How to Improve Customer Service and Employee Retention for Delightful Duds and Décor

Performance Analysis ReportThe Weekend Warriors

November 11, 2018

“Our mission is to provide customer satisfaction through quality and knowledgeable customer service to offer customers the most unique products in the marketplace.”

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Introduction and Background This report is submitted to Jane MacKenzie and the management of Delightful Duds and Décor (DDD) as a report of the findings and recommendations on the performance issue analyzed by the Weekend Warriors (WW). The WWs met with Jane MacKenzie regarding her concerns about poor customer phone service and low employee satisfaction. Management has indicated that an increase in telephone operators’ knowledge and skills in describing the features and benefits of products and in answering questions not covered in the online information will lead to increased sales and decreased customer complaints.

DDD management also wants to improve the work environment to address the increase in employee dissatisfaction. Currently, one employee leaves per month and 50% of staff indicate willingness to leave. Management would like to focus on staff development and recognition. They have asked The Weekend Warriors to assist them in improving on catalog training four times a year, staff development and recognition to decrease turnover, and training employees on the new SimplyOrder system.

Purpose of the Report The purpose of the Performance Analysis for Delightful Duds and Décor is to provide management with the results of our analysis, including causes and possible solutions to poor customer satisfaction regarding the telephone ordering system and the high employee turnover rate of telephone operators at DDD.

Analysis MethodsTo determine causes and recommend solutions, the Weekend Warriors performed the following:

Interviewed telephone operators, who are requesting more detailed product information that is consistently organized and easily accessible

Surveyed telephone operators and supervisors

Observed telephone operators and supervisors during customer calls

o Time from taking call to completing transaction

o Time from customer asking for product information to receiving product information

o Number of times calls were escalated to a supervisor

o Observe operators phone etiquette skills

Reviewed customer satisfaction surveys

Interviewed Susan Turner, HR director regarding new performance review process, employee roles, onboarding process, employee turnover, and incentive program

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Reviewed employee handbooks and onboarding training manual, which was minimal

Interviewed Ted Higgins, Intranet manager

Reviewed intranet usage reports and resources posted on intranet

Held a focus group of customer service supervisors regarding team dynamic, insight into the performance issue, and additional resources that may be needed

Held a group interview with Sheena Perez, merchandising manager, and Judi Thompson, catalog director, regarding half-day quarterly training on products and insight into the performance issue.

Held a focus group of star performers from the telephone operators to identify areas where employees may struggle and gain insight into the performance issue.

Data Summary: Length of Ordering TimeJeni obtained data on the percentage of calls meeting the goal of 10 minutes or less.

The majority of calls are taking substantially longer than the 10-minute goal, averaging 20 – 25 minutes each.

Data Summary: Call ObservationRebecca calculated data based on an observation of thirty calls.

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Note that only half of these observed calls were successfully handled by the telephone operator, the TO lost patience with 18% of the calls, the customer requested a supervisor in 12% of the calls, the TO escalated the call 11% of the time, and the customer cancelled the order 9% of the time.

Data Summary: Retention Rate Rebecca obtained data regarding retention rates for telephone operators for the past three years.

Note the downward trend in retention rate.

Data Summary: Customer Complaints Because two out of three customers had complaints regarding telephone operators, Tanya calculated data based on the reasons for customer dissatisfaction

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from these surveys.

Customer complaints have risen by 30% compared to last year.

Data Summary: Telephone Operator SurveyAs another means of analyzing possible causes for employee dissatisfaction, Weekend Warriors conducted an electronic survey of Telephone Operators. Respondents were asked to share their opinions regarding factors that may support or block their success at work.

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Current State, Desired State, and Recommended Solutions The following table provides the current state, or findings, of the performance analysis along with needs and recommendations for the management of DDD to consider.

Current State Desired State Recommendation to Achieve Desired State

Most employees do not know the company’s mission “to provide customer satisfaction through quality and knowledgeable customer service to offer customers the most unique products in the marketplace,” or their role in fulfilling this mission.

Employees know the company’s mission and their role in fulfilling it.

