Summary.
Customer service jobs are notoriously joyless, and callers’ experiences with reps can be just as unsatisfying. But T-Mobile has a new operating model that’s making both employees and customers happier. There are no rows of service agents robotically responding to random calls as quickly as possible. Instead, T-Mobile relies on colocated, collaborative teams of reps who manage specific accounts in a given locale, with a focus on autonomous problem solving. Reps get more-comprehensive training, managers get more time for coaching, and team members are evaluated on group performance as well as individual performance. In addition, teams are authorized and expected to manage their own P&L statements. The results are impressive: In three years, T-Mobile has dramatically reduced its customer churn rate, cost to serve, and employee attrition and absenteeism. Its Net Promoter Score is way up too. Other companies might likewise benefit from similar efforts to rethink standard industry practices.
Visit any big company, and few departments will be as instantly recognizable as customer service. The call center usually resembles a factory floor, with row after row of reps, headsets on, sticking to the script and rushing from call to call as they try to minimize “handle time.” Supervisors walk the floor to deal with escalated calls and, every now and then, take individual reps to a back room to review their performance. While some organizations have invested in improving reps’ lot, change has been slow to arrive in the practice of customer service. It’s no wonder that turnover rates for customer service workers are among the highest in the business world—27% annually, on average, according to Mercer. The reasons departing employees cite most often include a lack of challenging work, inadequate recognition, limited career paths, and too little flexibility. For customers, the experience is hardly better. They are forced to navigate computerized call trees and, should they get a live person, they’re often treated robotically and handed from one agent or department to another if their issue is outside a rep’s narrow repertoire.