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How Prioritizing Employee Well-Being Elevates Customer Service Excellence

 

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Customer service must be a top priority if a business wants repeat customers and loyal brand advocates.

Hubspot dove into research on customer acquisition, and one of the reports they studied revealed that “40% of buyers would stop buying from a brand after two bad customer experiences.” At the same time, good customer service is the reason 59% of consumers would recommend a brand to friends.

Because customer service matters so much to business success, it’s essential to take great care of the people responsible for it.

The relationship between employee health and well-being and how well customers are served is undeniable. Let’s explore it in more detail below. After that, we’ll provide tips for employers striving to care for their employees better. 

Why Taking Care of Employees is Critical for Customer Service

Companies aren’t leaving their customer service departments in the hands of bots and other artificial intelligence (AI) tools for a reason. People can take care of people better. But that first requires the individuals who are responsible for providing care to be taken care of themselves. More on why below.

Burnt-out employees can’t deliver exceptional customer service

One thing employees in all industries are dealing with is burnout. Whether from heavy workloads, a lack of support from leadership, staffing shortages, or something else, employees are feeling overwhelmed and overworked.

When employees are burnt out, they’re physically and mentally exhausted. Diets and sleep patterns change. Mood swings and low morale are typical. And they lose all motivation to perform well.

These are the immediate effects. The long-term effects of burnout are:

• Gastrointestinal issues
• A weakened immune system
• Regular headaches and migraines
• A dependence on alcohol or other substances
• High blood pressure and cardiovascular issues like heart palpitations

There’s no way an employee can be at their best for customers while navigating health issues like these.

They won’t have the energy, focus, or physical ability to deliver exceptional customer service. In addition, customers will get the brunt of the frustration and irritability an employee feels when they’re burnt out.

Well-taken care of employees take better care of customers

On the other hand, well-taken-care-of employees are in a better space all around.

Their attitude and mindset are positive. Their spirits are high and they’re happy to be at work. Satisfied employees also have the energy and physical ability to sit, stand, talk on the phone, and do whatever else they need to deliver outstanding customer service.

It’s much more likely an employee in this condition will take good care of customers than it is for a burnt-out employee. Their upbeat nature will translate to all of their customer interactions, elevating the customer experience and the company’s reputation.

How Employers Can Prioritize Employee Well-Being

Employees have an individual responsibility to secure their mental, emotional, and physical wellness. However, employers can play a significant role in helping their workers along in the process. 

Assist employees in managing their stress

Employers can’t eliminate stress for the employees. However, they need to ensure their staff isn’t overwhelmed with stress and can manage it effectively.

An employee’s personal life can have stressors in it that end up impacting how they work.

For example, having huge amounts of debt and bad credit can leave employees feeling hopeless and like they’re barely staying above water. This financial stress will come to work with them and bleed into their performance.

Generally, stress from relationships, family obligations, and other personal endeavors will hinder their focus and productivity. Fortunately, employers who encourage employees to manage stress will see productivity, focus, and enthusiasm restored in them.

Start with consistently sharing stress management techniques, such as:

• Immersing themself in nature
• Getting regular physical activity
• Taking a break every few hours of work
• Starting a hobby that helps them destress
• Disconnecting from work each day and resetting themselves mentally

Sharing techniques like these on your company intranet, social media page, and in posters and other literature around the office will help normalize stress management in the workplace.

Employers can take their assistance with stress management up a notch with wellness perks their employees will find helpful.

For example, there’s a connection between fitness and advanced productivity. A physically fit employee is more likely to be efficient, confident, focused, energetic, and mentally well. Which is everything they need to provide the best service to customers.

With this in mind, employers can offer subsidized or free employee fitness passes to a couple of local gyms to encourage regular physical activity.

Other wellness perks to consider offering are:

• Flexible scheduling options
• On-site health events
• Healthy snacks and drinks
• Access to free or reduced-cost therapy
• Access to technology that eases work duties, like a CRM system

Wellness perks will help employees manage their stress, feel, and do better at work. And that in turn may lead to keeping them at the company long-term. Not to mention better customer service.

Hire great leaders

Another step employers can take to better care for employee health and well-being is to hire great leaders. Leadership has so much to do with how employees feel and work.

For example, if a leader is all about numbers and puts pressure on their employees to sacrifice themselves for results, they’re going to feel stressed and overwhelmed. And that leads to declining productivity and low morale.

On the other hand, leaders who are positive, provide clear direction, communicate openly, and provide a healthy work environment will have employees on their team who feel valued and wholly supported. This can result in employees doing quality work for the company and customers.

Employers should create a detailed hiring process for all leadership positions that includes an application, skills test, and a few interviews to gauge culture and team fit.

Customer service excellence is on the shoulders of employees. So, it’s only right and smart to ensure they’re taken care of.