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Aim
Do you sometimes think employees could have a better awareness of their team image - and how they're perceived by others in the organization? If so, this exercise encourages team members to consider how they work together, with other teams and internal customers in your organization.
Team members discuss standards of internal customer service and assess their own strengths and weaknesses. Allow 40 minutes to complete.
Learning Objectives
Team members will be able to…
- understand the importance of working in wider teams within the organization
- identify and define good internal customer service
- assess the level of customer service that the team provides
- identify ways of improving the way the team communicates with other teams
What to Do (20 Minutes)
- Introduce the aims and learning objectives of the exercise.
- Split the team into small groups of no more than six for group discussions. Print off and hand out the task sheet below. The task sheet text is also shown at the bottom of the page, for your reference.
- Allocate 10 minutes to discuss the internal customer service the team provides. And 10 minutes for the service it receives from other departments. Encourage the groups to think about examples of what they consider to be good customer service from other departments. Then analyze their own customer service in a similar way from a customer’s perspective.
Review Activity (10 Minutes)
- Bring the groups together and discuss the findings. Compare both perspectives to assess the standard of the team’s own customer service.
- Focus on the things the team does well and areas they need to develop.
Apply Learning (10 Minutes)
Look at the issues requiring development and brainstorm ideas for improving them. Write down all suggestions and use these to agree on an action plan. It should detail the steps the team will take to ensure excellent internal customer service to others in the organization.
Improving Our Internal Customer Service
Often, you'll work with colleagues or ‘internal customers’ from other teams or departments in your organization. This exercise will help you to reflect on how you cooperate and communicate in a wider team - and how your team is perceived by others.
Task
- Think carefully about your colleagues. They could be colleagues in your or another team or department. Perhaps they provide you with a service (or vice versa). For example, Human Resources, Finance or IT. It may be people who work with you on certain projects. There will be times when you're their customer and when they're your customer. This task will help you to explore both angles.
- Consider the customer service they provide to you. Come up with some specific examples of good internal customer service. What kind of things do these people do well? What are their internal customer service triumphs? How could they provide you with a better service? Is there a theme (i.e. courtesy, reliability, quality, responsiveness)? Allow 10 minutes for this.
- Now consider your own dealings with your internal customers. Try to be impartial and objective. What do you think your customers would say about your internal customer service? Identify the things you do well, and the things you think you need to work on. Can these be grouped under a similar theme? Again, allow 10 minutes for this.
- Be prepared to discuss your findings with your colleagues. Do they agree with your assessment?
