Refocusing IT Strategies Around Enhanced Customer Support
Timothy Jaw, Technology Coordinator at Warren Hills Regional School District in New Jersey, has been honoured with an Innovative Leader Award at a recent Tech & Learning Regional Leadership Summit for his transformative work in the IT department. Jaw's strategy focuses on fostering a customer service mindset, prioritizing people and communication over systems and products.
Jaw encourages his team members to help each other and prioritize the department's image in the school community. He believes that exhibiting excellent customer service qualities can help mitigate potential pushbacks in an IT department and transform it into the "superheroes" of the school.
One of the key strategies Jaw employs is the HEAT model, a method of practising empathy that involves hearing concerns attentively, empathizing with the feelings expressed, apologizing sincerely without excuses, and taking appropriate action to resolve issues fairly. This approach nurtures trust and shows that staff and students' concerns are valued.
Enhancing communication skills is another crucial aspect of Jaw's strategy. He encourages his team to use active listening, respond promptly using clear, jargon-free language, and employ positive non-verbal cues such as a friendly tone and open body language in face-to-face or video interactions. Following up to complete promises and building trust over time is also essential.
Jaw also emphasizes the importance of training IT staff in a customer service mindset. He provides ongoing training on active listening, empathy, problem-solving, and clear communication, reinforcing that excellent customer service is a learnable skill that moves interactions from good to great.
Personalizing support is another essential element of Jaw's strategy. He maintains a knowledge base or CRM with relevant user history to address recurring issues proactively and uses personalized greetings or recommendations to build rapport, making users feel recognized and respected.
Implementing efficient, accessible support channels is also crucial. Jaw provides multiple ways for staff and students to reach IT support such as chat, email, phone, social media, or in-person help desks, ensuring support is available wherever and whenever needed.
Finally, Jaw uses feedback loops to collect and analyze insights from support interactions and share these with relevant school stakeholders to improve systems and services continuously, demonstrating responsiveness to user needs.
By combining empathetic listening, clear communication, personalized attention, and multi-channel accessible support embedded within a culture of continuous feedback, Jaw's IT department fosters a customer service mindset that strengthens relationships with both staff and students effectively. Jaw starts by ensuring he conducts himself with patience, customer service, empathy, and compassion, and then onboards people with a shared set of values. He also extends understanding, patience, and empathy to fellow team members.
Jaw says that if they are not serving the people who work in the school community, they are not doing their job. He believes that one device not working can derail an entire day in a school setting, making it essential to provide efficient, effective support. Above all, Jaw emphasizes the importance of showing patience, understanding, and empathy in customer service in an educational setting.
- Timothy Jaw, in his IT department at Warren Hills Regional School District, implements Learning strategies that prioritize customer service and empathy to ensure Education-and-self-development for both staff and students.
- In line with his Innovative Leader Award, Jaw encourages the use of Instructional Technology not only for technical prowess but also to create a Shared Learning environment where empathy, clear communication, and personalized attention are utilized in STEM education.
- For Jaw, the key to effective Customer Service in an educational setting lies in combining a customer service mindset, efficient technology, and Self-development opportunities, ultimately transforming IT staff into educational superheroes.
