When researching payroll and HR providers, many organizations tend to focus on how technology will help solve their current business challenges. However, it’s equally important to know the company behind the software. A customer’s experience with support is just as important as their experience with the technology.
In the past, we’ve talked about how customer feedback and authentic reviews can help you choose a payroll and HR system. In this article, we’ll discuss five questions you can ask a payroll and HR provider about their customer support. Asking these questions will assist you in understanding different support models and ensuring an optimal client experience.
1. How Knowledgeable Is the Support Staff?
When you speak with a customer service agent, you expect them to answer your questions and provide a solution. To learn more about how knowledgeable a payroll and HR provider’s support staff is, you can ask the following questions:
- Are there varying degrees of knowledge and experience among the support team?
- Can the support team handle both simple and complex requests?
- Is system training conducted so support can provide customers with technical advice?
- Is consistent product release training performed so support can answer questions on specific system usage?
- Are the customer support agents APA-certified, which verifies an individual’s specified knowledge, skills, and abilities in the payroll profession?
Working with a support team that understands the complexities of payroll processing ensures you will receive help in a timely manner.
2. How Accessible is the Support Team?
An important part of a support team is its accessibility to customers. You want the confidence of knowing that when you reach out for help, you’ll receive it. Ask how you can reach support, whether by phone, email, chat, support request, or a combination of these ways.
When you reach out, do you get to speak to a person or an automated system? If an automated system is used, do you still receive a personalized response from a member of the support staff?
Based on your own experiences with customer support, you can decide which accessibility options are most important to you. You want a satisfactory customer experience, whether on the phone with a person in a call center or messaging your own dedicated account team.
3. How Responsive Is Support?
Top-rated customer support teams provide quick response times and resolution times. Don’t wait hours or even days to resolve a request that should have been addressed in minutes. When verifying support responsiveness, consider whether the team offers service level agreements or not.
Service level agreements (SLAs) define the level of support expected by a customer from a vendor. SLAs outline the metrics by which that service is measured. They provide a way for vendors to better understand their customers and ensure promises between companies are being kept.
Some payroll and HR vendors have agreed-upon SLAs that set the level of expectation for the customer. Typical SLAs include a first-time response rate or resolution time for a support request.
4. What Are Current Customers Saying About Your Support?
When vetting payroll and HR software, it’s important to know what customers are saying about the vendor’s support. To gain a better insight into genuine customer feedback, you can ask the support team if they have received any awards.
Support awards are another way to understand customer sentiment. Technology research platforms like G2 and Software Advice award providers for their level of customer support based on authentic, timely peer reviews.
These sites also provide more detailed information to help you make a more informed decision when choosing a payroll and HR system. A support team that consistently earns support awards has a proven track record of top-rated customer satisfaction.
5. How Do You Manage Customer Training?
Purchasing a new payroll and HR solution can be overwhelming. You want to make sure you receive a return on your investment but where do you begin? If you’re considering switching to a new provider, ask about their approach to customer training.
Support teams can help customers achieve their goals by providing valuable long-term interactions and resources. This can include continual training, success plans, and system adoption monitoring to ensure maximum return on investment. A payroll and HR provider can be a strategic partner in the growth of your business.
Get Personal With Support
When vetting payroll and HR providers, it’s important to ask these five questions about their customer support model. Find out what steps vendors are taking to provide a more personalized support experience. Learn more about what payroll and HR providers are doing to listen to and focus on their customers’ needs. Check to see what support services they offer to help with training and return on investment.
More than likely, a time will come when you will have questions about your system configuration. It will be more reassuring to connect with a customer support representative who understands and answers any questions you may have. With a knowledgeable, accessible, and responsive support team in your corner, you’ll have a workforce partner for the life of your business.
