- Re-established the High School Counselor Advisory Board to include 24 high school counselors nationally.
- Instituted the Adopt-A-School program as part of alumni student recruitment in which 115 alumni adopted 170 schools across the country.
- Partnered with the Office of Scholarships and the Alumni Association in offering a Legacy Day reception for students of alumni on Homecoming Saturday.
- In coordination with the Office of Scholarships, implemented Admitted Student and Scholarship receptions.
- In conjunction with the Alumni Association, hosted admitted students in the Indianapolis area at the Big Red Warm-Up event prior to the IU vs. Gonzaga basketball game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
- Consolidated the technology equipment inventory and lifecycle replacement funding prioritization and tracking for OEM units.
- Redesigned the 21st Century Covenant brochure.
- Created a campus-wide 21st Century Scholars committee that brings together representatives from various units including Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs; Residential Programs and Services; Office of Admissions; School of Education; and University Division.
- Partnered with units such as the Hutton Honors College in the development of their admission standards.
- Assisted the School of Education in their investigation regarding methods of increasing enrollment.
- Collaborated with the Office of the Registrar’s DMR unit in their adoption of SAS Enterprise Miner.
- Announced a new office name and expanded the mission to include programming for new students through the first year.
- In collaboration with Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington, Office of Admissions, and Residential Programs and Services, implemented a new Hoosier Link program model consisting of guaranteed admission standards and a residential learning community.
- Instituted a new IUBeginnings track designed specifically for transfer students.
- Introduced a new session during the parent component of the summer New Student Orientation program entitled “Dear Mom and Dad” to help parents better understand the flow, pattern, and stress points of new students.
- Sent personalized handwritten postcards to all students who attended the summer New Student Orientation program.
- Piloted Electronic Grade Change functionality to Bloomington faculty and authorized administrators via OneStart. One immediate benefit to the campus is that the routing time for a grade change request has shortened from an average of two weeks to, in some cases, a matter of minutes.
- Enhanced the Schedule Builder web application used by academic units to submit their class schedules for upcoming terms.
- Initiated the development of a tracking system that begins with students who have applied to IU, allowing us to model retention/graduation research tracking beginning with interest in IU.
- Fully implemented the Post-First Week eAdd/eDrop application for campus.
- Provided the Office of Academic Affairs and the General Education Committee with support and advice in planning for the implementation of the General Education curriculum in 2011.
- Performed initial evaluation of SIS and operational requirements to offer and administer Kelley Direct programs at the Bloomington campus.
- Instituted a “Congratulations” newspaper ad campaign for newly admitted scholarship recipients.
- Implemented the new “You’ve Earned Your Stripes!” campaign for IU Excellence and IU Distinction Scholarship recipients.
- Instituted the first Herbert Presidential Scholar Luncheon with President Michael A. McRobbie.
- Introduced COMPASS, the new scholarship processing and tracking system built in collaboration with the Office of Admissions, the Office of Student Financial Assistance, and Systems Design and Development.
- Worked with the Hudson & Holland Scholars Program to send follow-up correspondence to underrepresented students who attended Crimson Carpet Visit Weekend.
- A team comprised of representatives from SDD Operations, the Office of Scholarships, the Office of Admissions, the Office of Student Financial Assistance, and UITS completed Phase 1 of the COMPASS scholarship processing project. Awarding of OEM Automatic Scholarships went live on September 3.
- Assisted the Office of Admissions in utilizing the Telecenter and Virtual Advisor products, part of the CRM Connect suite.
- Completed expansion of the content management system on several pages on the Office of Admissions website for parent FAQs, Chat, and Schools and Majors, allowing staff to maintain page content on their own.
- Instituted the Online Work Study Authorization Card. Students can now print their own Work Study card at their convenience. This new process has eliminated the need for students to stop by the office to pick up their card.
- Implemented online chats in which students can communicate directly with a financial aid counselor in a secure and private online environment. Individuals can also select to have a transcript of the chat automatically sent to them via email.
- Streamlined process so that students could gain direct access to the required information and documentation they need to finalize their financial aid awards through a verification web portal.
- Transitioned to using the Ford Federal Direct Loan Program as it’s the only source for all Federal Family Education Loans. It took the cooperation of the Office of the Bursar, the Office of the Registrar, UITS, and SES to make this transition successful.
