People Process Technology Blog

Finding the Root Cause

Posted by: Bob Craig

Looking for the root cause? In the real world, you have to dig around in the dirt to see what’s going on. Your tools are a couple of gloves and a trowel. Any gardener will tell you that you are better off when you are messing in the roots of a plant to do the bulk of the work with your hands because the trowel can actually break the roots and damage the plant. In our business world, you also have to dig around for the root cause of performance issues as well. It might be just as messy! Your tools are two ears and a mouth. And just like a gardener, you are much better off using your two ears because your mouth may actually prevent you from finding what is really going on and can damage the relationship and the performance of the person you are working with. In fact, so many times we are in such a big hurry, and we are so busy telling them what we think they should do that we never actually hear the root cause of the problem no matter how many times they tell it to us. In any coaching conversation they should be talking way more than you and if that is not happening, you are telling instead of listening…  Listen and observe a lot today… you will be surprised what you can learn!

Priorities

Guest Blogger: Bob Craig

I’m wondering when you do your thinking about what you are doing.  Bill Gates sees and thinks differently than most people do.  He has an amazing ability to find the flaws, or see opportunities, or connect the dots.  He can zoom in to details with precision or zoom out to the big picture.  He can flip back in time or fast forward to the future.  He also has the ability to focus on the merits of the idea or innovation before worrying about the business case. Chances are, you could benefit from Bill’s thinking skills, even if it simply means getting a new perspective on your problems.

First in his thought pattern is Prioritize. The question is “What’s the best thing you should be thinking about?” It starts here. Since time is your most limited and precious resource, this is about asking whether the problem is even worth your time.  Before you throw more time at it, figure out whether it’s worth it.  Is it significant?  How much time should you spend on it?  Think like Bill: Today what is your priority?

Needs Assessment Requires Experience, Objectivity, Confidentiality and Efficiency

Posted by: Jonena Relth, President and Leadership Evangelist

 

IF done right, a needs assessment will positively impact your return on investment (ROI).

 

As performance improvement professionals, we are naturally approached with requests for training development and delivery.  These are two of TBD’s core competencies, but we would do our clients a huge disservice if we simply sprang into action to develop instructor-led or online curriculum without first pausing to ask some important questions, such as:

©      What gives you the impression that your employees don't know how to perform the job or task?

©      Have they already received training for this skill?

©      Is there anything else that might prevent or discourage their expected performance on the job?

©      How is their lack of performance in this area affecting your customers? Your bottom line?

Once we have answers to a few basic questions, we conduct a needs assessment to determine whether it is the lack of skills, knowledge, training or other factors that are preventing your employees from doing their best on the job.  When you can affect a positive change in performance, you can increase your ROI and improve your employee and customer satisfaction.

 

 

However, when making changes, whether involving small procedural changes or large system implementations, there are consequences, both intended and unintended, to other parts of your organization. Before making changes, you need to view the organization holistically, which is where the value of a needs assessment is realized because it opens up other pieces to the employee performance puzzle such as:

© What are the positive and negative consequences of leaving things as they are?

© What positive and negative consequences will be felt by the departments directly involved, before and during and after the change?

©  How will the changes affect the organization as a whole?

 

 

Why ask an outside firm to conduct the needs assessment?

 

Although you can conduct a needs assessment yourself, there are several good reasons to engage an outside firm:

©      Experience.  An outside firm with extensive experience in conducting needs assessments can quickly identify the root cause of a performance issue and clearly define the problem.  This allows you to zero in on the right solutions and increase your ROI.

©      Objectivity.  The outside firm does not have preconceived ideas or a stake in a particular outcome, so you remove some of the bias created when conducting an in-house, needs assessment.

©      Confidentiality.  Employees who participate in the data gathering phase feel “safer” that the information they provide to an outside party will not be linked to their names and impact their careers.

©      Efficiency.  An outside firm can quickly organize and execute the process with minimal disruption to your business.

 

How is a needs assessment conducted?

 

The questions we ask and the process we use will relate directly to the performance issue you have identified.  The bottom line is that one size does NOT fit all.

 

First, it's important to use a variety of methods to collect information from senior leaders, supervisors and front line employees.  Most often, we use questionnaires and focus groups, either in person or virtually.  We review existing training, reference systems, hiring practices, dashboard stats, performance review forms and other resources.  Depending on the complexity of the issue, the data gathering can be completed in just a few days or could take weeks - or even months, but you can usually plan on getting a pretty clear picture of what's going on within 2 months.

