U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

Effective Communication Improves Customer Service

Good communication is the core of effective performance management and is key to achieving customer satisfaction. Examples of good customer-focused communication practices include:

• obtaining feedback from customers on their needs and assessing their satisfaction with organizational performance;
• informing employees and customers of organizational goals; and
• providing feedback on organizational performance to employees and customers.

Recently, the National Partnership Council recognized several organizations for achieving organizational goals through partnerships and through using effective communication methods.

• Overton Brooks Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center.
• Defense Contract Management Command (DCMC).
• The United States Mint.
• Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Western Region, Department of Agriculture.

In particular, these organizations:

• established and communicated results-oriented, customer-focused measures, and
• collected, analyzed, published, and used customer feedback.

Overton Brooks Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. The VA Center annually surveys its customers to track their satisfaction with its medical services. The Center also communicates its objectives and achievements with both internal and external customers via newsletters, internal forums, and community outreach programs. The Center uses partnership teams to plan and coordinate these activities. As a result of these and other efforts, the Center almost doubled the number of patients seen daily per provider, reduced the number of bed days of care by 50 percent, and increased follow-up care of mental health patients by 40 percent.

Defense Contract Management Command (DCMC). DCMC welcomes frequent and informal feedback from customers and electronically posts its progress on performance objectives each month for both internal and external customers to view. Using a "post card trailer" to assess customer satisfaction, DCMC focused on becoming a "whatever it takes" organization. As a consequence, DCMC increased productivity, saved over $864,000, and improved its customer satisfaction rating to 5.8 on a 6.0 scale. Their Labor Management Council supports these efforts to become a "world class" customer service organization even while facing a 20 percent reduction in manpower and a 100 percent increase in workload.

The United States Mint. The Mint's achievements are well-known to its customers, and its goal to be "innovative, profit-driven, and committed to its stakeholders" continues. The Mint used the National Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan Business School to survey Mint customers regarding quality, timeliness, and completeness of services for the last 5 years. By surveying its customers and using the data to set goals and improve its performance, the Mint dramatically improved its customer service. The Mint has become a premier Government agency in customer satisfaction, offering its customers improved numismatic sales, 50 new state commemorative quarters, an expanded market for bullion coins, and convenient Internet sales access. This year, the Mint's profits increased while expenses decreased.

Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Western Region, Department of Agriculture. The Western Regional Partnership Council used a stratified, random sampling of employees and managers to assess their views of customer service. By mandating electronic reporting, using a new software program, and creating database folios, the agency improved data quality, access to information by customers, and communication with state agencies. The Partnership Council established an Internet policy to allow better communication with customers and easy access to online services. Performance improvements resulted in cost savings of one full-time position and $45,000 per year.

Labor-management partnerships that focus on continuous communication with customers can have a dramatic, positive affect on customer satisfaction. Agencies need steady feedback from customers to spearhead their improvement efforts.

Originally published on April 2000