The Value of a Complete Customer Service in HR

I used to play golf. Used to. Know why? I couldn’t string together a set of shots that added up to a great round. Sure, I could smack one off the tee every once in a while that would just be fantastic. I could get a middle iron shot up on the green. I could drop a putt from 10 feet. Once. All of them once in a round. The rest of the time I’d flail. So, is one good shot enough? Hardly.

The same goes for customer service in HR. What we do in human resources isn’t a sometimes thing, it’s an all the time thing. We can’t stand back and be proud of how great our payroll system is working when the performance management system is, in golf terms, “out of bounds.” Stringing together a set of great customer service elements makes for great HR.

I didn’t have time to get much better at golf. It takes hours of practice. But I do have time to get better in HR. And so do you. Here’s what I know: It’s getting better at the things you’re not great at that make for a better game — whether that game is golf or business. Practicing what you’re comfortable with is a waste. If you’re bad with your short irons in golf, you go out and hit a thousand balls with your short irons. If you’re bad at training, you get out there and work your training approach until your fingers turn blue. It’s that simple — practice what you lack. When you get it right, when you string together a whole set of customer service experiences in HR, that’s when you move from the funny pages to the business pages.

About the Author

Frank Roche

Frank started IFRACTAL over 7 years ago with Sarah Chambers. Together, they've created HR communications and HR software for some of the world's leading companies. Frank is also studying Flamenco guitar and origami.

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