Administration and Finance begins rolling out new program.
It was a “standing room-only” event as attendees were tucked into every chair, every desk, and in the aisles. The occasion was the kickoff to “Service Excellence — One Interaction at a Time.” The overflow attendance was a welcome sight for Dawn M. Rhodes, DBA, senior vice president and chief business and finance officer for Administration and Finance (A&F). The day represented the culmination of a journey that was more than five years in the making.
In 2018, Rhodes set out to develop and implement an overarching program to help all Administration and Finance employees enhance their professional and personal interactions within the UMB community. Inspired by the customer service program she created while at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), “Service with Distinction,” Rhodes set out to create “Service Excellence — One Interaction at a Time” at UMB. The initiative she sought to create was to improve the customer’s experience when interacting with any A&F employed individuals, whether in person, by email, or by telephone.
However, Rhodes didn’t want to simply replicate the program she oversaw at IUPUI; she wanted to create a program that was tailored to the specific challenges and situations that were encountered by A&F personnel. She recognized that A&F’s Guiding Principles, which were finalized in January 2022, would make an ideal starting point in envisioning how the project might take shape.
To create the UMB program, Rhodes assembled a team to assess where the A&F community was in terms of customer service. This group sought to understand what sort of challenges employees faced, how these challenges impacted their work, and how these challenges could be best addressed within the A&F divisions and units. In this initial phase of program development, the A&F leadership team met with their customers to identify possible areas of improvement. This information became the themes around which the program would be structured.
Delayed but Not Derailed
The program was coming together nicely in 2020. But like so many aspects of life, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with a few untimely staff departures, delayed the rollout of the program. Despite these setbacks, development continued on the program curriculum until dedicated staff were hired in 2022.
Karen Park, MA, MBA, chief of staff and director, strategic projects, and Zandra Rawlinson, EdD, director of organization and employee development, Human Resource Services (HRS), worked together to provide programmatic oversight and to advance the development of the program curriculum, which included the development of an employee self-assessment as well as a stakeholder assessment. Through funding provided by A&F, Elisa Medina, LCSW-C, MSW, ACC, project administrator, organization and employee development, HRS, was later added to the team in 2023 to spearhead the rollout and ongoing implementation.
In 2022, the program was rolled out to a pilot group of individuals from Strategic Sourcing and Acquisition Services (SSAS). The program consisted of on-demand and interactive learning modules to help foster a service culture that exemplifies excellence customer service. The goal is to provide customer service that exceeds expectations.
Upon completion, pilot participants were surveyed on what aspects of the program worked best, and what elements could be enhanced. Based on their feedback, the program was tweaked and deemed ready for rollout.
Rolling Out Service Excellence — One Cohort at a Time
The invitation to the kickoff event went out to all A&F employees and drew well in excess of 200 people, filling the large auditorium in Pharmacy Hall North. Rawlinson, Rhodes, Medina, and Keith Gagnon, MBA, assistant vice president of strategic sourcing and acquisition — whose cohort served as the pilot — all spoke briefly about what the program entailed and what participants could expect.
The program rollout will consist of 11 cohorts that are made up of various A&F divisions and units, and a new cohort will begin each month. Every cohort will complete the program’s four phases: orientation, self-guided learning through Percipio, support and implementation sessions, and then a followup survey 18 months after implementation of action plans to gauge the efficacy of the program.
Rhodes said she hopes everyone who receives a stakeholder survey — and it’s likely many people on campus will receive more than one — will take a few minutes out of their busy day to answer the questions honestly and thoughtfully. Doing so will help ensure each individual will get the full and intended benefits of the program.
“My heart is so full as we finally get to launch this program that was years in the making,” Rhodes said to the standing room-only crowd. “If we focus all of our attention on the customer, and each individual interaction that we’re having with them, then everything else falls into place.”