Risk & Business Magazine Spectrum Insurance Spring 2020 | Page 24

7 SOFT SKILLS
C
SOFT SKILLS YOUR EMPLOYEES
NEED TO BE TRAINED ON
ustomer service and soft
skills are not common sense,
they are not innate, and
people are not born with
them. The quality of your
customer service, and the level of your
organization’s customer service, comes
down to one thing and one thing only:
The service aptitude of every employee
you have. The most critical component
in building a world-class customer
experience culture is the service
aptitude of every individual employee
in your company.
SERVICE APTITUDE: A PERSON’S
ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE
OPPORTUNITIES TO MEET
AND EXCEED CUSTOMERS’
EXPECTATIONS, REGARDLESS OF
THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
Service aptitude does not apply to the
technical or operational side of the
experience, which is also a critical part
of a company’s customer service.
Service aptitude represents the hospitality
side only, how an employee makes another
person feel.
7 SOFT SKILLS ALL YOUR EMPLOYEES
SHOULD BE TRAINED ON
There are seven key interaction traits that
determine a person’s service aptitude
competency.
1. COMPASSION AND EMPATHY
Compassion is the ability to feel for
another living being, which results in your
desire to help. Having strong empathy
to a customer’s situation, seeing and
understanding it from their perspective,
and walking in their shoes.
2. ENTHUSIASTICALLY ENGAGING
AND WARM
Employee is obviously happy in what they
do and whom they are doing it for. He or
she beats the greet; seeks eye contact and
smiles from long distances. Immediately
puts the customer at ease by being
friendly, cheerful and caring.
3. DRIVEN BY A PURPOSE TO SERVE
Someone who intentionally focuses on the
experience of the person they are serving
above anything else.
4. OWN IT
Does whatever it takes to ensure the
customer leaves happy with their
experience. Acts with the same care and
thoughtfulness an owner of the company
would.
5. CHARITABLE ASSUMPTION
Acts as if no customer has bad intentions.
Does not want to punish 98% of your
customers for what you are afraid that 2%
might do.
6. MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN
Always 100% in the moment of the person
they are interacting with.
7. GO ABOVE & BEYOND
Constantly looking and capitalizing on
ways to surprise and delight customers. +
John R. DiJulius is a best-selling author, consultant, keynote speaker and President
of The DiJulius Group, the leading customer experience consulting firm in the nation.
He blogs on customer experience trends and best practices.
TheDiJuliusGroup.com
BY: JOHN DiJULIUS
PRESIDENT, THE DiJULIUS GROUP
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