QBlog https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/AllPosts.aspx The corporate weblog of Office of Quality Management, NUS Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:23:54 GMT Windows SharePoint Services V3 RSS Generator 60 QBlog: Posts /projects/qblog/_layouts/images/homepage.gif https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/AllPosts.aspx The Art of Great Service https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=53 Body:

The "Art of Great Service" is an in-house service excellence training programme developed and facilitated by the Office of Quality Management. In the programme, participants will learn how to apply the "art of welcome" for delivering the extraordinary guest experience. The guest experience can be broken down into five stages:

Get ready to welcome the guest. It involves understanding the guest, and identifying and evaluating moments that shape the guest's perception. Getting ready is a crucial step that should not be haphazardly done as good preparation will help to create positive, lasting impressions with an atmosphere of hospitality.

Receive the guest. Receiving or welcoming a guest is not just about offering a greeting, thought it often starts there. Upon seeing the guest, approach them immediately. Make immediate eye contact and acknowledge his presence with a greeting and smile. Be gracious in all moments when interacting with the guest and be mindful of your personal disposition, mannerism, facial expressions, postures, gestures, tone of voice, and words or phrases used. All these cues affect a person's mood and feeling.

Engage the guest. This involves building rapport to establish successful relationship. Rapport is the ability to relate to others by seeing each other's point of view and to appreciate each other's feelings. It helps to create a climate of trust and understanding.

Anticipate and fulfil the guest's needs. This step involves gathering information and observing the guest with the objective of anticipating their needs and expectations and taking unprompted action to fulfil them.

Thank the guest. This is the final step and it involves bidding the guest farewell and inviting him to come again.

Source: Adapted from the article "The Art of Great Welcome", Today's Manager Dec 2008-Jan 2009.

Category: Service
Published: 21/11/2009 10:56
]]> Amir Hamid Service Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:00:11 GMT https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=53 An OQM Guide to Great Customer Service https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=52 Body:

The Office of Quality Management has compiled a handbook on best practices in customer service. The handbook entitled "An OQM Guide to Great Customer Service" aims to raise awareness of the importance of customer service and to encourage individuals, teams, and departments to take steps to improve and raise their service standards. It describes how we should relate to our external customers as well as members of the NUS community including alumni, students, faculty, and staff in various service contact situations.

The handbook consists of six sections covering:

  • Introduction to Customer Service and Service Excellence
  • Service Contact (Face-to-Face)
  • Service Contact (Using the Telephone)
  • Service Contact (in Writing)
  • Managing Challenging Customer Situations
  • Handling and Managing Complaints.

For service excellence to take root in NUS, the right service attitude and behavior must be demonstrated by all levels of staff and in all our interaction with our internal and external customers.

Together, we can help to raise service level and inculcate a culture of service excellence that supports a world-class administrative system.

The first two sections are now available at OQM website http://nus.edu.sg/oqm/docs/custservicehandbook

Contributed by Johnson Ong, Associate Director, Office of Quality Management.

Category: Service
Published: 21/12/2009 10:36
]]> Amir Hamid Service Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:40:40 GMT https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=52 Treat Your Customer as Your Guest https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=51 Body:

One of the key success factors of great service organisations like Ritz Carlton and Walt Disney is that they treat their customers as guests. Therefore, to deliver great service, we first need to embrace the paradigm of treating our customers as guests. This involves learning and practising the "Guest" philosophy, a set of principles for delivering the extraordinary guest experience.

Generosity in hospitality

The word "hospitality" is known as the act of generously providing care and kindness to whoever is in need. As a host, one should not only be concerned about meeting or exceeding the guest’s physical and functional needs, but also about satisfying his psychological and emotional needs. In the paper "Customer Experience: The Next Competitive Battleground" by Beyond Philosophy, 69 per cent of all consumers surveyed said that emotions accounted for 50 per cent or more of every customer experience. Therefore, to win your guest’s approval, satisfy his psychological needs; and if you want to win his heart, satisfy his emotional needs.

Unique individual

Every guest is an individual with unique physical, functional, psychological and emotional needs. Service thus has to be personalised as this would make the guest feel special, instead of like a digit in the stream of customers that come and go.

Everyone is welcome

As all customers are your guests, every one of them should feel welcomed and be treated with dignity and respect. There should be no discrimination, prejudice or bias against your guest in terms of age, race, gender, religion or culture. Your guest is a human being; hence, any mistreatment will be felt and such hurt will not go away easily. The damage will be greater if the guest complains about the company to his friends, relatives, colleagues and business partners.

Service to others

The hallmark of treating your customers as guests is to be of service to them. The host can feel an emotional sense of satisfaction when he sees and senses that his guest leaves the premises happier than when he first arrived.

Total guest experience

The contact that you have with your guest is not simply a short engagement but a summation of all physical and non-physical contacts the guest has with the organisation and its staff. People remember experiences and not just services or products.