- Newly admitted freshman and their family members will be invited to campus to participate in a special program called "Red Carpet Days."
- Facebook pages for newly admitted students will be created.
- VIP personalized web pages will be instituted for prospective, admitted, and paid students.
- Making History with IU will provide an educational opportunity for Indianapolis area students to explore IU at the historical Madame CJ Walker Theatre and Urban League in celebration of Black History Month.
- Underrepresented, admitted students will be invited to attend Campus Collage, an overnight visit to IU. This program is designed to provide a venue for students to explore the campus with current IU students and hopefully make the decision to attend IU.
- Underrepresented high school sophomores and juniors will be invited to the IUB campus for Future Scholars Day, a one day visit. This includes an admissions presentation, tour of the campus, workshops, lunch, tours, and a cultural presentation.
- Campus-wide First Year Experience Advisory Committees are being established.
- Additional IUBeginnings experiences focusing on community service as well as arts and culture are being planned.
- Electronic personalized checklists are being created to help new students manage their "to do" list for their first semester at IU.
- "FYE Answers" will be instituted and will allow students to ask and respond to questions online in a pseudo forum environment.
- Additional late night, healthy social programming during Welcome Week is being coordinated with campus partners.
- A web and workflow based "electronic" Schedule of Classes Mass Update (eSOC) application will be implemented February of 2009. This new application will enable scheduling officers to update enrollment limits, class status, and consent options for multiple class sections at a time. The application will provide "update" capability directly to scheduling officers after the build process is complete.
- A new version of the room scheduling software Ad Astra will be tested in the April/May timeframe of 2009 for implementation in the fall. The new version will improve its ability to support multiple users and enable a full multi-campus implementation.
- Former students who have lost their network credentials will be able to request a transcript online. A new application will allow these students to answer a series of questions to prove their identity. If they can correctly answer the questions, they will be issued a set of temporary credentials that will enable them to request a transcript.
- A communication plan for high-ability juniors will be instituted, starting with a personalized postcard.
- A high school counselor page will be provided on the Scholarships website.
- Donor-funded Named Awards will be expanding.
- The first awarding of National Hispanic and National Achievement IU scholarships will take place.
- On-campus VIP visit days will be hosted for Herbert Presidential Scholars.
- Eight regional scholar events in seven states will take place. Of these, five are recognition receptions for senior scholarship recipients, and three are recruitment events for scholarship-eligible juniors.
- Working with OEM partners to create VIP pages in CRM/connect - customized for BeIU (prospects, suspects, applicants) and MyIU (admitted and enrolled) student populations.
- Along with Admissions, migrating articulations from Vega to SIS, and retool Credit Transfer Service to read data from DSS instead of Vega. Vega will subsequently be retired. This is so that Admissions will be in compliance with the statewide Transfer Indiana initiative. Transfer credit articulations (mapping of credit from one institution to another) will be uploaded from SIS/PeopleSoft to the statewide database as part of this initiative.
- SDD will be launching a website in early spring.
- A photo archive database, Praesepe, is being prepared which allow OEM staff to search the archive for photos to use in internal and external electronic and print communications. Among other features, this database will also track when and where photos have been used.
- A newly redesigned website will be unveiled.
- Office Communicator, a tool to instill good communication between our staff and other OEM offices, will be utilized.
OEM Staff Newsletter
February 2009
CONTENTS
• The Student Lifecycle
• Consistently Moving Forward
• Celebrating Milestones
• Moving Forward in OEM with New Projects and Initiatives
• Happy Birthday, CRM
• OEM Staff Exhibiting National Leadership
• Welcoming Our New Colleagues
• Commitment to Customer Service
Our First Edition
Welcome to the first edition of our OEM Staff Newsletter. This electronic newsletter will be distributed each semester as another way to communicate all of the good work our unit is accomplishing. In preparing some comments for our annual report, I was struck at how many outstanding people, projects, and accomplishments occur in OEM throughout the year. The commitment and effort of all our team members is something to be shared and celebrated. It is my hope this newsletter will be one way to share and celebrate the good work of so many. We will use this newsletter to make major announcements, changes to our organization, and new goals and projects. We hope you find this newsletter informational and that it gives you a better picture of how everyone contributes to the success of OEM.
