Date: April 27-28, 2023, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Venue: via Zoom

Authors:

Ma. Janelle D.A Gabion and Jeah May O. Badeo, May 2023

Human Resource Development Office

As the country’s leading institution in health education, research, and public service, UP Manila should possess a workforce with excellent customer service skills to be able to deliver quality public service and build a lifetime relationship with our stakeholders and customers. Since customer service training will further develop our employees’ skills and behaviors to offer exceptional customer care and provide effective solutions to service requests, the Human Resource Development Office (HRDO), led by the Training and Research Section, conducted an eight (8) hour training session on Customer Service. This webinar is also part of HRDO’s constant effort to localize and support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals: SDG4 and SDG8.

The UP Manila HRDO invited Director Hans R. Alcantara, Acting Assistant Regional Director of the Civil Service Commission National Capital Region and Concurrent Director II of CSC Field Office-NIA, to facilitate the training entitled Excellence in Frontline Service. The training was held on April 27-28, 2023, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, through an online platform via Zoom, participated by more than 200 UPM employees. 

The webinar objectives include (1) Understanding frontline service in the Public Sector, (2) Determining ways how to deal with different customers, (3) Understanding and putting into practice the norms of conduct of public officials and employees (RA No. 6713), (4) Understanding frontline service in the context of RA No. 9485 and RA no. 11032, and (5) Planning for personal ethical and virtuous growth. 

During the first day of the webinar, Dir. Alcantara shared the relevance of public service excellence and the characteristics of excellent service. He also highlighted the importance of creating a service excellence climate with memorable customer experiences and identifying customers’ expectations, characteristics, and perceptions. On the second day of the webinar, he discussed the eight (8) norms of conduct: Commitment to Public Interest, Professionalism, Justness and Sincerity, Political Neutrality, Responsiveness to the Public, Nationalism, and Patriotism, Commitment to Democracy, and Simple Living. The Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 (RA No. 11032) was also discussed in context with improving the University's business climate and streamlining processes. 

The 2-day webinar concluded with creating a Frontline Service Development Plan and Commitment to the Growth and Journey in Public Service. Some of the action plans of UP Manila employees as a result of this webinar are as follows: 

“I will always practice the LEAST method in handling customers' complaints for excellent and efficient delivery of service. (Listen, Empathize, Apologize, Solve, and Thank)” - Employee 3

“I commit to practice the things I learned from this webinar and will apply it to my current job to deliver the highest quality of service to the people” - Employee 8

“I will always maintain a high level of professionalism in my work, including my appearance, demeanor, and communication with others. I will treat all clients and colleagues with respect and courtesy, and ensure that my behavior reflects positively on the University of the Philippines Manila.” - Employee 14

“I would keep in mind that I am a government employee who works in a great university and will be patient and polite as I can be in serving our clients. And would work with integrity in pursuing improvement toward excellence. So, help me God.” - Employee 29