Don’t forget the invisible staff

Who are the back-office employees?

Back office-employees are those that tend not to come into contact directly with the customer and tend to handle the administrative aspects of the organisation and often the internal processes. Therefore, competent computer skills are paramount as well as the capacity to grasp a good understanding of a range of programmes relevant to their role.

Why are back-office employees so important?

Whilst back-office employees may not be directly customer facing, it is as a result of their efficiencies and task completion, that largely determine the quality of the customer’s experience with that company.

When studies report that 20% of front-office interactions are as a result of problems in the back-office, streamlined back-office processes combined with engaged and competent staff is critical to maintaining customer satisfaction.

How can you keep your back-office staff engaged?

Maintaining a harmonious and thriving back-office is just like any other organisation promoting a healthy workplace. Employees must feel appreciated, satisfied in their role and fully equipped to carry out their job function.

Unlike other organisations who must rely solely on staff reports, appraisals and employee feedback, large organisations can implement software that enables them to monitor staff efficiencies, allocate work to the appropriate skill sets and identify where further training may be required.

Back-office employees’ skills and development can be nurtured and their sense of job satisfaction improved simply by not feeling neglected.  In addition, highlighting efficiencies can help managers to reward those who are excelling, whether it be a simple thank you or by a bonus incentive scheme.

A work-flow management system that manages performance too

OPX is a workflow management system that tracks what your staff are doing in real-time, in particular the back-office staff. It provides managers with information to help them to enable employees’ performance reach new highs.

OPX promotes the continuous improvement of the employees as well as the technology and productivity; believing that through encouraging staff development, inline with company development, output will improve this will all be reflected in the customer experience.

Don’t let your back-office staff become invisible; they are your means of meeting expectations and promising a seamless customer experience.