To conclude, I want to recognize Jack Rhodes and Trevor Pittman in FYE and the entire committee for their efforts to make this newsletter a reality.
The Student Lifecycle
Consistently Moving Forward
OEM accomplishments are many. From new online systems and communications to new programs and campus partnerships, each unit within OEM consistently contributes new initiatives designed to enhance the experiences of our students, faculty, and other university constituencies. Our team’s accomplishments are both visionary and progressive. When one looks at just some of the accomplishments we achieved last semester, one word comes to mind...OUTSTANDING!
Office of Admissions
Budgetary Administration
Development and Special Programs
Enrollment Planning and Research
First Year Experience Programs
Office of the Registrar
Office of Scholarships
Systems Design and Development
Office of Student Financial Assistance
Celebrating Milestones
OEM is comprised of hundreds of individuals who bring their unique skills and talents to Indiana University each day. We would like to congratulate those colleagues who are celebrating milestones for their five year intervals of service to IU. Most notably, Gloria Kirkman (Admissions) has been with IU for 40 years, Roland Cote (Registrar) celebrates 35 years, and Mary Ellen Anderson (Admissions), Kristin Huerta (Registrar), and P Bruce Stephenson (Registrar) have served IU for 30 years each.
Thank you to everyone for the years of dedication, and congratulations again to those who are celebrating their years of success with OEM and IU.
| Forty Years of University Service | |
| Gloria Kirkman | Admissions |
| Thirty Five Years of University Service | |
| Roland Cote | Registrar |
| Thirty Years of University Service | |
| Mary Ellen Anderson | Admissions |
| Kristin Huerta | Registrar |
| P Bruce Stephenson | Registrar |
| Twenty Five Years of University Service | |
| Julie Teague | Registrar |
| Larry Gonzalez | Admissions |
| Twenty Years of University Service | |
| Ethan Bernhardt | Registrar |
| Karen Flanigan | Registrar |
| Jack Rhodes | First Year Experience Programs |
| Kathy Shields | Registrar |
| Fifteen Years of University Service | |
| Lynn Weidner | Registrar |
| Ten Years of University Service | |
| Susan King | Registrar |
| William Schaad | Admissions |
| Ann Shaffer | Admissions |
| Judy Vogler | Admissions |
| Five Years of University Service | |
| Jennifer Abrams | Admissions |
| Richard Attiyeh | Registrar |
| Carissa Bullman | Registrar |
| Kim Fatten | Budgetary Administration |
| Melissa Gonnerman | Admissions |
| Brant Moriarity | Admissions |
| Anna Vanderzee | Admissions |
| Laura Wisley | Systems Design and Development |
Moving Forward on New Projects and Initiatives
Our staff members are already hard at work developing new projects and initiatives which will enhance service provided through OEM. We are most proud that our unit is one which truly models continuous improvement in all of our services, systems, programming, and partnerships. Below are some of the initiatives our team will be working on this spring.
Office of Admissions
First Year Experience Programs
Office of the Registrar
Office of Scholarships
Systems Design and Development
Office of Student Financial Assistance
Happy Birthday, CRM
In January 2008, OEM signed a contract with Hobsons to purchase their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) product, Connect. It's been quite a year!
Beginning in late January, the Registrar Systems group and the SDD Operations team worked with staff at Hobsons to set up the hardware, install the software, and build the databases. Two audiences were identified for the initial projects - one database was created for suspects, prospects, and applicants; and a second database for admitted and enrolled students.
From March through July an implementation team, coordinated by SDD Operations and with representatives from Admissions, Student Financial Assitance, First Year Experience Programs, Registrar, and Scholarships, participated in weekly training sessions on each of the modules in the product suite, identified information needed in the databases to properly identify the audiences they planned to reach, planned communication content, and selected the visuals that would appear in messages.
In August those messages started rolling out. You've all heard about the successful campaigns that have been conducted throughout the fall, along with a couple of learning experiences we had with unexpected results. Kudos to all of the staff throughout OEM who helped to make our CRM campaigns a success!
The fall semester also saw the implementation of the Telecenter in the Office of Admissions, and migration of the Virtual Advisor used on the Admissions website from the standalone product to the version included in the Connect suite.
