Managing the Customer Service Department

Sometimes new managers come from the lower ranks and other times they were brought in from an outside organization. The management style within the customer service department is extremely important for setting the right tone for empowerment and personal expression of positive demeanor. Management styles can either be positive or negative depending on the personal attributes of the manager. These management styles embed themselves within the departmental culture and can take a long time to change.

Managers can either be enlightened or they can live and work in the Stone Age. Despite the positive moves in management style there are still a number of managers who choose to work in crude and uninspiring conditions. Such managers scold employees, fail to rally them to a cause, and are unable to listen to the feedback of their employees. Such behaviors create confusion about the expectations of the job and minimize innovation. In the end, employees may consider their employment within the customer service department as simply "a job" and this mentality passes onto the customers.

The other type of manager might range to the point of enlightenment. Such a manager avoids bully type tactics, attempts to inspire their employees and works hard to have people believe in what the company is doing. They are much better in getting employees to believe that strong customer service is important. An enlightened manager tries to make the workplace enjoyable and attempts to coach versus preach.

Bullying is a tactic that I have seen repeat itself over and over in the customer service department and management. Such actions do produce results but unfortunately those results are very short term and don't often have long-lasting results. People "click their heels" and fall in line but they are often minimized in significance to the point that they no longer contribute to the organization.

Organizations that are trying to reform and develop strong programs need to inspire employees to go above what is expected in order to achieve higher results. Therefore, it is necessary to treat employees with a level of respect. This can be difficult when turn-over is high and pay is very low. Despite these short-comings it is often appreciation and gratitude that product the highest employee commitment.

The management style used in the department can have a significant impact on departmental performance. Therefore, recruiting only those managers with the right style and strong administrative skills are likely to meet corporate objectives. The impact of such a positive or negative hiring decision can have long-lasting cultural underpinnings throughout the department for many years to come.