Supporting your employees through complex customer interactions
In today's fast-paced logistics sector, customer service teams face increasingly challenging interactions. The convergence of rising customer expectations, supply chain pressures, along with the rise in cost of living pressures, mental health disorders, stress, and financial strain has intensified the challenges teams can encounter daily. For organisations operating at a national scale, this complexity is further amplified by the sheer volume of interactions and the need to maintain consistent service standards across regions.
In response to these escalating demands, and recognising the potential impact on employee wellbeing, Transitioning Well partnered with a national logistics organisation who identified a critical need to enhance their team members, team leaders and managers' capabilities in supporting teams with complex interactions with customers.
This proactive approach aimed to address the immediate challenges, sustainability, and protect the mental health and wellbeing of their employees.
85% of service workers have experienced verbal abuse from customers in the past year according to the The Australian Industry Group.
The current landscape
Recent studies paint a troubling picture. The Australian Industry Group reported that 85% of customer service workers have experienced verbal abuse from customers in the past year, whilst the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) found that incidents of customer aggression have increased by 44% since 2021. These statistics aren’t just numbers – they represent real trauma experienced by workers.
In call centres, abusive or aggressive calls are likely to cause some level of distress. The impact will depend on the:
- severity of the abuse
- frequency of abusive calls
- availability of support during and following an abusive call
Frequent abusive calls involve a risk of psychological harm to the worker receiving the calls. If workers feel unsupported, this may lead to low morale—resulting in a higher rate of absenteeism and increased turnover in staff.
Why complex interactions are on the rise
The escalation in customer aggression reflects the complex interaction between societal pressures and systemic changes. At its core, economic strain increases the stress in the general population, with rising inflation and cost of living pressures creating a baseline of financial anxiety that often manifests as decreased emotional regulation.
This financial stress is compounded by the lingering effects of the pandemic, which has fundamentally altered how we interact. Extended periods of isolation have eroded social skills and tolerance levels, whilst the collective trauma of recent years has depleted our ‘surge capacity’ – that is our ability to adapt to stressful situations. Meanwhile, our modern digital lives have reshaped expectations, with social media normalising confrontational behaviour and instant gratification creating unrealistic service expectations.
These challenges are further exacerbated by broader societal shifts and structural changes within the service industry itself. Increasing polarisation in society, declining trust in institutions, and constant exposure to negative news have created a heightened state of anxiety and reduced distress tolerance. The service industry, already grappling with these external pressures, faces its own perfect storm of staff shortages, reduced training time, and high turnover rates. This combination of fewer experienced staff handling increasingly complex situations, alongside longer wait times and service inconsistencies, creates a volatile environment where customer frustrations can quickly escalate.
Understanding trauma in customer service
Many organisations fail to recognise that repeated exposure to customer aggression can constitute trauma. As highlighted by SAMHSA (2014), trauma results from “an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful… and has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning.”
This definition is particularly relevant when considering that the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2022) reports 75% of Australian adults have already experienced a traumatic event in their life. Customer service workers may therefore be managing both their own previous histories of trauma and ongoing exposure.
“Recognise that trauma is unique to the individual who experiences it. Two people can experience the same traumatic event – one might experience what we could call ‘appropriate distress’ while the other might develop a traumatic response. There are factors that influence different responses. One important consideration to be aware of is that social support is protective when people have these experiences.”
A New Approach To Protecting Employees in the Workplace
Transitioning Well takes a holistic approach to supporting employees in the workplace. This includes offering evidence-based programs and interventions tailored to the unique needs of each participant.
LEADERS
- Recognise signs of trauma exposure in their teams
- Understand that trauma affects people differently
- Create psychologically safe environments where employees feel supported
- Implement proper reporting and response protocols for aggressive incidents
ORGANISATIONS
- Set clear boundaries with customers about acceptable behaviour
- Empower employees to disengage from threatening situations
- Provide de-escalation training
- Create physical environments that prioritise employee safety
INDIVIDUALS
- Recognise their own stress reactions
- Understand that stress responses (fight, flight, freeze, or fawn) are normal reactions to abnormal situations
- Access appropriate mental health resources
- Develop personal resilience strategies
In September 2024, the national transport and logistics organisation partnered with Transitioning Well to deliver a specialised masterclass focused on managing complex customer call interactions.
The Challenge
The recent growth in the online medicinal prescription industry and the subsequent increase in delivery of controlled substances through ground and air freight services has lead to unprecedented complexities with the delivery and receiving of important controlled medicines in the general population, including rural and remotes areas of Australia.
When controlled medicine deliveries are involved, the distinction between perceived and actual delays becomes critically important. These customers often experience both psychological and physical dependence on their prescribed medications, making any potential delivery delay—whether real or perceived—a source of significant anxiety due to real or perceived fear of withdrawal symptoms. This has resulted in increased call volumes as patients actively seek reassurance about their delivery status.
Staff at the coalface of these customer-facing roles often experience challenging interactions that can impact their mental health, wellbeing and performance.
Organisations must balance:
- Maintaining high customer service standards
- Protecting employee mental health
- Developing resilient leadership capabilities
- Creating sustainable support systems
How we helped
Transitioning Well delivered a 3-hour all staff and a 3-hour virtual masterclass workshop designed to:
- Build understanding of complex caller contexts
- Develop personal wellbeing protection strategies
- Enhance communication skills through active listening and empathy
- Provide practical de-escalation techniques for both verbal and written channels
Results
94% of participants experienced an improvement in confidence
Qualitative Impact
Participants identified several key areas of intended behaviour change
Key Success Factors
Real-world scenarios and examples enhanced learning retention
Workshop Feedback
Participants were given a survey to provide feedback. Items were scored on a 5-point Likert Scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), with higher scores representing higher satisfaction levels with the training and facilitator.
As shown in the graphs, overall the level of satisfaction with the training was very high, with an average score of 4.5 out of 5.
Everything was so relatable. Will 100% use this on a daily basis.
Protecting the mental health and wellbeing of employees is a non-negotiable and evidence-based psychological training, through a trauma informed lens are an essential addition to an organisations' wellbeing strategy for their employees.
Support In Your Workplace
Our national team of psychologists bring evidence-based approaches and tailored tactics to the table, which allows us to support your people at this important the intersection where work meets life.
The rise in complex customer interactions is a significant workplace health and safety concern that requires a trauma-informed response. By understanding that trauma affects people differently and implementing comprehensive support systems, organisations can better protect their employees’ mental health and wellbeing.
The investment in trauma-informed practices isn’t just about meeting duty of care obligations or, in other words, ticking a box. Mentally healthy workplaces allow people to bring their whole selves and be valued for who they are, even in the face of increasingly complex interactions.
To find out more about how Transitioning Well can help your organisation, contact us to learn more.