Posts by: Victoria Kenward The guy who washes the dishes in a restaurant is as important as the chef. Don’t believe me? Ask yourself this: How much would you enjoy your favorite meal if it were served to you on a dirty plate? Your staffing firm is no different than a restaurant. Sometimes, the lowest paying, lowest visibility jobs… Continue reading
Everyone in your staffing firm provides customer service. Yep, everyone! From account managers and recruiters to receptionists and back-office staff, your employees provide service to all types of “customers” every day: employers, job seekers, temporaries on assignment, coworkers, industry partners and even vendors. So, when was the last time you trained your staff on providing… Continue reading
Happy holidays! As the year winds down, it’s a perfect time to reflect on your company’s performance in 2019, count your blessings and find ways make your staffing firm even stronger in 2020. One great way to do that? Read my Shareworthy Service posts each month! In them, I share research, insights and best practices… Continue reading
Warm handshake? Check. Appropriate eye contact? Yep. Friendly smile? Affirmative. You have rapport-building basics down cold. Now what? Building rapport is essential to customer loyalty. But beyond the fundamentals, what more should you do to help staffing clients relax, trust you and feel better about working with your agency? Take relationship building to the next… Continue reading
It’s tough getting feedback from customers. They’re busy. Distracted. And unless your service is amazing (or awful), most people won’t take the time to give you “meh” feedback. So if you’re going to survey employers or job seekers, you need to make every question count. Customer service expert Shep Hyken shared several one-question survey options… Continue reading
Nobody wants raisins in their Halloween treat bag, right? In many ways, the rules for shareworthy service are a lot like Halloween’s unwritten rules of engagement. So, in the spirit of the spookiest holiday of the year, here are a few staffing customer service lessons you can learn from trick-or-treat etiquette: Spring for the good… Continue reading
At Haley Marketing, we operate by “The Rule of Threes.” Every service goal we set (and every decision we make, for that matter) must meet these three criteria: It must be good for the client. It must be good for our team members. It must be good for our company. What does this core value… Continue reading
“I don’t think he really understood my problem.” “I didn’t feel like I had her full attention.” “That recruiter just didn’t ‘get’ me.” We’re all busy. Distracted. Still buying into the “multitasking myth.” And you know what? Customers notice! When you don’t give an employer or job seeker your full attention, you’re sending the wrong… Continue reading
Do you relish the idea of: Telling a client that their pay rates are too low? Informing an applicant that you can’t find them a job? Calling a customer to say you have nobody available to fill their job order? Nobody does. Delivering bad news stinks. But, while there may not be a “great” way… Continue reading
Yes, there’s a connection here (I’ll explain in just a minute). If a client, candidate or even an internal employee has an issue, problem, complaint – anything that impairs their experience with your staffing or recruiting firm – wouldn’t you like to know, so you could fix it before it festers and threatens your relationship?… Continue reading
“That temp was 30 minutes late to their assignment – again!” “Nobody ever followed up with me.” “There’s a problem with my billing – I think I was overcharged.” Fielding too many customer complaints these days? At one point or another, every firm has to deal with upset staffing customers. You can’t please 100% of… Continue reading
Trying to measure the business impact of candidate experience is like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall. Or at least it used to be, until The Talent Board came up with this Candidate Experience Resentment Calculator. The calculator assumes that the candidates who apply to your jobs are also potential customers and/or influencers (i.e.,… Continue reading
“Wow, I just wish customer service would be more complicated.” – said no one, ever. Customer service guru Jeff Toister published a great post recently about the importance of simplicity in providing great customer service. My biggest takeaway? Simplicity in customer service starts internally. It makes sense: The best way to make things simple for… Continue reading
Would you use the words “simple,” “quick” and “fun” to describe finding and applying to jobs with your staffing or recruiting firm? Job seekers’ expectations and behaviors are changing faster than ever. Here’s what you need to know to keep up – and make your search & apply experience a dream:
Social experiments are fascinating, especially when we can apply the lessons learned in business. Last week, I read about one conducted in Poland which you may find interesting – because it may help you more effectively help a frustrated staffing client. Here’s a quick synopsis of the experiment: The “Fear-Then-Relief” Experiment Researchers tested a hypothesis… Continue reading
“Caring. In a business world gone numb, it’s an almost unfair advantage.” Jim Cecil, a pioneer in relationship marketing, made this very astute observation many years ago. And research shows that over 2/3 of lost business is due to a supplier’s indifference. Do you show your staffing customers that you truly care about them? We’re… Continue reading
