We pride ourselves with serving our internal customers. We make sure to work with all departments to make sure everyone is on the same page. I give credit to the President, he makes sure all employees are customer service focused. He encourages all departments to work together and also to learn all departments to be able to assist our internal customers whenever needed.
April, These are all great ways to show appreciation and provide service to one another. Can you provide an example of something you would do to provide a service to someone in another department you work with?
Dr. Jean Norris
Serving the "internal customer" is definitely a challenge, because we forget we are a customer too. I believe monthly meetings were teh entire staff from all departments is very encouraging. Having a forum to share positive feedback as well as the negative allows for group interaction.
John ,
Wow, this sounds like a great way to have a casual and open discussion environment. I'm curious, what has the feedback been from your staff?
Dr. Jean Norris
I currently hold weekly meetings for informational purposes but just as important I hold spontaneous "get togethers" every 2 weeks or so where I bring in coffee and bagels, or order in lunch to discuss what has been going well with my staff. I also share successes with all and ask indivuduals to share with other staff members how they were successful with another staff member to resolve a difficult situation or encourage collaborative effort between departments.
Interesting, Vanessa. Can you share an example of how instructors and administrators can provide better service to each other?
Dr. Jean Norris
Mostly I find that everyone participates in serving others. There is always room for improvement between departments, for example between instructors and administrators.
Vanessa,
Great idea! Do you find everyone practicing exceptional service to each other?
Dr. Jean Norris
I feel our team tries to serve our "internal customers" by reaching out to them and establishing a relationship. As we work together for the common good of the student we build bridges and have opportunities to cross train.
In the future we could find ways to continue the interaction outside of the everyday tasks and that way the relationship can grow. An example would be to hold appreciation activity that includes other departments.
Darci,
Communication is key, you are right! What are some areas you think should be considered to improve customer service with your fellow employees/other departments?
Dr. Jean Norris
Leberth,
It sounds like you are excelling here! Great job and thank you for sharing.
Dr. Jean Norris
Robert,
Great idea. How will you provide service inter-departmentally, though?
Dr. Jean Norris
I enjoy working with my fellow employees and strive to meet deadlines efficiently. Communication is always key to a better work environment.
Before this course I must admit I was just taking care of our the internal customers (my staff and co-workers) from what was instilled in me coming up as an islander in the Caribbean with what I call "island mentality" I would compliment my staff and co-workers for a job well done on a daily basis sometimes hourly. Treat individuals to lunch on completing goals in a timely fashion. Sometimes I even give them a few minutes to sit back and while I take over some of their task as a gesture of my appreciation. Knowing what I have learned so far in this training I now know that I am heading in the right direction and I will look to continue this approach while improving on it as well.
Some departments are better than others at delivering good customer service to our students. Open discussion forums I think will help get everyone on the same page.
Ashley,
That is a great idea. How do you think following up with you internal customer needs daily will improve your relationships/work environment?
Dr. Jean Norris
I think I do a fairly good job to serve "internal customers". I am polite, friendly, and I communicate well other others. I would like to improve my follow up skills with my future interactions. Sometimes I get so busy and then forget to follow up with something until its the following day. I'd like to start making notes so at about 30 minutes before the end of the day, I can review the notes and follow up with anything that I hadn't.
treva,
That is great advice for internal customers! How do you think you can benefit your co-workers?
Dr. Jean Norris
Katherine,
Great awareness and suggestions! Thank you for sharing.
Dr. Jean Norris
Our staff communicate weekly usually on Mondays when everyone is in the office. We go through each department and see what is going on and how the students are doing and if there is any concerns we should all be aware of. Our school is on a smaller scale and we have a great team who will help each other out on a moments notice. Where I could improve more is with my students and communicating to them on how our weekend went in clinic and what we can do to improve the experience the next weekend.
