Leverage your customer service superstars to train for success!
There are superheroes in your organization.
There are superheroes in your organization.
They handle customer issues with ease and understand how to juggle many tasks at once. They turn an angry customer into a loyal fan. They find ways to improve processes. They are always learning, often setting THE example for others, and typically happy to do their jobs.
These people have natural strengths, but they’ve also learned tools and tips through experience. Are you capturing that knowledge to share with others? Or when your superheroes move on to other roles is that knowledge moving on with them?
Your best people have skills to share with others!
To really leverage the skills and expertise of your best people, you need to identify what is that “special something” that sets them apart. It’s easy to fall into a false narrative of “that’s just the way Jane is” and think there’s no way to train to it. But what if there is a way to share that magical pixie dust with others in your organization?
Sure, Jane follows the rules, but she also adds her own ideas and ways of doing things. Those little “extras” are what you need to identify, train to, and celebrate!
Superheroes need many skills.
Think about how many skills anyone who serves customers must possess.
They must have strong skills in:
- Communication
- Organization
- Empathy
- Time management
- Problem solving
- Living the mission of your organization!
Your superheroes probably have a strong mix of these, but are definitely strong in one or two.
Jane might excel at communicating in a patient and compassionate way. She might be the right person for the job when delivering hard news to a customer.
Joe might excel at properly recording everything in your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or be great at using those records to set up his day according to the most important tasks at hand.
Johnny might be sufficient enough at those things, but he has taken the mission of your organization to heart in everything he does. He’s the guy who brings up “is this really the way we want to treat our customers?”
These superheroes are easy to rely on. You know they’ll handle most situations in the right ways and you can throw your toughest cases at them. But what about everyone else on the team?
Train the rest of your team on the skills of Jane, Joe, and Johnny.
Once you’ve identified what it is that makes Jane and company so great at what they do, it’s time to share that with the team!
Set up learning paths according to those who need the training in those specific areas to become superheroes! These can be a mix of virtual and in-person training. If you know Sally would be more successful if she were a little more like Joe, her learning path should focus on time management and organization, but also explain the WHY of investing the time to keep those records.
Better yet, include your superheroes in creating the learning paths. Invite them to go through the training and offer ideas on what to add or edit, based on their real-life experiences.
3 Steps to Build Your Team’s Superpowers:
- Identify the super skills by observing and interviewing your superheroes. Make note of specifics, like how Jane changed the suggested wording of the script to better serve a particular situation.
- Develop curriculum around those skills for others, using Jane’s input and examples. Ask your superhero to provide feedback and ideas during the development.
- Select the group of team members that would benefit from this specific learning path. Ask your superhero to help you deliver and execute the first programs. Ask your learners for feedback along the way and then monitor their success after learning.
- OK, there’s a fourth step, too. Keep improving!
While it may seem obvious, we often neglect to pay attention to the WHAT of our superheroes. This alone will improve your organization’s learning success!
It’s a tall order to create a team of superheroes, but by intentionally paying attention to what makes your superheroes WHO they are, you can create the right education for the right team members to make your own team of guardians of the customer service galaxy!
