Strengthen school culture using a customer service audit - Public Relations - Brief Article

School Administrator, May, 2002 by Nicholas I. Clement

Traveled recently? Were you astounded by how fast you obtained the keys to your rental car? Did your mouth water when you smelled that fresh cookie the hotel clerk was wrapping for your check in welcome?

Chances are if you were astounded, it was not by chance.

In today's choice-driven economy, the profitability of the customer for life motivates businesses to promote themselves as "world class" and "extraordinary" in their service guarantees. These companies translate their corporate values into results through comprehensive training programs for their staffs and continuous appraisal systems.

As school leaders, we also should want to astound our customers with quality service. Although schools may not be in the same competitive environment as car-rental companies in an airport corridor, it is difficult to argue the benefits of creating customer-friendly schools.

At this point, you may be glancing at your district's mission statement, reaffirming your belief that customer service is a core value. You also might be struggling with the idea of making improved customer service a higher priority than high-stakes testing and passing the next bond election.

Then ask yourself this: Could a customer service audit promote and strengthen your district's client-centered culture and have a positive impact on these important outcomes?

Credible Data

A customer service audit is an objective review of all aspects of how an organization serves both internal and external customers. As with the more common financial audit, the effective customer service audit relies on a collection of credible data from multiple sources.

In our school district, we use site visits, client focus groups, surveys and "mystery" phone calls as proven techniques for completing a school district customer service audit.

* Site visits and inspection. If a stay in a hotel astounded you, the physical environment was a major reason. If your room smells foul, it doesn't matter how fast room service is. You probably will not come back and most likely will not stay at another hotel in that chain.

The first component of the audit involves a physical inspection of the school campus. Ideally, this is done as a surprise visit to promote data validity. The auditor walks everywhere and documents how his or her senses react with the environment. Key inspections include bathrooms, campus grounds and front offices, areas where first impressions become lasting perceptions.

* Focus groups with parents and students. Another service-sector strategy involves focus-group interviews. Companies invite small groups of customers to meet with managers and share their insights and opinions regarding the service providers.

To collect feedback from the parent and student perspective, the auditor conducts school customer focus groups to gather qualitative data. The auditor asks open-ended questions: What are the strengths of the school regarding customer service? How could your school provide better customer service?

* Staff survey. Gathering customer service data from staff becomes more challenging due to the interdependent relationship between various professional groups. A focus group with customers and their support personnel (teachers and custodians) does not always yield the honest and open sharing of perceptions needed for a valid audit.

To gather this data, a confidential survey is administered allowing staff to numerically rank and comment on the quality of district services, such as human resources and technology support.

* Mystery phone calls. As a customer, you often form your perception about a company based on one data source, the tone of the phone voice of the service representative. Customers in need of assistance already bring a degree of stress to the call, which can be escalated or diffused by the manner in which the employee responds to the problem or query. Although technology has made additional avenues for customer communication in schools, person-to-person contact via the phone remains a preferred means for parents.

Phone-skill customer service data is collected through "mystery phone calls." The audit team, posing as customers, calls a school site or district office and rates the call on predetermined criteria (number of rings, greeting tone, response to request, etc.).

After the Audit

A customer service audit often results in districts being able to identify and address hidden problems that have a major impact on internal and external customer perceptions. Our school district uses customer service audit data to:

* Improve the appearance of school marquees. The audit illustrated the impact these signs have on the thousands of drivers who pass by the schools daily.

* Provide front-line support personnel with customer service training with a focus on phone protocols. Data indicated that phones were not answered with consistent greetings and that customers were often lost in "voice jail" after being transferred.

* Streamline the technology work-order process. Written surveys illustrated problems with the time lag between when work orders were submitted and the actual work was completed.