Develop people to deliver service quality:
To grow and maintain a workforce that is customer oriented and focused on delivering quality, an organization must develop its employees to deliver service quality. That is, once it has hired the right employees, the organization must train and work with these individuals to ensure service performance.
a)Train for technical and interactive skills:
To provide quality service, employees need ongoing training in the necessary technical skills and knowledge and in process or interactive skills. Examples of technical skills and knowledge are working with accounting systems in hotels, cash machine procedures in a retail store, underwriting procedures in an insurance company, and any operational rules the company has for running its business. Most service organizations are quite conscious of and relatively effective at training employees in technical skills. Companies are increasing their use of information technology to train employees in the technical skills and knowledge needed on the job. Service employees also need training in interactive skills that allow them to provide courteous, caring, responsive, and empathetic service.
b) Empower employees:
Empowerment means giving employees the desire, skills, tools, and authority to serve the customer. While the key to empowerment is giving employees authority to make decisions on the customer’s behalf, authority alone is not enough. Employees need the knowledge and tools to be able to make these decisions and they need incentives that encourage them to make the right decisions. Organizations are well suited to empowerment strategies to ones in which (1) the business strategy is one of differentiation and customization, (2) customers are long-term relationship customers, (3) technology is nonroutine or complex, (4) the business environment is unpredictable, and (5) managers and employees have high growth and social needs and strong interpersonal skills.
c) Promote teamwork:
The nature of many service jobs suggests that customer satisfaction will be enhanced when employees work as teams. Because service jobs are frequently frustrating, demanding and challenging, a teamwork environment will help to alleviate some of the stresses and strains. Employees who supported and that they have a team backing them up will be better able to maintain enthusiasm and provide quality service. By promoting teamwork an organization can enhance the employee’s abilities to deliver excellent service while the camaraderie and support enhance their inclination to be excellent service providers.
54 Comments