INSIDE OKDHS FEATURE STORY, NOVEMBER 2013 - PUTTING YOU FIRST

(MUSIC PLAYS)

No Audio: Millie Carpenter - Programs Administrator, Child Welfare Services 

Millie Carpenter: Putting You First is a very simple concept in design. It is simply that, and you are an important person to me. No matter what it is that I can offer as a DHS employee. So again, the concept is such that it doesn't require a lot of effort. You know, if you see a smile from me or a nod of acknowledgement and that you perceive that I am listening to you sometimes that is very, very powerful. 

No Audio: Connie Schlittler - Director, Office of Planning, Research and Statistics

Connie Schlittler: We really want this to permeate the whole agency in that everyone at DHS have these attitudes and ways of dealing with their customers that make people feel welcome like we want them here at DHS, that we want to provide great services. So that's our goal. It's an area I think everyone can improve in. It's not just the people who are coming in for services but our co-workers, folks in the community - how can we respond to them better and make them feel like DHS really wants them to be here, and we want to help? 

No Audio: Tara Williams - Business Transformation officer, Finance and Administration

Tara Williams: The culture of customer service is from the very first encounter with anyone that comes in for services until the time that individual leaves. It's an experience. So, it's how we greet them. It's the expression on our faces. It's holding out our hand to say hello. It's making them feel comfortable when they're talking with us and we're having a conversation about what their needs are and how we can best serve them. It's saying "please" and "thank you." 

It's being courteous to our internal customers recognizing that we all have the same ultimate customer and that's the people of the state of Oklahoma. We all seek to provide excellent customer care for them. So, it's how we treat each other. It's how we treat our clients. It's how we respond to e-mails and letters and requests for assistance. Everything that we do is part of our culture. It's putting our customer first and recognizing that we exist to serve. 

Millie Carpenter: First means friendly. So, how do we respond to the individual who walks into our front doors for services or how do we approach that individual when as Child Welfare staff or any other individual from Department of Human Services goes out to meet that child or that family in the home. So, are we friendly? Are we courteous? Are we polite? 

Rick Combs: When I think of the word ôfriendly,ö the word ôsmileö always comes to my mind. Everybody likes a smile. If we're interacting and I'm frowning at you, it sends a message to you. Either I don't like you, something's wrong, something's amiss, whatever it might be. A smile is very, very powerful, and we all need to display that. 

No Audio: Renee Banks - Chief Counsel, Center for Customer Service, Legislative Liaison, Child Support Services.

Renee Banks: "I" is for informed. By making yourself knowledgeable about the resources that are available to our customers, both within our department and within the community, it helps when you can talk to a customer and give them alternatives for getting from the bad spot that they are in today to a better spot as soon as tomorrow. 

Tara Williams: "R" is for respectful, it means being professional. Most people, even in the worst situations, if they are treated respectfully and professionally, it really defuses what could be a really irate, difficult situation. So, just being respectful in how we talk to people and recognizing our body language and the message that sends. Always treat people respectfully and kindly, professionally. It can really make a huge, huge difference in the entire experience. 

Rick Combs: I love the phrase, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." There's another phrase that I use a lot of times, "What goes around comes around." That really is true. You know, if I treat you with respect - and to me that's what customer service is - it's common respect, common kindness for one another, those common courtesies that we should all be giving to one another and treating one another with. 

So, when I am respectful to you, when I am kind to you, when I am supportive to you, you're going to have a very good... there's a very good chance you're going to turn right around and give that to me. Now, I have to say that I personally believe that that should not be the motivation. I should want to be respectful of you and kind to you because you are a human being. Okay? I think that's important, but as nature would have it and the way we tend to respond as human beings is when I show you kindness, you're a lot more apt to reciprocate and give that kindness back to me. 

Connie Schlittler: "S" stands for supportive, and that's where we're giving assistance and encouragement to folks who are asking for services from DHS. 

Rick Combs: When I feel like a worker or a provider of a service, whatever I'm looking for is taking the time, sometimes valuable time, to go that extra mile, that's what I call support. 

Tara Williams: Timely in addition to consistency also means priority. It means giving a response to a customer that is accurate, and sometimes that means that you have to tell someone, "I'll call you back. Let me research and get an answer for you. I'll call you back as quickly as I can." Then, do that. Keep your promises, and make sure that it's done in a timely manner even if it's to say, "I'm still researching it for you. I'll call you back." It builds a level of trust and a relationship with that customer. So, we want to be timely and accurate in our responses. 

Millie Carpenter: Putting You First is simply a compilation of information that we've received via surveys, as I've said whether they be in-person surveys or online surveys, and we used as a sounding board essentially employees from across the agency, all divisions, have been involved in developing Putting You First. As well as surveying many of our collaborators, our partners, our stakeholders. So, judges, district attorneys, individuals from our local food banks, etc., - all those individuals that we interact with as DHS staff - we've involved them to come up with those attributes that we find of value. 

And as I say, you know, our mission is very clear, but the vision is within the power of each DHS employee to say, "We want to put you first. We want to serve you in the best way that we possibly can." So, we felt like to recognize the work we do already, every day, is to just capture and simply say, "Putting You First." 

Renee Banks: I think of Kim who is on my team and she delivers amazing customer service. She is always very accepting, and first of all, just anxious to listen to your story, to become informed about what your needs are. Every customer that she talks to is... every customer is not a number. They're a fresh opportunity to do some good. And she will tell you, after six years of having the job that she's had with me dealing with the most difficult customer service issues that come up in our division, she still comes to me at the end of the day and just talks about how lucky she feels to be able to have a job where she gets to help people every day in a very tangible way. 

Connie Schlittler: We have an Infonet website that's been set up for all our employees to access information about the customer service initiative, Putting You First. You'll see our new customer service standards that have been adopted by the agency. We want everyone to go out there and look at them and give us feedback, and let us know what their thoughts are on the standards. We also want you to go and nominate your co-worker. 

If you see someone thatÆs just great at delivering customer service or even your team, we want you to nominate them so we can start recognizing our employees throughout the state on their services to the community as well as to the folks that come in and ask for services from DHS. 

Renee Banks: The importance of this campaign is helping us understand how we can use those natural talents we already have to the benefit of our customers. Customer service isn't necessarily second nature. I mean, it may be our nature to help people, but we don't always know how to bring that to the table. So, I think this campaign by giving some concrete examples of concepts that employ good customer service and really getting down to the nitty gritty and saying, "This is a good way to introduce yourself to your customer. This is a good way to greet your customer. This is a reasonable timeframe to get back with your customer. 

If your customer is upset or has a need that you don't have the capacity to meet at your desk, go out beyond that and find what your customer needs." Those things aren't necessarily second nature, and I think it's important that we give our workforce the tools to best help our customers.