One of your reports' CSAT has dropped for a few weeks in a row. Here’s how to pinpoint the reasons and coach them in a way that doesn’t shake their confidence and gets them back on track!  

Get in the habit of meeting with your rep within 2-3 days of a [insert%] drop. This signals that you want to partner with your rep to not only increase their score but also understand why it dropped. Be sure to share this intention with them when you set up the meeting and reiterate it when the meeting starts.

Remember to keep it confidential - use a private calendar invitation and hold your meetings in a private space. Give your feedback using data. For example, instead of saying, “Your CSAT scores declined this month,” share specific numbers like, “Your CSAT score declined 35% this month,” or “Your CSAT score is 20% less than the team average.” This helps put feedback in context relative to past performance and team expectations. Provide specific and concrete examples such as:

• Real interactions from calls, or texts from messages
• The number of complaints or negative ratings received
• How long it takes to respond to an issue 
• The percent of issues resolved
• The percentage of first time resolution  
• How their stats compare with the overall team 

Discuss the drop in CSAT with open-ended questions

In the meeting, you are not there to blame or to presume, but to work with your rep to uncover why their score dropped. Start the conversation with open-ended instead of closed (yes or no) questions to help uncover the root cause. Start with these:

1. What’s working well?
2. Where are you getting stuck?
3. What might you do differently?  

Don’t lecture; listen. Encourage reps to assess their own performance using the data gathered and identify anything that might be getting in their way (training, tools, etc.)

Common drop in CSAT troubleshooting

There are a few common reasons for a drop in CSAT - response times, tone/style in communicating with customers, knowledge gaps, and overall engagement. Review these before you meet with your rep so you can discuss with them as needed. 

Slower than usual response time

• Is their process efficient? What is the process your rep follows when they receive an inquiry? How is it prioritized? A lack of process or a change of process may be a clue. Ensure your rep has or is following standard practices for fielding, answering, and evaluating customer concerns. 
• Do they use automation and templates? Once you’ve established a process, automation can take care of some of the steps for you to speed up the workflow. 
• Are there clear goals? What happens if a rep responds in 10 minutes versus 10 hours? Is your rep clear about expectations of response time? 

Tone and communications with customers

• Have they replaced negative language with positive? Use phrases like “absolutely” and “here’s what I can do for you.”  Avoid words like “unfortunately,” “can’t,”, ‘but”,  “won’t.” and “actually”. These words can trigger negative reactions and drive repeat calls. Negative example: “Actually, you can do this under “Settings.” Positive example: Sure thing, you can do this under “Settings!” Instead of saying “We don’t have that item in stock,” explain, “We’ll have stock availability for that item in two weeks.”
• Are they personable, empathetic, and cheerful? Reps should introduce themselves, address the customer by name, and ask in an authentic tone how they can help. Customers should be able to feel the rep’s willingness to help them.
• Are they concise and articulate? Customers contacted support for a reason. Our job is to fully understand their needs and resolve them as quickly as possible. Also check for typos, bad punctuation or poor phrasing. 

Check for knowledge gaps

Is your rep able to solve the customer’s concern the first time? If the first-time resolution is below average or if customers ask more questions after the initial resolution, it may be a sign of a knowledge gap. Here are some ways to troubleshoot: 

• Is there a new offering, service, or feature that your rep isn’t yet trained on? 
• Was the customer asking about a specific piece of the product that is not your rep’s strength? 
• Is the customer calling back? Is the rep only solving the current issue without proactively helping with downstream issues related to the customer’s problem?

Check your rep’s engagement 

Gallup found that engaged workers are 17% more productive and have 10% better customer ratings. And, managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores. Troubleshoot engagement in these two areas: 

1. Tools: Do they have the tools, resources, and processes they need? For example, Is the rep finding it difficult to hear the customers due to background noise? Noise-canceling headphones can help! Ask: How would we be able to make it easier to do your job? What other tools or resources do you need that could help?
2. Personal: How does your rep feel about their work, including salaries, benefits, working hours, and their relationships with management and co-workers? Ask: On a scale of 1 - 10, how happy are you at work now? Let’s say the rep says, “7”. Ask, what would make it an 8? This will give you clues as to what is getting in the way of them being more engaged.

Set actions and next steps

Once you have identified an area for improvement, work with the rep to identify action items and a timeline. This may include training, shadowing other reps, or modifications to their scripts. Let them know you will continue to monitor their CSAT scores and that you want them to be successful in their role. 

Celebrate small wins and behavioral changes by providing immediate feedback on what your rep is doing well. This helps them know they are on the right track. Be sure to share positive, specific feedback and wins and call out the positive changes they are making.