SINCE WE LAUNCHED our Service Excellence initiative, the Rollins community has actively demonstrated its commitment to delivering service that is responsive, respectful, collaborative, and competent, and every member of the Rollins community has benefited from our effort. In the process, we have discovered shining examples of

exceptional service and identified areas for improvement. The articles in this newsletter spotlight some of those service stars and celebrate progress toward our goal of exceptional service delivered consistently.

Thank you for your contributions in support of Service Excellence and your commitment to a higher standard of performance.

Respectful • Responsive • Collaborative • Competent

Service ExcellenceS P R I N G 2 0 1 3

THE RESULTS OF THE 2012 Service Excellence Survey were distributed to department heads in the summer of 2012. 78.6 percent of those departments rated received an overall score of 5.0 or above, achieving the baseline service excellence score identified by the Service Excellence Team. Compared with the 2010 survey results, wherein 75 percent of departments achieved this baseline score, the improvement is encouraging.

“Overall, since the Service Excellence Initiative was implemented in 2010, the College has made significant strides in weaving the four service standards - respectful, responsive, collaborative and competent - into the fabric of our daily work lives,” said chair of the Service Excellence Team, Matt Hawks. “We commend those departments receiving high scores as well as those undertaking meaningful improvement efforts.”

A number of departments improved their scores significantly in 2012 as comparedto 2010, including Scheduling and Event Services, the Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office and Institutional Research.

Over the course of several months in mid-2012, the Service Excellence Team’s Management and Accountability sub-team met with the heads of several departments that did not achieve the desired baseline survey score and engaged them in discussions regarding their scores and the improvement efforts and plans underway.

“We wanted to make sure that departments were taking their results seriously and were pleased to learn about the many significant service improvement efforts already underway,” said Hawks. “At the same time, we wanted these departments to know that the Service Excellence Team was there to support their efforts. It is important that the campus community know that we are using the data to improve service.”

Chief Information Officer Pat Schoknecht studied the results from the first survey and noted that the Information Technology department was not perceived as being sufficiently responsive to calls. From the survey responses, she learned that some customers did not feel they were being communicated with in a way that indicated to them that their problem was in the process of being resolved. She determined quickly that the department model needed to be changed, and met with her staff to determine how communication with customers could be improved.

“We are in a complex business, so I wasn’t asking the team to come up with a solution to each problem within 24 hours,” said Schoknecht. “But I was asking that they respond to the customer in regards to what might be an appropriate time frame to have their problem fixed.”

“We focused specifically on one area, responsiveness, and worked on making that a change of mindset in our department,” said Schoknecht.

“The campus community noticed the change, so that conscious effort paid off.”

More recently, IT has focused on improving consistency of service. The department determined that one area that could use improvement was student training. So the department placed more focus on student training, and reduced the number of student workers from 75 down to about 25.

IT is also being more collaborative with campus partners. A new graduate assistant works with departments on how to best leverage the use of SharePoint. Schoknecht worked with the Olin Library to get print release stations in the library, resulting in a more sustainable printing model, in addition to improving privacy, as items are only released as the individuals are standing next to the printer.

“We had some issues of standardization; we had different people in our department labeling reports different ways,” said Campus Safety Operations Coordinator Bayrex Rodriguez. “IT worked with us to improve everything from online vehicle registration forms to incident reports and made these more standard across the board. It has been a productive partnership.”

The Facilities Maintenance Department took their survey results to heart and immediately enhanced their customer service training efforts for staff.

“Customer service is critically important to how we are perceived, so we talk about quality every day,” said Hemphill. “What we do – maintenance, housekeeping, grounds – all of these are important components to the Rollins community, and we see our role and that positive in-person experience as a chance to excel.”

The department has been using electronic service requests, a more sustainable model, as the department used to make two or three paper copies of each request. The new online form features more functionality and also provides instant feedback via an automatic email update to the customer.