This spring we are working with undergraduate academic units to send customized messages to admitted students to influence the yield rate of this population.
In 2009 we plan to implement several additional Connect products. VIP personalized web pages will be rolled out for both student audiences, as well as Interest pages for suspects and prospects. We will also build two new databases - one for high school counselors, alumni recruiters and others involved in undergraduate recruitment efforts, and a second database for faculty and staff. We will then be able to customize messages to all of these audiences and use the full suite of Connect products to enhance our communication efforts with these critical constituencies.
Another plan for 2009 is to expand our use of Connect's reporting capabilities to create custom reports that monitor and track the results of communications. We will be able to create a dashboard view of our reports that includes multiple charts and graphs to visually represent campaign results. SDD Operations will participate in a training program so we can implement and manage custom reports and the set up of the Report Dashboard.
OEM Staff Exhibiting National Leadership
As staff members at a great university such as ours, we are often asked to provide national leadership in our areas of expertise. We want to congratulate and recognize our many OEM colleagues who have served in professional organization leadership positions, published research or professional papers, or made professional presentations since May 1, 2008.
Professional Leadership Positions:
John Brooks, Director - Development and Special Programs
Hosted the SSACI/ 21st Century Scholars Director's meeting.
Roy Durnal, Senior Associate Director - Office of Student Financial Assistance
Served as a co-chair for the 2008 Indiana Student Financial Aid Association's Winter Conference.
Terry Knaus, Senior Associate Director - Office of Admissions
Served on the National Association for College Admission Counseling Board of Directors and was Coordinator of the Presidents' Council through September 2008.
Mark McConahay, Senior Associate Director - Office of the Registrar
Appointed as Director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers Technology Conference.
Melanie Payne, Director of Orientation - First Year Experience Programs
Appointed as Editor of the Orientation Planning Manual and is the Coordinator of the National Internship Program for the National Orientation Directors Association.
Professional Research and Publications:
Roy Durnal, Senior Associate Director - Office of Student Financial Assistance
Published an article in the National Association of Financial Aid Administrators' Financial Aid Transcript magazine.
Susan Pugh, Associate Vice Provost and Director - Office of Student Financial Assistance
Roger Thompson - Vice Provost for Enrollment Management
Co-authored an article on the new need-based financial aid programs published by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. Susan also wrote an article for the fall edition of the Indiana Student Financial Aid Association's newsletter.
Professional Presentations:
Douglas Anderson, Director - Enrollment Planning and Research
Adam Leary, Research Analyst - Office of the Registrar
Bridgett Milner, Associate Director - Enrollment Planning and Research
Mike Sauer, Senior Research Analyst - Office of the Registrar
Presented a session entitled "Jumping into Data Mining: The Triumphs and Tragedies of Our First Year" at the Association for Institutional Research, Annual Forum.
Douglas Anderson, Director - Enrollment Planning and Research
Bridgett Milner, Associate Director- Enrollment Planning and Research
Presented a session entitled "Organizing Data to Drive Decisions: Empowering the Boss" at the Association for Institutional Research.
John Brooks, Director - Development and Special Programs
Participated on a panel presentation discussing ways to support 21st Century Scholars academically, financially, and socially at the Indiana College Access and Success Network Conference.
Melissa Baer, Senior Assistant Director of International Admissions- Office of Admissions
Melissa Gonnerman, Associate Director of International Admissions - Office of Admissions
Presented a session entitled "Campaigning Overseas? Not Exactly: International Admissions for the Domestic Counselor" at the Indiana Association for College Admission Counseling.
Elijah Barry, Senior Assistant Director - Office of Student Financial Assistance
Roy Durnal, Senior Associate Director - Office of Student Financial Assistance
Jackie Kennedy-Fletcher, Senior Associate Director - Office of Student Financial Assistance
Facilitated a one-day Big Ten workshop on the topic of "client service".
Sarah Booher, Director - Office of Scholarships
David Johnson, Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment Management
Susan Pugh, Associate Vice Provost, and Director - Office of Student Financial Assistance
Roger Thompson, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management
Presented a session entitled "Strategic Enrollment Management: Aligning Financial Aid with Recruitment Goals" at the Strategic Enrollment Management conference sponsored by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.
