Internal Customer Service

[Workhorse]

Great customer service isn't just about serving the people outside your company.
Providing exceptional customer service lies at the heart of the mission of many organizations. It is the central theme of books, articles, motivational seminars and business courses. Its value is undisputed in business circles. What many companies fail to focus on, however, is the primary path to exceptional customer service: internal customer service.
Internal customer service is the service we provide fellow employees and other departments within our own organizations, as well as our suppliers and anyone else with whom we work to get our jobs done. It is what we do when a colleague asks for information she needs to complete her main task for the day; it is what we say when someone from marketing asks for the addresses of good contacts; it is how we greet the vice president of sales when he walks into our office with an "I need something from you" expression on his face.
All these things can be seen as interruptions that take us away from our "real" jobs, yet they are vital to our company's success. If you see a gap between your "real" job and the needs of others in your organization, you need to rethink what your real job is. In helping others in your company, you help your company succeed. Superior internal customer service improves morale, productivity, employee retention, external customer service and, ultimately, profitability. As Arthur M. Blank, co-founder of Home Depot and owner of the recently acquired Atlanta Falcons football team said in his keynote at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Person of the Year Award luncheon, caring for your "associates" is fundamental to caring for your customers and shareholders.
Kirk Miller & Associates recently had the pleasure of moderating a breakfast roundtable on internal customer service at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce with co-facilitators Patricia Wheeler of The Levin Group and Jeff Frakes of Performance Innovations Inc. Roundtable participants--businesspeople from throughout the metro area--used force field analysis to determine the top three "driving forces" that work to facilitate internal customer service, and the top three "restraining forces" that work against internal customer service.
We draw our tips this month from the number-one driving force determined by the roundtable participants: "creating an atmosphere of sharing and helping." Here are some tips for creating that atmosphere:
1. Begin with your own perspective: Regard fellow employees and other departments as your customers. Understand that helping your colleagues do their jobs more successfully helps your organization and you. Therefore they are your customers. Treat them like VIPs.
2. View interruptions not as nuisances, but as opportunities to serve your internal customers. If you tend to view every interruption as a pothole in your road to success, reexamine those interruptions. If someone interrupts you to share gossip, that's a pothole. If someone interrupts you to ask for sales figures she needs to analyze sales team performance, that's a necessary lane change that will get your company closer to its destination. Learn to identify every real need from a colleague as a "necessary lane change," and think of every "necessary lane change" as an opportunity to move your organization closer to its goals. Take pride in helping your colleagues; enjoy your role in sharing information and providing services that help others get their jobs done. In most cases, your willingness to help others get their jobs done will lead them to readily assist you when you need it.
3. Exceed your internal customers' expectations. When someone exceeds your expectations, how do you feel? Most people feel delighted, excited, upbeat and very, very positive about that person and his or her organization. Think what you can accomplish in your organization by exceeding the expectations of fellow employees. If payroll asks for time sheets by 3 p.m., provide them by 1 p.m. so payroll can relax, knowing they have the time sheets in hand. If human resources asks for a list of important points to cover in an employee orientation, take time to think about it and provide a thorough list of what you would want to know if you were being introduced to a new job and company.
4. Say thank you. A simple, genuine "thank you" goes much farther to create an atmosphere of sharing and helping than two such small words would suggest. Even when it is a person's job to provide information or a product to you, tell them "thank you" when they have done it. Express your appreciation of their timeliness in providing it. Explain how it has made your job much easier. Show them your delight when they exceed your expectations.

[cehs]

From Zig Ziggler's book Top Performance:

TOP PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT FORMULA

1. Show honest and sincere appreciation at every opportunity.
Make the other person feel important . . .
2. Don't criticize, condemn or complain.
3. Make your cause bigger than your ego.
4. Work for progress not perfection. (efficiency?)
5. Be solution conscious NOT problem oriented.
6. Invest time in the activity that brings the highest return on investment according to mutual priorities.
Effort alone doesn't count; results are the reason for activity.
7. Fulfilling responsibility is a good reason for work.
Self-discipline is the method.
8. Recognize and accept your own weaknesses.
9. Make check lists and constantly refer to them.
(Master action list - Daily action list.)
10. Always show people in your life the humility of gratitude.

