Internal communication is a priority for any and all companies. However, with remote work becoming the norm, the ways that teams keep in touch have changed.
To ensure that customer experience & customer success teams are aligned with the direction of the company, you need to learn how to communicate strategy effectively, and at the same time you need to be supportive of your team that performs its work in a remote environment.
Here are five of the best ways to improve internal communication with remote customer service teams:
- Simplify Communication for Remote Customer Experience & Customer Success Teams
While sharing high-level strategy, don’t go into too much detail. Just share the most important aspects of the plan, along with action points. Keep it simple so your team knows what direction they are supposed to go in, by outlining the goals they need to prioritize.
Avoid micromanaging or breaking down the details too finely. Your customer service team has experience and knowledge and doesn’t need to be told how to do their jobs.
- Visualize Your Remote Customer Experience & Success Strategy
Visualizing your communication makes the process easier for all involved, and more memorable.
Utilizing a mind map you can outline how the collaboration process works in the company, why it is important, the main goal points with specific next steps and procedures for them to follow. The color-coding for the goals makes the visual easier to absorb.
A strategic visual like this works well to share ideas and can be regularly referenced by the team to refresh their memories, as it can be saved on the company’s shared drive.
- Advocate Awareness for Remote Customer Experience & Success Teams
It is important for companies and managers to be aware and informed as new information becomes available, and to advocate that awareness to customer service teams.
Prepare answers for any questions teams may have. Take note of concerns that have yet to be addressed. Your customer service team’s awareness will impact their interactions with customers. FAQ prepared for internal staff can be used also to address customer queries.
Create a process where managers share regular updates, or the fact that there aren’t any updates and existing procedures should continue to be followed.
- Be Empathetic Towards Remote Customer Focused Staff
The current remote situation is unlike anything people have faced before. With that in mind, companies should adjust their messaging to be more empathetic.
Be cognizant of the situation your employees are in. Those working from home while still homeschooling or taking care of unwell relatives will be under a great deal of pressure. Staff working in isolation will also be struggling with loneliness as the months wear on. If companies can take measures to improve people’s mental health, they should do so by sharing helpful tips or making referrals to appropriate organizations.
Internal emails and newsletters should acknowledge that customer service teams are in a uniquely complex situation and that the company is there to help them get through this. A stressed worker can’t complete their tasks properly and it will negatively impact how they interact with customers.
- Managerial Responsibility Towards Remote Customer Experience & Success Teams
Managers have an additional responsibility during these difficult times to not only handle their own roles and concerns, but to be aware of their staff’s needs as well.
It’s critical to set up systems and tools to make remote work more efficient and that make managers accessible. Managers also need to check in about the health and wellbeing of remote customer service team members and to see whether they are comfortable with the strategies in place, or need more guidance and assistance.
Managers also need to be open about flexible scheduling and give staff the option to work hours according to their needs. With children taking classes at home, this may become a necessity.
Use Slack apps to facilitate faster communication and to hold virtual get-togethers with your team members. Video chats are great for seeing team members and to close the physical gap between staff. Let staff members know that they aren’t on their own. Their team and managers are with them every step of the way.
With these five important steps and efforts, companies can improve their communication with customer service teams and help them work better to get through this unprecedented time we all face, and that we probably will have to learn to live with for quite some time.