Think small.

Why? Because your team have their regular work to do. If you go for a grand plan to improve your customer service, you could miss out on something even more valuable than the improvements: everyone’s commitment. 

It’s far more likely that your team will be committed to customer service if it’s practical for them to make improvements while still doing their everyday work. They’ll be more committed if they can see the momentum building over time.

Of course to have momentum you'll need to ensure that the small improvements continue. Ideally they should be 'just what we do here'. Praise effort and success. Have a whiteboard and keep adding the improvements so that everyone can see the list grow. 

The stakes are high. A customer service improvement program must succeed. If your team can’t see what’s changed, they’ll be cynical if you try again.

Let’s get specific

Encourage your team to use this checklist...

Will our customers appreciate it? (if not, it’s not a customer service project)

Is it practical to do this project without compromising our regular work too much?

Will it give us quick results?

Will we be able to measure the results? (‘Completed’ could be enough measurement)

Once they’ve finished one project, encourage them to start another. 

Interested in a customer service workshop for your team?

What about some useful customer service ideas to discuss with your colleagues?