The customer support team at Network Communications Inc. starts planning for Customer Service Week in January.
After all, a companywide celebration for 600 takes an enormous amount of planning and coordination. And while the celebration is on a large scale, many of the elements can be incorporated into a celebration of any size.
The festivities start the Friday before Customer Service Week when members of the customer support staff visit all employees to deliver goodie bags. The bags contain an agenda for the week, puzzles, and games such as word finds and crosswords, and a few sweet treats.
During the week there are three catered meals for the entire staff of 600: a Monday morning kick-off breakfast, a Wednesday luncheon, and a Friday afternoon Closing Ceremony complete with an assortment of tempting desserts.
Throughout the week, the entire company is invited to try their skill at a wide range of puzzles and games and all participants are awarded raffle tickets. Then at the end of the week, tickets are drawn and prizes are awarded. Participation in all activities is high, because there are some very exciting prizes in the raffle.
Don’t have the budget for big-ticket gifts? Russell Schuster, Customer Service Week Chairperson, tells us that many of the prizes are actually vendor gifts. So if your company policy restricts employees from accepting gifts, why not collect them for your own Customer Service Week raffle?
Finally, the highlight of the celebration was a fully costumed training movie staring the NCI customer support managers.
Seven screenings throughout the week, including one evening screening for the night shift, ensured that everyone had a chance to see the movie and to enjoy some traditional movie-time treats.