Introduction
Communication is the key to providing a high standard of service. If you cannot communicate effectively then you will not be able to meet the needs of your customers both internal and external. Remember your colleagues are also your customers.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this section you will be able to:
- Identify aspects of the communication process
- Develop your communication skills
- Identify key aspects of effective listening
- Identify key communication skills when using telephone/email/Chat techniques
What are the skills you use in your job to communicate effectively to customers? Share your ideas and experiences on our Section 5 whiteboard on MS Teams.
Effective Communication
Communication is the key to providing a high standard of service. If you cannot communicate effectively then you will not be able to meet the needs of your customers both internal and external. Remember your colleagues are also your customers.
We might think of face-face communication as a simple process. However, communication is a complex process, and is all about the sending and receiving of messages. Throughout the day, we all send out a variety of signals or messages to everyone around us and we also receive a variety of signals from others. it is very easy for these messages to be lost or misunderstood.
View the section 5 slides below for more information about how we communicate:
If the slides do not display, view the content via the pdf below:
To communicate more effectively
We need to become sensitive to body language, tone and speed of voice - our own and the person we’re dealing with.
We must also understand that it is impossible to not communicate; each one of us is a transmitter which cannot be shut off. We send out messages that say something about ourselves all the time. How many of us have been served in a shop/restaurant by someone who is saying what they've been trained to say but their facial expression shows they don't mean it!!
It’s not what you say it’s the way that you say it. Having said that even what you say may not be understood in the way that you intend.
Active Listening
An important part of communication is listening. We will now move on to look at the skills required to be a good and effective listener.
Remember communication is a two way process: sending and receiving of information. So why do we sometimes find it hard to listen to our customers or our colleagues?
Possible reasons:
- Too much information given
- Difficult to assess what is important
- May be in the middle of something so may not give full attention
- Not interested or day dreaming
- We think we know what they want
- Listening to colleagues/other customers at the same time
- Accent/pronunciation hard to understand
- Person speaks too quietly or there is background noise
- Thinking of what we want to say next
Listening skills can help you gain valuable customer feedback to help you maintain and improve the services offered in the Library. We are busy people – dealing with queues, multi-tasking in your job, so you need to find out what the customer wants as quickly as possible and give them an answer.
How do we find out what your customer needs/wants are? We ask questions to
- Encourage customers to talk.
- Encourage customers to share information with you.
- Help identify customer needs.
Communicating Online or Via Telephone
Communication is not always a face to face encounter.
Increasingly we are aware that a customer’s first impression of the Library can quite often be through a phone call, via email or on chat. However we still need to create a good first impression.
Visit the CS Learning Lab for advice and best practice on Library Help and Chat. Alternatively speak to one of the Lib Apps team (Katie, Mia or Sarah) if you have any feedback on Library Help or Chat or would like a refresher on any aspect of the service.
Email is the most commonly used form of communication for both internal and external customers. Check out this video for helpful hints to think about before you hit send ...
Visit the CS Learning Lab for email etiquette tips.
What is interesting is that these tips could apply to all contact with customers and mirror a lot of point in the summary on page 28 of your participant guide.
If the slides do not display, view the content via the pdf below:
