Q: With limited time and expertise on customer service training, how can we improve staff performance?

A: Every organization faces the challenge of managing their employees' interactions with customers. Whether on the phone, in person or over video chat, your customers' experience depends on more than your staff's expertise, but also your staff's attitude and presence.

Paul Omodt, my co-founder at Frame Changers, which helps health care organizations improve customer experience, says many employees "minimize their importance in the customer journey" rather than seeing it as foundational in their interactions. He suggests that leaders make customer service an important and rewarded contribution.

"It's the street sweeper at Disney who sees a guest looking at a map and takes time to give directions," Omodt says. "It seems like a simple thing to tell employees to focus on customer experience, but it's not like flipping a switch." He encourages leaders to have regular discussions with their staff about customer service, even for just a few minutes a week.

"Much of our training aims to make employees aware of how customers perceive them and provide tools to polish that image," Omodt says. Many of these things, such as eye contact and tone of voice, may not be elements that employees have ever considered.

Simply becoming conscious of customer perceptions of their service experience can lead to improvements. Managers must then keep reminding employees of the importance that the organization places on supporting customers.

In addition, try to "catch people doing something right" as often as possible. Too often, front-line managers call out when behavior misses the standard. Real improvement comes from giving praise for excellence or even just progress, as soon as it happens. If possible, provide positive feedback in ways that show others that rewards are within reach.

While a reward system could be formalized (i.e., scheduled "awards" for customer service at team and/or broader employee meetings), the randomness of being acknowledged or otherwise rewarded through impromptu actions often generates longer-lasting impact.

Mike Porter, Ed.D., is a faculty member in the marketing department at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business.