Customer
Service in Non Profit Organisation.
Koanne Del Toro - -
-
5 ways to bring it into focus
Customer service is often a primary focus of every organization, regardless of whether the organization's focus is
on delivering products for shareholder profit or services in mission-focused non-profits. Often, small and
mid-sized non-profits need to rely on volunteers to help deliver services, which make customer service "standards"
harder to maintain. Here are some ways to keep customer service front-and-centre while balancing the needs of your
volunteers:
1) Focus. There are areas in an organization where customer service is more important than others. Where does your
constituency literally see the faces or hear the voice of the organization most frequently? Start with the area
where the community meets you most often and assess their experience. Ask the public. Make some test calls. Figure
out what you want that first impression to be like.
2) Choose wisely. Once you define what you want the experience to be, find volunteers who can deliver. There are
plenty of ways to help in every organization, and sometimes the most committed volunteers are not the best
customer-facing ones. I have volunteered with an animal shelter for the last ten years, and there are reasons why
some people choose to volunteer with animals; they prefer them to people, and it often shows. Keep these
individuals with the constituents they like best (the dogs, cats and other critters.), and find others who may be
lower-profile within the organization but like person-to-person interaction.
3) Recruit. Don't have the right mix of people in your volunteer base? Go out and find them! Leverage local
community colleges, talk to people at community events that you might attend. Many people are often looking for
ways to help in their communities, and just need a defined volunteer opportunity presented to them.
4) Train. You can have the most effective interpersonal individual on your front desk, but if they keep hanging up
on constituents because they don't know how your phone system works, your customer service will still be poor.
Invest time in bringing folks up to speed on what you want. Create a buddy system where a more experienced
volunteer or staff member gets paired with a newbie! It makes for a stronger service team and is great for
volunteer retention as well.
5) Ask your customers. Want to know how you are doing? Your constituents will tell you if you ask--and sometimes
even if you don't. Track complaints, create a quick and easy survey that you can put in front of constituents on a
periodic basis or just informally interview them. Take their recommendations. It'll make your customer service
stronger and stronger.
Good customer service is a part of overall quality service delivery. Do it well, and it can also have beneficial
effects on other important aspects of non-profit work such as fundraising, volunteer development and even board
development--all of which can translate to delivering results for your organization's mission!
Source: http://www.smallbusinessnotes
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