Retail firms which put in place customer service projects under a Government-led scheme saw a 13.6 per cent increase in sales per worker from the year before the project was implemented to the year after. This is according to a study commissioned by Spring Singapore.

This was higher than the industry standard of a 5.2 per cent rise over two years. Retail firms with Customer-Centric Initiative projects also had a 10.6 per cent fall in employee attrition rates, and an 13.8 per cent rise in pay per worker.

The Customer-Centric Initiative, a Government-led scheme, provides funding of up to 70 per cent for small and medium enterprises and up to 50 per cent for other firms to develop service strategies and plans, conduct service audits, adopt technology and get Singapore Service Class certification.

The results of the study were revealed on Thursday at a service excellence learning journey to retailer EpiCentre, which sells Apple products. After various customer service improvements, EpiCentre's sales per worker rose 62 per cent over three years.