 

Once you've gathered enough information, summarize the findings and your recommendations in a report.  The recommendations should outline performance improvement solutions that may or may not include training.  Be sure to recommend next steps and estimate costs to implement the solutions.

 

If it’s not a training issue, what else could be preventing your employees from performing on the job?

 

©      Communication.  Your employees know how to do the work.  However, they are not clear about which tasks are the most important or where they should be spending the majority of their time.  Perhaps they do not have important information at their fingertips.

©      Empowerment.  Your employees know how to do the job but are discouraged from making important decisions on the spot.  One client wanted employees to hold firm in pricing discussions with customers, and even provided repeated training for their employees in this area.  However, supervisors were regularly reversing staff decisions if the customer complained.  The employees soon figured out that it wasn’t worth debating with customers only to be overruled by their supervisors. 

©      Incentives are disincentives.  Incentives can backfire if the wrong behavior is reinforced.  For example, if employees are incented to reduce the amount of time spent on the phone with each customer, they may rush through calls, thereby negatively impacting customer service goals and your ROI.

©      Environment.  Your employees have been trained to perform a task a certain way, but few people around them follow the “official” procedures.  When they ask for guidance, they receive conflicting answers.

 

Asking the right questions and analyzing the answers is the gateway to the right solutions.

 

If performing in-depth needs assessment is not a core competency in your organization, involve outside consultants who have a proven track record of getting to the root causes of issues and who can recommend solid, "easy" to implement solutions.  Note: I've seen many pricy solutions recommended by well-meaning consulting firms that simply add layers of work and no real solution.  The bottom line should be that the solution should ultimately save you time, money and energy while you focus on what you do best – running your business.  Remember, positive ROI is a good thing.  That's why we're in business, right?

Mama always says, "It's better to find the truth now than to solve a non-issue and leave the real issue left unresolved!"

Being agile to conquer business challenges is one of the most critical success factors for organizations today.  TBD Consulting assist our clients to navigate and manage organizational and cultural changes.  We don’t just recommend strategies; we work with clients to develop a comprehensive solution to foster employee engagement in meeting business results.  With extensive, real-life experience in the corporate world, we know what works and help our clients create corporate culture solutions that actively sustain change management initiatives.

To learn more, please visit our website: http://tbdconsulting.com/index.php/solutions/organizational-development/

Or call to speak with one of our performance improvement professionals. 602-263-1961

Jonena

How Big Is Your Cave?

Posted by:  Ken Pilone

Trust in your people, empower them and let them help you find and eliminate the waste that they see every day!  Unleash their passion and they will rally around you in ways you have yet to imagine!

As our economy continues to circle the drain, panic is beginning to set in.  The President has recently signed into law a bill to boost job growth.  But our confidence in our government is at an all time low.  What little credibility there may have been in our elected leaders has all but vanished in a sea of cynicism and a deep rooted sense of disillusionment and disappointment.  Fear has replaced optimism. 

This bill claims to be able to create 250,000 jobs but our economy has lost 8.4 MILLION jobs since the start of the recession.  The approach congress has taken is to provide meager tax incentives for companies that create jobs that last 1 year or longer.  How meager?  The company would get a 6.2% reduction in payroll Social Security taxes through December of 2010 and a whopping $1,000 credit for employees that lasted a year.  Huh?  In other words, you can save $1,000 if you hire a person for, say, $50,000!  Like I said, meager. We are now forced into a ‘back to basics’ frame-of-mind. 

So what do we do now?  We must attack this problem at its source.  Business has to collectively and deliberately create jobs.  We need to do it for the benefit of our nation.

We need to go back to what I call a ‘caveman mentality’.  When you think about it, why did early humans live in caves in the first place?  Answer: to avoid being eaten.  The cave was a place to shelter from the elements and predators.  But it was more than that.  It was also a place for people to work collectively for the common good.  It was a place where people could find peace and community not just protection. 

Companies are modern day caves.  They provide people with many of the same needs for shelter, a place where basic needs are met and a place for social interaction.  Just as some caves were better than others, some companies are better than others but the basic needs are the same.  What kind of cave do you have?  Do your people feel safe and secure?  Are they?

We know that business, particularly small business is and always will be, the primary economic engine that drives our economy and hence our lifestyle.  We can’t rely on the government to help us.  That much is clear.  Here’s what we need to do.  We have to manufacture jobs! 