6 ACTION STEPS FOR PERFORMANCE ORIENTED MANAGERS

1. Give regular, specific, and observable feedback on performance.
2. Respect the lines of communication and authority.
3. Make timely decisions.
4. Be accessible.
5. Encourage creative ideas.
6. Provide PERSONAL support.

10 DOUBLE WIN RULES THAT LEAD TO TOP TEAM PERFORMANCE
1. A smile is the most powerful social tool we have.
2. Listening is the most neglected skill in business.
3. Talk in terms of the other person’s interests. Check out the other person’s point of view.
You will find a uniqueness and special ness in others. Others are interested in you when they are discovered.
4. Ask questions you know the answers to. You will see the other person’s perspective.
Most ideas are more acceptable when we discover them ourselves.
5. Actions speak louder than words.
Model the behavior and attitude you want the other person to possess.
6. Give assignments that allow you to express faith and confidence that the other person can successfully perform in the assigned task.
7. Always make requests, NEVER give orders.
8. Develop the ability to use the narrative story and meaningful analogy.
These are powerful teaching tools.
9. Be respectful - Be on time, or inform others why you will be late.
10. Return phone calls and letters immediately.
There is no excuse for not doing so.

Show respect for a job well done.
REAL job equality is feeling we have a stake in our company’s success.
We must INVOLVE employees, NOT CONTROL them.
Keep skid chains on your tongue.
Cultivate a calm persuasive voice.
In any discussion your objective is to win them over, NOT win over them.
Be short on promises and long on fulfillment.
Be interested in the goals, home, welfare and families of those with whom you work.
Being the boss does NOT mean you are always right.
Be open-minded. Discuss but don't argue.
Minds can disagree without being disagreeable.
Be careful of employee’s feelings.
When someone is resentful, the best way to remove the chip is to let him or her take a bow.
Workers want management they can look up to; but management which does NOT look down on them!
-------------------------
Quotes from some of his speeches:

IT'S A GREAT DAY
If you don't believe it
JUST TRY SKIPPING ONE! Zig Zigler
* * * * * * * * * * * *
It's not who's right, it's what's right. Zig Zigler
* * * * * * * * * * * *
If you set the example, you won't need to set the rule. Zig Zigler
* * * * * * * * * * * *
You don't hire good people,
you create them through training.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
When you look for gold you literally move tons of dirt to find one ounce of gold.
When you work with people you also have to sift through lots of stuff to find the good inside.
….Zig Zigler

[Diceman]

Good, now I have a thread to read when I want to fall asleep.

[Workhorse]

