Supporting Fido with Baldrige

Posted by Dawn Marie Bailey

 

For years, I volunteered as a foster mother for homeless dogs, and it was truly one of the most rewarding and one of the most stressful times of my life. I fostered Laverne and Shirley (yes, I often got to pick the names) who were a basset hound and beagle found wandering the streets together; Cocoa, an older labrador retriever, who was given up when the children of his family left for college; and Freddie, a greyhound retired from the track, among many others. I could fill this blog with happy stories of adoption, as well as some stories of dogs "bouncing back," one of the most stressful parts of animal rescue.

As a foster mother, I learned fast that there were things I could do to support the adoptive parents so that they would not feel the need to return the dogs (i.e., the "bouncing-back" part). In other words, I could provide customer support for the adoptive parents to give the new canine family members the best chance. The Criteria for Performance Excellence—a management tool for all organizations, including nonprofits such as animal shelters—calls this customer support the "customer key support requirements" (from Category 3, Customer Focus).

Adoptive parents needed a mechanism to seek information about their new family members, and, if their experience went well, they would refer to us other parents looking to adopt. I learned to support adoptive parents by providing information on veterinarians in their area as well as dog trainers. I provided them with adoption packages with toys and treats and other items to give them a good start. And I tried to offer them a way to communicate with me and possibly other groups specializing in that particular breed of dog to help them understand the dog's needs and requirements. These customer support requirements would vary depending on the experience and location of the adopter, as well as the breed of dog the adopter was bringing into his or her home.

When I began working with the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, I found that the Criteria offer a road map of questions to consider when supporting your customers. These questions can serve as a guide, especially when thinking about innovative communication mechanisms and how to keep your approaches current with your organization's needs and direction. The Criteria made me think about many other things animal rescuers could do to give their rescues the very best chance.

And if thinking about customer support mechanisms using the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence can help in dog rescue, just think how the Criteria can help in other organizations as well.

Comments

[Mecalzon]

Wow this

[Candy Somers]

bless you...great thinking and doing...

[Tom Baldrick]

Dawn,

Enjoyed reading your story and thoughts. I am sure that all of your adopted "customers" appreciated your thinking and caring for their needs.

Tom

[Michelle W.]

I am a student at the University of Dayton currently studying the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria. I think this is a great application of one of the many Baldrige subject matters and demonstrates how universal the Baldridge can be applied to various industries. You were able to succeed and improve communication between applicable parties. Something so simple as providing information and ensuring customer satisfaction will hopefully aid you in your effort to bring awareness and increase participation in regards to fostering animals. Good luck in your efforts!