But how do we pay for them?  Time for a little basic math.  Businesses have 3 choices; they can add profit to their cost of doing business to establish price (cost + profit = price); they can keep price steady to stay competitive and reduce cost to retain profit (price = profit – cost); or they can do both.  We can achieve more from reducing cost than from increasing profit or raising prices. 

This is how we create jobs.  We mobilize everybody in the company to find and close all the small holes in the enterprise where profit seeps out.  This allows us to keep more of what we make and to create jobs for others who desperately need a cave right now.  Open your cave to more people who will bring more diversity, creativity, innovation and profit!

There is meaning in this for us.  Of course we must be able to make money to stay afloat.  But beyond that, why does your company exist?  Is there any higher purpose beyond trying to please your shareholders and the B.O.D.?  I hope so.  Wouldn’t you rather hire people vs. laying them off? 

This isn’t a trick question.  The fact is that it is your PEOPLE that will determine their own fate if management will only let them.  Turn them loose on the problem; not the solution.  Don’t say to them, ‘sorry folks but we have to lay off 20% of you because of lack of profit’.  Instead bring them the problem to solve.  Say something like, ‘people, we have a great problem to be solved but it can be solved with your help’. 

Take a humility pill.  And as I said above, trust in your people, empower them and let them help you find and eliminate the waste that they see every day!  Show them through your actions that there is a higher purpose.  This will unleash their passion and they will rally around you in ways you have yet to imagine!  Think of the families you will save from the abyss!

Prepare to be amazed.

All the best, Ken

How to Stay Afloat

Posted by: Ken Pilone, TBD Consultant and Lean Expert

If you think about it, a ship will sink just as fast from a thousand small holes as it will from one big one.  In fact, it would sink faster.  Why?  Because big holes get noticed.  The captain of the ship will swiftly mobilize every member of the crew when a torpedo hits and yet be completely oblivious to all the tiny leaks occurring throughout the ship all the time.  As long as the ship can pump the water out as fast as it comes in, nobody seems to notice. 

Think of sales as the bilge pump in this analogy.  We tend to think we can overcome our wasteful practices if we could just sell more.  This puts the company under great stress.  Wouldn’t it better to keep what you make in the first place rather than have it leak out all over the place?

The trick is to teach ALL of your staff to ‘see.’  They can be trained to identify waste that you may not be aware of in the first place.  For example, do you create reports that nobody reads?  Do you even know?  Every product, service, task and goal should be challenged to determine what value it provides and, most importantly, to whom.  Who is the ‘customer’ of the report (internal or external)?  What do they do with it?  Is it 100% useful?  What if you omitted section 3?  What improvements do they want?

Here’s an easy but powerful way to attack this.  Have your managers invite their staff to a meeting.  The price of admission is a stack of sticky notes on which each person lists every task, project, etc. they are responsible for, one task per note. The manager draws a window of 4 panes on a whiteboard as below:

RR (Right work done Right)	RW (Right work done Wrong)
WR (Wrong work done Right)	WW (Wrong work done Wrong)

The group then posts their notes on one of panes, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey style, representing what they think the value to the customer is according to the below:

RR = work customers want and is of high quality

RW = work customers want but needs improvement

WR = work customers don’t want but is of high quality

WW = work customers don’t want and is of low quality

 

Keep in mind that some tasks may overlap two or more panes meaning that it may have some parts that are RR and other parts that may be RW, WR or WW.

 

After each person has put up their notes, stand back and look at your wall.  What do you see?  NOTE:  the top panes represent value-added work.  That is to say that you have determined that there is in fact a customer for those tasks.  Those below are, by definition, non-value added -- meaning the customer either doesn’t exist or doesn’t want that service, product, report, etc.  Pay close attention to the WR box.  This is where pet projects and sacred cows tend to collect.  This is also a great place to start in lowering the waterline to expose waste.

 

For each sticky note, an action should be taken even if it is just to validate that it is indeed work that you should be doing.  One tricky part is work that is regulatory in nature or required by company policy or procedure, e.g., creating budgets or conducting performance appraisals.  The challenge here is to first determine if it is truly needed and, if so, to be as efficient as possible so as to minimize the time you spend on work your customers aren’t willing to pay for.

Employees tend to love this process.  It is a way for them to safely tell you, the manager, what they are doing that may not, at least from their point of view, be necessary.  By listening carefully, you may be able to lighten their load a little while at the same time drawing closer to your customers and building morale and trust.

