We’ve worked with a lot of clients in the local government sector, and many of these clients have Customer Service Standards and/or corporate values that include Transparency.
Think about an old-fashioned transparency sheet, that malleable see-through page you put on an overhead projector. You can see everything on one side of the document from the other side. And that physical example has a lot of similarities to what transparency means in customer service.
Think about Openness, Honesty, Clarity.
Openness includes a willingness to say something that may be uncomfortable to share with the customer. It’s the fact that a price increase is coming. It’s a willingness to answer their question, even if it puts you and your organization in a negative light. Therefore it’s 2-way: an openness of sharing, and an openness of listening to the customer and being willing to respond. It’s letting them know you have a fee increase – not hiding it by saying you simply have a new pricing structure.
Honesty is obviously saying the truth, but again, it may not mean that you’re conveying the most positive side of your business. You’re stating that you’re asking them to resubmit a document because there was an error on your end. It’s letting them know that the delay was due to a keying mistake which caused the customer’s submittal to be put on hold.
Clarity is about effectively setting and managing customer expectations with some specificity. Don’t say it’s only going to be “a minute” if it’s going to be literally 1 hour. Avoid describing something as a “brief” review process when it’s going to be 10 business days. It’s letting them know the specifics of time and place and people involved more precisely.
Just to be extra clear on one point, we can be open about good things, honest about happy news, clear about positive next steps. Transparency is not inherently about communicating the negative, but a willingness to have those less-than-positive conversations is where many of us fall short.
If transparency is something important to you and your organization, focus on being more open, honest, and clear with the customer.
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