Wyoming Workforce Planning
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Customer Focus

Definition

Degree to which an employee attempts to, or meets customer expectations.  Concern with performing work to a level, which satisfies customer needs.  Includes appropriately reacting to customer demands.  Creates an atmosphere in which timely and high quality information flows smoothly between self and customer.  Encourages open, honest and constructive expression of ideas and opinions.  Demonstrates active Listening skills.  Uses appropriate body language.  Seeks to understand others' viewpoint.  Analyzes the customer needs and adjusts to the perspective of the customer, when appropriate.
 

Behavioral Descriptions
Proficiency Level 5

  • Systematically ensures quality service.

    •

  • Creates systematic solutions to customer problems.

  • Develops methods to improve service.

  • Committed to overall quality of service.

  • Establishes customer and market focused strategies for entire organization.

  • Initiates actions for organization to meet the diverse needs of customers.

    •

  • Foresees and meets the complex and diverse demands of internal and external

  • customers, stakeholders and the general public.

  • Identifies new markets and customer segments.

  • Positions organization to satisfy overall customer needs, meet expectations of

  • stakeholder groups in general, and act in accordance with public demand.
Proficiency Level 4

  • Goes beyond customer expectations.

    •

  • Persistent in satisfying/recovering dissatisfied customers.

  • Calms and satisfies irate customers.

  • Takes proactive steps to meet customer needs.

  • Meets expectations of major customer segments

  • Ensures various customer groups of a division are served.

    •

  • Establishes strategies for multiple functions to meet the needs of various

  • customers.

  • Sets strategic customer service agenda for multiple functions or programs in a

  • division.

  • Identifies underserved customer segments and addresses their needs.
Proficiency Level 3

  • Completely meets customer expectations.

    •

  • Sufficiently works and communicates to satisfy clients' needs.

  • Works to understand nature of problem before taking action.

  • Follows-up to assure customer satisfaction.

  • Remains courteous when faced with disgruntled customers.

  • Ensures quality service by multiple teams

  • Develops customer service methods and techniques that become standard among multiple work teams.

  • Develops systematic processes to ensure quality service to current customers.

  • Addresses needs of defined customer segments.

  • Re-engineers processes to ensure delivery of high-quality service and products.

  • Contacts and consults with the customer routinely.

  • Demonstrates follow-through.

  • Interacts openly and honestly with appropriate feedback.

  • Actively listens and evaluates in a non-judgmental manner.

  • Serves customers with unusual, complex, or difficult problems/needs.

  • Customizes or adapts service to customer needs and expectations.

  • Guides others in serving customers

  • Integrates customer needs into the service delivery process within a small work unit

  • or localized customer service function.

  • Ensures that quality customer service is carried out by others in a work team

  • Guides others in serving customers; helps others adapt standard service.
Proficiency Level 2

  • Provides adequate customer service.

    •

  • Uses "quick fix" approach.

  • Meets some customer expectations.

  • May cause distress for demanding customers.

  • Meets routine demands and requests of, and provides quality service to individual internal and external customers.

  • Serves or handles routine customers in a standard process

  • Focuses on one or a few customers at a time; may attend to many customers in sequence.
Proficiency Level 1

  • Negative or indifferent to customer.

  • Ignores customer requests.

  • Negative in response to customer expectations (argumentative, hostile, etc.).

  • Has mistaken or misplaced concept of customer service.

  • Offers unsatisfactory service in response to customer need.

  • Often not committed to meeting customer needs.

Suggested Activities for Development

  • Spend the day with a manager or director who is recognized for having great customer service.  Observe and model her or his behavior.

  • Keep track of how long it takes to solve customers’ problems.  Work to decrease the time.  Keep a log that demonstrates improvements in response time.

  • Create a board for employees to write down the ‘the most asked about’ or ‘most frequent issue’ that customers (internal or external) have.  For a group activity, brainstorm for creative solutions. Develop a FAQ and post for information.

  • Keep a log of customer problems.  Track whether they have been resolved and how they have been resolved.  Review the log once a week to see if there are any unresolved problems.  Devise a strategy to solve these problems.

  • Ask your manager about an especially difficult or complicated client problem that she or he is involved with.  Ask to work with her or him in resolving the issue.

  • Conduct interviews with customers to determine their needs and satisfaction with current services.

  • Make a flow chart to show how team issues affect customers.  Take the lead in working with your team to help solve internal issues.

  • Hold a department meeting to focus on top issues that impact your customers.  Help the team come up with ways to focus on the top three things that will make the biggest impact/difference.  Develop a plan to accomplish those three things.
Recommended Courses
Additional Resource

Books

  • Tips and Tactics for Serving Customers on the Internet by B. W. Ketchum & J. Y. Cleaver (Inc. Business Resources, 2001). Designed to help readers use the Internet to improve customer relationship management, using a dynamic Web site, e-mail databases, the friendly FAQ format, and other tools.

  • Monitoring, Measuring, & Managing Customer Service by G. S. Goodman (Jossey-Bass, 2000). In this book, Goodman identifies the core behaviors that make up excellent customer service—as defined by the customer—and provides managers with a set of proven tools for promoting and maintaining it, transaction after transaction.

  • Best Practices In Customer Service by R. Zemke, & J. A. Woods (AMACOM, 1999). How do other companies deliver superior service? How do I build long-term relationships with customers? Best Practices in Customer Service is a one-stop resource designed to help anyone involved in customer service answer these questions and more.

  • The Big Book Of Customer Service Training Games: Quick, Fun Activities For Training Customer Service Reps, Salespeople, And Anyone Else Who Deals With Customers by P. Carlaw & K. D. Vasudha (McGraw-Hill Trade, 1998). Contains 50 creative activities that teach the basics of treating customers with respect, listening well, smoothing out ruffled feathers, and all the other skills an employee needs to sell and serve customers. Designed for anyone who manages front line service workers, the book is full of fun.

  • Calming Upset Customers by R. Morgan & M. G. Crisp (Crisp Pubns, 1998). Learn what gets customers upset, what they want, and how to calm them. Assess your calming skills and attitudes. Know why it's important to calm these customers and turn them into satisfied customers.
Behavioral-Based Interviewing Questions