Get Your Students Hired
Other things we could do is to ask how someones day is going. Sometimes listening to someone for a few minutes can make their entire day better. It is important to keep communication open between coworkers. That way they feel comfortable always coming to you with any issues they may have.
Jamie, Great awareness! Aside from learning their names, what else can you do to create a nice working environment between you and your coworkers?
Dr. Jean Norris
As a new hire I feel I could use some work on serving internal customers. I plan on getting to know my coworkers better. Maybe learning their last names and remembering their first. I think it is important to support eachother as we educate students.
Juliana, Thank you for sharing. I'm curious, what has been the outcome?
Dr. Jean Norris
As an Instructor for a vocational school, I've noticed we do not get as much recognition as the Admissions team does on a regular basis. This creates a feeling of being underappreciated. I have brought this to the attention of my campus president and director of operations, along with several ideas in order to resolve the issue, and they have listened.
It really sounds like everyone is focused on the students, John. Have you seen the effects of this teamwork in your students?
Dr. Jean Norris
The main focus on customer service with our organization is inner departmental meetings where new concepts are shared so everyone is on the same page. Consistency in how we increase customers experience and retention.
Nikki,
Sorry to hear that your campus isn't working together as well as the can. Your idea of "a day in the life" is interesting and allows others to learn more about what everyone does. Have you tried this at your campus?
Dr. Jean Norris
We have a huge problem on our campus with departments not interacting well with others. There seems to be a lack of communication, enthusiasm towards helping one another and honestly a general dislike. We try to do team building exercises on campus to bring the departments together, but that does not work. The people who need to be there the most seem not to show up those days. I think that there needs to be more crosstraining, a day in the life of.... department.
Edward, It sounds like you and your school really care about your students. What are some of the activities and resources you provide?
Dr. Jean Norris
I think our school does a great job servicing our students from the time they arrive on campus for a tour until they graduate. We provide a variety of activities and resources to make their transisiton back into school a more enjoyable experience.
This is a great suggestion, Ivette. Conducting meetings that encourage interaction are a great way to make sure everyone is heard. What are some of the specific topics that would need to be covered and how, in order to ensure everyone interacts?
Dr. Jean Norris
Set meetings every week could be good and would improve communication between departments. Make those meetings interactive and dynamic resulting in "productive meetings" where ideas materialize and we can all be part of the final products, improving the quality of the institution and faculty performance.
That sounds like a great idea, Edward. How can this apply in other areas of your institution?
Dr. Jean Norris
One of the ways that I think would be helpful is to encourage "cross teaching" between disciplines. For example, nurses and respiratory therapists work together in hospital. Yet RT instructors aren't involved in teaching RN students and RN instructors aren't involved in teaching RT students.
Towards the end of the respective curricula, I think that the 2 disciplines could work on some common "patient scenarios", as a way of preparing them to work together in hospital.
Both disciplines try to inculcate that they are "patient advocates." Possibly through common work together we can recognize each discipline's role in patient care and work closely together.
Joshua, Again, excellent point! Is there one specific area/thing that you would like to improve upon in regards to your personal customer service acts?
Dr. Jean Norris
Internal customers deserve as much respect as anyone else. You need to be approachable and be able to ask questions in order to assist their every need. Bend over backwards/go that extra mile to make that impression a lasting one. You become more approachable for other students who are seeking that same attention. Word travels fast, especially in a small environment such as a school. Be professional at all times.
This is a nice suggestion, Lisa. What would you do to improve communication with those in other departments?
Dr. Jean Norris
I think we do a good job of serving our internal customers. Of course there is always room for improvement. I would start by obtaining more community outreach programs due to the nature of personal issues that interfere with education.
Faye,
It sounds like your institution really prides itself on customer service, which is so important. How do you think the customer service you provide to each other reflects on prospective students?
Dr. Jean Norris