Try it.  You’ll like it.

The Missing Middle

Posted by: Ken Pilone

Think about this.  If you want to become a plumber so you can clean out other peoples’ toilets, you’ll need a license.  If you want to give manicures, you’ll need a license.  Before you can cut somebody’s hair, you guessed it; you’ll need a license.  But, if you want to be a supervisor or manager, NO formal training, certification or standards are required!  No license necessary! 

So, you can have an enormous impact on the life, health, security, self-esteem and even lifestyle of your people (and their families) without so much as an hour of preparation! 

Remember the story about the farmer who asked his chicken and his pig to help him make breakfast?  The chicken gave him eggs, the pig provided the ham.  Put another way, the chicken was involved; the pig was committed!  When it comes to supervisors and managers, how committed are they in your farm? 

Contrary to what most consultants worry about, I’m not too concerned about top level executive support (I know this is blasphemy, but read on).  In my experience, most of them get it.  That is to say, they know they need to move their organizations forward.  They read the books, talk to other execs, see what their competitors are doing and are often frustrated with what is going on inside their own companies.  They get beat up regularly by their boards of directors and shareholders.  They want very much to shake things up and overcome the status quo.  There is no lack of motivation here.  All they need is credible help to nudge their staff along and overcome that negative inertia. 

Likewise, I don’t worry about the bottom of the chain-of-command either.  These workers are in the trenches doing their best to try to make a difference.  They see the problems, want to contribute and are eager to help if anybody bothers to ask them what needs fixing.  They just need a voice, support and permission to use their God-given talents to solve problems.

I DO worry about middle management.  A lot.  That’s why I titled this thing, the ‘missing middle’.  They are the insulating layer(s) between the top and bottom.  But, they also have the most to lose by taking risks.  They get pressure from every direction top, bottom and the sides.  Their boss wants more of them, workers want direction and meaning in their work, peers want their unselfish cooperation regardless of the circumstances and customers want action.  Supervisors and middle managers (or mid-level managers) are the company’s shock absorbers. 

If that isn’t enough in ‘normal’ times, it’s even worse in this economy as companies struggle to do more with less.  As layoffs and other cost-cutting moves take effect, supervisor and middle managers are left to pick up the pieces.  They become over-burdened, stressed out, confused and paranoid.

In fact, most organizational initiatives fail, not because they were bad ideas but because their strategies failed to take into account the critical importance of their supervisors and middle managers. Think back on past management initiatives.  There was the MBO, TQM, Quality Circles, the Baldridge Award, the Balanced Scorecard, ISO Certification, Six Sigma, etc, etc, etc.  Remember those?  Are you happy with the results you got from them?  If not, why not?  Did you get a return on your training ‘investment?

Most companies engaged in the latest management flavor-of-the-month because they were hoping those programs would actually DO something.  Think back.  How committed were your mid-level managers/supervisors?  What did those initiatives mean to THEM? Most of us spent at least some time in those seats.  Remember what it felt like to be there?

Here’s the good news.  It’s fixable.  The way to move the organization forward is to engage your mid-level managers up FRONT; deliberately!  Figure out what they need to overcome their own well-deserved skepticism and natural resistance to change.  Think of this as turning the organization inside out.  They will make you or break you.  Does it make sense to ignore them or to shove the latest flavor down their throats?  These supervisors have a multiplier impact.  Positive or negative, it makes no difference. 

Finally, ask yourself how these folks became supervisors and middle managers in the first place?  Was it because they were the most senior?  Were they the best among their peers?  Or were they graduates of a conscious, deliberate training program to help them morph into the role of supervisor? 

Most supervisors and mid-level managers get promoted or hired into their jobs based on experience, training or technical expertise.  They are generally NOT well prepared to coach or develop their employees. Coaching just comes with the job but is not considered as high a priority as technical competence.  Read the supervisor or middle manager job description of your company.  Is coaching even mentioned?  If so, are they held accountable to it?  If not, why not? The consequences of failure in this arena can cost you.  Big time. 

This should keep you awake at night; according to Gallup’s research group, when it comes to attitudes people have about their jobs and their companies, immediate supervisors and middle managers trump ALL other factors!  So when your people go home after work, it is the supervisor that gets talked about over the kitchen table.  It is the supervisor who has the biggest impact on their lives and yes, even their health. People don’t quit companies, they quit supervisors!  And yet, they tend to be the most neglected and circumvented group within the whole organization! 

