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Service Focus and Innovation

Page updated 31 July 2024

Service Focus & Innovation is the ability to understand and anticipate customer needs, act to provide high-quality products and services to meet expectations of all internal and external stakeholders and generate a range of innovative ideas to make systems/procedures more customer focused.

Who is this course for?

This course is for all staff who wish to improve their critical thinking and logical reasoning for better analysis, evaluation and communication in workplace situations. The programme develops the critical and analytical thinking skills needed to correctly decipher information to influence and activate competent thinking into practical application.

By the end of this course, learners will:

  • Understand critical thinking, its purpose and presentation and the difference between critical thinking and AI
  • Be able to critically assess heuristics and biases when analysing information
  • Use Socratic questioning to understand the core and scope of any situation 
  • Producing clear, structured argument mapping in support of your ideas
  • Develop quick thinking on your feet to ‘thrive under pressure’

How long is this course?

The course duration is 3.5 hours.

What topics will be covered?

  • Using clear reasoning: Making sense of goals 
  • Use the ‘Tree Diagram’ technique to produce clear, structured arguments
  • Learn different styles and structure of argument to produce powerful rational persuasion 
  • Overcoming False Reasoning: Using cool logic in hot situations
  • Learning to deal with false reasoning in meetings and discussions
  • Heuristics: shortcut thinking 
  • Introduction to Socratic questioning

Following the session participants will be provided with resources to further engage in the topic, this may include suggested reading, LinkedIn Learning videos or other online content and materials to continue your development.

Booking: 
For details of upcoming events or to book your place on available courses, please visit the (opens in a new window)HR - Professional Development booking centre  If your chosen course is fully booked or no longer available, you can access the UCD LinkedIn learning portal via your UCD Connect login where you will find a range of eLearning courses. 

If you have any further queries on this programme, please contact (opens in a new window)peopledevelopment@ucd.ie or call ext 4919.

Who is this course for?

This training course is for all staff who wish to equip themselves with the skills to communicate professionally with all customers (internal and external). 

On successful completion of the course, learners will be able to: 

  • Be motivated to make the most of each interaction with each customer
  • Identify the features of excellent customer service
  • Have a better understanding of why excellent service is critical
  • Understand what customers expect and what they can deliver on
  • Identify their own communication style and areas for improvement
  • Have a step-by-step approach to handling customer who present with a challenging query

How long is this course?

The course duration is 3.5 hours.

What topics will be covered?

  • What are the features of excellent customer service?
  • Defining your responsibilities to internal and external customers
  • How to present a professional image - our attitude and behaviour
  • Self-assessment of your existing customer service skills - the associated strengths and weaknesses 
  • Professional communication skills 
  • Handling difficult customers with confidence
  • Measuring client satisfaction 

This course is highly practical and interactive and includes discussions and activities based on real world scenarios.

Following the session participants will be provided with resources to further engage in the topic, this may include suggested reading, LinkedIn Learning videos or other online content and materials to continue your development.

Booking:

For details of upcoming events or to book your place on available courses, please visit the (opens in a new window)HR - Professional Development booking centre  If your chosen course is fully booked or no longer available, you can access the UCD LinkedIn learning portal via your UCD Connect login where you will find a range of eLearning courses. 

In the meantime you may wish to access the UCD LinkedIn learning portal via your UCD Connect login where you will find a range of eLearning courses. 

If you have any further queries on this programme, please contact (opens in a new window)peopledevelopment@ucd.ie or call ext 4919.

UCD People & Organisation Development

Roebuck Offices, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
T: +353 1 716 4919 | E: peopledevelopment@ucd.ie