FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE IN BUSINESS ORGANIZATION

Intan Shahira binti Mohd Nazri

Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi Mara,

Selangor, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the customer service in business organization and factors that lead to improve it. In general, customer is a party that receives or consumes products or services.  Customer service is the support offered customers to buy the product that helps them have an easy and enjoyable experience with the transaction process. It is more than just providing answers but it is also an important part of the promise that your brand makes to the customers and it is the key of success of your business. So it is very important to any organization to ensure their business run smoothly and maintain the service that provide to the customer. Every organization need a good relationship with customers to maintain the business transaction to meet the customer’s satisfaction. There are several factors that lead to improve the customer service which is any organization need to take care of.

Keywords: Customer service, Business organization

1.0 Introduction

There are many components to customer service, and you need all of them to truly satisfy customers. Customer service involves being a kind, courteous, and professional face for the company. It also involves listening carefully to customer wants and concerns. Beyond listening, customer service is doing everything in one’s power to efficiently and accurately serve each customer. Finally, customer service is clearly explaining solutions to clients. A commonly adopted approach to improving customer performance is providing them with quality feedback on their performance. (Shinyoung, Sunmee & Rohit, 2017).

Customer service is more than waiting on customers. It includes trying your best to make sure that the customer is satisfied. Working hard to meet customers’ needs is always a prioritize. Furthermore, an entrepreneurial organization with external orientation (Sebora and Theerapatvong, 2010) furthermore treats customer feedback on the market as well as its performance in general and its logistics performance in particular as cues for it to further explore customer value as well as increase its responsiveness to customer needs to tighten its relationship with customers.

Customer service is listening to customers and helping to resolve their issues, so that they remain happy and loyal. Listening is such a critical, and sometimes overlooked, part of customer service. Most customers already begin feel taken care of once you listen carefully to their concerns. Asking clarifying questions, repeating their concerns, and simply quietly listening are helpful ways to demonstrate that you are listening, and that you care about their problems.

According to De Clercq (2013), an organization’s proactiveness, innovativeness, and risk-taking in its strategy and actions (De Clercq et al., 2013), entrepreneurial orientation (EO) may leverage its performance in general and logistics performance in particular (Cui et al., 2012). Since EO has a bearing on its competitive positioning (Sebora and Theerapatvong, 2010), an organization with entrepreneurial strategic posture may be more likely to engage in logistics process innovations to provide better services for customers. It finds and experiments new ways to amplify product or service delivery effectiveness.

Other than that, according to Mai Thuy (2015), Vietnam’s transition to a market economy has been increasing customers’ awareness of their dynamic role as contributors of values to the value chain of the organization rather than as mere recipients of products or services, which raises a further need for organizations to apply an empirical EO model to more proactively improve their services, including logistics services, in order to not only address customers’ needs, but activate their role as value co-creators as well (Mai Thuy, 2015).

2.0 Factors of Improving Customer Service in Business Organization

The most important thing you can do to improve relationships with your customers is as obviously improve a customer service. No matter how great the product or service that organization has been provide or how good your staff is, one of the things that customers are most likely to remember is the direct interaction or transaction they have with your organization.

In most companies, customer service is defined in three different ways such as an activity; as a performance measurement; and as a philosophy and strategic element of the company. The definition of customer service varies from one company to another. Customer service is a process which takes place between the purchaser, the salesperson and the intermediaries. This process leads to added value for the service produced or exchanged. This added value can arise in the short run as a simple transaction or in the long term as a partnership contract. Thus, customer service is the process by which significant advantages are reached in a value chain in an effective way (Samii, 2004). If it is not constantly on the lookout for opportunities to improve the customer service, then the relationships between customers and organization will stagnate.

According to Chen (2015), service customers are considered partial employees in the service production process. This is proven that customers are the key of success in the business organization and the best we could do is provide a good services and products to them to achieve the goal that the organization has been target. So to achieve the successful in the business organization, there must improving the customer service because without it the environment of business would be effected.

