Organization Skills

Organizational Skills

I would have to say that among other skills I obtain, that organizational skill is a great ability to acquire. The capability to organize is very useful to master and is amazing to have if gifted in it. At the information center, I have the opportunity to engage and perfect that skill. Organizational skills allows me to determine the supplies I need, how to arrange files and whom to contact for specific information.

 

Organizational skills are a prerequisite in any organization.

These skills are highly sought after and no organization look forward to recruiting a candidate who does not possess the same because employees that possess organizational skills work systematically in an organization and achieve results as planned. Even if there are unforeseen occurrences, they manage to pull through still.

 

Managers who work with employees will often organize the work of employees to keep them busy, especially those that require a lot of direction, like file clerks or contract workers. Having good organizational skills is about making the best use of your time. Being organized reduces the amount of time you have to dig to uncover important business information. Everyone should obtain this skill.

 

Organizational skills gives me the self-discipline measures that is needed. It also helps me to acknowledge a purpose each day. These skills allows me to focus towards higher goals in life. Organizational skills is something everyone should be talented in, especially working in an informational-based center.

A typical day at work

A Typical Day at Work...

I have been working at the Information Center for about seven weeks now and I can definitely say I have gotten a hang of things. My day (depending on my schedule) will always start 5 or 10 minutes earlier than what my schedule intends. I usually like to get to work early than usual so that I could know and catch up on any of the latest news that I may be unaware of. Coming in early, gives me the chance to plan my day according to the assignments that have been given to me by my supervisor.  I make sure I always 'clock-in' and have my information center vest and name tag on, ready to start the day.

The first thing I do when i get to my desk is turn on my computer and open up the reservation system program so that it may be of use to me when a customer calls wanting to know if a room is available for a specific time. Now, there are usually two people at the desk on  regular week days. Working as a team in unity to get our tasks done is essential. Regardless of how I may feel that specific day, when I walk in the work zone, all my feelings cease to exist. At that point, it is strictly business.. That is just how it is! 

At the Information Center it is all about multitasking. If I am not taking calls, I am filing confirmed reservation in the Date Notebook. Whenever I get phone calls, I make sure to keep a pen and paper write next to me so that I can note down the information of the customer. The general way I will answer my phone is by identifying myself and the company I work for as soon as I answer.  

" Shepherd University, Information Center, Yani speaking, how may I help you?" 

It is important to be active when listening and try not to make the customer repeat himself more than 3 or 4 times. One thing I have learned about talking on the phone with customers is that you must do your best to stay as professional as you can. It is important that you keep the customer from raging. 

When a customer calls, and wants to book a reservation, I must make sure to check the system for availability dates as well as reservations in the bin that have not been processed yet, before giving them the room. When you check everything first, it keeps you from double booking rooms rather than having to call the customers and tell them your mistakes.

Throughout the day, the activities that go on in the student center are usually numerous so it is my job to make sure I know what is going on, where it is going on at, and who to contact about a specific issue. The Information Center provides Lost and Found services as well as Ping Pong services. When something gets lost in the student center, the students or faculty members will bring it to me and I will make sure to store the lost item in our drawer after having recording it in the system. Most of the time people will come and get there stuff back, other times, they will not. When work seems to be slow, I will go deliver on-campus confirmation mail to customers within the student center and place off-campus mail in the student affairs. On a busy day at work, about 100 students who are in need of assistance throughout the day will come to me requiring help from me.

This is a regular day for Yani Meda at the Information Center. It may be hectic mentally and physically at times  but I have come to find out that the hectic things throughout the day build character in my professional life.

Customer Service at it's Best

"The customer is always right!"

Customer Service at its Best


A company with excellent customer service is more likely to get a repeat business from their customers. It is critical that a company maintains and establishes a good relationship between the company and their customers. A company’s image and finances could be destroyed if they have poor customer service. It cost a lot more money for a company to acquire a customer than to retain them, due to advertising costs and the expense of sales calls. A customer can be a tool of publicity and promotion for organizations. Customers have the ability to promote or advertise an organization, but they also have the ability to undermine and discredit an organization to other customers. Customer service is a part of the workforce that needs to be considered as it is a vital asset for a company.

There are certain customer service skills that every employee must master when they are facing clients or consumers. Support members working in the field of communication, especially similar to the information center where information is constantly being given to customers, it is important that the workers implement the skills necessary to enhance the level of customer’s satisfaction and expectation. Within this internship, one of my responsibilities as a student assistant is to be able to create a well-rounded relationship with our customers.

