April 27, 2018
April 27, 2018
Contributor: Jordan Bryan
To build high-performing teams, service leaders must identify and leverage the personality traits of their top reps.
When was the last time you spoke with a customer service rep to solve a problem? How long did it take? The answer from a company, a rep and customer is probably ‘too long.’ Lengthy resolution experiences can be taxing to customers and costly for the business.
Research from Gartner identified specific personality traits of high-performing reps that are best able to deliver a low-effort experience for customers.
The finding? “Controller” reps perform the best. These reps are talkative, make their strengths known and freely express their opinions. They are outspoken, outgoing and sociable, and they tend to take greater control during social situations.
Many service organizations still hire the same type of rep they would have hired 5 or even 15 years ago, so service leaders will have to take deliberate steps to fill their frontline ranks with these effective controller personalities.
“Service leaders need to understand the impact that rep personality has on their effectiveness at delivering a low-effort experience,” says Pete Slease, principal executive advisor at Gartner.
Gartner conducted a global, cross-industry study of 1,440 frontline service reps to determine the personality traits of high-performing, low-effort reps. From this, they identified seven distinct service rep personality profiles. Each of these personalities approach their jobs in distinctive ways.
Gartner finds that service teams today have more empathizers, 32%, than any of the other profiles. These reps are often described as good listeners and collaborators and people who enjoy helping others. Empathizers are preferred by managers and hiring managers when comparing profiles, yet empathizers still underperform.
Controllers deliver the best low-effort service and perform 10% better than the average of all reps, and yet they are the least preferred type to hire. Why are controllers better?
“Structured interviews reveal they are driven to deliver fast, easy service and are comfortable using their strong personalities to demonstrate their expertise,” says Slease. “Customers see them as the best problem solvers who provide quick answers, take the lead and guide the customer to resolution.”
Controllers succeed because they provide customers with what they want and need in today's complex and information-rich world. They:
The good news is controllers are no harder to find or more expensive to hire than any other profile. Service leaders who understand the traits of a controller can take advantage of the benefits of this type of rep in their service organization by taking these steps:
Join your peers for the unveiling of the latest insights at Gartner conferences.
Recommended resources for Gartner clients*:
Portrait of the New High Performer.
*Note that some documents may not be available to all Gartner clients.