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In today’s competitive market, it’s easier than ever to find a number of businesses that offer the products we want, at a price we’re willing to pay, delivered to our doorstep in days, even minutes (thank you, Seamless). For brands to thrive, they have no choice but to differentiate by offering a memorable customer experience. As we know, it’s a similar case for HR. Organizations are quickly realizing that investing in employee experience makes a difference when it comes to attracting, retaining and engaging talent.
So, what are some specific things you can do to bolster employee experience? Let’s look to some of our favorite brands. Here are 3 examples of amazing customer service and how you can adapt them to improve employee experience at your organization.
Provide customer support through video like Warby Parker
Along with price, Warby Parker’s customer experience is surely a selling point for the online eyewear retailer. An at-home trial program and a no-questions-asked return policy are hallmarks of the Warby Parker experience. But, there’s a less obvious component that further supports their belief that “buying glasses should be easy and fun.” In addition to a traditional FAQ webpage, the company answers customer questions with video. Warby Parker’s YouTube videos explain complex topics in under a minute, such as “Do you accept insurance?” and “Can I use my expired prescription?” Some of their support videos have as many as 28,000 views!
How it can work for HR: Consider adding video to your employee knowledge portal. Video content appeals to more than one sense at a time, increasing the viewer’s understanding and retention. According to research, we remember only 10% of what we hear and 35% of what we see. However, when visuals and audio are combined, as is the case with video, retention goes up to 65%. This means a greater likelihood that your knowledge base content will resonate with employees and thoroughly answer their questions. Not only is this a better experience for the employee, but it can relieve the workload on HR since it equates to less time spent answering requests. Intimidated by video? It doesn’t need to be fancy. It’s more important to focus on a clear, concise script and effective visuals.
Take advantage of chatbot technology like Casper
Not only does Casper let you test run its mattresses at home, now the company will chat with you via text when you can’t sleep. Or rather, Insomnobot-3000 will. Designed to function between the hours of 11pm and 5am, the bot keeps you company with friendly conversation when you’re plagued by insomnia. Sure, the bot likely has marketing benefits for Casper, but the company’s main goal with Insomnobot-3000 is to create a great customer experience.
How it can work in HR: Although Casper’s intent is to build relationships with customers, chatbot technology can have quantifiable benefits—especially for HR. It can assist employees in finding basic information in the same way a live agent could, reserving valuable face time with HR for more sensitive and urgent employee matters. Chatbots also save employees’ time by reducing the effort it takes to navigate an HR system (it’s like the difference a “search” box makes in finding the information you need on a website, but magnified).
Empower frontline staff like The Ritz Carlton
From the front desk staff to the housekeepers, every employee at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is granted $2,000 a day to provide exceptional customer service. Of course, the intention isn’t to wow guests with pricey gifts or services. The $2K allowance acts as a guideline so employees feel empowered to do whatever they need to resolve a customer issue—without having to get permission from management. The belief is that if employees need to go through layers of approval before they can make things right, the opportunity for a great customer experience is lost.
How it can work in HR: The idea isn’t to dedicate a robust budget to servicing individual employees. Instead, it’s about developing an empowered frontline HR staff. When HR is empowered, they feel trusted, which leads them to be more engaged in their work. Empowering your team can be done by providing them with time and the right tools.
- Time: At The Ritz-Carlton, employees are encouraged to take time away from their core job duties to service a guest, whether that means giving directions or simply asking how their day is going. “Empowerment is often manifested as the power of our employees to break away from the routine,” says Herve Humler, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. For HR, when representatives spend less time on repetitive, administrative tasks, they can give attention to more impactful projects, such as analyzing data, creating new processes or guiding employees through complex cases.
- Tools: In the hotel industry, exceptional customer service can often require cash (e.g., providing a guest with a complimentary laptop charger if she forgets to pack one). This is why The Ritz-Carlton’s “tool” behind empowerment is the freedom to spend up to $2,000. In the context of HR, employees don’t need goods or services like hotel guests. They need HR processes to be quick and painless so they can get back to work. In HR’s case, technology is its most valuable tool. Technology lets HR better serve employees through things such as digital forms and signatures or a self-serve knowledge portal.
What are some customer experience examples that inspire the way your organization thinks about employee experience? Share them in the comments below!