Positive interactions or responses by the staff tend to create a lasting impression on the service quality perceptions by the customers. Kim and McLean (2007) says that customers were more impressed by the extra help provided. On the other hand, negative responses can not only irritate the customer but also break the relationship. Hence, it becomes important to monitor the responses in the most appropriate manner. This can be achieved by understanding the manner in which we respond to customers.

2.1 Significance

Customer service is important to an organization because it is often the only contact a customer has with a company. Customers are vital to an organization. Some customers spend hundreds and even thousands of ringgit per year with the business organization. Consequently, when they have a question or product issue, they expect a customer service team or staff of organization to resolve their issues. Fatiha (2014) said, communication with the customers: a written statement of engagement reduces the probability that customers will expect unrealistic performance; however, it also provides them with the means of communicating with the company if the levels of performance specified are not reached.

Customers are no longer concerned merely to satisfy their basic needs. They want to create an emotional connection with the brand they are buying from. This is because we need to meet their needs not just rationally but also emotionally. Staff have to create memorable lasting experiences. Customers are willing to pay more to get those. They would regret choosing a little cheaper store with a grumpy salesperson which puts them in a bad mood. Customer service can help the organization achieve the goal to success in their business.

2.2 Identification

Customer service is very important to an organization because it can help differentiate an organization from the competitors. The staff also should think through the communication strategy and make sure every staff knows how to communicate with the customers so it is smooth and consistent. staff should not leave customer service up to chance and random people. It is a serious job and it represents the organization. So do not forget, the organization need require a proper product training and customer service guidelines. Moreover, not everyone is natural in talking with people, so it is a good idea to also train staff in positive communication.

According to Fatiha (2014), nowadays, companies’ campaigns in various markets are concerned with services which integrate fast delivery and friendly contact with customers. The cost strategies have become options which are easily imitable by competitors, so companies do not represent differentiation for the customer.

2.3 Function

An organization with excellent customer service is more likely to get repeat business from customers. Consequently, the organization will benefit with greater sales and profits. Contrarily, organization with poor customer service may lose customers, which will have a negative impact on business. It costs a lot more money for a organization to acquire a customer than to retain them, due to advertising costs and the expense of sales calls. Therefore, the efforts that go into maintaining quality customer service can really pay dividends over time.

The implementation of marketing concepts involves being able to keep customers by increasing their level of satisfaction. This makes it possible for a company to invest in the long term in the acquisition of new customers. In this respect, customer service is the capacity of a company to answer a customer’s order starting from the stock available (Fatiha, 2014).

2.4 Customer Feedback

People that have a positive experience with an organizations customer service team or staff will likely tell two or three others about their experience. One of the best things customers can give you is their feedback on your product. Obviously the staff or customer service team need to treat feedback wisely and do not implement everything your customers ask for. One of the best ways to gather customer’s feedback is through the everyday conversations you have with them on chat.

The advantages of this feedback is you will:

·         Know what to be improved in your product or service

·         Know how many customers are likely to live and react at the right time

·         Identify the happy customers who can become your advocates

·         Improve customer retention

·         Get actionable insight to create a better customer experience

2.5 Prevention/Solution

The organization need a customer service because it is a method uses to satisfy the customers. Other than that, if any problem occurs it can be prevent and be a solution to the problems. So this is one of factors that lead to improve customer service in organization. Customer service is all of the retailer activities that increase the value received by consumers when shopping (Levy and Weitz, 2007). Customer services are tangible or intangible value increasing activities which are related with products or services directly or indirectly to meet customer expectations and finally to provide customer satisfaction and loyalty (Kursunluoglu, 2011). This is proven that the customers are the key of success of the business organization and it is important to provide a good service for them. If the customer service that have been provided by the organization are bad, it will influence the organization activities.

3.0 Strengthen the customer service skills

Firstly, it is important to make sure that the staff or customer service team has the right skills for managing customers’ needs. This is because, if the staff are not treat the customers properly it would affect the organization’s name and image which lead to the business operational damage. In the business area, customers are the king and queen or we usually hear is “customers are always right”. Customers must be treat very well and properly so service skills need to be practice by the staff or customer service team. The organization should take an action to improve the service skills among staff. There is many kind of service skills that should be practice such as;

·         Empathy, patience and consistency.

