The retail and hospitality industry has completely transformed in the past decade thanks to the technology that’s become available. Businesses that are not keeping up with these changes are quickly falling behind.

Customers have more choice and convenience than ever thanks to the power of the internet, which is why high-quality service is one of the most valuable assets for retailers in 2020.

• 61% of retailers believe that efficient customer service is the most important factor in providing their customers with the best experience possible.
• Customers are willing to spend up to 16% more on products and services with companies that offer a better experience.

Microsoft has been building on the capabilities of Skype for Business within Microsoft Teams since September 2017. Now Teams has been developed into Microsoft’s one-stop-shop for chats, meetings, calling, collaboration, app integration and file storage. Your employees will have the ability to utilise these tools to provide the first-class customer service your customers deserve.

Here are three ways you can improve your customer service by using Microsoft Teams.

1. Provide staff with the tools they need to sell

It’s normal to see everyone equipped with a smart device, and this is starting to apply to employees on the shop floor too. It’s now becoming the norm for employees to have a mobile device with them whilst at work. Whether this is for taking orders, communicating with others or checking stock levels to avoid running back and forth to the stock room. Being mobile is the nature of the job within the retail sector – you need to share information with employees in different locations. Microsoft Teams allows employees to collaborate and communicate securely, from any location.

83% of the retail decision-makers and 74% of the store assistants surveyed agreed that shoppers will have a better experience when associates are equipped with technology.

And why’s that? Employees will have instant access to all the information they need, can pass on urgent information as a private or group message and communicate with the people they need in seconds. Microsoft Teams allows you to do all of this and more. It’s a centralised hub for you to store and share knowledge with other employees, whether they’re on the shop floor or head office.

79% of customers say being able to engage with knowledgeable store assistants is important.

Customers are now expecting staff to know the answers to all their questions when they are shopping. Microsoft Teams can be used to store and share all sorts of information on products and stock, employee training, in-store promotions and more.

2. Effective workforce management

Managing your team’s time can get complicated, and the challenge many managers face is staying on top of this. It’s important that you effectively manage and organise your team as it will allow you to save time and focus on what really matters. The first step to achieving this is having the right tools in place.

Organising your team’s time has never been easier with Microsoft Teams. A recently added feature in Teams is the schedule management tool, Shifts. It allows you to plan shifts that employees can review and make changes to within their mobile device, all in real-time.

Employees will have the ability to view their upcoming shifts, view who they will be working with, put in a request to swap or pick up extra shifts and request time off. They will be able to manage all of this within Microsoft Teams and managers will be able to add specific activities to a specific shift, allowing employees to ensure tasks get done.

Your team will be able to clock in and out of a shift with one tap on their mobile device, making it easier for both employees and managers to view timesheets at the end of the month.

The Microsoft Teams, Shifts feature provides managers with a holistic view of their team’s tasks and time. Allowing employees to be more efficient during their shifts.

3. Keep employees engaged and motivated

Shop floor workers play a key role in representing your brand. They’re the ones that interact with your customers daily, yet they typically have the highest turnover rate.

Microsoft Teams has a tool called Praise. Praise allows you to recognise your co-worker’s achievements and efforts and share them with the wider business. This feature will not only help motivate employees but keep them engaged when they’re on the shop floor interacting with your customer, helping strengthen and improve your brand.

Companies with highly engaged employees outperform their competitors by 147%.

Engaged employees are more likely to stay in the job for longer. By utilising this tool, you could see your high turnover decrease, giving you more time to train and invest in creating your next dream team.

Want to transform your customer service with Microsoft Teams?

If you’d like to find out more about how your retail or hospitality business can adopt Microsoft Teams, watch our webinar. Our Modern Workplace experts discuss the importance of customer service and how Teams can support this change.