Feedback and Employees: Consider the Carrot

posted by: Nick Roman on 2/5/2010

We always talk about how great it is to be able to react quickly to customer feedback. When Mrs. Customer tells you she’s had a poor experience, it’s great to call her back to resolve the issue. You’ve made the customer happy, and potentially pinpointed a way to improve training or processes to prevent it from happening again. Complaints, in many ways, rock.

But there’s another way to act on customer feedback which is just as powerful, and altogether more pleasant. What do you do when Mrs. Customer calls your contact center and says she had a fantastic experience? It’s not a complaint, so there’s no pressing need to act on it, but do you share that with the agent she’s referring to? A “perfect 10” rating isn’t just a bump in the customer sat graph , it reflects a real person doing a damn good job.  Several Confirmit customers  are using positive customer feedback to reward employees—though internal award systems, lunches, and company recognition. It might sound a bit cheesy, but it gets an amazing response.

While employees need better processes and improved training programs, they appreciate being appreciated. And you can share that with the customer too. Just as with negative feedback, positive feedback that goes unacknowledged will soon dry up as customers assume it’s disappeared into yet another feedback black hole. If customers make more positive comments, staff feel better appreciated and do a better job, meaning more customers get better service and. well, you can see where I’m going with this. It doesn’t have to be a complicated process—just a virtuous circle of positive feedback.

Feedback should never be a stick to beat your employees with, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a carrot either.