NVQ question

[4getmenot]

Ok so I'm a bit miffed on a question that should be so easy but having googled a few things I'm now confused as to who my internal customers are. I work in admin for a healthcare company. Can anyone help?? I'd have thought internal meant the employees but how are they customers??

[cathfromsaron]

anyone to whom you provide information or service are customers, internal customers are merely people working within your organisation, whom you serve ...

in your case, anyone who needs paperwork done or you speak to on the phone?

[boxtops]

Hi 4get - I hope I can help - yes, your internal customers are people working with you in the company, people in other departments etc.

Which award are you studying for?

[redman41]

An internal customer or internal service provider can be anyone in the organization. An internal customer can be a co-worker, another department, or a distributor who depends upon you to provide products or services which in turn are utilized to create a deliverable for the external customer

[4getmenot]

business and admin 3. Thing is I say down with assesor and did this section with her and I'm now not sure whether I said the service users or the staff who I administrate :-/

[Prudie]

I did an NVQ in Trg & Devt and understood internal customers to be the employees yes. Not sure exactly what you do 4get but think of all the tasks you carry out - they are for the benefit of someone whether it's your boss, team, individual or groups of employees. Do you have to come into contact with the other staff? Use that as your evidence whatever it may be - their pay, looking after their files, producing internal letters, attending meetings etc?

[boxtops]

Your team are your internal customers, 4get, so yes, you are right there - and anyone who you might help or support with their work during the working week. The customers can be upwards or downstairs or sideways - so you might show a new person how to do something, or if your boss asks you provide some data, the boss is then your customer too.

[4getmenot]

I look after personel, recruitement, personel files, payroll etc

[rowanwitch]

Internal customers are other departments other health authorities including LHAs and SHAs the DoH and related bodies

[boxtops]

That's true, rowan, but in the terms of 4get's NVQ, it's the people she works with on a daily basis - so the staff you do payroll for are your internal customers, because you're providing a service to them. If you weren't there providing that service, they wouldn't get paid.

[4getmenot]

so I can put the carers I recruit as internal customers?

[boxtops]

Aha - they move from one category to the next - when you are advertising the jobs, you advertise to external customers - once you appoint them and they work within the organisation, they become internal.

[4getmenot]

so when I have to describe the products and services I supply to them, I could say organising personel files and doing their wages, what about a product though?

[boxtops]

You may not have a product other than a satisfied customer. When I was doing some management studies, it was all about making things and outputs, not relevant to healthcare - you have to reconsider the units in terms of "your ultimate end product is improved patient care" because you are providing a support service to people who deliver the care - would that help?

[4getmenot]

yes that helped alot thank you

[Mary1973]

If you require any further help, please feel free to message me. I am a qualified NVQ Training Assessor and have been for the past 5 years.
The answers you have recieved are correct, an Internal Customer is anyone of your colleagues, be it in your department or another, who you need to provide a service or product for, for example giving them information to enable them to do their job, you are providing them with a service.
Just keep your answers to the point and simple. Which level are you currently doing?