Third-Annual Governor's Customer Service Awards: Winners and Finalists
INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE IN CUSTOMER SERVICE
Individual Award Winners:
Marilyn D. Ferguson, Dept. of Veterans Services
Marilyn has demonstrated sustained and superb customer service for 30 years. Her responsibilities include advising veterans concerning all aspects of their federal and state VA entitlements. She performs “miracles” on a daily basis for the veterans she serves by resolving issues that no one else can. She has even developed a reputation for being able to accomplish tasks much quicker and easier than any of the federal VA employees can. She is able to break through bureaucratic stonewalls and provide the services that her customers need. In the words of her supervisor, “she simply takes the initiative and gets the problems solved.”
Gene H. "Hal" Sharpe, Chief Ranger, McDuffie/Warren County Unit, Georgia Forestry Commission
Hal Sharpe is accessible to customers in providing services of fire prevention safety. He works with local business, schools, churches, law enforcement and local fire departments, and with Smokey Bear and Fire Prevention Programs for the Medical College of Georgia Children’s Hospital. He counsels with youths and supervises community service through the McDuffie County Probation Office, teaching them about the importance of staying in school, keeping out of trouble and doing the “Right Things Right.” Hal has volunteered time in Texas to fight wildfires and helped local Georgia governments and landowners with hazard prevention.
Pamela Shepherd, Agent, DHS Office Child Support Services, Newnan
Pamela created a program to help non-custodial parents become self-sufficient and able to meet their financial obligations for their children. In addition to her normal caseload she posted job openings, sought available positions at local employers, and networked with Fatherhood and literacy programs and anyone else who could help her clients. Her efforts have resulted in customers completing rehabilitation, paying child support and even entering the military. In addition, 186 have enrolled in GED classes. When one client could not afford transportation and a uniform for a job, Pamela showed up the next day with a 10-speed bike and two pairs of work pants.
Clyde Smith, Juvenile Probation/Parole Specialist, Dept. of Juvenile Justice
Clyde Smith’s clients rarely come to his office under happy circumstances. Through his experience, understanding and compassion, “Smitty” – as he is known to his colleagues, or “The Man,” as he is known to clients – has a gift at reaching young people and their families. He focuses on the root problem and guides them in the direction they need to go. Among the many passionate and grateful letters submitted by clients and their parents was this compliment: “I know Mr. Smith will have 30 years as a Juvenile Justice employee this October, but it is my hope that this man who changes futures – one child at a time – never retires.”
Employee of the Year:
Richard Cobb, Superintendent, Wilkes Pre-Release Center, Georgia Dept. of Corrections
The slogan for Wilkes Pre-Release center is “making a difference,” and that is exactly what Richard Cobb expects of himself, his staff and his facility. He has encouraged numerous offenders to complete their GED and technology classes while achieving a 92.9% graduation rate, the highest among Pre-Release centers.
Knowing that Wilkes Pre-Release center is a part of the greater community where it is located, Superintendent Cobb involves offenders and staff in supporting the community with visits and cards to nursing home residents, reading and literacy programs in schools and food drives for community food banks.
Among the dozens of letters of support for his nomination was a handwritten note from a frightened first-time offender who thanked Superintendent Cobb for providing a safe and clean living environment. The family of a former inmate wrote, “Your dedication to your inmates makes them feel proud and successful… I know [they] will return [to society] as better citizens, parents and with a working knowledge of what can be accomplished against all odds.”
Individual Finalists:
• Doris Chavis, Georgia Garrison Training Center
• Lorri Chin-Shue, Gwinnett Technical College
• Linda S. Evans, Dept. of Community Affairs
• Rita Goodman, DHS Division of Family and Children Services, Clayton County
• Lisa Lewis, DHS Office of Child Support Services
• Ming Lin, State Accounting Office
• Sergeant Jonathan M. Posey, Georgia State Patrol
• Dr. Eddie D. Seagle, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
• Connie Snyder, Bainbridge College
• Carl Watkins, Georgia Building Authority
TEAM EXCELLENCE IN CUSTOMER SERVICE
Team Award Winners:
Business Development and Training Team, Dept. of Community Affairs
This team markets and coordinates the delivery of the Georgia Dream Homeownership Program. This program provides affordable first-mortgage financing, down-payment assistance and education to Georgia homebuyers. The recent economic crisis insured greater demand for this team's expertise. They mobilized to secure grants preventing foreclosure for Georgia citizens. They also put in educational and management systems to insure compliance with new Housing and Urban Development regulations. The team created online resources, outreach programs and educational materials for borrowers and lending institutions to make the process faster, friendlier and easier for all parties. They even went above and beyond to secure and train lenders for homeowners whose mortgage lender closed its doors.
