Skip To Main Content
Site Name Here
MenuSearchA-ZSeven Schools One UniversitySeven Schools One University

Menu

  • Give
  • Apply
  • Visit
Close Menu
About
  • Administrative Offices
  • Campus Maps
  • Core Values
  • Fast Facts
  • Travel and International Services
  • Other USM Schools
  • Policies and Procedures
  • Strategic Plan
  • Sustainability
  • Middle States
  • MPowering the State
  • News
  • University Leadership
  • UMB Experts Guide
Academics
  • Academic Calendar
  • Academy of Lifelong Learning
  • Blackboard
  • Libraries
  • Office of the Provost
  • SURFS
  • UMB Program Explorer
Admissions
  • Financial Aid
  • International Students
  • Military and Veterans
  • Office of the Registrar
Research
  • Breakthroughs Can’t Wait
  • Offices and Contacts
  • Resources for Investigators
  • Services for Investigators
  • UMB Research Profile
University Life
  • Arts and Culture
  • Bookstore
  • Emergency
  • Housing
  • Museums
  • Parking and Transportation Services
  • Rooms Available on Campus
  • SMC Campus Center
  • Student Organizations
  • Student Policies
  • URecFit and Wellness
  • UMB shuttle
  • Welcome to Baltimore
  • One Card
Info For
  • Current Students
  • Faculty and Staff
  • Alumni and Donors
  • Community Members
Resources
  • The Elm
  • Calendar
  • myUMB
  • Directory
  • Blackboard
  • SURFS
  • Emergency
  • UMB Shuttle
Seven Schools One University

Search

Close Menu
Common Searched Terms
  • Graduation 2025
  • Campus Tour
  • Jobs at UMB
  • Parking
  • Tuition Remission
  • Registrar
  • Qualtrics
  • Human Resources
  • URecFit and Wellness
  • Tuition
  • Help Desk

A–Z

Close Menu
    Administration and Finance

    News and Announcements Archive

    1. UMB Home
    2. About UMB
    3. Administrative Offices
    4. Administration and Finance
    5. Happening in A&F
    6. News and Announcements Archive
    • UMB HomeAbout UMBAdministrative OfficesAdministration and FinanceHappening in A&FNews and Announcements Archive

    Kickoff to ‘Service Excellence – One Interaction at a Time’ Draws Overflow Crowd

    Administration and Finance begins rolling out new program.

    November 10, 2023   |   by Dan Reed

    Standing room only crowd for the launch of Service Excellence One Interaction at a Time

    It was a “standing room-only” event as attendees were tucked into every chair, every desk, and in the aisles. The occasion was the kickoff to “Service Excellence — One Interaction at a Time.” The overflow attendance was a welcome sight for Dawn M. Rhodes, DBA, senior vice president and chief business and finance officer for Administration and Finance (A&F). The day represented the culmination of a journey that was more than five years in the making.

    In 2018, Rhodes set out to develop and implement an overarching program to help all Administration and Finance employees enhance their professional and personal interactions within the UMB community. Inspired by the customer service program she created while at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), “Service with Distinction,” Rhodes set out to create “Service Excellence — One Interaction at a Time” at UMB. The initiative she sought to create was to improve the customer’s experience when interacting with any A&F employed individuals, whether in person, by email, or by telephone. 

    However, Rhodes didn’t want to simply replicate the program she oversaw at IUPUI; she wanted to create a program that was tailored to the specific challenges and situations that were encountered by A&F personnel. She recognized that A&F’s Guiding Principles, which were finalized in January 2022, would make an ideal starting point in envisioning how the project might take shape.

    To create the UMB program, Rhodes assembled a team to assess where the A&F community was in terms of customer service. This group sought to understand what sort of challenges employees faced, how these challenges impacted their work, and how these challenges could be best addressed within the A&F divisions and units. In this initial phase of program development, the A&F leadership team met with their customers to identify possible areas of improvement. This information became the themes around which the program would be structured.

    Delayed but Not Derailed

    The program was coming together nicely in 2020. But like so many aspects of life, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with a few untimely staff departures, delayed the rollout of the program. Despite these setbacks, development continued on the program curriculum until dedicated staff were hired in 2022.

    Karen Park, MA, MBA, chief of staff and director, strategic projects, and Zandra Rawlinson, EdD, director of organization and employee development, Human Resource Services (HRS), worked together to provide programmatic oversight and to advance the development of the program curriculum, which included the development of an employee self-assessment as well as a stakeholder assessment. Through funding provided by A&F, Elisa Medina, LCSW-C, MSW, ACC, project administrator, organization and employee development, HRS, was later added to the team in 2023 to spearhead the rollout and ongoing implementation.

    In 2022, the program was rolled out to a pilot group of individuals from Strategic Sourcing and Acquisition Services (SSAS). The program consisted of on-demand and interactive learning modules to help foster a service culture that exemplifies excellence customer service. The goal is to provide customer service that exceeds expectations.

    Upon completion, pilot participants were surveyed on what aspects of the program worked best, and what elements could be enhanced. Based on their feedback, the program was tweaked and deemed ready for rollout.

    Rolling Out Service Excellence — One Cohort at a Time

    The invitation to the kickoff event went out to all A&F employees and drew well in excess of 200 people, filling the large auditorium in Pharmacy Hall North. Rawlinson, Rhodes, Medina, and Keith Gagnon, MBA, assistant vice president of strategic sourcing and acquisition — whose cohort served as the pilot — all spoke briefly about what the program entailed and what participants could expect.

    The program rollout will consist of 11 cohorts that are made up of various A&F divisions and units, and a new cohort will begin each month. Every cohort will complete the program’s four phases: orientation, self-guided learning through Percipio, support and implementation sessions, and then a followup survey 18 months after implementation of action plans to gauge the efficacy of the program.

    Rhodes said she hopes everyone who receives a stakeholder survey — and it’s likely many people on campus will receive more than one — will take a few minutes out of their busy day to answer the questions honestly and thoughtfully. Doing so will help ensure each individual will get the full and intended benefits of the program.

    “My heart is so full as we finally get to launch this program that was years in the making,” Rhodes said to the standing room-only crowd. “If we focus all of our attention on the customer, and each individual interaction that we’re having with them, then everything else falls into place.”


    • Back to News and Announcements Archive

    Contact

    Administration and Finance

    The Saratoga Building
    220 Arch Street
    Baltimore, MD 21201

    Commonly Used Pages

    Admin. and Finance Leadership Unit and Division Templates Happening in Admin. and Finance Success Office Programs and Services
    University of Maryland Baltimore

    The University of Maryland, Baltimore is the founding campus of the University System of Maryland.

    620 W. Lexington St., Baltimore, MD
    21201 | 410-706-3100

    • The Elm
    • Calendar
    • Emergency
    • Mobile UMB
    • UMB Shuttle
    • myUMB
    • Directory
    • IT Help Desk
    • Facilities Work Request
    • Jobs
    • Middle States
    • Strategic Plan
    • Sustainability
    • Clery Report
    • UMB Hotline
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    The University of Maryland, Baltimore prohibits sex discrimination in any education program or activity that it operates. Individuals may report concerns or questions to the Title IX Coordinator. Read the UMB Notice of Non-Discrimination.
    © 2024-2025 University of Maryland, Baltimore. All rights reserved.
    • Privacy Policy
    • Web Accessibility
    • Web Feedback
    • Non-Discrimination