However, to be able to obtain that objective, there must be certain skills that need to be practiced to manage a strong, put together teams that will appease the needs of the customer. Working at the information center I have learned that customers must be valued over all. I had to learn how to respond quickly and efficiently to the customer’s request. Being attentive to their needs and listening carefully to what they have to say is a definite must. It is necessary that a worker use clear communication. It is our job to know what the customer wants and be able to articulate what you can do for the customer.

I have learned that the more you know your customers, the better you become at anticipating their needs. Regular communication allows so that you are aware of problems or upcoming needs. It is my duty to help customers understand your systems. An organization can have the greatest system in the world, but if the customers do not understand your system, they could get upset or angry. I learned that I must explain how our room reservation system at the information center works so that the customers may have a better understanding of the organization. The willingness to learn about your customers shows the customers that you care about getting it right and that you’re willing to keep going until you get it right. At the end of the day the customer is the one who determines what "right" is. This attitude coming from the workers of any organization will allow them to maintain a beneficial relationship between them and their customers. The information has given me a different attitude towards customers.

The Significance of Teamwork

 The significance of Teamwork:

A group of individuals who are working together to achieve a common goal is known as teamwork. Working as one of the student assistant for the information center requires that I be efficient in the particular role that I have been assigned. In this particular position, it is my job to schedule reservations for meetings or conference in various rooms, directing campus calls, providing brochures and informational pamphlets, and most important of all is answering general questions about Shepherd University and its surroundings to the customers in a professional but also friendly manner. However, before any relationships can be maintained with customers outside the organization, management must attend to those who do the work---the employees. Through this internship, I have realized how significant it is to build internal relations within any and all organizations. It is effective employee relations that offer the company and staff the ability to become more familiar with each other and learn how to work together. I have found that a team that works well together can understand the strengths and weaknesses of each team member so that in this case the leaders become proficient at dividing up tasks so they may be done by the most qualified people. Efficiency is a must in a workplace as it allows them to complete tasks accurately. Another significant tool for a good team work is creativity, as it allows staff members to discuss how to solve company issues. This enables team members to process, brainstorming information and the company benefits from the variety of suggestions that come from effective teams. There are definitely challenges in the workplace each day, but as a team learns to communicate and work together as one it will always be hard to run a well-managed organization. Having an understanding of this is a great aid to a successful working environment.

Effective Communication Methods:

The foundations of any career building blocks are its effective communication methods such as problem solving, reasoning, planning, organizing, decision making and much more. Without these skills it is nearly impossible to run a managed organization. Unfortunately, these golden communication skills need to be developed by every individual but are not. In a given circumstance where a co-worker does not want to comply with the set strategies of the organization, it is the team as a whole to discuss how this situation may be resolved. I have learned that bringing peace into a working environment is the best way to keep things flowing. A Person’s best bet is to learn not only how to get along with difficult people, but also to learn a few lessons from them. Realizing that no matter how difficult someone seems, working together harmoniously is possible. With a little self-reflection, understanding and patience, you can get along with anyone. This internship is not just a career learning experience, but a great life learning experience as well

Technical Difficulties: EMS Crash

Technical Difficulties: EMS Crash

The Shepherd University Information Center offers many beneficial services to students, staff, and visitors and its biggest asset is the EMS software program that runs throughout the entire campus. The EMS system is a room scheduling software designed to manage the meetings and events that take place at Shepherd University. It has standard features, which allows the staff members to create, manage and report events on campus for different organizations or parties. Unfortunately, during my first week as an intern, the system crashed due to IT Department experiencing some issues with two discs and in the process of that EMS was wiped. The backup for EMS was also wiped out. So, EMS had to be rebuilt completely. Therefore, the information center did not have a system to schedule reservations. This led to the information center team coming up with a new strategy to create a procedure as far as booking reservations. Our first effort was to reschedule reservations that had already been made.  However, meanwhile we would be working with IT to recreate EMS, restore reservations that were made prior to the loss of data, and accept and add new bookings. As a result, we have been operating through a manual system while the automated system is being rebuilt. Access allowed us to store information in reference with booking reservations for our customers. This system enabled us to know what reservations that had already been confirmed in the system. Our second effort will be the acceptance of new reservations. Our scheduling strategy became “tentative” until we were able to determine that there was not a conflict with previously booked reservations.  An experience like this as an intern gives me the opportunity to test the waters of what could happen on a random day in a workplace. It is my responsibility to acquire the knowledge and the skills by experiencing circumstances such as this where strategic communication and problem solving is viable to run any well-organized organization or company. My first week as an intern, experiencing the malfunction in the workplace has taught me in abundance.