“We learned from the survey that while we were taking care of issues, the customer wasn’t always sure of the status,” said Hemphill. “We are working hard to close that communication gap.” The new focus on communication is paying off. For example, in November 2012, of the 428 maintenance requests received, 390, or 91 percent, were answered within 48 hours.

Next month, Facilities will roll out a door hanger to leave behind on people’s doors, explaining if there is a bigger issue that may take longer to fix.

“We always encourage feedback,” said Hemphill. “This spring we have started some focus groups with key administrators and different customer groups to help us learn even more about what we are doing right and wrong. We’ve already received some excellent ideas and feedback.”

The spirit of Service Excellence at Rollins College is going strong. The initiative is now in its third year and the effect of the initiative can be felt across campus.

A Message from President Duncan

Service Excellence Continues at Rollins

For more information visit rnet.rollins.edu/service.

Campus Safety has also implemented several improvements across all functions of the department.

“We are trying to see through the eyes of our customers,” said Director of Campus Safety Ken Miller. “While there are areas of safety and security enforcement in which we do not have a lot of flexibility, we certainly can provide them with a high level of service and competency, and communicate with them with a positive tone.”

“We are partnering with more student organizations and providing education throughout the year,” said Miller. “We are working with Fraternity & Sorority Life and are being invited to Peer Mentor trainings to talk to them about what we do.”

The department now schedules a female officer on every shift, should a student want to speak with a female officer. The department can also serve a wide population as officers speak Spanish, French, German, Arabic and Italian.

Crummer students now apply for their R-Card in advance of classes, and avoid long lines by sending a JPG of a photo to be used on their R-Cards.

Recognizing that members of the campus community are parking further away because of construction on campus, an officer is now on duty to provide courtesy escorts on campus from the parking garage from six p.m. to two a.m.

The department made the website more functional and also produced videos, such as how to update the emergency alert system.

Student Records is a key service department that every student interacts with during their time at Rollins, so their focus on Service Excellence is critical.

This past year the department has turned over two key support staff positions, and, working closely with Human Resources, made a concerted effort in the recruitment and hiring process to identify candidates with strong customer service skills. The department also brought in an outside consultant to facilitate an off-site teambuilding and customer service improvement planning retreat and has realigned staff responsibilities in a manner that will better enable the department to deliver an improved service experience for students. The department is also working internally to improve communication with other departments regarding student records policies and services in order to better serve students.

“We have taken our survey results seriously and are making meaningful efforts improve how we serve our students,” said Student Records Director Robin Mateo.

To learn more abouy the 2012 Service Excellence improvements visit rnet.rollins.edu/service.

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WOW!ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

TRAVIS RAY

Travis exemplifies all of the Service Excellence standards. On a recent occasion, he spent two days trying to troubleshoot an IT issue. He was extremely responsive every step of the way, and I can’t even begin to tell you how appreciative I was of his open line of communication. He was also beyond competent in regards to the issues at hand and refused to give up. He is a tremendous member to the IT team.

ACKNOWLEDGED BY:MEREDITH HEIN

CANDICE HAMBLIN

I can’t say enough how much I appreciate you dedicating so much of your time and talent these past couple weeks in getting our new automated award letter process off the ground. It has been a pleasure working with you—Rollins College is lucky to have you around! Thanks, Candy, for being responsive, competent, collaborative, and respectful. All four “service excellence” principles at work!

ACKNOWLEDGED BYCORY BADEN

LUIS VILLEFUERTE

Thank you so much for jumping to our rescue early Monday morning (7:30AM). Due the the cold weather, we really needed those extra chairs so all of our guests could sit inside. You so pleasantly and quickly brought additional chairs to the Galloway room. We really really appreciate you going above and beyond to make this possible. Wow!!!

ACKNOWLEDGED BY:HOLLY POHLIG

JOSH ALMOND

I’ve been meaning to thank you for your assistance and collaboration during the production of Jeffrey Gibson’s site-specific piece. You were helpful in a myriad of ways, most importantly, allowing us to use the wood workshop. All of this during a period of preparation of the shop for the coming semester and of getting ready for your own exhibition of work at Crealdé. Your attitude and thoughtfulness embodied the spirit of Rollins’s Service Excellence initiative.

