Feel like you’re walking on egg shells around clients and candidates right now?
We’re all under more stress than usual. People are concerned about health, work and finances. Many are feeling cooped up, frustrated and downright lonely. All that worry and restlessness heightens sensitivity, so much so that the tiniest issues can quickly escalate into four-alarm fires.
So, why did that client fly off the handle? Why did that candidate walk off their assignment?
Each person has different triggers that set them off, and every situation is unique. Still, there are common psychological “hot buttons” you should avoid pressing – and questions you should consider, to determine if you could be doing more to keep your customers satisfied:
Being ignored or abandoned.
Does everyone on your team greet callers with a smile in their voice? Have you developed iron-clad service processes, so that no candidate ever falls into a communication vacuum? Nobody wants to be left hanging; evaluate your service processes to make sure no employer or job seeker ever falls through the cracks.
Having to jump through hoops.
Are your front-line sales, recruiting and service personnel knowledgeable enough to help a candidate or client with their problem – or do employees “pass the buck”?
If you’ve ever dealt with incompetent employees, or been shuffled around from department to department when you have an issue, then you know how frustrating it is. Great systems, policies and processes are the backbone of any successful staffing agency; make sure everyone on your team is trained and empowered to deliver shareworthy service.
Dealing with over-stressed employees.
In staffing and recruiting, no job is stress-free (that’s why we get paid, right?). But right now, you and your team are likely under a lot more pressure than normal. While employees may try to hide their stress from clients and candidates, that strategy won’t work for long. Eventually, the pressure employees feel impacts their work:
- mistakes increase
- politeness and patience go out the window
- issues get swept under the rug
How are you proactively helping your team manage their stress right now?
Job stress is unavoidable, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to mitigate it. Talk to your team about their stress levels. Determine the root cause. Then, consider ways that better technology, process improvements, wellness initiatives, greater job flexibility or redistributing work could help alleviate your team’s stress – and improve the quality of service you deliver.
Final Thoughts
You may not be able to please 100% of your customers 100% of the time. But common sense, genuine empathy, flexibility and an ongoing commitment to improvement can help you prevent triggering your clients and candidates – especially during these times of heightened stress and anxiety.
If you’re looking for resources to help employees manage their stress levels, or need advice on any aspect of your customer service, please drop me a line – I’d love to learn more and see if there’s a way we can help.
