Professional

Services

Measuring
Service
Quality

BY JIM

ALEXANDER, ED.D.

Figure 1

nately, thats the

only view that
counts. Fur ther(Source: The Management Consulting Client Report, KIRG)
more, ther e are
lots of indicators
(e.g., increase in
(Average Score, 1-5 scale)
lawsuits, a slow3.85
down in consulting
3.58
fee growth) that
3.60
this overall customer satisfaction
3.40
is on the decrease.
This is not good
news. Low satisfacHR
Strategy
Operations
IT
tion makes clients
Management
very open to evaluating alternative
providers and shopping on price.
ts true. As shown in Figure 1
Overall customer satisfaction
above, the providers of highmeasures are excellent tools for
technology professional services
monitoring firm performance.
are doing the poorest job of all
However, these metrics often lack
consultants from the customers
the specificity needed to help target
eyesand fortunately or unfortuthe highest potential opportunities.

IT Consultants Score Lowest in

Client Satisfaction

This is where measures of service

quality become a diagnostic tool.
Service quality in professional services is all about the clients perception of how your implementation
goesfrom engagement acceptance
to completed project sign-off.
Some seminal work by three
service marketing researchers not
only demonstrated the direct relationship between service quality
and customer satisfaction, but also
identified the five contributing dimensions:1
ReliabilityAbility to perform
the promised service dependably and accurately.
ResponsivenessWillingness
to help clients and provide
prompt service.
AssuranceKnowledge and
courtesy of employees and their
ability to convey trust and confidence.

1
2
3

July 2001 AFSM International 41

Professional Services
Figure 2

4
5

EmpathyCaring, individualized attention the firm provides

its clients.
TangiblesPhysical facilities,
equipment, technology, and
appearance of personnel.
From their research, they created a service quality assessment
that measured these five areas in
terms of customer expectations as
well as the customers perception
of his current suppliers service
quality performance. The better
the organization delivers on the
above five areas, the better the
customers perception of service
quality and the higher the
customers satisfaction.
Ive modified and simplified
their initial assessment to come up
with a quick, focused survey of service quality (see Figure 2) that is
appropriate for use by professional
services organizations. Ive used it
to help organizations compare the
expectations-performance gaps and
then pinpoint areas where improvement efforts might have the most
dramatic impact. Use of the tool
also has been very effective in getting organization personnel to first
recognize the importance of service
quality and then accept the changes
needed in behavior to improve their
own performance.
This assessment has been adapted
from the article A Conceptual
Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research, by
A. Parasuraman, Valerie A. Zeithaml,
and Leonard L. Berry, which appeared in the Journal of Marketing,
published by the American Marketing Association.

Tips on Implementing the

Service Quality Assessment
The following are some tips that
42 AFSM International www.afsmi.org

Service Quality Assessment

Respondent:

Date:

Please complete both sections of this short assessment (10 minutes

or less) candidly. Your scores will be averaged with that of others and
kept confidential.
Thank you for your feedback.
I. Your Expectations of Professional Services Providers
This section deals with your expectations of the professional services
providers you work with. Please pick a number that corresponds with
how strongly you agree or disagree with each statement.
How much do you agree that services providers should?
Strongly
Disagree
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

perform services right the first time

complete actions by the time promised
be dependable
be reachable anytime, any way
never be too busy to respond to requests
explain exactly when and how you will
be helped
have up-to-date equipment and technology
have visually appealing facilities
have appropriate-appearing personnel
understand your specific issues and needs
be consistently courteous
instill confidence via their behaviors
show a sincere interest in your problems
give you individual attention
have your best interest at heart

Strongly
Agree

1
1
1
1
1
1

2
2
2
2
2
2

3
3
3
3
3
3

4
4
4
4
4
4

5
5
5
5
5
5

6
6
6
6
6
6

7
7
7
7
7
7

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3

4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4

5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5

6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6

7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7

II. Your Perceptions of ABC

How much do you agree that ABC?
Strongly
Disagree
1. performs services right the first time
2. completes actions by the time promised
and so on...

Strongly
Agree

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

can be helpful when implementing

the Service Quality Assessment:
Do it over the phone: It greatly
improves participation and takes 10
minutes or less per survey.
Offer clients a summary of your
findings as an enticement to participate.
Graph the findings, comparing
expectation scores against perceptions.
Use the expectation-perception
gaps to target performance improvement efforts.
Communicate findings to your
clients as well as everyone in your
organization.
Other service quality tips include:
Institutionalize service quality

by routinely tracking after each

project and communicating overall
scores on a regular basis.
Make service quality an issue
with your clients before engagements are sold. Put into the specs
that service quality will be measured
by both the client and the professional services organization.
Get feedback during the
projectdont wait till its all over.
This gives you a chance to recover
before its too late.
Make service quality scores an
element of both consultant evaluation and consultant compensation.
Make service quality scores an
element of salesperson evaluation
and compensation, as it is a vital role
of the salesperson to both set and

initially manage client expectations.

Promote your service quality
prowess to differentiate your organization from the rest of the
crowd.
1 A. Parasuraman, Valerie A. Zeithaml,
Leonard L. Berry. A Conceptual Model
of Service Quality and Its Implications
for Future Research. Journal of Marketing. American Marketing Association. Vol.
49. pp. 41-50.

Jim Alexander is president of

Alexander Consulting, LLC, a management consultancy that creates and
implements strategies for professional
services organizations. He may be contacted at 239-283-7400 or visit
w w w. a l e x a n d e r c o n s u l t i n g s b i z .
com.

This article originally appeared in the July 2001 issue of The Professional Journal, a publication of AFSM International, Fort Myers, Florida

July 2001 AFSM International 43