District 8-2 Office of All Hazards Preparedness, Dept. of Community Health
This team is committed to providing quality emergency preparedness training and educational opportunities to staff, community partners and citizens of the counties they serve. The team developed personalized, low-cost and easy-to-use ways to take their services directly to the communities they serve, affording the opportunity for citizens of even the smallest, most rural counties be able to deal with pandemic flu or any disaster they may face in the future. The team has worked very hard to develop relationships with internal customers such as Georgia Emergency Management field coordinators and local first-responder agencies. These partnerships have strengthened these agencies and made the team sought after in the areas of bioterrorism and disease control.
Houston Office of Child Support Services, Dept. of Human Services
The Houston team consistently demonstrates high levels of customer service performance by placing emphasis on what is best for their families. A few examples of their extensive work over the last year include: reuniting two fathers with children they had not seen for most of the children’s lives; visiting a critically-ill custodial parent in the hospital to ensure the parent received child support services; and reaching out to the local Hispanic community to educate Spanish-speaking customers. The team coordinates with other state agencies and community groups serving families to make its services more accessible to customers. The Houston office consistently ranks among Georgia’s top-performing Child Support offices. One outreach program conducted last year netted an additional $15,000 in child support in a single day and committed hundreds of non-custodial parents for follow-up appointments.
Region XI Division of Family and Children Services, Dept. of Human Services
The DFCS Region XI team provides a wide range of services, including classes and meetings for families needing assistance. Team members facilitate Food Stamps, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, and Foster & Adoptive Outreach. They organize and participate in events for Foster Parent Awareness, Adoption Awareness Month, Child Abuse Awareness Month and Domestic Violence Awareness Month each year. This small team serves constituents in 18 counties and routinely works extra hours and weekends to be accessible to the people they serve. This team believes they are not just doing a job; they have a true heart for their customers and a strong desire to make a positive difference in their lives, because stronger families make stronger communities.
Team of the Year:
Operations Department, Ft. Stewart Youth Challenge Academy, Dept. of Defense
This team is the locomotive engine behind the Ft. Stewart Youth Challenge Academy’s effort to serve its customers. It does not matter the difficulty of the task, the number of assignments given or the short notice provided, the answer always given by Operations is, “We can make it happen.”
The cadets of the Academy, under their supervision, execute more than 32,000 hours of Community Service each year. The Operations Team ensures they are briefed on the importance of each commitment and understand the importance of giving back to society in general and the state of Georgia in particular.
Team members voluntarily undertook several improvement projects last year that resulted in better service as well as $14,500 in cost avoidance for the Academy. Because of their dedication, more than 6,000 graduates have been taught the importance of being good citizens by rendering service to others.
Team Finalists:
• Alternative Media Access Center Team, University System of Georgia
• Criminal Interdiction Unit, Dept. of Public Safety, Georgia State Patrol
• Federal Stimulus Interactive Web Team, Georgia Building Authority
• Jasper/Jones Forestry Unit, Georgia Forestry Commission
• Limited English Proficient and Sensory Impaired Program, Dept. of Human Services
• Research and Surveys Team, Dept. of Natural Resources
• Student Success Team, Savannah Technical College
CONTACT CENTER EXCELLENCE
Award Winner: 1.800.georgia Contact Center
Only Georgia offers one number to connect to any state service. Agents connect callers to the right person the first time. Customers can also use email, chat and online search. 1.800.georgia supports other agencies by directly handling their "overflow" calls. This extra support relieves call volume and allows experts to focus on the most critical customer needs.
1.800.georgia agents handled more than half a million calls last year including: helping voters get to the polls on election day, helping businesses renew corporate licenses, and making outbound calls to state vendors. Agents are also trained and ready to handle calls in a state of emergency. 1.800.georgia serves as the model for other agencies starting their own contact centers.
Finalists:
• Division of Family and Children Services Contact Center, Dept. of Human Services
• Georgia Student Finance Commission Contact Center
OUTSTANDING PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
Award Winner: State Board of Workers' Compensation
This team created and implemented an automated integrated claims system on time and on budget to the great satisfaction of their customers. This was done while handling an increased agency workload. The system, serving an average of 1,050 users per day, vastly simplified the paperwork for attorneys, insurance companies, claimants and judges.
