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.
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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.
Scott Miller is vice president of Kirk Miller
& Associates Inc., a management consulting firm that writes
and presents highly interactive workshops designed to improve
productivity, retention and morale through developing
employees' soft, or interpersonal, skills.