3 Essentials for the Front Desk Staff

The front desk is the face of every organization as it makes the first contact with customers. A team of efficient front desk staff sets a positive tone for your company by providing initial services which make clients feel welcome every time they call you or walk through your doors. Every business should provide its frontline employees with training which will allow them to serve and delight customers in the best possible manner. With important responsibilities such as answering telephone calls, replying to e-mails, scheduling appointments, facilitating office communication, greeting and receiving customers, here are some essentials to be kept in mind for front desk representatives.

Make a Great First Impression

The importance of creating a positive first impression can never be stressed enough, especially if your front desk employees are dealing with new customers. Check to see if your staff is helpful, patient and likeable. Make sure that your employees acknowledge your clients’ presence and greet them as soon as they enter your organization’s premises. If there are many customers who have to be served all at the same time, train your staff to promise to be with them shortly and entertain them in some way while they wait. Ensure that your staff creates the impression that handling customer needs is a top priority for your organization.

Your frontline staff’s character and habits also matter in the workplace. Employees with a friendly and professional attitude should attend to customers and their needs. For example, consider a scenario in which a customer seeks information from your receptionist who is busy doing her nails and chewing gum. This will create a negative impression on the client and he/she will simply take his/her business to your competitors. Hence, your frontline personnel should always be presentable and attentive. Ensure that they deliver excellent customer service at all times.

Communicate Proactively With Customers

Frontline personnel are usually assigned the responsibility of giving customers the basic information about the companies they represent. Train them to provide consumers with the relevant answers and details. Ensure that your staff always engages in active listening so that they don’t miss out on any detail given by the customers. It allows employees to come up with the correct responses to queries and in case of individual customer requirements, your staff would be capable of offering tailored solutions and suggestions.

The front office personnel may also be required to receive phone calls. Establish a standard greeting which employees can use upon answering the phone. Allow them to refer to a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) if clients have general queries. These steps reduce chances of error on your personnel’s part and enable them to interact with clients better.

Offer Round-The-Clock Availability

Make it a point to never leave your front desk empty during office hours. In such an event, your company will miss out on customer interaction and engagement opportunities and it can affect your overall business performance. Consumers do not like to be kept waiting for a long time before someone eventually caters to their needs and it gives them the idea that your company’s customer service is not in line with professional standards. Also, clients who are in a hurry will feel highly inconvenienced by the trouble you may cause them if there is no one to serve them at your front desk. Therefore, it is essential to have other employees who are ready to fill in if your regular frontline staff is busy, absent or on lunch break. If your business offers 24/7 customer service, keep a check on the frontline personnel who work in the other shifts and ensure that they maintain the same level of service expected by your company. Never leave your clients unattended and ensure that your frontline staff always capitalizes on every opportunity to provide them with great customer service.