Indhold
According to customer service and leadership expert Linda Moir, recruiting the right talent is the biggest issue facing all sectors, and customer service is both the problem and the solution.
“Attracting the right talent is one of the most important issues facing all industries today,” says Linda Moir. She notes that across various sectors, both public and private, the number one challenge is finding and retaining the best people. “There is a talent shortage, and recruiting and retaining top talent is more important than ever.” Moir emphasizes that her insights are grounded in practical experience, having had the privilege of leading large groups of people.
She further explains that recruitment is costly, both in terms of money and management time. “A big churn makes it impossible to create a motivated team, and ultimately, customer experience is reflects the culture inside the business,” Moir says. When organizations struggle with high turnover, it disrupts the ability to build a consistent and motivated workforce, directly impacting the quality of customer service.
There is an intrinsic link between attracting the right talent and delivering exceptional customer experiences. Moir shares insights from her time at Virgin Atlantics, where they discovered that customer feedback showed inconsistency in service delivery “We looked at the inside culture and saw that it was fun but but sometimes lacked structure. ,” she recalls. Her role was to create consistency without losing the positive aspects of the workplace environment. “Our priority was to fix issues inside the business while preserving what made the culture unique and vibrant.”
Studies have consistently shown a direct correlation between internal culture and external customer experience. When employees are engaged, motivated, and aligned with the company’s values, it naturally reflects in the way they treat customers. “It’s totally linked,” Moir asserts, emphasizing that the internal culture of a business is mirrored in the customer experience it delivers.
One of the critical lessons Moir learned from her time at Virgin is the importance of setting realistic expectations for potential employees. “Virgin changed their job advertising from long, sunny beaches saying ‘come fly with us’ to something much more realistic ,” she explains. While this caused the number of applications to drop, the quality of applicants improved significantly. “The applicants knew what they were getting into, and that led directly to a better work environment and increased customer satisfaction.”
Moir also highlights the importance of understanding that attracting and retaining talent isn’t just about pay. “One of the things I hear the most is, ‘if only we could pay people more, but we can’t.’ And I think organizations kid themselves that it is only about pay.” She emphasizes that there are low-cost initiatives that can make a significant impact on team morale. Simple yet effective measures can show employees that they are valued, which in turn boosts their engagement and loyalty to the company.
As we look to the future, Moir foresees the impact of AI on the employment market as both a challenge and an opportunity. “I’m sure AI will take over lots of jobs,” she says, “and organizations will need agile people who know how to get the best out of the available technology.” This means that companies must focus on attracting and retaining employees who are not only talented but also adaptable and capable of leveraging new technologies to drive business success.
Moir points out that one of the most common mistakes companies make is underestimating the importance of their reputation as an employer. “Reputation is key, and it takes years to build but can be destroyed in moments,” she warns. In industries like aviation, where the reputation for being a tough work environment is well-known, it’s not enough to simply declare that you’re a great place to work. “You must actually be a great place to work, both in terms of hard and soft elements.”
Her advice to companies is clear: “It’s better to under promise and overdeliver.” By setting realistic expectations and ensuring that the work environment lives up to those expectations, companies can create a more engaged and satisfied workforce, which ultimately leads to better customer experiences and greater success in attracting and retaining top talent.
You can learn a lot more about the correlation between customer service and talent attraction when Linda Moir guests the EGN live webinar studio on august 22nd. Here she will take a practical approach and share from her abundance of relevant experience. Sign up via this link.
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