4 ways to empower customer service reps

Sarah places an order online and immediately realizes that she made a mistake on the order form. She calls the customer service line, but the representative tells her that he can't fix the order—it was already sent to the fulfillment center. He places Sarah on hold while he tries to find someone with the authorization to change the order. After a half-hour on hold, he returns to tell Sarah that the only person who can make the change is out of the office for the week.

Dismayed and exasperated, Sarah cancels the order completely.

Bryan, the customer service representative, is also aggravated. He truly wants to help Sarah, but can't due to the red tape of an antiquated policy. Unfortunately, Bryan still doesn't have the discretion—or necessary training— to resolve a simple problem like Sarah's. He feels defeated and vents his frustration through unfriendly interactions with other customers.

This situation emphasizes the importance of empowering customer service reps. In fact, one study found that companies leveraging employee empowerment receive 50% higher degrees of customer loyalty. However, many employers misunderstand what empowerment really means.

At its core, support team empowerment is a way to give representatives the tools they need to take care of the needs of customers. If done correctly, reps will find long-run engagement and motivation, while customer service leaders will have more time to focus on other tasks.

So, what does it take to truly empower customer service reps?