Moral of the story, if you really want to improve your company, do whatever it takes to make sure your middle managers and supervisors are prepared to lead and coach others and make sure they are aligned with the direction your company is taking.  Ask yourself, what it would take to ensure that my supervisors are really committed to our direction, not just involved?

As always, we are here to help. 

How to Save Your Business: Six Sigma? Lean? Both? What’s a Company to Do?

Posted by: Ken Pilone, TBD Consultant and Lean Expert

Six Sigma?  Lean? Both?  What’s a Company to Do?
 
Nowadays, organizations of all stripes are trying to figure out how to maximize their workforce productivity and yet deliver exceptional value to their customers.  Many companies have gone through agonizing layoffs just to stay afloat.  People laid off are devastated; confused; scared and traumatized.  Whole families fall into shock and disarray.  Ironically those NOT laid off also suffer greatly.  They are over-burdened doing the work of those laid off, stressed to the breaking point, frightened, confused, disenchanted and generally demoralized.  Their reward for finishing their plate of spinach is another plate of spinach!  Wow.  Not good.
 
As the economy worsens, those companies are facing an increasingly difficult dilemma; the basic question being framed here is, ‘how do we increase value to our customers while at the same time, manage an increasingly disengaged, fearful and cynical workforce?  As these negative factors take hold and become multipliers, overall morale drops to critical levels and drags productivity down with it. As the impact hits home the poor attitudes of your staff become obvious to customers and the rest as they say, is history.  In aviation there’s a term called a ‘flat spin.'  This is a nightmare, worst case scenario where none of the plane’s controls work.  If this happens the outcome is certain.
 
So, what’s a company to do?
  
Hope can be found via a set of interventions that, in many cases, have literally saved organizations from the brink of certain death.  Here are two approaches that might just save the day along with some high level descriptions of each.
1.  Six Sigma arose from a need to reduce or eliminate defects both in process and products or services.  It has achieved enormous results where quality issues were the primary concern.  It relies heavily on statistical analysis and process controls using highly specialized experts to lead the way.
2.  The term 'Lean' was first introduced to describe the vaunted Toyota Production System in a landmark book, The Machine That Changed the World by Jim Womack.  He described what he observed as a Lean Manufacturing system that later morphed into ‘Lean Thinking’ and is now generically known as just ‘Lean.’
3.  Some companies have developed a hybrid of the two known as ‘lean/six sigma’ to describe their overall improvement strategy deploying a blend of the best of both approaches.  All three have unique qualities and share some overlapping philosophies, techniques and tools. 
 
For example all these approaches:
• Can achieve relatively quick, significant improvements within their specific ‘target areas' 
• Focus on adding value to customers 
• Empower workers to solve problems as low in the company as possible (although differently). 
• Seek to identify and eliminate waste in all its forms
• Use solving real operational problems (vs. hypothetical case studies) to teach workers
• Have the option of bringing in external resources to assist when internal resources are lacking
 
In the case of Six Sigma; the approach is to invest heavily in a select cadre of employees who become experts called ‘Black Belts’.  They function like paramedics.  When the bell rings, they bring their expertise to the place where it is needed, fix what’s wrong and move on to the next place.  Usually they will also conduct beginner level ‘Green Belt’ training as a means of leaving behind ‘trained people’ who have hopefully learned by solving real problems.  Pros: Generally quick results and elimination of quality problems.  Cons:  It relies on a separate ‘class’ of workers who can lose focus on their real jobs and who can risk being distracted by pursuing a sub-career working to increase their status and influence within the Six Sigma ‘belt system’.  Many of those without training will shun it due to its tediousness and complexity.  They react to the rigors of the system the way some of us run from the Amway guy down the hall.  No offense.  I used to be one.
 
Lean approaches this empowerment/productivity dilemma differently.  It seeks to create a ‘culture’ of improvement so that ALL employees are trained to be expert problem solvers.  It seeks to narrow the gap between workers and supervisors so that the line between the two becomes blurry and even indistinguishable.  Traditionally supervisors are expected to be ‘experts’ with experience.  They often come from the ranks themselves.  They solve problems and make decisions.  In a lean culture these become basic skill levels shared by every level. 
 
