A huge segment of the population on campus
that has a great deal to do with controlling the culture is the
management group. Not senior executives but directors and such. These
are the people who control the various functional offices that students
encounter. Like the bursars, registrars and director of this or another
office. They influence a major segment of the customer service culture
since they set the tone for how people in their office should work how
they interact with students and how they relate with their employees
which is in reality a major factor influencing behavior.
We
learn how we are expected to act towards other by how we are acted upon
especially by our bosses. If our boss treats us and others coldly we
are being taught that it is alright to be curt with those we work and
interact with. Here’s an example.
There
was an office in a university that was well known for being very rude
to students all the time. Students dreaded to go there because everyone
treated them as if they were an impediment to the work in the office
when the real work was the students. The
employees were treated poorly, given little respect and were told that
office work came before students. Besides, most of the student forms and
work had been transferred to student operated kiosks supposedly to give students more control and options.
But it was really to get the students out of the office. In fact when
the office was mystery shopped during a customer service audit the
receptionist actually told the shopper that she would like to help but
was not permitted to do so. There was an electronic kiosk set up for
these sorts of interactions and the shopper should use that.
Then
the director of the office retired. Another one was hired and within a
few months the office was known as a place in which students were
welcomed made to feel important and they got their work accomplished
with friendly people
Turns
out that the first director was a very officious, rude person who
treated her workers as if they were an impediment to her getting her own
work done. As if they were students whom she did not like. She never
thought of their needs; their lives; or the simple fact that they had
lives outside and inside the office. They were just workers to her and
that was reflected in the way they worked. They saw there were no
rewards in being nice or helpful and in fact doing so could lead to
sanctions so they did not go out of their way to try to be helpful or
nice.
The
new director came into the office and spent the best part of the first
month getting to know her colleagues. Yes, colleagues. She saw everyone
in the office as having value and an integrity that needed to be
recognized and encouraged. She spent time simply talking with her
employees and getting to know them. She encouraged them to take care of
their personal business before coming to work but knew that this could
not always be done so she was lenient in allowing employees to take care
of business even if it delayed office business when possible. She did
not bend over backwards but here is an example.
One
of the workers had a young son at home who was quite ill with the flu.
She told the employee that she should feel free to take an extra
half-an-hour for lunch so she could go home and check in on then boy who
was under someone else’s’ care at home. The employee left for work
early but also came back early. She did not take the extra tie but felt
important to have been offered it. She did not stay late that day since
she wanted to get home to her child but when her son felt better she
often worked late and harder. Why? Because her boss had shown that she
cared and that she was important enough to receive some great employee
customer service.
This
office turned around under the new director’s direction. It became a
place that students knew they would be treated well. She knew that if
her people were going to provide great customer service it has to begin
with her. She knew that offering to get someone who is busy a cup of
coffee just embeds a sense that the needs of others exceed their own at
times. This is a fine example of integrating good academic customer care
into a system by a manager.
So
what is the lesson here? Get to know and treat employees as if they are
the customers that they are too. Managers should give them the correct
attention and customer service they
need. Sometimes we forget that the people we manage are customers too
and how we treat them will reflect on how they treat others.
If
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