| By :
Martin Hofschroer
Bosses should ensure their employees are fully engaged in order to improve customer service. A report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that 70 per cent of engaged employees felt they have a good understanding of customer service in comparison to just 17 per cent of non-engaged workers. The CIPD 'Right Management: Measuring True Employee Engagement' report also found that engaged staff were more productive compared to other workers and less likely to be absent or look for another job. Research by Towers Perrin supports the CIPD findings as the performance improvement consulting firm revealed that 75 per cent of highly-engaged employees think they can reduce costs and improve customer service and quality. Andrew Walsh, head of business resources at The Pensions Trust, said that employees act as ambassadors for their bosses and should therefore be trained to realise the business' mission statement. He said: "They can make a huge impact on the customer experience, but to do this they need to understand and support the business' aims and objectives. "Research has shown that an engaged workforce is more motivated and better equipped to meet customer demands." Starbucks has announced that it will provide qualifications in customer service from next year as part of a training scheme which aims to improve the experience of their consumers. Supervisors at the coffee giant can start the NVQs next summer, while junior employees can begin the qualifications in 2012. Darcy Willson-Rymer, managing director of Starbucks UK & Ireland, told the Daily Telegraph that the business plans to follow in the footsteps of its competitors McDonald's by offering recognised qualifications in-house. He told the publication: "The stores that are the best run have the best teams. Investing in [our] people will make for a better customer experience and makes good business sense. "We're trying to build a company that balances corporate social responsibility with profitability." Mr Willson-Rymer went onto say that such training would enhance employee engagement and result in improved morale and reduced staff turnover and absence. "[The training] is good news for our customers who want to see familiar faces, but it's also the right thing to do at a time when coffee shops are providing so many jobs," he told the Telegraph. Employee engagement is "a measureable degree of an employee's positive or negative emotional attachment to their job, colleagues and organization which profoundly influences their willingness to learn and perform at work," states Scarlett Surveys.
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