“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – Theodore Roosevelt

As we prepare to observe Customer Service Week from Monday, October 5 through Friday, October 9, it’s an excellent time to remember that internal and external customers are the driving force behind what makes the City of Round Rock a great place to live, work, and play.  You might be tempted to ask, “WIIFM – What’s in it for me”?  Fortunately for City employees, our culture is built upon the satisfaction gained by providing a standard of excellence in the areas of customer service, accountability and personal responsibility, safety, communication, and flexibility.

Throughout the City, we celebrate customer service successes.  From peer to peer, our internal customer satisfaction surveys help us to capitalize on our strengths while bringing opportunities for improvement to the forefront.  And the same is true for the City’s external survey.  Our community believes in our ability to respond to their needs and they trust us enough to voice their concerns about areas of improvement, while cheering the best practices of our operations.

I think of our workplace as my home away from home and I affectionately think of our team members as my extended family.  We may not always agree with each other or understand another’s point of view, but ultimately, those moments are eclipsed by the genuine care shown in the way we interact with each other.  Examples abound – Rock Care; Health, Safety, Security & Environment (HSSE) Awareness; and the Wellness Committee.  While the good works accomplished by these groups benefit team members and their families, they barely scratch the surface of the ways we show appreciation, respect, and empathy for each other.

Our external customer relationships are just as impressive.  While we all work to provide for our families, our motivations extend beyond ourselves.  Motivation lives in the knowledge that a citizen you spoke with this morning will sleep better tonight because they feel safe.  It lives in the sound of relief in the voice of a citizen who thought they didn’t have options.  It lives in the look of excitement from a child who attended a Library summer program, or participated in a Parks and Recreation special event or Convention and Visitors Bureau athletic tournament.

Every day I am reminded of the compassionate ways we interact with our internal and external customers.  Year after year, our team members and community rally together to make the City of Round Rock one of the best places to live and raise a family, and one of the most affordable places in America.

As we begin a new fiscal year, I encourage you to recognize your fellow team members for going the extra mile to make a lasting difference in our community.  Thank you for delivering positive customer experiences day after day.  Your efforts and the feedback I receive confirm a simple but strong statement: I work with everyday heroes!

Sincerely,

Laurie Hadley
City Manager, City of Round Rock, Texas