Abstract
UWA’s strategic plan to enhance the student experience underpinned funding for the refurbishment of several UWA libraries in 2016/2017. The benefits of these projects were quickly realised with library visits increasing by 30% in two years. An imperative emerged: how to align a large group of frontline staff with diverse experience and skills to a shared vision, reflective of the university’s strategic priority, and use this as a basis to evolve library services in line with changing client volume and expectations, without additional staffing?
In 2018 UWA Library commenced a project to create a client service charter for all frontline staff, with aim of articulating a unique, high quality and holistic standard for client service in the UWA context. All frontline staff as well as UWA students and stakeholders were invited to participate in the co-creation of the service charter. The crafting process utilised user-centred design strategies and strategic
environmental scanning. Embedding the charter more deeply into the culture, as well as the interpersonal and technical practices for frontline staff involved a range of creative techniques, including peer dialogue, personalising and serious play. For the leadership team, new competencies were needed to enable a more modern client service culture to emerge. Research in the disciplines of customer service and emotional labour provided new insights into the client, employee and
management perspectives, and empowered a more confident and proactive service culture.
The UWA case study presented in this paper will illustrate the necessary interconnected elements of client service transformation in the academic library context. The paper will also demonstrate the sustained performance improvements at UWA as a result of action on all three elements, the head, the
heart and the hand. Finally, it will offer a framework for improving student experience via the co-creation and personalisation of a charter and service culture.
In 2018 UWA Library commenced a project to create a client service charter for all frontline staff, with aim of articulating a unique, high quality and holistic standard for client service in the UWA context. All frontline staff as well as UWA students and stakeholders were invited to participate in the co-creation of the service charter. The crafting process utilised user-centred design strategies and strategic
environmental scanning. Embedding the charter more deeply into the culture, as well as the interpersonal and technical practices for frontline staff involved a range of creative techniques, including peer dialogue, personalising and serious play. For the leadership team, new competencies were needed to enable a more modern client service culture to emerge. Research in the disciplines of customer service and emotional labour provided new insights into the client, employee and
management perspectives, and empowered a more confident and proactive service culture.
The UWA case study presented in this paper will illustrate the necessary interconnected elements of client service transformation in the academic library context. The paper will also demonstrate the sustained performance improvements at UWA as a result of action on all three elements, the head, the
heart and the hand. Finally, it will offer a framework for improving student experience via the co-creation and personalisation of a charter and service culture.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | 2019 IATUL Proceedings |
| Subtitle of host publication | Shifting Sands and Rising Tides: Leading Libraries through Innovation |
| Place of Publication | USA |
| Publisher | Purdue University |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Publication status | Published - 27 Jun 2019 |
| Event | 40th Annual IATUL Conference: Shifting Sands and Rising Tides - Leading Libraries through Innovation - University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia Duration: 23 Jun 2019 → 27 Jun 2019 http://www.iatul2019.org/?pgid=1486 (IATUL 2019) |
Publication series
| Name | Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences |
|---|---|
| Publisher | International Association of Scientific and Technological University Libraries (IATUL) |
| Volume | 2019 |
Conference
| Conference | 40th Annual IATUL Conference |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | IATUL 2019 |
| Country/Territory | Australia |
| City | Perth |
| Period | 23/06/19 → 27/06/19 |
| Other | The International Association of University Libraries (IATUL) invites you to attend the 40th Annual IATUL Conference at The University of Western Australia and Curtin University in Perth, Australia from 23 June to 27 June 2019. This is an excellent opportunity to hear about the latest academic library initiatives and network with colleagues and friends from all over the world. Technology has fundamentally changed the role of the academic library and how it operates. This is evident in the increased access to digital sources of knowledge, and digital tools and services for students, teachers and researchers along with the increasingly important role of the library’s physical place on campus. The IATUL 2019 conference themes will provide ample opportunity to explore and learn about how the library can enable work, study and research in higher education. |
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