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Four Things to Know for World Mental Health Day

 

 

Four Things to Know for World Mental Health Day

October 10th is World Mental Health Day - a time to focus your attention on the growing problem of mental illness and its major effects on people's lives. It's estimated that one in every four adults will experience mental health difficulties at one time or another. This also has a significant impact on business, especially customer service initiatives.

Snapshotz™ Online's research with 2100 organizations worldwide,

points to one critical factor that could improve mental health within every customer Contact Center.                            

Management Awareness

Tweet: 78% of #SeniorExecutive are not aware of physical & emotional impact of dealing w/ customers http://bit.ly/2hof89b via @Taylor_Reach #WMHD

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Over three quarters (78%) of senior executives and Contact Center leaders are not fully aware of the physical and emotional impact of dealing with customers regularly.

Increases in self-service channels have amplified pressures for customer service employees. Many customers, who can't or don't want to manage self-service channels call for help. By the time they reach one of your customer service representatives their frustration level (and anger) may have reached a boiling point.

This compounds stress for those measured on quickly meeting customer satisfaction targets. Over time, these difficult exchanges can affect employee self-esteem, decrease productivity and increase lateness, illness and absenteeism. Employees who do show up to work every day carry a heavier load of responsibilities and thus even more stress. In the end, stress is a major factor in many mental health situations.

In the best centers assessed, the way to break the cycle is involvement of senior staff.

1. Management must be aware of the challenges. In The Customer Response Management Handbook , the author, Darlene Richard, recommends senior staff set aside a few hours regularly (if possible once a week) to spend some time on the floor listening in and viewing all forms of customer interactions. This is more from a supportive point of view rather than a quality control perspective.

We have seen that this one change alone can make a huge difference with decision making throughout the organization.

2. Snapshotz™ Online assessments have found that identifying stressful customer interactions and its impact along with accompanying management support is critical in diffusing and coping with stress. A way to help is to provide ‘time out’ facilities and teaching frontline team members to recognize stress. In addition, there must be an adequate budget set aside for a practical and cost-effective wellness program. Programs for customer service centers cover basics such as resilience, eating well, drinking enough water, exercising, having a healthy social network, as a start.

3. Ensure team leaders and managers are taught to recognize the signs of physical and mental stress with customer service employees.

4. Finally, encourage staff to feel comfortable and safe to ask for help when things seem overwhelming. This includes instances when they feel they are being bullied by other team members. See How to recognize a bullying manager in your organization’

 

Tweet: Work #HSE goes beyond ergonomics & breaks. Healthy employees are greatest resource a business has http://bit.ly/2hof89b via @Taylor_Reach

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Work, health, safety and environment (HSE) goes beyond ergonomics and lunch breaks. Healthy employees are the greatest resource a business has.

Benefits of Good Physical and Mental Health

The benefits of good physical and mental health include the following:

⦁ High levels of staff engagement (being on time and ready to work)
⦁ Increased energy and enthusiasm to resolve customer queries
⦁ Customers sense the positive attitude and customer satisfaction soars
⦁ Service levels increase
⦁ Products and services are delivered more accurately and timely
⦁ Better harmony with other internal departments
⦁ More frequently meeting performance, revenue and cost-reduction targets

Reach out to us if you would like to know more about this topic or if you would like to become part of the Snapshotz™ Online assessment and certification programs. We are here to help you improve your work-life balance and the results from your customer service efforts.

Learn more by visiting our Website or Contact: [email protected]
Customer Services Audit is the developer of Snapshotz Online, web based customer service assessment and benchmarking tool.

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