Source: Adapted from the article "Treat Your Customer as Your Guest", Today's Manager Jun-Jul 2009.

Contributed by Johnson Ong, Associate Director, Office of Quality Management.

Category: Service;Process
Published: 23/10/2009 11:21
]]> Amir Hamid Service;Process Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:27:14 GMT https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=51 A Complaint is a Gift https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=50 Body:

A customer complaint is "any expression of dissatisfaction by a customer towards the organisation". A customer is dissatisfied when his expectations regarding a product/service do not comply with the received product/service.

In general, complaints are uttered to everyone except to the complaint causing organisation. Therefore, to be able to address all complaints, it is important to make sure that they are all captured. It is also important to realise complaints are uttered toward the organisation and not towards individuals!

Complaints can be received via many different channels. Apart from the traditional channels, like email and fax, expressions of dissatisfaction uttered during visits or via the phone should also be considered to be Opportunity for Improvements to an organisation.

Past customer research shows that complaints normally reveal only the "tip of the iceberg".

Receiving 50 complaint letters means we get only the feedback from those who take the time and have the courage to complain. There might be about 1,250 customers out there who experience a similar situation but do not complain. This means that they are likely to patronize the organisation's competitors if their complaints are not addressed but this is something an organization may never find out if it does not have an effective method to capture and address all complaints.

Is your Complaint Management System working?

Check it out with this self diagnosis checklist. The results will guide your organisation in designing and improving the system.

Conclusion

Welcome complaints as a gift! As long as you get complaints, someone is interested in your service and wants to help you improve. Behind each complaint, you can expect as many as 25 times the same situation that has led to the complaint and as many as 250 negative "Moments of Truth" that customers have had with your company. Use this valuable and powerful information for taking action.

Contributed by Tang Khoon Sin, Senior Consultant, Office of Quality Management.

Category: Process;Service
Published: 22/09/2009 13:56
]]> Amir Hamid Process;Service Tue, 22 Sep 2009 06:01:16 GMT https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=50 How Customer-Oriented is your organisation? https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=49 Body:
Organisations around the world are increasingly developing and implementing customer-centric growth strategies, based on deepening relationships with their customers to emphasize long-term satisfaction over short-term sales conversions.

With these strategies, the key indicator of success is customer lifetime value, a measurement of the customer’s value over the life of the relationship. Other key metrics include market share, products per customer, average revenue per customer, loyalty and retention.

The challenges of implementing a customer-centric strategy can be addressed along two dimensions:
  • do you have the right insight into the customer and
  • do you have the ability to respond to the needs and interests of the customer based on that insight?
An organisational self-assessment will identify the key challenges and opportunities for any organisation.

To find out how your organisation is doing, click here to conduct the self-assessment.
Category: Process;Service
Published: 18/08/2009 17:32
]]> Amir Hamid Process;Service Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:39:11 GMT https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=49 The NEW Quality Service Award (QSA) https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=48 Body:

The NUS Quality Service Award was inaugurated in 2001 to give recognition to academic, administrative/professional and non-academic staff who have demonstrated outstanding and exemplary performance in delivering consistent and high quality administrative service.

A review of the scheme was carried out with the intention of bringing it in line with NUS' aspiration and strategy of transforming our staff to be self-surpassing.

Main changes:

  1. This is a progressive scheme, and is aligned with the National EXSA (Excellent Service Award) framework.
  2. The scheme incorporates four levels of award and is open to all executive/professional staff and non-academic staff.
  3. There is no limit to the number of nominations submitted by a department as long as the nominations meet the criteria.
  4. The validity of the award is one year. A staff member may be nominated for a higher award category in subsequent years after he/she is conferred an award.

Award criteria:

Key benefits of the scheme:

  • Align and support NUS’ new aspiration and strategy.
  • Drive administrative service excellence in NUS.
  • Inspire staff to scale new heights.
  • Honour service talents and champions.
  • Recognise the efforts of NUS staff who go the extra mile.
  • Add credibility to the award as it is aligned with the national EXSA standard.

Nomination period:

July to September of each year

Category: Awards;Service
Published: 01/06/2009 10:11
]]> Amir Hamid Awards;Service Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:23:30 GMT https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=48 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Service Professionals – Habits 4 & 5 https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=47 Body:

Habit 4: Think Win-Win – The Habit of Mutual Benefit

"Think win-win" is an attitude of the mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefits in all customer interactions, relationships, transactions, agreements and contracts. The concept of win-win is not based upon the principle of compromise; rather, it is based on the paradigm of abundance and that one person’s win is not at the expense of another person’s weakness.

Service professionals can achieve win-win situations by fulfilling or exceeding their customers’ expectations (a customer’s win) and in turn, their customers can be expected to make repeated purchases from them, thereby creating a win for themselves. In short, what’s good for your customer is good for you, and what’s good for you is good for your organisation too.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood – The Habit of Mutual Understanding

Habit 5 is a skill that requires service professionals to first listen with the intent to understand rather than to listen with the intent to reply or to be understood. Listening to customers not only helps service professionals to understand how to serve their customers better, it also helps them to build and sustain positive relationships with their customers.

