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CAAZ shows a real commitment to service improvement
AJ Hungwe
At the Civil Aviation Authority Zimbabwe Customer Service Manager Annajulia Hungwe doesn't just 'talk the talk' when it comes to her commitment to service improvement she truly 'walk the walk' as well.Annajulia volunteered to join a new, innovative, tutor led, on-line training course for customer service professionals and has achieved the highest pass rate on the Award for Customer Service Managers, recognising her as one of the first people in the company to be trained to such a high standard in customer service.The course - run by Customer 1st International - is the first accredited, tutor-led, learning programme for customer service professionals to be developed in the UK. Annajulia wanted to improve her customer service skills and assess whether the programme could support her own team. On the course she teamed up with other customer service professionals from the UK, British Telecom, Unilever, and Brookson Financial Services, together with customer service professionals from four other countries.Annajulia stated, "The main benefits of this programme were the collaboration with others around the world, sharing best practice, and the way we were prompted to consider our organisations' objectives, strategy, people and processes in achieving world class service excellence." Annajulia added, "I was so proud to be the voice of customer service from Africa."Annajulia's on-line tutor was Adele Cooke, who has held a number of senior positions within the customer service arena. Adele said: "I was able to help participants think about their own roles and responsibilities towards their customers and to share best practice through the on-line forums. We had fun discussing real-world customer service issues such as the Terminal Five situation at Heathrow, how it could have been avoided and what the service recovery should have looked like. The forums also allowed me to customise the programme for participants, talking through topical issues and problems that occur in their own working environments."And it was this customisation that Brian Virtue, BT Connect, really appreciated, saying: "I found the other participants had some very thought-provoking comments and the online tutor really did make you think about some of the scenarios she posed. Also it is an excellent course for people in a senior position to make a difference to organisational strategy.Susan Wilshee, BT Global, added, "I would recommend this course to other customer service managers. The main benefits came from the interaction & exchange of ideas with managers from a range of world-wide companies. Hearing their ideas for customer service delivery and gaining immediate feedback on your own suggestions is an excellent way to identify improvements. I also enjoyed the opportunity to benchmark against other customer service driven organisations of all shapes and sizes, delivering vastly different services from all parts of the world.World-class service organisations are dedicated to a culture of continuous improvement to meet rising customer expectations and increased competition. New recruits joining organisations in the next few years will expect to use e-learning for training and development. We have created two online courses that offer organisations a cost-effective solution for developing their people which is both flexible and also meets the global needs of businesses today".To find out more about Customer 1st International go to: www.customer1st.co.uk
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