In transitioning from a conventional, paper-based agency to a paperless system, more than 2.5 million pages of files were committed to the system. Time to respond to a customer’s inquiry is now immediate. The average time to set a hearing has decreased from 30 days to 1.2 days. Claim processing time has improved from an average of 30 days to 10 days.
Finalists:
• Criminal Justice Information System Validation Team, Georgia Bureau of Investigation
• Macon Regional Transportation Management Center, Georgia Dept. of Transportation
CHAMPION OF THE YEAR
Award Winner: Cathy Smith, Georgia Dept. of Corrections
For some time, Cathy Smith has been very involved in making the Governor’s vision a reality at the Dept. of Corrections. She has led the agency in a full range of customer service initiatives including training, recognition, surveys, contact center improvement and process improvement. Cathy successfully coordinated the completion of The Art of Exceptional Customer Service training by all full-time Corrections employees. She has used her experience to support Champions from other agencies and contribute to their successes. She is an employee who looks at systems broadly and practices forward-thinking by refining agency operations and processes so that services are faster, friendlier and easier.
Finalists:
• Lisa Maier, Dept. of Public Safety
• Marcia White, State Personnel Administration
CUSTOMER SERVICE LEADERSHIP
Award Winner: Col. Bill Hitchens, Commissioner, Dept. of Public Safety
Col. Hitchens continually demonstrates his unwavering commitment to serving the citizens of Georgia. He has set the tone in his department that customer service is an integral part of its values of Trust, Fortitude, Compassion and Professionalism. Col. Hitchens demonstrates the values he instills in agency employees. A leader who really “walks the talk,” he was spotted recently in civilian clothes changing a tire for a stranded motorist. At a Georgia Tech game, he jumped in to assist a rookie Georgia Tech police officer when a fight broke out in the stands. What's more, he anonymously assisted Atlanta police with a suspect fleeing arrest, putting himself at great risk. Public Safety employees say Col. Hitchens knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.
Finalists:
• Commissioner Albert Murray, Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice
• Commissioner Brad Douglas, Department of Administrative Services
• Dr. Anthony S. Tricoli, President, Georgia Perimeter College
MOST IMPROVED CUSTOMER SERVICE ORGANIZATION
Award Winner: Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning
In Fiscal Year 2009, Bright from the Start successfully made its customer service faster, friendlier and easier, and in doing so moved closer than ever to fulfilling its mission and vision to improve the quality of early care and learning for all children in Georgia. This agency's work helps Georgia’s childcare providers achieve and maintain higher standards. Bright from the Start demonstrates a systematic approach to continuously improve every one of their services.
Employees are dedicated to results, and it shows. Georgia is among the top three states in the nation for access to voluntary, universal Pre-K programs, and the number of children served in these programs. Georgia is first in the nation to teach Chinese language and culture in state funded Pre-K programs. Customers have easier access through innovative online and resource coordination services. The impetus driving Bright from the Start’s customer service excellence is best summed up in this statement: "Quality Service: Georgia’s providers require it. Georgia’s parents expect it. Georgia’s children deserve it. Georgia’s future demands it."
Finalist:
• Macon State College
CUSTOMER SERVICE AGENCY OF THE YEAR
Award Winner: Georgia Forestry Commission
The Georgia Forestry Commission, as a whole, is a model of Customer Service in Georgia. Faced with mounting budget concerns, GFC consistently improved agency operations and efficiencies over the past year using innovative and strategic methods. Employees were engaged in keeping their agency moving forward with the charge “Save $40,000 and save someone’s job!” They stepped up, identified more than $750,000 dollars in cost avoidance, and increased revenue from out-of-state assignments, $300,000 over their original budget.
The Georgia Forestry commission continues to provide its traditional high level of customer service. Customer comments include:
• “Because of their assistance and hard work, we now have a safer community with a heightened awareness of fire safety….It was a pleasure to work with these dedicated professionals.”
• “All of the [GFC] employees I have had dealings with have always gone above and beyond to provide me with good quality service, and I appreciate the time and effort they put into assisting me with the management of my land.”
• “I can’t think of a better example of where citizen tax monies are spent more effectively…than through this program. You unquestionably have every right to be very proud of these outstanding employees.”
Finalists:
• Georgia Bureau of Investigation
• Georgia Student Finance Commission
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