Creating a customer-focused culture

Components of a customer-focused culture
Steps to create a customer-focused culture
Assessing your customer-focused culture

These are the pieces that help create a customer-focused culture:

Customer-oriented structures and guidance

• Customer-focused vision, mission, or values
• Customer-related performance measures
• Customer service is inserted in and a part of planning
• A specific customer-focus plan
• There is an attitude reflected in the work climate toward, at least, meeting customer expectations

Leadership commitment to customers

• Leadership encourages customer engagement
• Leadership empowers employees to meet customer expectations
• Leadership supports customer-focused training
• Leadership recognizes employees for their commitment to customers
• Leadership sets clear expectations related to customer-focus

Customer-focused systems and processes

• There are outlined customer service standards
• Processes and services are designed with a focus on customer service
• All employees in the work area follow the same guidance when it comes to customer focus
• There is a clear process for managing customer complaints

Customers are understood

• Customer groups have been identified
• Our customer-focus efforts are prioritized to key products and services
• Customer needs are identified
• Customer requirements and expectations are identified
• It is well-understood what is important to customers
• The customer experience is regularly evaluated

Customers are engaged

• Customer information is proactively sought
• Customer feedback is proactively sought
• Customers are actively engaged in the design of new products and services
• When issues arise, consult with customers to help identify the best solutions for everyone

Customer information and feedback is shared and used

• Customer information and feedback is analyzed
• There is an ongoing effort to communicate customer information and feedback
• Customer information and feedback is used to identify opportunities for improvement
• Customer needs and requirements are a driver of new product and service development
• Work to improve the customer experience based on the areas important to customers
• There is an ongoing effort to communicate actions taken as a result of customer focus efforts

These steps can help public health agencies and programs create a customer-focused culture.

1. Incorporate customer focus into your agency's vision and values.

2. Assess and build leadership and staff knowledge in the concepts of customer focus. (See Creating a customer-focused culture: Assessing your customer-focused culture and Customer focus at MDH: Customer focus campaign for more information about this step.)

3. Identify all of your agency's internal and external customers. (See How to: Identify customers for more information about this step.)

4. Determine the current state of customer satisfaction in your agency. (What are the existing customer satisfaction data and data needs for all programs and services?) (See Creating a customer-focused culture: Assessing your customer-focused culture for more information about this step.)

5. Prioritize which programs and services to focus on for assessment and improvement of customer satisfaction. (See How to: Prioritize where to focus for more information on this step.)

6. Develop your agency's plans for using customer information and feedback.

7. Develop customer-related performance measures.

8. Identify customer satisfaction data sources, and develop data collection methods and instruments. (See How to: Determine customer needs and requirements, and How to: Collect and analyze customer information for more information on this step.)

9. Develop a process for monitoring and reporting customer satisfaction data. (See How to: Collect and analyze customer information and How to: Take action: Use and share customer information for more information on this step.)

10. Standardize customer satisfaction throughout your agency:

1. Standard data-collection
2. Standard customer assessment
3. Standard reporting
4. Standard use of customer data

11. Use the information from customers to improve programs and services:

1. Empower employees to take corrective action based on customer data
2. Use customer data in decision-making and daily operation
3. Engage customers in decision-making and improvement processes. (See How to: Take action: Use and share customer information for more information on this step.)
   

Source: Roadmap to a Culture of Quality Improvement (NACCHO)

See Customer focus at MDH: Current state and needs assessment for more information about how MDH assessed its customer-focused culture.