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