Investors In People: "Employees key to successful customer service"

Online, October 6, 2010 (Newswire.com) - INVESTORS IN PEOPLE: "EMPLOYEES KEY TO SUCCESSFUL CUSTOMER SERVICE"

At the start of National Customer Service Week, running from 4th - 8th October, Investors in People has developed a 'top tips' guide to help businesses get employees fully engaged in the drive to improve customer service and satisfaction.
Help employees understand your business goals - staff need to understand where the organisation is going, its promise to customers and how they can help deliver this.
Make communications relevant - talk to employees on their own terms and use communication channels familiar to them. There is no 'one-size-fits all' formula that works for every organisation and every person within it.
Involve employees - no manager has the monopoly on bright ideas and frontline staff can offer valuable insights. Ask your employees what they think would make customers more loyal, or how best to diffuse difficult phone conversations.
Be visible and supportive - employees need to know you're available to give guidance, that you will offer support and that you're interested in their feedback and ideas at all times. This can be as simple as ensuring there are regular team meetings.
Celebrate and reward success - individual employees can have a tangible impact on the customer experience. Think about introducing mini-reward schemes that encourage individuals to go above and beyond in the bid to deliver great service.
Andrew Walsh, Head of Business Resources at The Pensions Trust, an Investors in people Champion and Gold award holder, commented
"Employees are the best ambassadors for any business. They can make a huge impact on the customer experience, but to do this they need to understand and support the business' aims and objectives. Research has shown that an engaged workforce is more motivated and better equipped to meet customer demands. Certainly in our experience, once staff understand where the company is headed and how they can help drive success, putting the customer first becomes second nature.
"Customer Service Week is an opportunity for all employers to find new ways to build a customer-focused culture that will help their business stand out from the crowd."
Ends
Notes to editor
For more information, contact the Investors in People press office on 020 7544 3118.
National Customer Service Week will be running from 4th - 8th October, 2010. It is run by The Institute of Customer Service.
Previous research linking effective employee engagement and good customer service includes:
• 70% of engaged employees indicate they have a good understanding of how to meet customer needs; only 17% of non-engaged employees say the same. (Right Management, Measuring True Employee Engagement, A CIPD Report)
• Three-quarters of the highly-engaged believe they can impact costs, quality and customer service; and only 25% of the disengaged believe they can. (Towers Perrin)
About Investors in People:
• Investors in People offers a practical, flexible and easy to use framework for improving business productivity, performance and competitiveness in organisations of all types and sizes through good practice in people management.
• An organisation that has achieved Investors in People has been successful in adopting and maintaining its three fundamental principles:
• Plan - developing strategies to improve the performance of the organisation, from business goals to leadership strategies;
• Do - implementing those strategies, taking action to improve the performance of the organisation;
• Review - evaluating and adjusting those strategies, measuring their impact on the performance of the organisation.
• The UK Commission for Employment and Skills has strategic ownership of the Investors in People framework. Investors in People is part of the UK Commission's ambition to improve skills, employment and productivity across the UK.
• The Investors in People framework is delivered by a partner network:
1. In England, the network of Investors in People Centres.
2. In Scotland, Scottish Enterprise (SE) or Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
3. In Wales, the Business Skills Delivery Team at the Department for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, Welsh Assembly Government.
4. In Northern Ireland, the Department for Employment of Learning.

For more information on Investors in People please visit www.investorsinpeople.co.uk
The Pensions Trust
The Pensions Trust is one of the leading multi-employer occupational pension funds in the UK for the charitable, social, educational, voluntary and not-for-profit sectors.
Facts and figures
 Established in 1946, The Pensions Trust is an occupational pension fund, established under Trust Law.
 The Trust has assets of more than £4.1 billion and serves over 4,300 employer organisations with over 140,000 members and pensioners.
 29 defined benefit schemes, five multi-employer defined benefit schemes, the Flexible Retirement Plan, Unitised Ethical Plan, Growth Plan and a Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) Scheme.
 Adopts the mission "making membership worthwhile".
 Run by a Corporate Trustee with a Board of 14 Directors - six elected by employers, six by members and two co-opted by the elected Directors. The Chair and Deputy Chair are elected annually by the Board members.
 This Board is responsible for the policy, strategy and supervision of The Pensions Trust.
 Some participating schemes also have their own committees who make decisions on the management of the scheme. This means that employers and members can choose to be closely involved in their scheme.

For further information on The Pensions Trust, please see www.thepensionstrust.org.uk