Your staff will have valuable insights and examples on service gaps and improvement opportunities. It may require some courage and thick skin to question your staff for their input on service. I do not suggest this unless you are really open-minded to what you will hear and are prepared to effectively respond with action. Staff are closest to the customers and the organizational practices that link to the customer.
And of course, do go directly to the customer for their input. Surveying your customers is an essential step to obtain quality assurance and satisfaction measures. This can be post customer service call questions, customer relationship surveys conducted periodically and simply a confidential post card for mailing after their visit to your location.
Who is the customer? Anyone you provide a service to can be included in the concept of customer. This includes your internal customers. Management, supervisory and co-worker interactions are as equally important as communications, programs and services with your external business customers, community representatives, clients, students and all stakeholders.
While you may be excellent in serving your direct clients and customers, you should be just as exceptional in providing service to each other. This is whether you are a private corporation, not-for profit or educational institution. An organization’s staff image outside the organization is reflected in their internal working relationships. Your employees are the face of the organization. Ask them the following:
- What are examples of our organization providing exceptional service to our customers?
- What are examples of our organization providing poor service to our customers?
- What causes poor customer service at our organization and within your department?
- How do you think our customers would rate of our organization’s service to them?
- What do you think our organization and your department can do to better service our customers and to build their loyalty?
- How would you rate our service to each other – that is, our internal customers?
- What improvement opportunities exist within our internal customer interactions?
- What do you think, that I as your manager, can do to improve customer service?
- What do you think you can do to improve your own customer service effectiveness?
- What do you see as the benefits of an improvement?