Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Latest NewsHR practice

HR basics the key to customer service for internal clients

by Louisa Peacock 19 Sep 2008
by Louisa Peacock 19 Sep 2008

Employees are crying out for their HR departments to provide them with basic customer services support, a new study has found.

The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) report, What Customers Want From HR, has revealed that internal employees want to be able to easily contact ‘real people’ in HR – without ringing through to constant voicemail – and need the HR department to respond quickly and consistently to concerns without getting bogged down in strategy.

Wendy Hirsh, researcher at the IES, told delegates at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) conference, that customers needed HR to be proactive and responsive to get the basics right.

“It is important to find out not just what your customers get but what they really want,” she said.

Leatham Green, assistant personnel and training director at East Sussex County Council, speaking at the CIPD event, agreed HR needed to market itself better to appeal to employees of all levels.

“Perception is everything in terms of what we provide. [We have to realise] it is always our fault when things go wrong – we listen to the customer when things go wrong.”

Hirsh spoke of an example with an HR director she interviewed who said her department was not there to provide “support”.

“I had to tell them ‘oh yes you are’,” said Hirsch. “This is about the basic concept of customer service, we want HR to understand the workforce as well as management [strategy].”

Michael Spears, HR partner at Sainsbury’s supermarket, said: “We can do a lot of navel gazing about whether we are strategic enough, but when you get to the nub of it, customer service is not a difficult concept for me because I work in retail.” He added: “HR is too busy doing the do and not really getting out there and showing what more we can do.”

The IES study was drawn from a series of interviews, focus groups and surveys with employees, middle management and senior teams across several organisations.




Avatar
Louisa Peacock

previous post
Tesco teaches staff how to better manage their cash during downturn
next post
Power sharing is the key to successful partnerships with unions

You may also like

PM’s resignation sheds light on leadership psychology and...

7 Jul 2022

Netherlands on track to approve working from home...

7 Jul 2022

Supporting Muslims during Eid: Five employer questions

7 Jul 2022

Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers...

7 Jul 2022

Employment and equalities ministers quit Boris Johnson’s cabinet

6 Jul 2022

Maya Forstater wins belief discrimination case over gender-critical...

6 Jul 2022

Learning disability employment gap shows local spikes

6 Jul 2022

Inflation: A return to the 1970s or a...

6 Jul 2022

NI threshold increase ‘not likely to benefit workers’

6 Jul 2022

Kristie Higgs succeeds in bid to remove LGBT...

5 Jul 2022
  • Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers get the right help? PROMOTED | Workplace wellbeing may seem a distant memory...Read more
  • The ultimate guide to payroll for small businesses PROMOTED | You’ve started a business that has expanded to the point of requiring more staff to meet demand. Congratulations!...Read more
  • NSPCC revamps its learning strategy with child wellbeing at its heart PROMOTED | The NSPCC’s mission is to prevent abuse and neglect...Read more
  • Diversity versus inclusion: Why the difference matters PROMOTED | It’s possible for an environment to be diverse, but not inclusive...Read more
  • Five steps for organisations across the globe to become more skills-driven PROMOTED | The shift in the world of work has been felt across the globe...Read more
  • The future of workforce development PROMOTED | Northumbria University and partners share insight...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+