Staff Development Program

Create an employee handbook that specifies the company’s mission, hierarchical structure, how employee roles and responsibilities fulfill the mission, accountability procedures, the performance review process, incentive programs, paid monthly meeting attendance policy, remediation process, and promotion pathways.

Consider rebranding the role of telephone operator (TO) to “customer service operator” (CSO) to emphasize the company’s mission and the operator’s role in providing service. New titles and incentives could be offered to customer service supervisors who complete additional management training and take on more TO training and performance review responsibilities.

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Current State Desired State Recommendation to Achieve Desired State

Supervisors were not observed interacting directly with TOs in the call center; they remained in their offices.

100% of TOs surveyed agreed that management was not easy to communicate with.

Supervisors train and support TOs each day.

Customer service supervisors will lead daily huddles to answer TOs’ questions, highlight one new product, practice phone etiquette role plays, or share marketing techniques; assign at least one supervisor to be in the TO room for support; require management training for all supervisors; train supervisors on how to use training manuals.

Incentives are provided to operators for error-free orders, not escalating calls, and meeting goal of six calls per hour.

Incentives are given for behavior that promotes the company’s mission and goals.

Introduce a new incentive program that aligns with the company’s mission and stated goals. Provide incentives in the form of monetary raises for employees that have worked at the company for 12 consecutive months, a cash incentive to TOs who meet quarterly sales quotas, and a cash incentive to the TO with the best customer satisfaction surveys per quarter.

Staff recognition awards for earning incentives will be given during quarterly training sessions to motivate staff to meet goals.

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Current State Desired State Recommendation to Achieve Desired State

The employees and Susan Turner both stated they did not recall the details of the new performance evaluation process.

Telephone etiquette is addressed during the interview process but is not developed further on-the-job.

All employees participate in the performance review process.

Review and provide training on this process during our scheduled training session in Q1.

Supervisors use behavior checklist from employee handbook to provide scheduled performance reviews of TOs’ performance, including phone etiquette, call time, and sales volume.

TOs are using outdated equipment and systems that are slow.

TOs have to buy their own headsets.

TOs do not receive a training manual.

All employees are fully trained in operating the new order entry system, finding product information, how to process returns/exchanges, and marketing techniques.

Employee Training on New Systems

Provide hands-on, interactive training on new order system in late Q1 using new workstations.

Provide functional headsets for all TOs.

Provide training manual for TOs to refer to after training.

Scripts are not used by the Telephone Operators.

Customers receive consistent service by each Telephone Operator they are in contact with.

Create and train TOs on scripts for common customer scenarios using role play method. Supervisors can add new scenarios as needed during monthly meetings.

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Current State Desired State Recommendation to Achieve Desired State

Telephone etiquette is address during the interview process but is not developed further on-the-job.

Customers are satisfied with TOs’ phone etiquette.

Telephone etiquette is reviewed and assessed on a regular basis.

Telephone Operators ask their customers the questions on the Customer Service survey.

Customer Service survey is automated and anonymous.

Automate the Customer Service survey within the new ordering system.

Provide TOs with personalized survey results during performance review.

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Current State Desired State Recommendation to Achieve Desired State

New employees attend a one-day training upon hire. Although the training is a full day, only four hours are used to teach employees about the products and the order entry system.

The training is an instructor led slide-based presentation. There is no time given after the presentation for questions by the employees.

During the initial training phone etiquette and customer service is not covered.

The training does not include a hands-on demonstration or practice using the order entry software.

Employees are unaware of the company's mission or their part in furthering that mission.

New employees are fully trained in operating the phone system, the order entry system, phone etiquette, marketing, and customer service.

Comprehensive One-Week Employee Onboarding

One day of human resources tasks (paperwork, benefits), explanation of the company hierarchy and mission, employee handbook review and quiz, and training on the phone system.

One day of hands-on training on the new order entry system. One day would consist of training using the new training workstations. The following day employees will role play taking calls and receive supervisor feedback based on behavior checklist: phone etiquette, response speed, accuracy, and when to escalate customer calls.

Create a training manual to standardize TO training, behavior checklist, phone scripts, etiquette guidelines, and escalation process.

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Current State Desired State Recommendation to Achieve Desired State

30% of customer complaints are due to the TO’s lack of product knowledge.

