Spotlight on Nelnora Johnson
Most often when a parent dials the main phone number at Cook Children's, they are doing so at a point when life isn't going perfectly. Call Center Representative Nelnora Johnson recognizes this.
Most often when a parent dials the main phone number at Cook Children's, they are doing so at a point when life isn't going perfectly. Call Center Representative Nelnora Johnson recognizes this and knows she and her fellow call center representatives must be the calm in the storm the family is living through.
"In order to do this job effectively, you have to have a healthy amount of understanding," Nelnora said. "We must all listen actively and respond compassionately."
And this is the one universal approach they can take because not all situations will be the same. She likens it to a fairly common guessing game.
"When talking to parents, they won't always know what to say or what to ask for; so we have to play 20 questions," she explained with a smile. "Even though they may already be slightly frustrated or anxious in that initial conversation, we have a responsibility to educate them and get them to the right place they need to go or to person they need to talk to. Being that solution and making that connection for them is so very rewarding to me."