When we work as a Team! Great Customer service!
Good feeling to us and our visitor's.
--- Meetings-Employer's coming into the campus to meet with us... giving feedback about our Graduates and our programs.
Glenda, WOW! All great ways to interact with your external customers. Which of these tactics do you feel has the most impact?
Dr. Jean Norris
Leila, All great ways to recognize external customers. What is the feedback from the outside community to these events?
Dr. Jean Norris
I have a Career Service team-member on campus. We work hand in hand to assist students. I graduate student and give them the paperwork needed to obtain thier license. the License process is handled by career services for job placement and etc.
Other external customers:
The Community resources such as housing, childcare, food banks information to help student stay in school.
Alumni's who graduate and continue their education.
Open house events- that bring in prospective students.
Public clinic clients-student interships
Admissions campus tours-that give each team member a chance to show prospective student this college is the best choice!
We participate in job fairs, we hold open houses, we send out email blasts, and employees pass out business cards on a daily basis.
Jeffrey, Interesting! It is important to make employees aware of their surroundings when wearing company logos, or even speaking about the company in public. What can you do spread awareness?
Dr. Jean Norris
Janice, Great! How specifically do you serve them?
Dr. Jean Norris
Paul, Interesting! That is a great way to serve your external customers. What are other ways to serve external customers?
Dr. Jean Norris
Our external customers include everyone we meet while wearing a uniform or other garment that includes our companies logo. Too many people don't realize they are a company representative anytime someone associates them with the company.
My hospitals and clinical agencies are my main external customers.
Being a welding vocational school our external customers are the potential employers for all our students. Our success is defined by the graduating student being able to be a productive employee with the required welding skills that fit the particular company's need.
Juliana, How great for your students! How do you think, besides getting great new employees, this benefits your external customers?
Dr. Jean Norris
My school focuses on medical careers. We partner with medical and dental institutions for clinical externships. Which has proven valuable in aiding our students find amazing jobs in the career in which they have trained. We strive to maintain good standing with our partnered medical practices in order to provide more employment for our students in the future.
So true, LE. You mentioned influencing students and the public as external clients. Who are some other external clients you serve?
Dr. Jean Norris
As a representative of faculty I represent one of the biggest areas of interest for a lot of students... "What are the professors like?"
If I am perceived as friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful then I create a positive image if I am viewed as that crazy, eccentric nut-job teacher I am creating an entirely different public perception. When representing the school, it is important that we keep in mind that we are influencing student and public opinion about the school.
Nikki,
Your employers are definitely an important external customer. Great insights! Can you share anything specific you do with the employers to show them how much you appreciate them as a customer?
Dr. Jean Norris
I work in Career Services which has a huge impact on external customers. I think that one of the most important ones are the people in the industry, the people who are going to hire our students for externship and employment. Without these contacts, many of our students would not be successful in completing their program or be able to finance coming to school. We on a daily basis talk to employers, meet new employers and help student make contact with these employers.
Erinn,
This is a great strategy, Erinn especially since you show the audience they are important enough to host an event. You also allow them to share their expertise and build their knowledge. Please share other ideas if you can! Thank you!
Dr. Jean Norris
For our campus, the externship sites are the largest external customers. The relationships that are built with them through career services are vital to student success. One of the ways that they are served is through an lunch that is held just for externship supervisors to come and ask question, get advice and meet the externship instructors.
Joshua, That is such a great point and such great awareness! You seem very in-tune to your external customers, and your responsibility as a member if your institution. Thank you for sharing!
Dr. Jean Norris
