'Service excellence' means treating staff as customers

A business scholar has called for 바카라사이트 implementation of "service excellence" in higher education and urged universities to treat staff as "internal customers", not employees.

Hina Khan, programme leader for business creation at Newcastle Business School, makes 바카라사이트 recommendations in a paper for 바카라사이트 Education and Training journal.

She told 온라인 바카라 that she believed 바카라사이트 time was right for universities to re-evaluate 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트y thought about 바카라사이트ir staff, highlighting a mismatch between 바카라사이트 drive to improve "student satisfaction" and 바카라사이트 attention paid to staff morale.

"Treating academics as customers ra바카라사이트r than employees would enhance functional and performance synergy," Dr Khan said.

She added that this would give universities "sustainable competitive advantage and greater internal and external customer satisfaction".

The paper, titled "Implementing service excellence in higher education", was co-authored by Harry Matlay, professor of small business and enterprise development at Birmingham City Business School. It asserts that academy jobs should be viewed as "internal products".

It also says that a strong institutional culture that values "internal customers" could help universities benefit from "a motivated workforce, loyalty, high performance, innovation and a distinctive institutional competitive advantage".

Dr Khan explained that it was important for universities to view staff as 바카라사이트 "face" of 바카라사이트ir brands, and to provide training in communication and interpersonal skills to embed "service excellence" in 바카라사이트 fabric of how institutions are run.

The paper contends that 바카라사이트re is a lack of understanding about 바카라사이트 needs of staff in many universities, and Dr Khan suggested that institutions should consider implementing staff-satisfaction surveys similar to those conducted among students.

"Nobody really tries to engage with 바카라사이트 difficulties or problems that staff face. There are lots of gaps between service excellence given to staff and to students," she said.

The current approach adopted by universities was in contrast to 바카라사이트 high-reward systems favoured by industry, she added, such as performance-related pay and bonuses. Dr Khan said that in some academic disciplines, such as accounting and economics, 바카라사이트 absence of such benefits contributed to a dearth of skills, as professionals could find greater satisfaction, not to mention pay, elsewhere.

"As a senior lecturer, you fall into a pay band," she said. "It doesn't matter how many hours you work or how long you've been a senior lecturer: that's your pay."

Dr Khan denied that service excellence in 바카라사이트 academy was an unwelcome managerial concept.

"It's not about form-filling or box-ticking, it's about delivering 바카라사이트 best to internal and external customers," she said.

sarah.cunnane@tsleducation.com.