Empaths vs. controllers: what kind of employees are best to hire for customer service?

Why are consumers increasingly dissatisfied with the quality of help they receive from customer service departments? Authors of Harvard Business Review Magazine surveyed contact center employees and managers from around the world and concluded that companies are not hiring the right people and are not preparing them to handle increasingly complex customer service tasks.

What is the essence of the study?

The Harvard Business Review cross-industry study involved 1,440 sales managers. Based on interviews, seven types of service managers were identified: adaptors, competitors, controllers, empaths, hard workers, innovators, and conservatives. The team conducted interviews with dozens of respondents to better understand how different types of employees approach their work. They also surveyed contact center managers about which types of managers they prefer to hire and collaborate with.

According to the study, "empathic" or "empaths" made up the largest group — 85%, and they are the ones company managers prefer. But "controllers," who made up only 15% of respondents, may handle customer problems better. Is this really so? Read on. 

Self-service — a growing trend in customer service

Think about the last time you placed an order in an online store. Did you check the box "Do not call me to clarify details"? If so, you, like most people, prefer the self-service option. 

Many statistics in recent years indicate a preference for self-service over interaction with a manager: in various industries, 81% of customers try to resolve issues on their own before contacting a live representative.

Self-service offers companies the tempting opportunity to cut costs, often significantly. According to Harvard Business Review, the cost of a self-service transaction is measured in pennies, while the average cost of contacting a support service (by phone, email, or chat) is over $7 for B2C companies and over $13 for B2B companies. B2B.

Investments in self-service technologies annually demonstrate their effectiveness in addressing low-complexity issues, but when it comes to more serious decisions, live interaction is essential. Why then is the number of support contacts steadily declining? 

What do people really want from customer service?

All this creates a new challenge: as customers resolve more simple issues on their own, support representatives have to deal with increasingly complex problems — problems that customers cannot solve on their own. Today's customer service specialists are struggling with these complex issues. As one service department manager at a large retailer admitted:

The problem is compounded by the fact that, by focusing on new self-service technologies, companies are underinvesting in talent development in customer service. They still hire, develop, and manage their employees as they did in the past.

While the self-service experience has improved in recent years, live customer interaction has changed little over the decades, creating a gap between customer expectations and their real experience. 

Stories of poor service spark outrage on social media and go viral, despite companies' efforts to contain them. It's no surprise that customer satisfaction levels have been steadily declining across industries for years.

Request for a specific model. Checking availability. Managers - "Consultation?" pic.twitter.com/iRcsL6ZuiG

— Cold Fig (@GatyaOv) May 27, 2024

Moreover, unprepared staff who talk on the phone with angry customers are costly. Resolving complex issues takes more time, leading to increased costs: the average cost of contacting support jumped from $7 in 2009 to nearly $10 five years later.

Insufficient training also leads to staff turnover, exacerbated by the tight labor market — turnover among customer service representatives has increased since the full-scale invasion began, not only due to the mass emigration of specialists.

Staff turnover not only increases recruitment and training costs but also forces companies to pay more to retain existing employees, or valuable knowledge and experience may walk out the door.

In a self-service world, talented specialists matter more than ever.

But which people are best prepared to work with modern customers? And what qualities help them do so?

How do "empaths" communicate?

According to the study, 42% of the managers surveyed prefer empaths. Their ideal empath employee is described as service-oriented, a good listener and communicator, and someone who "loves helping others." This role is not an easy one. 

A representative of a large cable service provider said: 

How well do empaths work? According to the study's experts, the greatest driver of customer loyalty is the manager's ability to make the interaction as simple as possible. Customers feel more satisfied with such representatives, and the average query processing time decreases.

Why are "controllers" more effective at solving customer problems?

On the other hand, according to the remaining 68% of manager-respondents, empaths do not have an advantage in meeting customer needs. The best at this is the "controllers" type. 

They outperform all other types of support employees in many performance metrics. They are particularly adept at reducing the effort required from customers. 

Why might controllers work better than their colleagues? Based on interview results, they strive to provide fast and simple service and are not shy about displaying their strong personalities to demonstrate their expertise. They describe themselves as "responsible" people who are more interested in sticking to the conversation plan than in "going with the flow." 

They confidently make decisions and also have their own opinions and voices. 

And as the problems that managers have to deal with become more complex, controllers prove to be the best "problem solvers." They not only proactively diagnose user needs but also consider the customer's personality and call context to select and effectively present solutions. 

Controllers focus not so much on asking interlocutors what they want to do, but on telling them what they should do — the goal is always to resolve the issue as quickly and simply as possible. 

The conversation feels human and unscripted: controllers tend to avoid generic phrases and prescribed control scripts, especially when they realize that customers have already spent significant time trying to solve the problem themselves.

Consciously or not, controllers, according to the study, provide what information-overloaded customers want: clear instructions instead of excessive choices.

Customer Service Experience at Torgsoft

In reality, to ensure quality communication and achieve business goals, sales managers should be both empaths and controllers. It is wrong when a salesperson builds a straightforward dialogue and pushes their line without providing complete product information and ignoring customer reactions. At the same time, following only the customer's mood without a clear position and understanding of how to solve their problem will not be beneficial either.

In our practice, we provide customers with recommendations that not only simplify decision-making but also ease buyer's remorse, dispelling all the pros and cons of such a decision. 

So what if your employees are slightly "not reaching" the desired level of empathy and control in their work?

According to the authors of Harvard Business Review, to increase the number of more effective employees, companies need a fresh approach to hiring, which includes more thorough candidate selection and updating existing staff training practices. The latter includes creating new training programs and on-the-job training to help all employees act according to your requirements. 

Compassionate and reasonable employees to you!