{"id":3162,"date":"2017-03-09T16:23:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T16:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=3162"},"modified":"2023-10-18T17:35:50","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T17:35:50","slug":"keep-customer-service-in-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/ca\/blog\/keep-customer-service-in-balance\/","title":{"rendered":"Metrics and Morale: How to Keep Your Customer Service Department in Balance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Want to provide better customer service? You\u2019re not alone. Companies large and small have to work hard on this fundamental part of successful business.<\/p>\n

Measuring how your customer service department is performing is the first step toward better service. Unfortunately, hyper-focusing on metrics above all else can lead to low morale among your agents. Many managers struggle to balance morale in their customer service departments with tracking employee performance, but these two components don\u2019t have to butt heads. Here\u2019s how to accomplish both at the same time.<\/p>\n

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Focus on Your Goals<\/h3>\n

Customer relationship management (CRM) <\/a>solutions<\/a> are a powerful asset to any company. With the Salesforce Service Cloud Lightning Console, for example, you can measure dozens of elements of customer service<\/a>. Each has the power to illuminate a critical component of customer interaction. Using them all, however, isn\u2019t necessarily the right move for your business.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t manage what you don\u2019t measure.\u201d While that\u2019s true, it\u2019s possible to both over measure and over manage.<\/p>\n

Imagine you\u2019re a customer service representative. Every morning, your manager shares your numbers with you: a printout of 30 separate metrics evaluating your performance during yesterday\u2019s shift. How long would it take you to look them over? How long to internalize them? Now, imagine that many of those metrics have to do with productivity, such as closing more cases in less time.<\/p>\n

You would likely feel overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

To keep your customer service agents engaged<\/a>, consider your goals for the agent and the department as a whole. Avoid over-measurement of performance metrics. Your reps simply can\u2019t internalize and adjust 30 performance metrics without their morale being affected.<\/p>\n

Instead of driving your agents batty, examine your reasons for measuring their performance. Focus on metrics that will help you meet your goals for the rep and the department. Keep the others in mind and only call them to attention when they need to improve.<\/p>\n

Quality Before Quantity<\/h3>\n

One of the most popular metrics used in customer service is some variation of how many tickets can be completed in a certain amount of time. Metrics such as average time spent on a call, hourly ticket rate, and after-call time are all helpful stats to discover productivity insights.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, many managers place too much emphasis on them. Then, their metrics backfire: If answering more calls faster is your agents\u2019 primary focus, you end up with poorly handled inquiries, rushed calls that rely on canned scripts and, generally, customers who don\u2019t feel their needs are important to your business.<\/p>\n

Instead, focus on the quality of interactions, rather than the quantity. You still want to make sure your agents handle issues efficiently. Even if your business model is built on being less expensive than your competition, and not on offering better service, customers still have baseline expectations for service. This is true no matter how the product is priced.<\/p>\n

Measuring quality metrics, such as customer satisfaction, the number of calls required to solve each ticket, and your Net Promoter Score (NPS) is just as important, if not more so, than the amount of time spent on a call.<\/p>\n

Many managers experience pushback when they begin quantitatively measuring employee performance<\/a>. Try focusing on quality metrics first, and you\u2019ll ease your team into accepting measurement without the pressure of a time crunch.<\/p>\n

Use Your Findings Wisely<\/h3>\n

Once you measure performance, the real work begins. Measurement is not management, so simply handing your agents their statistics isn\u2019t enough to improve your customer service.<\/p>\n

How would your customers feel if all that seemed to matter to you was how much they spent or how quickly they pulled out their credit cards? It\u2019s about the same way your agents would feel if their job success were defined by 10 to 15 productivity metrics.<\/p>\n

To keep your agents feeling productive and helpful, go over their numbers with them. Measure them over time to track changes. If any numbers aren\u2019t satisfactory, use them to coach an agent toward better performance. When an employee knows the metrics will help them do their job better \u2014 and will boost the company\u2019s bottom line<\/a> in the process \u2014 you\u2019ll see more improvement.<\/p>\n

Sharing Isn\u2019t Always Caring<\/h3>\n

While you may want to measure a dozen or more metrics, sharing them all with your agents in coaching sessions can be counterproductive. Too many numbers can distract agents from what\u2019s really important. Instead, use these two types of metrics when coaching:<\/p>\n