3. Give frontline staff decision-making abilities
Since many frontline employees are in the field interacting with customers on a daily basis, they have insights that you can’t get from anywhere else. This is why nearly 90% of those surveyed in the HBR study agree on the importance of an empowered frontline staff.
Some organizations utilize customer surveys as the main driver of customer service-related decisions. While surveys are a great tool, they may not provide a truly representative sample because their questions often lead participants toward certain answers.
When you rely on an engaged frontline workforce, customer behavior is taken into account in a more efficient manner. Employees interact with customers in a more candid and personal way, which often removes the film of any obligated niceties or influenced responses. As a result, frontline workers hold a unique perspective in terms of customer expectations and experience.
With this in mind, be sure to empower frontline staff to make important customer service and business decisions. Not only will this be better for the customers, but it will also make employees feel less interchangeable and more important to business operations.