Are you genuinely offering good customer service?

At an operational level, many recruiters believe that they offer good customer service, but what measures have been put in place to substantiate this claim.  Without any measures, service is often only as good as the last issue or the stakeholders view of the week’s activity prior to a review meeting.

Good customer service is not just about sorting out problems or issues effectively – this is nothing more than being reactive, only engaging at critical times, and does not build a solid partnership.  Only being reactive is the typical behaviour of a supplier / buyer relationship. 

When a problem occurs, do you just put it right or do you analyse the fundamental reasons behind the issue and change your processes and/or behaviours accordingly.

Good customer service is all about building a true partnership with your client.  Do you know their short and long term strategy for recruitment – would they share this information with you and are you part of this strategy?

Ask yourself the following:

Ø  How much do you know about their industry and the challenges it faces?

Ø   Are you thinking about how you can align your process or delivery to assist with their business challenges? 

Ø  What knowledge do you hold about recruitment practices and legislation and what advice can you bring to the table to consultant with your client?

Ø  What value added services do you deliver and how can this be demonstrated?

Ø  How do you demonstrate your business is being proactive within this partnership?

Ø  Are you seen as just a supplier or a true recruitment business partner?

All too often relationships are held with a few active Hiring Managers or just with HR – this encourages a reactive approach.  In my experience, creating a comprehensive and balanced scorecard enables you to measure every element of the partnership and focus on those areas where your organisations are not truly aligned.

Management Information enables you to show achievement against SLA’s, but it is the overall Customer Services Experience that brings true value to the partnership.

So the question remains – Are you genuinely offering good customer service?


Sue Ventham
Client Services Director, Resource Management