Professional Improvement of Customer Service - Essay Example

For this reason, customer service professional has to undergo perpetual training not only to equip them with new skills but also to refresh them with the skills necessary to perform their job. Customer Service Professionals has to be viewed as internal customers also and as such constant meeting has to be held to get feedback not only to respond to their questions on how to handle customer concerns but also on their concerns as employees. Job designs or how tasks are combined to complete the job should also be responsive to how the Customer Service Professional responds to the customer’s needs. This can be done through perpetual job reengineering of processes and workflows to enhance the front liner’s effectiveness.

Job improvement of a Customer Service Professional in a credit card company has to be viewed not only in terms of skills but also in motivation. The job can also be physically demanding as the employees have to work in shifts including weekends and holidays and as such, employees are susceptible to being burned out when this is not checked. The company has to guard itself against those tendencies to keep its employees motivated to perform. One way to guard it is by employing job enlargement whereby a job is enlarged, the worker performs a large work unit involving a variety of task elements rather than a fragmented job. An enlarged job can elicit intrinsic motivation for several reasons (Chung, Ross, 1977), and employees working on a greater number of workstations reported lower scores for resignation (Weichel et al, 2010).

Rewards and incentives are very important to keep Customer Service Professionals motivated to perpetually improve their jobs. The company, being one of the leading credit card providers has to provide excellent customer service to remain competitive in the business and this translates to high expectations of performance from its frontlines, the Customer Service Providers. When metrics for the delivery of excellent customer service are met and exceeded, management should give incentives to its Customer Service Professional not only in monetary terms but also in recognition, career progression, and an enjoyable working environment.

For example, when the Customer Service Professional received positive feedback from a customer and met the number of queries and cases resolved with minimal tardiness and absenteeism, a corresponding amount should be given as an incentive to the employee. On a team level, teams who perform are given bonuses as a reward. A team outing can also be arranged as a reward without affecting the operation of the department where the team can go out to have fun. This will serve as a reward and also guard the employees from being burned out with the demands of the work.

It is a given that any employee who belongs to an organization should know his/her job. But beyond job knowledge, an employee should also involve in the Management’s initiatives on how to improve job performance. When suggestions are asked on how to improve job workflows and processes or to modify existing systems to enhance productivity, I should share my insight so that the Management will have a better perspective on improving productivity. I will also be open to job rotation where I will be moved through a schedule of assignments to give myself a breadth of exposure to the entire operation of the company. I will cooperate on any job enlargement initiative for the company to become efficient and competitive extending the range of my job and responsibilities.

This is also favorable to me as I gain new skills and insight about my job which could tremendously improve my skill set that will be beneficial for my professional progression in the company. In addition, I am assured that the management stays competitive in the industry by perpetually improving on “how jobs, tasks, and roles are structured, enacted, and modified, as well as the impact of these structures, enactments, and modifications on individual, group and organizational outcomes” (Grant, 2009). by constantly improving itself by employing management productivity methodologies and tools.

The position is a front-liner Customer Service Professional of a major credit card company. To be specific, the position is in a call center operation of the company answering phone-in inquiries, complaints and resolutions, and specific concerns from the customers. The work also involves a 24/7 whole year round-the-clock operation to cater to the customer needs in real-time. The employees in this position work in a shifting schedule including weekends and holidays.