The Jewels’ Journey

1. The Jewels’ Journey Feedback + Services Justine, Katie, Jude and Angela

2. OUR INDIVIDUAL JOB’S Angela: Angela completed the other parts of the feedback form. She created contacts that people could ring/write to go after the introduction (in the feedback section. Alike Justine, she created two more questions for the feedback form we created. Katie: Katie completed the Services, standards, communication and the response time parts of the customer charter. Also the greeting policy. Justine: The Feedback section of the charter introduction and conclusion, also had to decide on two questions to put on our created feedback form. Jude: Jude also completed services, she completed sections (within services) such as target groups, distribution and information and lastly the organisation itself.

3. Justine- communication (wiki and emails) • Wiki spaces was the Jewels main source of information exchange and communicating whilst in different locations. Being the office assistant I tried my best to organise and sort out wiki spaces so it ran efficiently and effectively. There were separate sections made for each piece of documentation and a different section for everyone to post there documentation under. This made wiki spaces an extremely efficient site to work with, especially when discussing communication. Although, other than wiki spaces, we used emails and emailed separate documents and wrote personal messages to a person we needed to talk to/ have a discussion with. This also helped very much as documents could be sent straight to the person of need without having to upload each separate document on wiki spaces. We emailed through notice’s of meetings etc, but In the end, they were all updated on wiki spaces as proof of documentation.

4. Justine- communication- (meetings) • Having meetings was an excellent means of communication. We always achieved something and got something sorted. We discussed a lot from deadlines to our roles. These meetings helped us understand what was expected and what was to go in the charter. The meetings we held were either formal or informal and all helped in one way or another so they were extremely beneficial. We all took in turns taking minutes and writing up agendas which in turn helped us with Writing Complex Documents.

5. Katie - Group communication • Throughout this project along with communicating within our groups it was necessary for us to communicate with other members of other groups. For instance the Customer Service Officers and Admin Assistants held two meetings in which we discussed the style guide of the final charter. We also used these group meetings as a guide line to see where each group was up to. Problems we came across … • At the beginning of the project our group had trouble understanding what exactly is was that we were doing. We struggled to figure out how we were to write a charter on SIMWEN. After having a few meeting and discussions as a group with our lecturer, we began to understand what is was we were doing and how to go about writing the charter. • Our group stumbled across a problem when we came to write our drafts for the customer charter, we realised that the charter had to be split into two or incorporate both internal and external customers

6. Katie- Support Our group worked together very well, we each supported one another. If we had any problems or questions regarding what needed to be done we would usually have a meeting to ensure problems were solved and each member of our group was up-to-date and understood what had to be finished. We had regular communication which was mainly via Wikispace, therefore if we were struggling with anything, not only was the members of our group able to help, but other members from other groups. Along with members in our group each group in SIMWEN was there to provide assistance. Meetings were held on a regular basis to which problems were solved and suggestions were made which improved our working and learning skills. We had ongoing support from our lecturers which was a big help. We struggled at the beginning, if we hadn’t spoke to anyone, we wouldn’t have gotten everything finished. Support is key in any working group!!

7. Jude- Research • To get an idea what a customer charter is every member of our group - did individual research at home - uploaded helpful internet links on wiki spaces - wrote the information down, printed some examples out and provided it at our group meeting

8. Jude- Experience • Most of our group members got a rough idea what a customer charter is through previous employment. - We talked about it in our group - Explained the content and design of previous charters • Basically, everyone who ever worked in professional environment would have seen a charter which included policies, services etc. before. • Besides our individual research it was also important to bring in our experiences to come up with our ideas for the charter.

9. Angela- Effective Group Effective groups are considered to have five essential building block. • Mutual Goals - the group must have a mission or reason for working together that is shared by all group members. • Inter-dependence – Members of group must be interdependence, they need each other’s experience, ability and commitment in order to arrive at mutual goals. • Commitment to Synergy - Group members must be committed to the idea what working together as a group leads to more effective decisions than working in isolation. • Interpersonal communication – The group must have open, honest, reliable communication that provides each group member with the information needed to understand goals, processes and responsibilities. • Problem solving, decision making – The most effective groups have agreed – upon ways to approach problem solving and decision making. This helps focus energy efficiently and reinforces the importance of process in conducting group business.

10. Angela- Conclusion In our group Jewels, we were aware well communication was very important in our group. During this team assessment, our team has demonstrated excellent communications skills through well organized meeting and wiki email. Teamwork is also very essential for us to achieve the learning outcomes of this assessment. Each member of our group has provided continuous and useful support to one another. We shared our ideas and information throughout the assessment. We enjoyed working as team!