1. Student Services Information Desk (SSiD)
Referrals Procedure

2. Referral Procedure
Once you have decided a referral is the appropriate course of action…
03/12/2018
© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

3. Referral Procedure
Make a statement about the department/service appropriate to the customer’s need.
03/12/2018
© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

4. Referral Procedure Explain why you need to refer the enquiry:
that it is not our area of expertise
that they will get the correct and complete information and we don’t want to guess or waste their time trying to find out
it will save time because somebody else could solve the problem quicker
03/12/2018
© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

5. Referral Procedure
Express confidence in the department you are referring queries to
they are the specialists / have all the information
they will provide the complete service regarding the issue
it will avoid the need for the customer to repeat the request in detail
03/12/2018
© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

6. Referral Procedure Complete a referral slip 03/12/2018
© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

7. Referral Procedure
If the customer appears hesitant, upset or unsure about the referral you have suggested, you may want to try:
directing the customer to the SSiD Student Phone so that they can make the initial contact call themselves
offer to contact the department yourself while the student is still at the desk
offer to accompany the customer to the department, if appropriate, and if you feel comfortable doing so (e.g. Counselling Service)
03/12/2018
© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

8. Referral Procedure
You may want to give the customer printed information about the department/service to take with them. If you can not find appropriate printed material, write down the information on a referral slip.
03/12/2018
© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications

9. Referral Procedure
You may want to offer to follow up the referral with the student and/or department to ensure that referral was effective.
03/12/2018
© The University of Sheffield / Department of Marketing and Communications