At the business level, organisations can set up a customer intelligence system to solicit honest and accurate feedback from customers, employees, suppliers and other stakeholders. The voice of the customer (VOC) is a critical input to the design and delivery of service experience.

Contributed by Johnson Ong, Senior Consultant, Office of Quality Management.

Category: Process;Seven Habits
Published: 14/04/2009 14:41
]]> Amir Hamid Process;Seven Habits Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:43:30 GMT https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=47 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Service Professionals – Habits 6 & 7 https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=46 Body:

Habit 6: Synergise – The Habit of Creative Cooperation

"Synergise" is a verb that requires everyone to work together to achieve a better way (i.e. third alternative) or synergy. Habit 6 is based on the premise that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Synergy can be achieved if service professionals practice Habits 4 and 5 and work together singularly with their customers towards delivering a better service experience. For creative solutions to evolve, service professionals have to recognise and value differences of opinions, as well as to welcome and appreciate feedback from their customers.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw – The Habit of Renewal

Habit 7 involves the continuous renewal of body, mind, heart and spirit to sustain oneself to achieve the end in mind. Service professionals have to keep themselves physically and mentally fit, emotionally stable and spiritually purposeful. They need to constantly seek skill upgrading and self-development to serve customers better.

At the business level, organisations have to invest and improve their staff training, technology and systems, as well as to engage and empower their staff to achieve both the bigger and smaller ends in mind.

Adapted from the article "7 Habits of Highly Effective Service Professionals", Human Capital September-October 2007.

Contributed by Johnson Ong, Senior Consultant, Office of Quality Management.

Category: Process;Seven Habits
Published: 21/04/2009 14:37
]]> Amir Hamid Process;Seven Habits Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:41:23 GMT https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=46 The C.A.R.E. Approach to Service Excellence- Part 4 https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=45 Body:

Service Results

Service results refer to the collection, analysis and monitoring of service performance, customer results and customer information. As the age-old adage goes: “what doesn’t get measured, doesn’t get done.” Simply monitoring of service results is not enough. Organisations should make a concerted effort to improve its performance in order to meet the spiral expectation of customers. The three elements in this category are service standards & performance, customer results and customer information.

Service Standards & Performance refer to the setting of service standards and measuring the performance against the standards set. Service standards are guidelines specifying measurable activities that help employees to delight customers. To have a meaningful impact on service excellence, service standards should be SMART - which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant to customers and timely.

Customer Results refer to the organisation’s customer focused results and their relation to competitors’ performance and/or industry benchmarks. Common indicators include customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction index, customer retention, customer profitability, market share by customer segments, growth rate of new customers, revenue from new service offering, etc. Internal customer or people results should also form part of customer results. Common indicators in this category include employee satisfaction index, employee retention or turnover rate, percentage of employee participation in team activities and suggestion scheme, employee training hours, investment in employee training as percentage of payroll, etc.

Customer Information refers to data and information about customers’ needs and expectations, demographic trends, market segment characteristics, customer profiles, customers’ buying habits and behaviours, customers’ perceptions, etc. This information is important as it serves as input into the design of service strategies, service offerings, service standards and service delivery systems.

Contributed by Johnson Ong, Senior Consultant, Office of Quality Management.

Category: Service
Published: 10/06/2005 09:23
]]> Amir Hamid Service Tue, 14 Apr 2009 01:25:45 GMT https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=45 The C.A.R.E. Approach To Service Excellence https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=44 Body:

In today's competitive and uncertain business environment, an organisation's ability to compete, survive and profit ultimately depends on the SERVICE it provides. How well an organisation delights its customers can make or break it. Customers are the lifeblood of an organisation. Without customers, the organisation cannot grow and succeed. The key to creating, keeping and growing the customer base is the quality of service.

To provide world-class service, organisation needs to move beyond service quality to SERVICE EXCELLENCE. Service excellence is not about meeting customer's requirements. It is about delighting customers by providing them with benefits beyond what they expect to receive and providing them with happy, memorable and lasting experiences.

The C.A.R.E. approach to service excellence is an integrated holistic approach that addresses the four key elements of a service excellence organisation, namely:

  1. Service Culture
  2. Service Advocates
  3. Service Results
  4. Service Experience

It aims to help transform organisations to provide world-class service and to guide them in their journey towards service excellence. Each of these key elements will be discussed in the next few issues of Qblog.

Contributed by Johnson Ong, Senior Consultant, Office of Quality Management.

Category: Service
Published: 26/05/2005 09:18
]]> Amir Hamid Service Tue, 14 Apr 2009 01:21:56 GMT https://u.nus.edu.sg/projects/qblog/Lists/Posts/ViewPost.aspx?ID=44