Roy Durnal, Senior Associate Director - Office of Student Financial Assistance
Presented a session entitled "Improving Client Service through Better Communications" at the Indiana Student Financial Aid Association's workshop.
David Johnson, Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment Management
Presented a session entitled "Strategic Enrollment Management: Building and Using Data in Decision Making" at the Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers meeting.
Jackie Kennedy-Fletcher, Senior Associate Director - Office of Student Financial Assistance
Co- presented a session on "Developing an Electronic Resource Book" at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
Jackie Kennedy-Fletcher, Senior Associate Director - Office of Student Financial Assistance
Susan Pugh, Associate Vice Provost, and Director - Office of Student Financial Assistance
Presented a session entitled "Student Financial Aid Services to Freshmen in a Marketing Environment" at the College Board Forum.
Terry Knaus, Senior Associate Director - Office of Admissions
Participated in a panel discussion entitled "NACAC Board of Directors Town Meeting" at the National Association for College Admission Counseling National Conference.
Adam Leary, Research Analyst - Office of the Registrar
Presented a session with other key staff members entitled "Data Mining Tools Compared, Clementine, Enterprise Miner, YALE and Insightful Miner, Using a Common Database" at the Association for Institutional Research Conference.
Mark McConahay, Senior Associate Director - Office of the Registrar
Co - presented a session entitled "The Delivery of Student Services via Kuali Enterprise Workflow" at the Preconference Workshop of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers Technology Conference.
Mark McConahay, Senior Associate Director - Office of the Registrar
Presented a session entitled "Upgrade to PeopleSoft 9.0 in your Future?" at the Great Lakes American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers Technology Conference and served as the moderator for the "PeopleSoft Roundtable" session.
Jack Rhodes, Associate Vice Provost and Director - First Year Experience Programs
Served as a faculty member at the National Orientation Directors Association's Mid - Level Managers Institute.
Sangil Yoon, Associate Director - Office of Student Financial Assistance
Presented a session entitled "New Technologies for Student Services" at the Indiana Student Financial Aid Conference.
Larry Gonzalez, Associate Director - Office of Admissions
Presented sessions entitled "Never too Early to Start Campaigning" and "Stories from the Campaign Trail" at the Indiana Association for College Admission Counseling conference.
Welcoming Our New Colleagues
We would like to welcome all of the staff who recently joined our team. Some may seem like familiar faces by now, but we want to make sure everyone who joined our organization since our last OEM Annual Retreat is properly introduced. Additionally, to help you get to know everyone a little better, we have included an interesting fact about each new staff member. Welcome everyone!
| Office of Admissions | |
| Emily Jackson | Admissions Specialist |
| Emily has 10 relatives that have at one point attended IU. | |
| Jeri Kott | Assistant Director of Admissions |
| Jeri is from Chevy Chase, MD. | |
| Emili Sperling | Assistant Director of Admissions |
| Emili named her now 15-week-old puppy Lola, two years before she was born while studying abroad in Madrid. | |
| First Year Experience Programs | |
| Lituo Huang | Office Services Assistant |
| Lituo loves old mystery novels. | |
| OEM Administration | |
| Darla Kuh | Hourly support staff |
| Darla owns two schnauzers and does fostering for a Schnauzer rescue group. | |
| Office of the Registrar | |
| Steven Erickson | Facilities Scheduler |
| Steve coaches baseball and just adopted a new border collie puppy named Shadow. | |
| Jolene Ferguson | Office Services Assistant Processing |
| A screenwriter, one of Jolene's screenplays was a quarterfinalist at the Austin Film Festival. She has completed her first novel and is currently researching and writing her second. | |
| Brittany Jackson | Records Service Representative |
| Brittany is a visual artist and has had her work published in Canvas, a magazine of creative arts published by Indiana University. | |
| Mike Quick | Enrollment Information Coordinator |
| Mike has a passion for the political process. So, 2008 was a great year for him! | |
| Mac Cheung | Network Support Specialist |
| Mac enjoys Chinese cuisine, particularly a dish with tripe (cow stomach). | |
| Office of Scholarships | |
| Abby Yankovich | Executive Assistant |
| Abby was born 2 hours after Elvis died. | |
| Office of Student Financial Assistance | |
| Wendy Dion | Accounting Associate |
| Wendy's family is related to five former Presidents (Ford, Garfield, Hayes, Pierce, and Taft). | |
| Ellis Dumas | Records Services Representative |
| Ellis is a 21st Century Scholars graduate and was the event planner for his own commencement ceremonies. | |
| Chaz Nailor | Records Services Representative |
| Chaz is a native Texan who does not know how to drive in snow. | |
| Tim Pritchett | Records Services Representative |
| Tim enjoys watching hydroplane races. | |
| Sue Ramseyer | Accounting Associate |
| Sue has climbed Mount Fuji. | |
| Joe Roy | Records Services Representative |
| Joe visited the home where the movie Home Alone was filmed. | |
| Systems Design and Development | |
| Brian Piret | Data Manager |
| Brian left his motorcycle in storage in Texas until Thanksgiving and didn't whine about it! | |
| Mischa Zentz | ADE Processor |
| Mischa finished her undergraduate degree in December but will go through May commencement so family members can attend. | |
| Leslie Stanfield | ADE Processor |
| Leslie has two pet rats, Isabelle and Vivian and is just now learning to play Mario Brothers! | |
Commitment to Customer Service
"I want to know if I have been admitted." "Could I please have an update regarding my financial aid award status?" "I would like to change my daughter's orientation date." "How do I find out about my course waitlist status?"
