Stress at work in customer service; 6 tips to help you fight it
Stress at work is a major problem in our society. Long working shifts, large volumes of work and the pressure to achieve results can be hard to bear and can lead to serious health problems.
When it comes to customer service, the chances of suffering this type of problem are multiplied. On top of these factors we must add the continuous contact with customers – who are sometimes also stressed or angry – which can be an additional reason to go through the red lines of stress.
And these kinds of situations aren’t easy to handle, right? Surely you are aware of that, if your tasks are related to customer service. Luckily, though, there are some ideas that can help you lower the stress at work for those who work hard in customer service. Let’s take a look at some of them.
– Try to control the workload
It is true that it is not always easy, customers get in touch when they need it and sometimes there may be financial limitations when it comes to hiring more staff, but think carefully if your team is coping with an excessive workload.
Occasionally, partial measures such as having a backup at peak times of calls or contacts will be enough to alleviate the problem and to relieve the workload on your team. Or you may definitely need more staff to help get the job done. Excessive workloads can be the heaviest source of stress, causing losses and leading to high job turnover, so you should evaluate how you can reduce it.
– Encourage a good environment
This is one of the main factors that can help us fight stress. A good working environment will allow us to work with more enthusiasm and face problems with a different philosophy. We have experienced this throughout our lives, for example in sports competitions: a group with a good atmosphere and strong bond will be better able to withstand stress and will be better prepared to face challenges.
There are many ways to improve the environment at work, and we’ve already approached some of them on this blog. Do you want to see some different ways to achieve it? If you want to find out more, you can take a look at this article.
– Value your team
It is a very effective way of fighting stress through the recognition of a well executed job. Words of encouragement will not only improve workers’ self-esteem, but will also encourage a good work environment. And you shouldn’t stop there: valuing your people is not just using good words. Motivate your team for a well-done job through all kinds of benefits, such as bonuses, extra pay, days off, etc. Productivity will increase while stress will be reduced.
– Train your team to deal with complicated customers
Not a single worker has to put up with disrespect. It’s not about disrespecting clients, but it’s about having the right tools to deal with this type of situation or with clients who may not lose their temper but may be especially difficult to deal with.
Provide your team with the emotional and professional tools necessary to deal with these types of clients without losing respect and without damaging their self-esteem. Good training and a clear set of goals will be very helpful in order to avoid these types of situations and to be able to deal with them, whenever they may arise, without stress.
– Let your team have a good work-life balance
Resting is the ultimate anti-stress tool. A few minutes of relaxation while taking a walk in a park, or a chat with other colleagues in front of a coffee machine will provide the necessary relief to fight against the emerging stress.
At the same time, benefits such as flexible working hours to improve the work-life balance will be highly valued by your team and will greatly reduce stress levels. Having to jump out of work to pick up their children at school does affect the tranquillity and performance of your workers. Provide them with facilities and they will not only appreciate it, but they will perform better.
– Organize the service properly and use the right tools
Having to work in a department that is chaotic and lacks an efficient organization puts stress on anyone. And the same thing can be said if you are forced to work without having the right tools to carry it out.
How do you think a construction worker would feel if he had to open a large hole across the entire roadway with a pickaxe instead of a rotary hammer? Or an airplane pilot who had to land ” at a glance “, without the help of a control tower…
A lousy business, isn’t it? And now think of your customer service people. Do you really think that a notebook or a simple Excel are the best tools for them to carry out their job?
In the 21st century, there are better ways to do this. You can, for example, have some computer tools that can help you with the task. Can you let us show you ours? This is Integria IMS.
Integria IMS is a program that has, among other features, an incident management system (help desk software) based on tickets (ticketing) which is able to help in the management of customer service of companies or organizations.
Would you like to know more about what Integria IMS can do for you? You are right! Take a look here: https://integriaims.com/en/product/help-desk-software/
Or you can send us any query you may have about Integria IMS. You can easily do so, thanks to the contact form at the following address:
https://integriaims.com/en/company/contact/
The Integria IMS team will be delighted to assist you!
What is your opinion about stress at work? Leave us your opinion in the comments section at the bottom of this article, we will be happy to answer all your questions.
Do you have a lot of stress at work? Is it a real problem in your daily life? What are you going to do to solve this situation? We look forward to hearing from you. And don’t forget to take a look at the other articles that are published in this blog.