Harlan Kirgan
A set of guidelines for school employees on attitude, communication, sense of ownership and commitment to co-workers was approved by the St. Landry Parish School Board’s Executive Committee and will go before the full Board on Thursday.
Superintendent Patrick Jenkins said the guidelines won’t be reason for termination, but are expectations for employees.
The guidelines are something a principal or supervisor can use to implement better service, he aid.
The end goal, he said, is to get people back to parish schools.
Board members Raymond Cassimere and Randy Wagley suggested the standards should be displayed at schools.
The standards of performance are:
ATTITUDE
At St. Landry Parish School System, we pride ourselves in always doing the following:
— Treat everyone as if he or she is the most important person in our facility.
— Promptly welcome customers in a friendly manner.
— Smile, make eye contact and introduce ourselves.
— Our body language, tone and demeanor should always reflect a positive attitude.
— We take the initiative to offer assistance to customers. We won’t wait to be asked.
— We listen carefully to what customers have to say.
— Rudeness is not acceptable.
— We speak positively and offer compliments frequently.
— We apologize for problems and inconveniences.
— We avoid placing the blame or making excuses.
— We thank customers for choosing our schools.
— We know that students and parents are not an interruption of our work, but they are the reason for us being here.
— We continue to be happy.
COMMUNICATION
The goal of communication is full understanding. We must be committed to listening attentively to our customers in order to fully understand their needs. We must avoid confusing customers, and we need to speak in terms they can easily understand.
Greetings and Instructions
— Customers will be greeted with a warm and friendly and smile.
— We will use the customers name as soon as we have heard it or as it is written down.
— We make eye contact with all people.
— We will introduce ourselves promptly by using our first name.
— We will use “please” and “thank you.”
— We will listen to our customers’ concerns in ways that show them that we care and always ask “How may I help you?”
SENSE OF OWNERSHIP (PRIDE)
Each employee must feel a sense of ownership towards his or her job and the school system.
We must all take pride in what we do. We must be responsible for the outcomes of our efforts and recognizing our work as a reflection of ourselves. We all should follow these practices:
— Take pride in the school as if you owned it.
— Be sure you know and understand the responsibilities of your job. Take charge of and accept these responsibilities.
— Strive to do the job right the fIrst time.
— Look beyond your assigned tasks. Your responsibility does not end where your co-workers responsibility begins.
— Look for ways to exceed our customers’ expectations.
COMMITMENT TO CO-WORKERS:
As St. Landry Parish School Board employees, we are linked to one another by a common purpose: serving our students and our community. Therefore, our co-workers are our teammates. They deserve our respect. Without their contributions, none of us could perform our jobs. Just as we rely on our fellow employees, they rely upon us.
Each of us has obligations to our co-workers. We will:
— Treat every co-worker as a professional. Recognize that we each have an area of expertise. Give credit where credit is due.
— Show consideration. Be sensitive to a fellow employee’s inconvenience. Consider another’s priorities in addition to our own.
— Be tolerant of fellow employees. Recognize that conflicts may exist among coworkers, but professional courtesy is expected. Set aside differences when working together. Realize we all have personal shortcomings. Rudeness is not appropriate.
— Be supportive of fellow employees. Offer help when possible. Cooperation is expected in the workplace.
— Be honest and loyal to your co-workers. Don’t undermine other people’s work. Respect their efforts. Be discreet about what is said.