Daytona IT Companies: 4 Tips to Deliver Superb Customer Service Remotely

A recent study from Stanford Professor Nicholas Bloom revealed that work-from-home employees are not only happier than ever before and less likely to quit, but also 13.5% more productive than when they worked out of an office – even amidst home’s many distractions. However, the home office environment of the past year may create some rifts in communication that can compromise the quality of your customer service team. By following our 4 tips, you can ensure that your team is still offering impeccable service. Take a look!

Foster Togetherness

Working remotely means that employees cannot simply walk over to a coworker’s desk for assistance, nor are they able to engage in social interactions like proverbial talks around the water cooler. Because of this, team members can end up feeling lonely, which is damaging when communication is so key. Schedule meetings where every employee is given a voice, even if they are simply discussing their latest assignment. Team members will feel good about themselves when they have opportunities to speak up and as a result of that, they will serve customers better than ever.

Look for Ways to Boost Morale

With a plethora of communication platforms and conference tools at our disposal, it is not uncommon for “softer” aspects, such as recognition, to get overlooked. Most communication is done through online chats or emails, which means employees are missing out on important body language and tone of voice cues that may cause them to misinterpret the point. If an employee is disheartened by something, they are even more likely to keep it to themselves since they are working alone at home. Look for opportunities to boost team morale by actively rewarding employees who do a great job, or schedule regular one-on-one calls with each team member.

Streamline Internal Communication

Communication during remote work can hit a few bumps in the road because team members are not always sure which communication channel is best for a situation. With that in mind, we recommend setting guidelines for email use vs. phone calls and video meetings. An urgent situation may take too long because an employee is waiting for an email back, which in turn will yield unhappier customers. Furthermore, consider creating your own internal shorthand to include in messages, such as email-ending acronyms like 4HR (expect a response within four hours) or NNTR (no need to respond) so that the entire team can be on the same page.

Help Employees Work More Efficiently

Although some employees report higher levels of happiness and productivity working from home, there are still others who struggle to work efficiently in those same circumstances. The onus is on team leaders to make sure their team is still running like a well-oiled machine despite the pandemic. Some employees may not adhere to a strict work schedule and simply do their work throughout the entire day, which means they are not able to unplug from work and enjoy themselves, yielding higher levels of stress. Convey to your team that working during off-hours or handling an excessive amount of customer queries does not yield any brownie points and is detrimental to their own well-being. Set boundaries for your employees, then lead by example!

The key to delivering exceptional customer service while working from home starts with an open line of communication among team members that feeds back to the top. As their manager, it is up to you to foster a feeling of trust and togetherness within the team so that every employee can feel valuable and appreciated. When team members work productively, they deliver great customer experiences! For assistance with everything else, Vann Data is your go-to Daytona Beach resource for leading IT and computer services. Give us a call today to learn more about how we can help streamline your company’s work.