RCC’s Workforce Development Staff Returns to Classroom
Walt Disney once said, “Whatever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it, they will want to come back and see you do it again, and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.”
Doing things well is something that Robeson Community College is often complimented on time and time again, but as they say, there is always room for improvement. So, this week, staff members from the workforce development and continuing education division have undergone customer service training to refresh, remind, and renew skills to improve the overall experience of our customers – our students.
“Our customer service is what sets us apart,” stated Eric Freeman, Vice President of Workforce Development, Continuing Education, and Institutional Services. “It is critical to our success as a college and is the cornerstone of our growth in the future.”
Some of the topics included in the professional development include communicating effectively with customers, lessons from the Mouse (Walt Disney) and lessons from Chic-fil-A, creating a positive impression, developing and maintaining good customer service standards, and creating a game plan for good customer service.
As part of the training, staff members were put into small groups to come up with some solutions to issues they have experienced on the job that dealt with customer service.
For Christy Locklear, the coordinator for health occupation programs, she says she stays proactive and even has a set script for how she answers phone calls so that she can sound cheerful, professional, and helpful.
“I just always answer my calls with ‘Hello, it’s a great day at Robeson Community College, how may I help you today?’” Christy said. “It really does make a difference and helps set the tone of the conversation…. We want to be helpful in any way that we can.”
For Robert Ivey, the director of emergency services at RCC, he says he is always willing to help out in any way he is needed.
“I’m a company man, and if someone needs something, I’m there to help out,” stated Robert. “You can’t have the attitude of ‘it’s not my job’ because it really is your job help students or someone that needs assistance.”
Kenny Locklear, the director of emergency medical services, agreed.
“Sometimes you do have to step outside of your lane,” stated Kenny. “We all need to learn more than just our jobs, so that if we ever need to assist, we are available and can do what is necessary to help students.”
“Helping students is what it is this training is all about,” stated Freeman. “This is a great opportunity for our staff to come together and remember our sole mission, our students, and how we can give them the best possible experience through our interactions and overall customer service.”