67% of calls don’t meet the time requirement because TOs are looking up product information.

TOs respond quickly to customer questions and meet the goal of six calls per hour

Improve Access to Product Information

Include a revamped product database in the new ordering system and how to use it during the SimplyOrder training slated for Q1.

Provide hands-on training for the SimplyOrder system and new equipment.

Quarterly product trainings provide features and benefits of new products. TOs struggle with retention of the information.

Customers ask about shipping weight, washing instructions, and other product details that TOs still have to look up.

Quarterly trainings bring positive behavior changes by helping TOs retain or easily find product information that ultimately lead to increased sales.

Quarterly Training Redesign

Quarterly training will focus on new catalog’s featured products, product types, and role play with TOs on cross-selling and upselling techniques and phone etiquette.

TOs have stated that they do not feel it is reasonable to remember all product information that is presented in each 4-hour training.

Product information is shared during daily huddles to maximize retention.

One new product will be featured during daily huddles to reduce the cognitive load for TOs. Ideally, TOs will be able to see and examine the product during this time to improve familiarity with new products and enhance information retention.

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Proposed Solutions for Consulting Firm to Carry OutWW is prepared to assist the management of DDD with the following solutions:

Priority Solution Description

1 Provide access to complete product information within the new order entry system, in an organized fashion

We will consult with Tsien Yun and Bruce Bennet regarding the usability, information design, and interface to provide easier access to product information within the new SimplyOrder system. We will consult with Judi and Sheena on acquiring complete product information from vendors in a standardized format to import into the new system as well as working on linking products to upsell and cross-sell within the new order entry system.

2 Employee training on new order system

We will train all employees on the new system, how to access new product information and upsell features in Q1. Phone etiquette training will be incorporated into all training going forward. We will train on the Q1 catalog using hands-on demonstrations, role-plays, and modeling marketing techniques to improve sales volume.

3 Employee Onboarding We will develop and implement a week-long employee onboarding process that fully prepares TOs for their on-the-job tasks, provides them with an understanding of the company, their roles and job expectations, provides training manuals and job aids, assesses progress with a behavior checklist, and offers time for hands-on practice.

4 Staff Development Program This will incorporate a new incentive program, an ongoing training plan, the clarification of roles, and an employee handbook. Monthly meetings and daily huddles will be paid and will offer opportunities for Supervisors and TOs to work together. Managerial training for Supervisors will be provided. Surveys will be automated and linked to incentives along with sales volume.

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Priority Solution Description

5 Quarterly Training Redesign All quarterly trainings going forward will be conducted by Supervisors, who we will train to use the new TO training manual and behavior checklist, with new product information from Sheena and Judi. The TO training focus will be how to market new, featured products leading to behavior changes that increase sales. In addition, we will train Supervisors on how to lead daily huddles to introduce one new product, and role play telephone etiquette and/or marketing techniques rather than introducing all new products in one quarterly training session.

Evaluation plan WW will work with DDD to conduct evaluations at three-month intervals for at least one year to determine the effectiveness of the training. We will measure:

Customer call time—compare percentage of calls meeting the 10-minute goal to the previous 33%.

Call escalation—compare percentage of calls that require escalation to a supervisor to previous percentage.

Customer satisfaction—compare results for customer satisfaction surveys involving telephone operators’ product knowledge, etiquette, and call response time. Calculate specifics and overall rate of customer dissatisfaction via new, electronic surveys.

Employee retention rate—track telephone operator retention rate per quarter and compare with previous year.

Employee satisfaction—re-send electronic surveys to telephone operators; hold focus group for supervisors; review employee recognition results, performance reviews, and behavior checklist assessments.

Gross sales—compare quarterly sales with previous sales to evaluate how training has affected gross sales; review how many telephone operators are meeting sales quotas.

Request for ProposalWW has the expertise to assist DDD with all phases of this project. WW is skilled in developing training, assessment, and evaluation plans to help your company reach its sales goals and fulfill its stated mission. At your request, WW would be happy to submit a proposal to carry out the solutions outlined in the section entitled, “Proposed Solutions for Consulting Firm to Carry Out.”

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