I Dunno, Look it up Online

I’ve come across several discussions re: HR’s unwillingness to provide timely responses to routine requests.  We may be better at using technology to put information at our employee’s finger tips, but that doesn’t give us an excuse for not treating them like…well, people.  Do we want to condition our employees to use on-line/self-service/HRIS resources more directly?  Of course.   But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t hold their hands from time to time.  To some extent this falls under the heading of “you can’t win for trying” – we’re expected to leverage technology on one hand, but then asked to maintain the customer-centric focus on the other.  We’re not the only ones dealing with that dilemma, though.  Just ask your average call center manager.  One thing they’ll tell you for sure: higher user satisfaction scores come from 1) a timely response by a live individual, b) a knowledgeable person on the other end with information at their finger tips, and 3) closed cases – sending the caller off with answers.  Don’t be afraid to tell the employee “hey, you can get that stuff online at_____, but let me get it for you while you’ve got me.”  They are either going to respectfully decline and get the info themselves or they are going to patiently wait while you get it.  Either way, they leave satisfied.  I know, Customer Service 101……or is it?