Research Administration With A Smile How to Create A Customer Service Focused Office

Presenters Cheryl Dison, Director of Research Development, Arkansas State University Jenny Estes, Accountant, Sponsored Programs Accounting, Arkansas State University Nikki Turner, Director, Sponsored Programs Accounting, Arkansas State University

Why is This important? Greater productivity for our faculty Higher morale in the Research Administration Office Less frustration for the institution as a whole

What is a Service focused office?

What does a Service Focused Office NOT Look Like? Unresponsive No understanding of other people’s perspectives Assumes answers without getting all of the details Demands action too early

What does a Service Focused Office Look Like? Maintains a professional demeanor at all times Verbally Nonverbally Maintains an open mind about faculty and staff’s questions and concerns

What does a Service Focused Office Look Like? Encourages open and respectful dialogue between Research Administrators and the people you serve Maintains an emphasis on compliance while respecting the unique situations of every project

Obstacles & opportunities

Problems to Overcome Bad attitudes and misinformation about your department Information silos within your department Vague sponsor and institutional directives that are hard to interpret

Problems to Overcome Difficult attitudes within the office towards service Miscommunication Disorganization that inhibits the office’s ability to obtain information

Solutions Maintain a customer service focus from the top down Remember that co-workers are customers, too! Become an advocate for your department – let others know when a team member has done something outstanding

Solutions Create as organized environment as possible Identify bottlenecks and work on process improvements to alleviate them Never let “We’ve always done it that way” be a reason for continuing a process

SOLUTIONS Cross-train staff so that small questions or problems can be solved even when someone is out Learn when to pick your battles – compliance vs. preference Remember that many people like to understand the “why” behind the answer

Solutions E-mail rules Don’t assume people can read your tone Edit, edit, edit! Have a second person read your e-mail Use as specific language as possible – limit acronyms and technical jargon

Customer service focus is a continual journey, not a destination!

Thank you for your time! Questions? Please e-mail us at anturner@astate.edu cgoad@astate.edu jlestes@astate.edu