Internal customer service counts too

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Everyone has a customer whether it be outside or inside of the company, and morale, productivity, and employee retention improves when we are able to properly facilitate internal customer service. Internal customer service provides our coworkers within our company information or services.

For instance, in the real estate business someone from our marketing department asked me today to attend a woman’s business luncheon and represent our company for a charity fundraiser. Yesterday afternoon one of my colleagues needed information about a waterfront listing and the riparian grant which a prospective customer asked about, and another colleague needed someone to open a house nearby for someone else. In an environment like this, everybody supports everybody else.

When companies practice exceptional internal customer service, everyone benefits; the “what goes around comes around” philosophy one might say. It attracts and keeps good employees, and it is easier to keep and enhance their careers.

Here are some suggestions to help internal customer service:

  • Develop forums to share the goals of the company. Each department contributes so everyone in the company feels they are on the same team.
  • Have meetings, informal chats, luncheons, and/or emails to keep everyone in touch.
  • Don‘t withhold relevant information. That is how rumors start when only a few departments have information and other departments try to deduce what is happening. That is the recipe for disaster and breaks down the information and trust chain within the company.
  • Practice proactive information sharing. Send important information out before employees or representatives need it. For example, in Florida insurance companies were no longer writing flood insurance policies. Imagine that? Just yesterday flood insurance has been temporarily brought back until the end of May. All agents may not need the information, but knowledge is power.
  • Try not to let departments become “cliquey.” If employees get territorial, internal service breaks down and can become adversarial.
  • View every colleague and fellow employee as your customer and help share information to help everyone get their jobs done. They will want to help you when you need it.
  • Say thank you even if it is the person’s job, but isn’t it always a plus when someone thanks you?

photo credit: Stipo team

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Republished with author's permission from original post.

Cheryl Hanna
Service Untitled
Cheryl Hanna is a successful real estate sales person in Florida and has used her customer service knowledge and experience to set her apart and gain a competitive edge in a very difficult market. Cheryl has been writing professionally since 1999 and writes for several blogs and online publications

1 COMMENT

  1. Very good post. I’d like to add the phrase that I often use – Leadership must treat the staff/internal customers the way that they’d like the external customer to be treated, if not even better.
    It’s learn by example. When the environment fosters working in the best interest of the internal customer, it is also carried out in practice for the external customer.

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