger hunt where you may have clues that align with the company policies or have a boardroom escape room.
• Encourage the team to take part in a volunteer activity of their own choosing.

 

4. Offer Professional Development Opportunities

Employees truly appreciate leaders who advocate for their professional development. For customer service agents, it’s key in ensuring they not only sharpen their skills but keep abreast with what’s new in order to cater for the ever changing customer needs and expectations.

Providing learning opportunities as well as resources for the customer service team to grow professionally is key. It affirms the notion that the company appreciates the team’s contribution and recognizes that the work they do is of great importance to the mission.

These development opportunities could be:

• Financial support for employees to attend seminars and get certificates or certifications.
• Reimburse tuition fees for employees who have taken a course.
• Subscriptions to industry organizations or publications.
• Financial support for employees to join accredited industry bodies.

 

5. Question & Answer Session

Other departments need to understand and utilize the customer service skills used in the everyday interaction with customers and in their engagements with the rest of the departments.

This goes to help build a customer-centric culture in the organization.

If time allows during the customer service week, it would be a good idea to have a forum where the customer service team can share their ideas on how other departments.

This can entail how to exercise and develop customer service etiquette in the company as a whole.

The different teams may prepare some sample questions for each other such that the other departments can ask the customer service team questions and vice versa or play games that could highlight customer service needs to other departments.

This exercise further helps to identify what the customer service team needs in order to sufficiently serve the customers.

Other Customer Service Week ideas that could work include:

• Handwritten thank you notes to the customer service team from other departments or executive team.
• Feed the customer service team by getting them breakfast – bagel, donut, sandwich, coffee, juice or lunch.
• Share with customer compliments and positive feedback received with everyone in the company.
• The Senior Leadership team can make a personal thank you video.
• Support the team’s well-being by maybe organizing for outdoor activities.
• Depending on the company’s typical expected attire, have a “Dress Up” or “Dress Down” day. If it is usually casual, ask the team to dress up as if they are going to a very important event. And, if you are mainly in business attire, the team can have a casual day.

 

Let’s wrap up…

The customer service representatives make the magic happen!

They are responsible for portraying and representing the brand well and in a very public way while they respond to queries and deal with difficult customers.

Their contribution to the success of a business is invaluable and it is therefore important to not only recognize but reward this team.

Frontline employees should be given an opportunity to voice their ideas in the development of processes especially those that pertains serving customers. They should be encouraged to share their ideas in their usual team meetings

The best way to celebrate Customer Service Week is to recognize and reward the team – not just during the one week in October but all year-round. Just keep it going in order to further gain their dedication and commitment to customers and loyalty to the organization.