Faculty and staff members at The University of Memphis have been invited to attend a three-day program this summer, focusing on how to be more customer friendly and student-oriented.
This program, called Advanced Connections, is designed to help participants gain a better understanding of the potential an educational community has when functioning at its best.
Advanced Connections started in 1998 as a collaborative effort between the Department of Human Resources and Student Affairs. The course strives to stimulate skills which will result in more cooperation, appreciation and communication between individuals and departments, according to program conductor Lavonnie Claybon.
"We try to instill in all employees here at The University of Memphis the importance of building a social culture," said Claybon, who is manager of professional development and training here at The U of M. "We have a good saying in the program: We are only as strong as our weakest link on campus."
Claybon said day one of the program focuses on building a service culture. This session is designed to help participants build on their quality service skills and learn effective techniques for interacting with and serving others. Participants also take a self- assessment test to determine where they would rank in customer service. After this, they are able to tell what areas each participant need to work on most during the training.
Day two focuses on polishing daily service skills. It is designed to enhance advanced communication skills needed for daily quality service delivery and describes ways to more effectively manage communications across campus.
Day three's central theme is meeting service challenges, Claybon said. The purpose of part three of the Advanced Connections series is to define ways of working together to prevent or reduce problems and to learn and practice service recovery skills in order to restore customer satisfaction if a problem occurs.
According to the textbook for the program, the most important benefit of the program is how it makes participants feel. By giving each participant the tools to develop his or her skills, the program can help them feel even better about their service.
Claybon said the workshop also focuses on reducing campus run-around for students. Claybon said some times students are sent to a number of different places before they receive the help they need.
Lisa Holt, administrative associate for the assistant vice provost, said she has witnessed many students sent all over campus for information.
"Many times a student has come into my office after having already been sent to three or four wrong places," Holt said. "When I find out what the student needs, I realize that my office is the wrong place too. It's important that all staff make an effort to go the extra mile to give excellent service to the students. It's not difficult to pick up the phone and make a few calls to find out exactly what the student needs to do and where he or she needs to go."
According to Claybon, several hundred people have already finished the program.
Phyllis Ryan, computer systems assistant for Enrollment Services, completed Advanced Connections and is working on applying the program's subject matter to her work environment.
"Whoever walks through the door of this office, I make an effort to smile and treat everyone, including my co-workers, with a good attitude," Ryan said. "Every single time someone comes in, I'm going to put forward my best foot."
