Your front desk staff is unresponsive to customers. How can you effectively address this issue?

I've found that open communication can go a long way. We never know what the next person is encountering in their life. They could just be having an "off" day.

Setting expectations and proper training is essential here. Also, good communication and getting to the bottom of what is going on with the employee. They most likely don’t understand how important and vital their position is to the company as a whole. Maybe they feel undervalued? Front desk staff create the initial impression for anyone walking in or calling the first time. If new clients or customers are treated well by being greeted with a friendly and respectful attitude, the more likely they are to want to do business with your company. Creating a positive first impression goes a long way. Which is why front desk staff are actually some of the most valuable employees. Their job is not menial. They in turn deserve respect.

Approach your front desk and ask for their input on how they feel they are interacting with said customers. Listen and let them have a voice and then set clear expectations moving for moving forward!

Ask staff what the issue is, then if there is a remedy exercise it.This is hardly rocket science! There could be a number of issues, (lack of) training, (lack of) management communication, external circumstances / forces - e.g. rude, irate customers, internal circumstances / forces - e.g. supply and demand, unexpected or unforeseen changes- in work patterns, staff turnover, pressure and stress- etc.

Have an open discussion with your staff. Reiterate the expectation from them, and be open to feedback on what responses they are receiving from customers as well. From there assess and address what issues present themselves and make adjustments as needed. Not all business practices that are put in place, work. Adjust and adapt for what works best for your team and client base.

I think it’s more effective training, understanding skill gaps and identifying ways to share knowledge without overwhelming them. Staff members should be also identifying ways to up skill in their careers. We also need to make sure to give people an opportunity to apply their skills to learn from it from an organisational side and understand the importance of application in different ways to reach a effective solution

Sometimes, people need a refresher on the expectations of their position. When I notice that an employee getting more lax on their job duties I take the opportunity to retrain them. I like to keep employees engaged in new and upcoming changes to the company policies. If employees feel important they will treat their jobs as important.

Offer constructive feedback is a must. Some employees, coworkers, or mangers/supervisors don't realize there is an issue until it has been addressed.

Yes I agree dealing with clients/customers can be sometimes challenging it’s important to promote taking their leave and reap the benefits of staff benefits It’s also making sure that staff benefits have something for the majority and if not you should work towards doing research of the organisation and see ways to onboard new services Through the job is important to understand who your staff receive feedback, and tailoring styles that the employee can process. Even a use of a GIF through teams can do wonders

A couple of things I found helpful is checking e-mail correspondence, call logs and voicemail. This allows me to stay engaged and monitor how my staff is corresponding with clients.

I would also be assessing the environment, tools, and workload holistically. Does the software used provide ample opportunity to pause a work-stream, to assist a customer on same software? Is there a need for additional workstation to be devoted to F2F, so that other tasks can be left? Nobody likes to close out of something almost finished to repeat the process. Public facing staff should always have in-person/calls prioritised as part of role objectives. Is there ample environmental division of customer facing work and other tasks? Staff should not feel interrupted by customers; which in turn leads back to workload.