The report found that while 87% of businesses said that customer service would be important for them in the next 3-5 years, 53% employers believe that their employees lacked these vital skills.
The insight report found that the case was even worse for sales and customer service roles, where 70% of employees were believed not to have the right skills.
Martin-Christian Kent, executive director at People 1st, said that while a lot of work had been done in the past few years to address customer service needs, there was clearly a lot more work to be done.
“In the lead up to the London 2012 Olympics, we offered a whole range of initiatives aimed at improving customer service skills in the UK, and to a strong degree it clearly worked.
“In 2012 the UK was recognised in the Top 10 for the warmth of its visitor welcome for the first time ever – and I firmly believe that the hospitality industry played a huge role in us gaining that accolade.
“Employers have clearly recognised that ensuring good customer service is vital to their business and they have adapted to that need. But as customers’ expectations continue to rise, they need to make sure that they also raise the bar.”
While the report found that 66% of businesses had trained customer service staff in the past 12 months, it also found that 41% of employers found that performance had not improved.
With wide recognition that the industry faces significant skill shortages, the insight report also found that two-thirds of vacancies are considered hard-to-fill because applicants don’t have the right skills.
Kent said that technology is also having a big impact on customer service for a lot of businesses, with the wide use of social media making sure that employers’ attention is drawn to customer service failings.