Interpersonal skills are crucial in customer service because they directly impact the customer experience. Good communication, active listening, empathy, problem solving, and interpersonal skills enable customer service representatives to effectively understand customer needs and provide a positive solution. When customer-oriented employees master their social skills, their customers are more likely to feel listened to and satisfied with the service they have received, which translates into greater customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth recommendations. So, what exactly are the 10 most important soft skills in a customer service role? Communication skills are fundamental to customer service, there's no question about that. But it's also a skill that requires much more improvement, also among leaders and managers.
In fact, research from Ketchum Communications reveals that only 31% of employees believe that their leaders communicate effectively. Patience in customer service encompasses the ability to maintain composure, empathy, and professionalism when faced with stress or difficult circumstances. It involves listening to customer concerns, seeking clarification when necessary, and offering solutions without succumbing to frustration, anger, or indifference. It's not uncommon for customers to experience frustration, distress or bewilderment.
Therefore, it is crucial that customer service representatives maintain the composure and professionalism to effectively address and resolve the situation. The past few years have taught us a lesson about the importance of being flexible and adaptable. It seems that its importance will continue to grow. When it comes to customer service, staff flexibility plays an important role, allowing them to adapt to changing circumstances and offer solutions that meet customer requirements.
Customer service representatives often face challenges. Possessing the ability to think outside the box and approach problems, from a variety of perspectives, can result in more favorable outcomes. Some good customer service skills to include in a resume include empathy, communication, adaptability, efficiency, relationship building, problem solving, product knowledge, and digital literacy. Engage fully with what customers are saying, understand their views, ask inquisitive questions, and avoid interruptions. Be flexible and adjust communication and problem solving approaches based on customer preferences and situation.
This can include a multitude of different scenarios, and agents should be able to resolve each situation quickly and calmly with professionalism. Free and premium plans Active listening involves focusing deeply on the other person's point of view. Instead of thinking about what you're going to say next, focus your attention on what the customer is saying to you and be prepared to repeat those same details when you offer them a solution. This shows that not only have you listened to what the customer has said to you, but that you also understand their objectives and how you can help them solve the problem at hand.
While sometimes overlooked, starting a conversation is actually a very useful customer service skill. Even small back-and-forth jokes help establish common ground with the customer and create a more human interaction with them. This is particularly important if you're communicating on the phone or through a live chat, as these interactions are less personal than a face-to-face conversation. Empathy and understanding are fundamental to customer service. However, they are difficult to master if you don't understand customer needs or the obstacles that prevent customers from achieving their goals.
This makes it difficult to show genuine empathy for the customer, since you don't realize or understand the repercussions of the problem they're facing. When explaining the details of the case, it's important to use positive vocabulary. While you can't control the importance of a problem, you can control how you make the customer understand it. If you use pessimistic language or exaggerate the problem too much, the customer will feel that you can't solve their problem, which is exactly the opposite effect that your support team should have. Body language can boost or undo customer service interactions.
In fact, an astounding 55% of all in-person communication is dictated by body language. At Missive, our users receive more than 100 emails in a day in some cases. We've put together the most practical and useful AI suggestions that real companies use to keep their inbox productive and tidy. Configure it restrictively (specific senders or domains) or broadly (based on open behavior, such as emails unread for more than 30 days). As a leader, foster a positive team culture that encourages collaboration, knowledge sharing, and support among agents.
Conduct team-building activities, encourage open communication, and create an environment where agents feel comfortable seeking help and sharing experiences. Provide ongoing training to agents on new and emerging platforms and the appropriate communication styles for each of them to improve the online customer experience. In fact, their job is to try to be the “rock” for customers who think that the world is falling apart as a result of their current problems. These changing customer expectations (88% of consumers now demand fast, consistent and personalized interactions with each hire) have an impact on the type of skills that are required for the job.
If you're a hiring manager, look for these customer service skills when browsing resumes and searching exceptional candidates. Or it may mean reviewing your own interactions with customers, identifying missed opportunities to exceed customer expectations or anticipate customer needs, and designing strategies to do so in the future. It's contagious and can significantly improve team dynamics, job satisfaction and customer experience. Tenacious representatives will go beyond the bounds of their job description to have a positive impact on customer experiences.
Your job is to steer the conversation toward a positive outcome and, at the same time, recognize the customer's concerns. Many software engineers wouldn't be able to answer a phone call with an aggressive customer; there's nothing “soft” in the skills needed to calm them down and find their way forward. From expanding customer service teams to landing the perfect position, every agent must develop their customer service skills at work. In addition, business owners and customer service managers provide their staff with the ability to make their own decisions.
Job category: Select Accounting, Management, Auditing, Business Analysis, Customer Care Representative, Finance, Information Security, Information Technology, Learning and Development, Marketing Operations, Project Management, quality assurance, sales support specialist, talent acquisition. From managing real conversations with clients to solving challenges with empathy, you'll develop communication, patience and emotional intelligence at work.