ACKNOWLEDGED BY:JOSEPH HUGHES

DOUG SHELL

I just want to recognize everyone in Print Services for there impeccable service. They are always accommodating, always reassuring, always have everything ready for me by the time I need it and it is always done with professionalism and a smile on their face! Thank you so much for everything you guys do!

ACKNOWLEDGED BY:MELANIE OSBORN

SINCE ITS INCEPTION, Fox Day has been synonymous with a spirit of camaraderie, community and togetherness. On April 2, that spirit came back to life thanks to a renewed focus of on-campus offerings.

“Our goal this year was to enhance community building and focus the celebration on the Rollins campus,” said Director of Student Involvement & Leadership Brent Turner. “We did away with the buses taking students to theme parks and beaches, and instead planned a day-long smorgasbord of activities that would encourage everyone to check out what we had on campus.”

In collaboration with Rollins Student Government Association (SGA), and under a veil of secrecy, the Fox Day team began planning the day’s happenings, which included a pancake breakfast, pizza lunch, and the best-attended campus-wide picnic the College has ever seen.

“We had paddle boarding on Lake Virginia, a giant inflatable waterslide, rock climbing wall, bounce house, inflatable twister, and a huge slip n’slide,” Turner says. Students were also treated to ice cream, cappuccinos, and a chocolate fountain. All the planning and pampering paid off in terms of record attendance and positive feedback.

“We brought Fox Day back to Rollins, which also allowed us to include our athletes, as well as Holt and Crummer students, who weren’t previously able to participate when most of the Fox Day activities were off campus,” said Turner. “In terms of safety and wellness, it was executed perfectly.”

SGA Vice President Samuel Pieniadz ‘13 was thrilled with the result. “This year’s Fox Day is a testament to the fact that our students have made great strides in ensuring that Fox Day is truly about the Rollins community,” said Pieniadz. “We received positive feedback from all ends of campus, including our faculty and staff. I am excited to see how this tradition grows in years to come.”

Fox Day Provides More On-Campus Offerings

Know Someone Who Preformed

a “WOW” Experience?

Acknowledge them online at:

rnet.rollins.edu/service/electronic-recognition.html

For more information visit rnet.rollins.edu/service.

MORE THAN 550 STUDENTS have employment on campus in over 150 roles; Office of Student Employment Director Norah Pérez thinks it is about time those students were celebrated.

This year, Rollins launched the campus’s inaugural celebration of National Student Employee Appreciation Week, a weeklong series of events designed to recognize and celebrate the important contribution that student employees make in their on-campus jobs.

Celebrated the second full week of April at colleges and universities across the country, the endeavor gives supervisors, administrators, and departments a chance to highlight and give thanks for the invaluable services that students perform with dedication, enthusiasm, and initiative.

Between April 8 through 12, Pérez and her team hosted several events, including an Appreciation Coffee Break where complimentary coffee and muffins were served. Additional events included a resume workshop, professional headshot photo shoot, and an interviewing seminar. Students received raffle tickets for $25 gift cards at all events and a Student Employee of the Year competition was held.

In additional, a large banner and more than 30 lawn signswere placed all over campus with messages of thanks and encouragement for Rollins’ student employees.

This is the first time that Rollins formally celebrated the outstanding work and service to the College,” Pérez says. “Throughout the week we encouraged supervisors and departments to show appreciation for student employees’ hard work and dedication to their on-campus jobs in different, creative ways. Departments gave personalized thank you cards, gifts cards to local shops, held pizza parties, created fun coupon books, posted pictures of their students employees with messages of appreciation on their Facebook pages, and so much more. I think we all succeeded in conveying how much they mean to us.”

Rollins Celebrates National Student Employee Appreciation Week

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