Internal Customer Service

I thought this was a great story to share because often when we think of Customer Service, we think of providing service for external people only.  One of our clients in the communications and marketing industry called to ask if I could suggest some ideas to address an internal concern they were experiencing.  The employees in the finance department were in constant conflict with the other departments within the organization.  There was a lot of frustration with the way the finance folks were being received.  After doing a little research, I learned that there was a need to provide the finance department with some new tools by which to deal with their day to day situations.  The finance department lacked both the customer service skills and the understanding that the other employees they were dealing with were actually their internal customers.

I connected this client with our Alliance partner who is highly skilled at customizing customer service solutions.  The initial program helped shift the perception of the finance department to create a customer service attitude toward everyone they dealt with.   The subsequent program provided them with the tools to respond consistently in a professional manner to both internal and external people.

I recently spoke with one of the participants and she shared with me how much more pleasant it was to work in their department now.