Practical customer service in universities - is it all bunk?

The outcomes of a project examining theory and practice in UKHE.

Aims of the session

Present results of the LFHE project

Highlight case studies

Introduce some practical ways of engaging staff with some key issues

Project aims

Look at underlying theory and practice

Look at the particular situation in HE and what Institutions do about it

Provide information and resources to help people decide how to approach customer service issues in HEIs

Universities are different…?

Who are your customers? What is a service? Why are you here?

The University

Students + their sponsors

HESA, Funders etc

Enterprise partners etc

Local & regional community etc

Each other

So… is it all bunk?

Empirical data

Three main areas of research Service logic

Social exchange theory

The service quality construct

Service logic

Service provision not uniform In HE:

The student experience

Supplementary services

Core services

Social exchange theory

The customer experience is a co-created product

“The product or service students acquire derives value from their striving to achieve it…”

Customer-customer interaction is important – sense of shared responsibility

Service Quality Construct

Service quality and its perceptions are tied to:– Outcome– Environment– Interaction

Filling the gaps

Promises made Intentions in service

design Understanding of

customer expectations What the customer

really expects

Reality experienced Standards of service as

it operates Intentions of the

service design Understanding of

customer expectations

Organisational culture

No appreciable recognition of customer relationship.Level 1

Level 2 Pockets of awareness, informal response to customers.

Level 3 Formalised customer sampling in some areas.

Level 4 Aware of need to provide better

service.

Level 5

Strategic initiatives geared to delivery and measuring customer satisfaction across Institution

Imperial Customer Service Academy

5* Research is not enough: developing the best for everyone

Pressures for change

World class reputation, but: Hovering below the mid-point of NSS Bureaucratic procedures Need for cross-departmental collaboration Want a more supportive environment Average level 2 in terms of awareness

Finding a focus

Overall importance of student experience Early success in development of catering

and retail outlets Senior champions Desire for long-term change Practical orientation Predated Clive’s research

Developing a model

Successful internal DLM programme Yale Academy Customer Service Institute Local exemplars What we had done already

The plan

Cross-College representation Mixed status teams Sponsoring Managers

Internally driven External consultancy support Online forum for sustained participation

Programme

Launch – surprise sampling of customer service

Seven one-day events • Introduction – where we are now• Establishing a baseline and raising expectations• Measuring opinions• Handling difficulties etc

Presentations and finale

Changes to plan

Response to rapidly deteriorating climate Project overload Summertime slippage

Project examples

Internal measures of customer satisfaction Improved use of video conferencing Signage and personalisation of department College Open Day Graduation

Review and Learning: Next Steps

Keep it simpler – no mixing of groups Engage better with Sponsoring Managers Encourage participation of ‘champions’ Identify projects from outset Recruit from within a division to create

closer focus Run a shorter programme

Early Indications

More than half logged on in advance Sponsoring Mangers engaged in first two

days All turned up an hour early on day two Enthusiastic interpretation of ‘rules’ on first

day

Meet the gaps between expectation and reality Focus on changing attitudes as well as getting

systems and processes right Get the basics in place Engage Senior Management Use a framework Employ someone to oversee it all Monitor constantly Offer skills development

In conclusion