- Non-profits must provide good customer service - U.S. Army
Non-profit employees should treat clients with courtesy and respect, just like for-profit employees are expected to treat customers that way. The difference is that non-profits may have more types of “customers.”
While non-profits have clients to serve, they also have donors and volunteers who expect to be treated well.
Donors as Clients or Customers
Non-profit donors have this in common with for-profit customers: They both provide money to the organization. Donors give without expecting goods or services in return, but donors do expect something for their gift. The first thing they expect is that the agency is having a good impact in the community, and they need the information to decide if this is true.
They expect that their money will be used wisely and go toward the advertised mission of the organization. While donors do not always expect a thank you note for their gift, it is a good policy to recognize donors this way and at every opportunity, including publicly if appropriate.
The Value of Volunteers to an Organization
Volunteers are very valuable; the monetary value of a volunteer hour is now calculated at over $20 per hour. For this reason, faithful volunteers may in fact be an organization’s biggest donors. Yet volunteers are often taken for granted. In order to recruit and retain good volunteers, be sure to treat them to great customer service.
Make sure they have a good job description and that someone is available to answer their questions promptly. Take every opportunity to thank volunteers and try to provide a formal recognition for their work, such a s a certificate of appreciation, at least once a year. Make sure volunteers have comfortable working conditions and the opportunity to socialize with other volunteers, since this is a common motivation for volunteering.
How to Treat Clients in the Non-Profit Industry
Although many non-profit clients are regarded as lower-class citizens by the community at large, this should never be the case in the non-profit to which they have come for help. Homeless and hungry individuals should be treated with the same courtesy as anyone else the non-profit encounters.
Clients should not be kept waiting for excessive amounts of time, nor left in crowded and uncomfortable conditions. They should be treated with the same respect as a donor. After all, without clients, there is no need for the non-profit to exist. Some non-profits give clients a brief survey to insure that staff is treating them courteously.
Staff should be trained to treat clients the way they would like to be treated if they were in the client’s shoes. This same rule applies to donors, volunteers, and indeed everyone a non-profit organization comes in contact with.