Some customers will be irate. Others will be full of questions. And others will just be chatty. This is the challenges the staff should be face, so staff or customer service team must know how to handle all of them and provide the same level of service every time. It is important not to against or argue with the customers.

·         Adaptability.

Every customer is different, and some may even seem to change week-to-week. You should be able to handle surprises, sense the customer’s mood and adapt accordingly. This also includes a willingness to learn– providing good customer service is a continuous learning process.

·         Clear communication.

The clear conversation between staff and customer is important to avoid misunderstanding.  Staff should convey to customers exactly what they mean. Use authentically positive language, stay cheerful no matter what, never end a conversation without confirming and the most important is always smile to the customer which is actually would make them feel satisfied.

·         Work ethic.

Customers appreciate the staff who will see their problem through to its resolution. At the same time, they must have good time management skills and not spend too much time handling one customer while others are waiting. Stay focused to achieve the right balance to treat the customer well and properly. If there are many customers, the organization should hire more staff in customer service team so there is no problem handling the customers.

·         Knowledge.

Ultimately your customers rely on staff for information or knowledge of product and service that organization provided. Stay informed enough to respond to most inquiries and know where to turn if the questions become too detailed or technical for you to answer. However, do not ever tell lies to the customers. Customers will appreciate the honesty and your efforts to find the right answer.

·         Thick skin.

The customers are always right. The ability to swallow one’s pride and accept blame or negative feedback is crucial. Whether the staff or team works directly with customers or looking for feedback on social media, they have got to keep the customer’s happiness in mind. They should not argue with customers, if not it will become worse to the organization.

4.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, customer support is an integral part of the product experience. Having a good product without a great customer service would not bring the success to the organization and vice versa. You would not achieve success with a good product without a great customer service. So it is important to keep in mind why customer service is important the organization or company and show the good customer service to your customers and at the same time improve it every day. There are five factors that lead to improve a customer service in business organization such as significance, identification, function, customer feedback and prevention/solution. Other than that, there are also several kind of service skills that should be practice by the organization to achieve the goals and success in business.

References

De Clercq, D., Dimov, D. and Thongpapanl, N.T. (2013), “Organizational social capital,   formalization, and internal knowledge sharing in entrepreneurial orientation formation”,         Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 37 No. 3, pp. 505-537.

Fatiha Naoui, (2014) "Customer service in supply chain management: a case study", Journal of    Enterprise Information Management, Vol. 27 Issue: 6, pp.786-801.

Kim, N. and McLean, G.N. (2007), “Customer service behaviours in Korea and implications for  training: lessons from an exploratory critical incidents study of customer and employee       service encounters”, Asia Pacific Business Review, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 1-20.

Kursunluoglu, E. (2011), “Customer service effects on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty:          a field research in shopping centers in Izmir city – Turkey”, International Journal of Business and Social Science, Vol. 2 No. 17, pp. 52-59.

Levy, M. and Weitz, B.A. (2007), Retailing Management, McGraw Hill, New York, NY.

Mai Thuy (2015), “3,2 t đoˆ ` ng dành cho các khách hàng góp ý hay (3.2 million Vietnam Dong for good ideas from customers)”, available at: http://cand.com.vn/doanh-nghiep/3-2-ti-        dong-danh-cho-cackhach-hang-gop-y-hay-356199

Samii, A.K. (2004), Strate´gie logistique, supply chain management, Dunod, Paris.

Sebora, T.C. and Theerapatvong, T. (2010), “Corporate entrepreneurship: a test of external and    internal influences on managers’ idea generation, risk taking, and proactiveness”,   International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 331-350.

