We employ a very simple method for the staff working at the front desk --- paper copies of staff directory (including which curators manage which types of collections), copies of donation forms, and a color-coded Excel spreadsheet of the week's events. The color codes reflect which department the activity concerns (Visitor Services, Education, Foundation, etc), and where it will be taking place. These activities can be retirements, receptions, school groups, special tours, and family days. There is a web-based docent online bulletin board, but only docents can access that (mostly for scheduling) and computer access can be tricky here outside the office spaces. The weekly calendar of events is emailed to all staff members and it's left on the visitor desk for anyone to reference.
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Carrie Bowers
Museum Specialist
National Museum of the Marine Corps
Triangle VA
Original Message:
Sent: 01-04-2017 01:40 PM
From: Allison Clark
Subject: Frontline Customer Service Tools
Hello all,
I'm working on revamping some of our frontline staff tools so they are optimally equipped to answer visitor questions. Two persistent issues we have are 1) memorizing the employee phone list (in our mid-size institution much of the work is spread out cross-departmentally) and 2) upcoming events with specific information.
Currently we have tools in place to get this information, but it's not always immediately accessible. For example, we have our printed events guide and website that tell upcoming workshops but leave out which of the programmers should get informational calls for them. So calls often go to Managers who disseminate them before we're able to get back to the visitor. We do use Altru and SpinWeb but find we sometimes have to dig before finding the most relevant content, which can make training for these a challenge.
I was wondering if there is a free online dashboard that would allow me to update our frontline team with the employee chart and updated event info that would be relevant to their customer service questions: What's happening today? What workshop is happening in August? Which staff member do I call for more questions? I've looked at multiple Org Charts online, but those require every institutional employee to sign up and likely wouldn't be necessary for all departments.
Would love any other favorite tools of the trade for your frontline team! Here are few that we use regularly:
Online Employee Scheduling Software and Time Clock
Online Whiteboard & Online Collaboration Tool | RealtimeBoard
Any suggestions would be appreciated!
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Allison Clark
Visitor Experience Manager
Minnetrista
Muncie IN
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