Overheard at the Latest CEB Customer Contact Executive Meeting
Earlier this month, we hosted a group of B2B service leaders in Chicago for our Annual Executive Retreat meeting. There we discussed recent findings and insights from our 2015 study: The Portrait of the New High Performer. Since our B2B members tend to face different challenges compared to our B2C members, it was important for the CEB Customer Contact research team to understand the root issues facing the B2B hiring world while putting this study together.
One such finding was that our B2B members often don’t hire with as much volume or frequency as our B2C members. Thus, the implication is that every new hire needs to incrementally add substantial value. Additionally, we found that reps in B2B organizations tend to have a longer tenure than reps at B2C organizations, meaning once B2B companies hire a rep, they may have them in their organization for years on end.
This led us to a very interesting conversation with our B2B members on what you do with reps that performed well in the “old world” but have not adapted to the “new world.” In other words, with rising customer expectations and increased organizational constraints, can tenured reps operate in a new, low-effort way?
It really comes down to one question: can you teach your reps how to be effective at creating great outcomes for your customers or is it time to manage out the reps who are resistant to adapting to the new world?
Every organization will need to assess the capabilities of their reps and their available resources. If training and coaching is an option, an organization can help their reps develop frontline skills that are important for low-effort service interactions.
If the rep’s performance has not improved, even with additional coaching and training, it may be time to either look for new opportunities within the organization the rep can move to or time to ask them to leave. Although asking someone to leave is never popular, you could be saving your organization, customers, and rep from a bad experience. Furthermore, to reiterate, every seat really matters, especially in a B2B environment, and B2B service leaders should ensure that each rep adds substantial value. If a rep isn’t adding that value and can’t adapt, perhaps it’s time to consider replacing them with a higher-potential new hire.
Has your service organization had experience with long-tenured reps who have trouble adapting to change in the service environment? We’d love to hear about your experiences and challenges in the comments box below.