Shinyoung Kim, Sunmee Choi, Rohit Verma, (2017) "Providing feedback to service customers:   The effect of the presentation order and repetition of feedback types", Journal of Service            Management, Vol. 28 Issue: 2, pp.389-416

BUSINESS RECORD MANAGEMENT PROCESS

BUSINESS RECORD MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Intan Shahira binti Mohd Nazri

Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi Mara,

Selangor, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of record management in business. Records are very important that everywhere is need it. Records can be the evidence of business activities and transactions. So that, there is records keeping in every organizations because if there is no records the organisations cannot be function properly. Every organisation are relies on the records and information created to ensure for the business activities are running smoothly without having problem because the records can be referred and at the same time can monitor them to solve any problems. Records management is the process of controlling the recorded information of organizations which is include creation, distribution, use, maintenance, and disposition. There are several processes of managing records in systematic ways such as capture the record, registration, classification, access and security classification, identification of disposition status, storage, use and tracking and implementation of disposition. The process may also incorporate policies and practices on how to create and approve records, as well as the enforcement of those policies and practices.

Keywords: Records management, Business records.

1.0 Introduction

            Records management is not a new thing but had been used and practiced since long time ago to the organization to maintain the records. Records management is the effective and systematic control of an organization’s records, through the entire life cycle from creation process to the final disposition of the records. The main purpose of records management is it can protect and controls the valuable records that have an evidence of organization’s activities such as legal, fiscal, administrative or historical value and the records also can be accessible while at the same time, the records that have no value will be destroyed follow with life cycle processes.

An organizational record is any documents that contains information about a transaction, activity, or event related to the organization. There are many records that have been create every day in any organization because there is always new information or data related to the organizations activities, transaction or others. So that, the records management is so important and need to be applied to the organizations to avoid records missing, inaccessible and lack to the pubic because some of the records have their secret values that can be access by certain people. According the Archives and Records Management Section, all records regardless of their format, should be filed or organised so that related ones are linked in some way and can be retrieved when required. (ARMS, 2010)

The process of managing records in systematically are involve capture the record, registration, classification, access and security classification, identification of disposition status, storage, use and tracking and implementation of disposition. According to Sari and Pekka (2011), records are information created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organization or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business. Meanwhile records management is the field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records. (Sari and Pekka, 2011). This is means that good practicing of records management in an organization will ensure the quality of the record itself which they are needed when making right decisions and what actions to take.

2.0 Records Management Process

Records management process is the main point in managing records. It is a process of managing records systematically which includes capture the record, registration, classification, access and security classification, identification of disposition status, storage, use and tracking and implementation of disposition.

According to Susan, professional theory concerning capture and registration collided with the reality that the courts in some countries accept as records what records managers might refer to as documents. The Standard represents a workable compromise in setting out the characteristics that records and records systems should possess without overtly contradicting national legal systems. So, records are defined as “information created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organization or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business”. (Susan, 2010)

 To provide a corporate perspective to the management of documents, records managers have developed tools such as the subject file classification system and the retention and disposal schedule. So that, records management team must work with each department in company to know what type of records that have been kept and the function of each records. (John, 2010)

2.1 Capturing the records

The first step to manage the records is to capture the records. Capture means the process of determining that a record should be made and kept. Besides that, it also involves deciding which documents are captured in business management, which in turn implies decisions about who may have access to those documents and generally how long they are to be retained. According to John, (2010), decisions about which documents should be captured and which are not needed are based on an analysis of the organizations’ business and accountability.

In addition, the intent of capturing records into a recordkeeping system is to establish a relationship between the record, creator and business context, place the record and its relationship within a recordkeeping system and link the record to other records. (State Records of South Australia, 2013)

The process of capturing records into a recordkeeping system includes:

·         Registration, which provides evidence of the records’ existence

·         Classification and indexing, which allow appropriate linking, grouping, naming, security, user permissions and retrieval, disposition and identifying vital records

·         Arrangement in a logical structure and sequence, whether a physical file or an electronic directory, which facilitates subsequent use and reference.

2.2 Registration of records

            After capturing the records or documents, it need to be registered. The purpose is to provide evidence that a record has been created or captured in a records system. It involves recording brief descriptive information about the record in a register, and assigning the record a unique identifier.

According to Guidelines and Functional Requirements for Electronic Records Management Systems (2008), to verify their existence within the system, every record and associated aggregation must have a unique identifier persistently linked to it. This allows the user to locate records and helps them to distinguish between versions. Registration specifies metadata and unique identifier assigned from the system such as document name or title, text description or abstract the date and time of registration, title or abbreviated description or the author of the records.

