How to Measure Internal Customer Satisfaction?

[TSRao]

Dear Forum Members,

In my openion, filling the questioneer to measure internal customer satisfaction is not right, may be useful to convince the auditor.

Is any effective method available for the same?

Help is saught from forum members

Regards

T S Rao

 

[Jen Kirley]

As an auditor, I use the qualitative method: I ask them and record their responses.

When doing this I can be specific: How well do the design people help you understand just what materials to order? Do they answer your questions promptly, and understandably?

I am looking for cooperation and smooth interconnections between people in different departments, where technical jargon becomes gobbledygook and people may be inclined to say, "It's your job to do technical research, I shouldn't need to tell you." or, "That's not my job." or, "He's just a whiner." or, "I have more important things to do."

"What does the safety department do to help you understand the specifics of training they asked you to develop for them?" Receiving the right cooperation can make the difference in making regulatory training effective as needed to prevent costly mishaps.

The answer will not be something you can always grade, 1 through 10. Body language, the manner of their voices in delivery: "Well....." allow you to record the truth.

I must caution that this needs to be repeated often enough so you can be sure you are not recording personalities. Collecting the information via specifics as I mentioned helps make sure it's valid.

I hope this helps!

 

[TSRao]

As an auditor, I use the qualitative method: I ask them and record their responses.

When doing this I can be specific: How well do the design people help you understand just what materials to order? Do they answer your questions promptly, and understandably?

I am looking for cooperation and smooth interconnections between people in different departments, where technical jargon becomes gobbledygook and people may be inclined to say, "It's your job to do technical research, I shouldn't need to tell you." or, "That's not my job." or, "He's just a whiner." or, "I have more important things to do."

"What does the safety department do to help you understand the specifics of training they asked you to develop for them?" Receiving the right cooperation can make the difference in making regulatory training effective as needed to prevent costly mishaps.

The answer will not be something you can always grade, 1 through 10. Body language, the manner of their voices in delivery: "Well....." allow you to record the truth.

I must caution that this needs to be repeated often enough so you can be sure you are not recording personalities. Collecting the information via specifics as I mentioned helps make sure it's valid.

I hope this helps!

Thank You Jennifer Kirley

I fully agree with you. You measure the customer satisfaction based on the responce given by the supplier, but many auditors demand for the evidence, may in the form of record for the period....

Is any forms available to measure the same?

Regards

T S Rao

 

[Stijloor]

Thank You Jennifer Kirley

I fully agree with you. You measure the customer satisfaction based on the responce given by the supplier, but many auditors demand for the evidence, may in the form of record for the period....

Is any forms available to measure the same?

Regards

T S Rao

Hello TS,

Jennifer provided excellent insights how this can be accomplished.

The responses can be recorded as a summary which then becomes part of the audit record. Please do keep in mind that there is always some element of subjectivity in auditing. Not all audit evidence can be presented in hard numbers and measurements.

Stijloor.

 

[Jen Kirley]

Thank you Stijloor, and it's true that the audit record can capture the data. The audit process can also provide enough insight to approach specific areas that need improvement, which a survey isn't likely to do unless it is administered scientifically. When I say scientifically, I mean in a way that identifies the department and shift of respondents. This can be done with codes placed in a corner of the survey, but people could be wise to this and shape their responses out of a sense they are being monitored.

I bring all this up because the business of assessing internal customer satisfaction is supposed to have a practical purpose. If an auditor views evidence the data are being collected, the next question will be (it had better be) "And what do you [the organization] do with these results?"

If your auditors don't prove to be the right vehicle for assessing internal customer satisfaction and your organization insists on a survey, Baldrige has a freely available survey you could consider: Are We Making Progress? They even have an Access software download on that site--I have never used it, so I don't know how helpful it would be.

Even if you don't want to use that survey, its questions are, in my view, well constructed. Assuming (that's not dangerous, I hope) that people are happy when they are given everything they need to do their jobs, the survey could be considered to measure internal customer satisfaction. After all, it's about the success of transactions and their factors' design in the workplace.