In lists of customer service skills, things like “being a people person” often take the spotlight. But being a people person isn’t a skill — it’s a trait — so it’s not really actionable advice. You can’t develop the skill of being a people person, nor can you observe whether or not someone is a “people person” in an interview.

So to put together our list, we asked two questions: What skills can customer service professionals develop to get better at their jobs, and what skills can leaders look for during interviews to make sure they’re hiring the right people? The result: a list of skills — not traits — that are both developable and observable.

Here are the 16 customer service skills that every professional should seek to develop and every leader should look for when hiring new team members.