We have all received calls like these from students and parents. Whether it is by phone or email, responding in the most helpful and welcoming way possible is at the core of our mission, as customer service plays a critical role in the way we all work with parents and students. For many, a simple phone call or email with questions can be their first interaction with Indiana University. OEM is proud to be the campus representatives to such inquiries. Whether it is a question we have answered numerous times or one we've never been faced with, check out what a few of our colleagues are doing to truly enhance customer service within their unit. Below we proudly share some examples of the good service that is offered by OEM on a daily basis.
Office of the Registrar Front Line Staff:
The Service Representatives at the Office of the Registrar interact daily with a broad variety of constituents, including current students, faculty and staff, prospective students and their families, former students, and the general public. The questions come from every angle, and the Service Representatives are here to provide answers and direction. Every day they explain a variety of university policies and procedures and identify and resolve complex system problems related to registration and waitlist, academic checklist, grade processing, residence classification, enrollment certification, and the content of the academic record. Information the Service Representatives provide must comply with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the IU Release of Information Policy. The Service Representatives at the Office of the Registrar strive every day to provide the highest level of service, often going beyond the extra mile in order to best serve and represent Indiana University.
Office of Admissions Front Desk Staff:
The philosophy of the staff is that they are the "front door of Indiana University." They strive to go above and beyond with an attitude to serve and help our visitors, prospective students, families, current students and IU staff with whatever they need/request. It all begins with a friendly smile, a welcoming greeting such as "good morning," and then the question "How may I help you?" They often research online or on the telephone to help answer questions or confirm information for our guests. When prospective students and families come to the Office of Admissions for a campus visit, staff takes time with each visitor to confirm their individualized appointment schedules and to make sure the student and guests know how to get to every appointment that day. The front desk staff offers numerous brochures to visitors specific to their personal needs and interests.
Office of Student Financial Assistance Assistants:
The Client Service staff is responsible for answering phones, responding to emails, reviewing and processing appeals, and assisting with recruitment and retention interventions such as hosting financial aid workshops with 21st Century Scholars, high schools, IU departments such as the Career Development Center, Student Advocates Office, and the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as meeting with students and parents in Franklin Hall on a walk-in basis or with pre-scheduled appointments. The staff also meets with students and parents in the Admissions Office and Wright Quad during New Student Orientation.
First Year Experience Programs Office Assistants:
Working together as a team of undergraduate students and full-time staff, the Office Assistants are the "backbone" of working with the public. Between March and August, responsibilities peak with phone calls, emails, and correspondence to freshmen, transfer students, and parents, all of whom are preparing to attend New Student Orientation and Welcome Week.
Helping those we serve is the topic of many training sessions for the staff, including presentations specific to customer-related issues. The entire office subscribes to and supports the "FISH! Philosophy" where the importance of four main themes is kept at the forefront whenever working with others. The themes are: Making Their Day, Being Present, Choosing Your Attitude, and Play. This philosophy helps all levels of staff as it serves as a consistent and fun reminder of customer service.
