Session Description
“Welcome to DOL: Human-Centered Customer Service” is a required training for all new employees within their first 90 days. This course helps employees understand workplace expectations when interacting with colleagues and customers while developing the skills to manage their emotions and deliver exceptional customer service.
Join Sarah Norton for an overview of how the Washington State Department of Licensing equips learners with practical tools and strategies to build positive workplace interactions. The training explores a variety of essential topics, including growth mindset, empathy, emotional intelligence, intent versus impact, social identity, unconscious bias, effective communication, and partnering with the customer to create positive service experiences.
Learning Objectives
- Describe the core principles of DOL’s Human Centered Customer Service training and explain how they equip employees to have positive interactions with co-workers and customers.
- Recognize the role of key concepts –including growth mindset, empathy, emotional intelligence, intent versus impact, social identity, and unconscious bias – in developing positive customer experiences.
Presenter Information
Sarah Norton is a professional development and equity and inclusion specialist at the Washington State Department of Licensing. She is also the past Co-Chair of the Disability Inclusion Network, a Washington State Business Resource Group dedicated to advancing disability equity and inclusion across state agencies.
With academic foundations in psychology and library & information science, Sarah brings a unique blend of human-centered thinking and research-based insight into her work. She has been instrumental in developing internal equity and inclusion focused training and opportunities for employees and she actively contributes to statewide workgroups and committees. Sarah is recognized for her leadership in disability justice and her commitment to removing barriers within the workplace.
Sarah believes that exceptional customer service starts with seeing people first and honoring their lived experiences with empathy, dignity, and respect. She is passionate about helping people lead with curiosity to learn, grow, and connect through shared stories.
Outside of her professional role, Sarah is a passionate reader (her favorite genres are science fiction and murder mysteries) and a weekend adventurer who enjoys exploring new places across the country. She spends her free time with her long-time partner, her close friends, and her many nieces and nephews.
Sarah’s favorite movie is The Fifth Element, and her favorite dinosaur is the Triceratops.