WHEN TO FIRE PROBLEM EMPLOYEES
When an employee underperforms or makes serious errors or omissions, it's quite tempting to want to terminate that person and look for a replacement. However, much more is involved than simply considering an employee an "interchangeable part" on an assembly line.
Before considering the legal, emotional and productivity ramifications of termination, you should try to find ways to improve that employee's performance. Maybe the employee and you simply have a different understanding about the job's requirements. To improve an employee's performance and hopefully avoid the potential complications of termination, try these six simple techniques:
1. Clear up any misunderstandings. Discuss the specifics of the job description to gain agreement on performance expectations and responsibilities.
2. Set up a goal or series of goals for the improvement process and for the job itself. Ensure that these goals are both very specific and measurable. If you use ambiguous or general suggestions such as "do a better job," evaluating the results will be difficult if not impossible. For example, how do you define "a better job?" Does that mean arrive on time, complete all assignments on time, confer with colleagues and so on? To minimize the vagueness of the question and the answer, be specific so you can then measure the outcome: "You must arrive and be ready to work at 8:30 a.m. daily, complete all tasks by Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m." and so on.
3. Discuss the crucial aspects of the task. How and where will the task be accomplished? What resources (such as time, money, people and equipment) will be required? What assists and/or obstacles are anticipated? What aspects of completing the job responsibility are unclear, ambiguous, complicated or seemingly unattainable? What plans are in place or can be established to overcome obstacles and achieve task success?
4. Identify milestones and deadlines. Waiting until the completion date to evaluate the end product can be problematic, especially if an optimal result is not achieved. To avoid this common problem, especially with a questionable employee, establish mutually agreed-upon mini-deadlines or milestones. In that way, progress can be evaluated and, if necessary, modified or changed before the final deadline.
5. Respond to this major question: "How long can I wait for turnaround performance in the problematic employee?" The answer is multifaceted and depends on these factors: the employee's commitment and willingness to try to improve performance; the level of importance of the position and the impact sub-optimal performance has on the outcome, productivity, other individuals and processes; and patience, willingness and cost of resources necessary to improve both performance and outcome.
6. Consider your corporate culture. Do your business's corporate culture and human resources policies demonstrate patience and advocate for the possible expenditure of funds to retrain or upgrade the skills of the employee? Is the culture forgiving of errors as long as they are corrected? Since time is money, is there a sufficient amount of both to warrant or not warrant taking the time to improve an individual's performance?
These six factors must be balanced against the time necessary to advertise, screen, find, interview and train a replacement. When the balance is determined, the best answer to when you should fire that employee becomes clear.

[condenseddave]

Originally posted by Diceman
Good, now I have a thread to read when I want to fall asleep.


Yep, but be sure not to forget your:

http://ww2.imagewiz.net/images/hvac/125390_Prozac.jpg

Before you start. It could be hazardous to your health to read this without medication...

[cehs]

Dice, I used to think you wanted to be a GOOD manager.

There is a lot of wisdom on how to handle personel problems and well worth the time to understand...

[gschra11]

As someone who will be looking for a job in a few years, the first thing I will be looking for in a prospective employer is the internal customer service that is mentioned in this post. I could care less if I'm paid well so long as I'm treated well and I'm comfortable asking questions any getting answers, no matter how stupid they might be.

[Diceman]

Originally posted by cehs
Dice, I used to think you wanted to be a GOOD manager.

There is a lot of wisdom on how to handle personel problems and well worth the time to understand...


I think you have me confused with someone else...........I am getting sleepy...........

[condenseddave]

I think he told you to fire yourself when you start causing trouble at work, Dice...:confused:

[Diceman]

I tried that, but no one else would hire me.....

[tinman]

Originally posted by Diceman

Originally posted by cehs
Dice, I used to think you wanted to be a GOOD manager.

There is a lot of wisdom on how to handle personel problems and well worth the time to understand...


I think you have me confused with someone else...........I am getting sleepy...........

You have Dice confused with someone else. Dice runs a one man out fit. The only thing he has to manage, is getting to the fridge for another beer.

[seaboard]

All of this may fit well if you are all the way at the top but if you're somewhere in the middle you have to draw a line on an open door policy. I found that if I allowed constant interuptions I enabled everyone else's job to become easier and possibly more productive in the short term but I could not accomplish what was expected of me without working longer, and longer, and longer... There are only so many hours in the day so I had to put the door back on the hinges and draw the line. You have to have people that can think for themselves and if they make a mistake because they didn't consult you they at least made a decision. With phones, voice mail, cell phones, email, and fax you can get bombarded with requests for your time. Set aside specific time for returning these and stick to it. If you have to get something done, make an appointment with yourself to do so and let everyone know that time is off limits and don't interupt you. If you don't do these things you'll lose your sanity. All the people I work with do exactly that; they work with me and not for me but they are employees, not my best friend. I try to make it clear what I expect and then it's up to them. Too many people are out there having endless meetings about numerous topics and are not spending enough time at the wheel.

[Diceman]

Yeah Cehs and I got a little problem with #8 too.