2.3 Classifying the records

The Australian Standard for Records Management, AS ISO 15489, defines classification as the “systematic identification and arrangement of business activities and/or records into categories according to logically structured conventions, methods, and procedural rules represented in a classification system.”

A classification system is the set of terms and conventions applied in a particular organisational setting to classify, title and retrieve records and other business information. It controls the vocabulary used, generating consistency in the description of information produced by business activities and improving retrieval of that information. The capabilities of classification tools for records management can be extended to assist sentencing and disposal.

There are many type of classification which is hierarchical classification, functional classification and subject classification system. According to Good Record Management Practice (2011), a records classification scheme includes a coding system expressed in symbols such as alphabetical, numerical or alpha-numerical. This is because, to show the logical relationship amongst the records. A records classification scheme should allow modifications such as addition of new records series/groups to cater for changing circumstances.

Records are grouped together for the following reasons:

·         To keep documents of a similar theme together

·         To make it easier to find the information we are looking for

·         To provide a context for individual documents and records

·         To identify the ownership or management responsibility for a group of records

Many organizations maintain standard record series and type. Classifying records into series and types results in a hierarchy of the records within the organizations and serve as a template to store them in the appropriate folders and sub folders in the records repository. It also provides improved access, retrieval and dissemination of its records as appropriate.

The structure of a classification system is usually hierarchical and reflects the analytical process which is, the first level usually reflects the business function, the second level is based on the activities constituting the function and lastly the third levels are further refinements of the activities or groups of transactions that take place within each activity

2.4 Access the records

Organizations need to control access of their records. According to The National Archives, access controls determine who can access/capture records and access/create new folders. The allocation of access controls allows an organisation to delegate responsibility for records and folders to their creators and managers. This accountability helps to ensure that records remain authentic and reliable, retaining their integrity and usability.

In addition, using these basic controls an organisation can begin to form access controls across the filing structure. These can be used to keep as much information as open as possible and appropriate, whilst also ensuring sensitive information is kept secure. An organization should ensure that timely access to records is provided to authorized users or staff for conducting business.

Access controls help control how and where information is created and accessed. Such controls can help to: restrict the number of users who can change or edit records and folders reduce the number of users who could inappropriately delete, alter, or relocate sensitive information identify and allocate responsibility for records and folders within sensitive areas of the filing structure. (The National Archives, 2010)

2.5 Identification of disposition status

According to John (2010); Susan (2010), the identification of disposition status usually can be done before records created, before records keeping system are designed, before disposal and when required. The process requires reference to a disposition authority of a formal nature depending on the size and nature of the organization and its accountabilities. A records retention and disposition schedule is a management tool used to prescribe the time to retire records to inactive status and eventually the time to destroy or dispose of the records. 

Every record series on a schedule must be evaluated for its purpose and value before a retention period is assigned. The scheduling process is ongoing and involves close cooperation between department personnel, Departmental Records Officers, and the Records Management Analysts in an organization. Evaluation for retention periods is bases on statutory or regulatory requirements, audit requirements, and practical need or value. (John, 2010)

2.6 Records storage

According to Good Record Management Practice (2011), stated that records should be stored in such a manner to facilitate user access and ensure that they are protected from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, removal, deterioration, loss or destruction. An organization should lay down guidelines on the storage of records including sensitive or classified records.

Besides that, records must be stored in such a way that they are both sufficiently accessible and are safeguarded against environmental damage. In addition, for electronic records, storage management is about file format and storage medium. The format adopted should be accessible for the years to come and the selection of storage medium should be the choice of mainstream media that comply with industry standards. (Aliza and Jamal, 2009)

For records in paper form, organizations should note that paper deteriorates rapidly in an environment of high temperature and humidity. Moreover, mould growth on paper could affected the staff’s health. For storage of electronic records, the selection of storage media, storage system, storage environment and handling procedures should be based on records management and business considerations, e.g. volume and growth rate of records, records security needs, retrieval requirements and preservation needs. (Good Record Management Practice, 2011)

The organization should practice the right ways to store the records and at the same time maintaining the physical of documents such as:

·         Paper records should be stored in a clean and dry environment (e.g. not near unblocked window, under/near water/sewage pipe, water drain, manhole, water permeable wall or ceiling, water tank), and in proper facilities (e.g. filing cabinets and filing racks) instead of stacking them on the floor.

·         An organization should also arrange inspection regularly and after events such as typhoon or rainstorm.

·         For paper records which have long-term (e.g. 30 years or over) value, they are recommended to be stored in a clean environment with round-the-clock control of temperature and relative humidity (RH) at 20°C +/- 2°C and RH 50% +/- 5% respectively to ensure their preservation over time.

2.7 Tracking the records

According to David (2005), records tracking is the component of a records management system that ensures that you can locate records when you need to use them. Accurate recording and knowledge of the whereabouts of all paper records is essential if the information they contain is to be located quickly and efficiently. One of the main causes of lost records is that their next destination is not recorded anywhere. We need records tracking to keep track of the records we hold so that they can be located and managed effectively, and so that we can respond to freedom of information or data protection requests within the statutory deadlines.

As stated in Good Record Management Practice (2011), in a recordkeeping system, tracking of the movement and use of records is required to:

·         Identify outstanding action required

·         Enable retrieval of records

·         Prevent loss or missing of records

·         Monitor usage for recordkeeping system maintenance and security

·         Identify the operational origin of individual records where the recordkeeping systems have been amalgamated or migrated.

2.8 Implementation of disposition

Disposal management is the formalised process of assessing records to determine how long they should be retained and how they should be removed from the file system. The removal should be based on the established disposal schedules and follow an agreed process for either destruction or transfer. The disposal process should include appraisal of records to understand their current context and content to decide whether they can be removed from the file system. This is important as some records, while due for disposal under an allocated disposal schedule must be kept for another purpose such as a legal investigation. (The National Archives, 2010)

Records can be disposed of only upon authorization. This is true for all records, whether stored in the department or in the State Records Center. Furthermore, only scheduled records can be destroyed. (Good Record Management Practice, 2011)

According to Government Records Service (2011), an organization should initiate regular disposal of records in accordance with approved records retention and disposal schedules. To safeguard against premature disposal of records and destruction of records having archival value, disposal of records should be properly authorized in advance by a sufficiently senior staff in the organization. Specifically, the responsible staff of the organization should ensure:

·         The retention and disposal requirements specified in the respective disposal schedules, and any governing legislation have been complied with; and

·         There is no outstanding actions on any of the records.

3.0 Conclusion

            To conclude, every organization should have managing their records systematically so it could be maintaining for a long time and avoid the records missing, inaccessible and others. This is because, records management is the activities that any organization should applied in order manage their important records properly. The key activities in records management include setting records management policy, assigning responsibilities, establishing procedures and guidelines, also designing and implementing recordkeeping systems. The process in managing business records are include capture the record, registration, classification, access and security classification, identification of disposition status, storage, use and tracking and implementation of disposition. After the process are followed, it will improve the records management in proper ways and the records can be accesses or retrieve and keep in for a long time in the organizations.

 References

Archives and Records Management Section. (2010). Recordkeeping Toolkit for Peacekeeping      and Political Operations: Records creation and capture.

Government records service. (2011). Good Records Management Practices.

Halliday, D. (2005). The University Records Management Section: Guidance on Tracking            Records.

Healy, S. (2010) "ISO 15489 Records Management: its development and significance",     Records Management Journal, Vol. 20 Issue: 1, pp.96-103, doi:         10.1108/09565691011039861

Mäkinen, S., Henttonen, P. (2011),"Motivations for records management in mobile

work", Records Management Journal, Vol. 21 Iss 3 pp. 188 – 204

McDonald, J. (2010),"Records management and data management: closing the gap",         Records Management Journal, Vol. 20 Iss 1 pp. 53 – 60

Records Management Manual for the State of Hawaii, Department of Accounting and      General Services, State Archives Division, 1988, Honolulu, HI.

State Records of South Australia. (2013). Adequate Records Management - Creation, Capture      & Control.

The National Archives. (2010). Managing digital records without an electronic record       management system.