In advanced lean cultures, the supervisor’s role gradually evolves along a continuum from expert, to boss, to teacher, to teammate, to coach, and ultimately to mentor.  Many decisions are made at the lowest level possible in these organizations.  Even those seemingly ‘sacred’ functions such as hiring, firing, scheduling or purchasing can be made by first line workers who function at a very high level.  This is accomplished through a strong emphasis on training and empowerment which leads to much higher levels of engagement and the unleashing of discretionary effort. 
 
Put simply, Lean helps you draw from your staff not just their hands but also their heads and their hearts.  Pros:  Employees are trained to solve their own or their team’s problems which taps into their creativity, innovation and natural talents triggering high levels of employee satisfaction and productivity.  It also strengthens teamwork and general business acumen dramatically.  Cons: Even though problems can be solved quickly, changing any culture takes time to achieve.  
 
Lean/Six Sigma, when working together as ‘bookends’, this blend gets you an organization that focuses on customer value, eliminates defects/waste and lifts empowerment which lead directly to higher levels of productivity and morale which put you on a journey to a lean culture.  Sounds easy.  It isn’t.  But neither is raising kids.  But hopefully it will lead to some level of satisfaction.  Although with kids, the jury’s still out.
 
Of course this is an oversimplification but hopefully it helps you have a basic framework to discern what would work best for your company. 
 
My recommendation?  It depends.  There are too many variables involved.  But, with a gun to my head, I’d pick Lean because it is a more lasting solution that builds long term capability within the organization while enriching peoples’ lives along the way.  Better yet, take two and call me in the morning.
 
Best always,
Ken

Unleashing the Hidden Potential of Your Staff

Posted by: Ken Pilone

Imagine reading this ad in the Sunday paper classified ads:
Wanted: Passionate people to work tirelessly, without pay or benefits, high risk of injury and/illness, emotionally traumatizing, physically exhausting. 

Ready to sign up?  I didn’t think so.  But what if I told you the ad was looking for volunteers to help the Haitian people survive and re-build?  A lot of people are EAGER to sign up for this!  Why?  What’s the difference?  In a word, meaning.  Do your people find meaning in their work? 

Consider these variations on the same word used in these sentences; my work is demeaning or my job is meaningless.  Would your staff use words like that to describe their jobs? 

Let’s be honest.  We CAN keep our jobs as long as we meet some real or imaginary ‘minimum.’  We often see our staff working at the level at which they feel they ‘have to’ but no more.  By some estimates we could keep our jobs at effort levels of only 50% or even less!  Who’s going to do the work that’s left over?  What choice is there but to hire more people if you’re in this situation.

OK, so why do people hold back so much?  Maybe its because we haven’t figured out how to unleash their real potential.  One way to do that is to help them find the value in their work!  By contrast, volunteers will come out of the woodwork when they see an opportunity to be their ‘higher selves’ by serving others.  This brings out not just satisfaction of doing something they believe is important, but it brings out about real, genuine, unselfish JOY!

Sometimes all it takes is for people to actually meet the customers they serve in order to engage them at a higher level.  Other times, it’s enough that they see what becomes of their work internally.  Maybe having the big boss come sit at their desk or workbench and ask them what their work is like would make a difference.  The bottom line here is that we all have hidden, untapped ‘discretionary effort’ that, given the right conditions, we will willingly, no, EAGERLY contribute. 

Think about this;  what do you suppose your staff says about their jobs, their company or YOU at home at the dinner table?  Would they be willing to ‘volunteer’ for you?  If not, there’s opportunity here.  If ever there was a win/win situation, this is it!

My Personal Journey into Web 2.0 and Second Life

Second Life Keynote Series starts 2/15/2010 with Jonena Relth

Please join me and Caleb Booker as we debut his new video series devoted to, and filmed entirely inside, virtual worlds. The program, “Virtual Worlds Keynote,” is filmed in Second Life in front of a live studio audience. Well, virtually live.  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tropical%20Treet/67/223/23    Thanks! Jonena

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Today At 4PM Pacific Time: Why We Sold Our Real Building and Went Totally Virtual

(Caleb Booker)

Clear a half-hour of your schedule at 4pm SLT and join us in Second Life http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tropical%20Treet/67/223/23 as our guest Jonena Relth, President of TBD Consulting, gives a 15 minute presentation entitled: “Why We Sold Our Real Building and Went Totally Virtual”. We’ll be recording and broadcasting live through http://treet.tv/.

If tough economic times have driven your business to look for new cost-cutting measures, or if you’re at risk of losing highly skilled employees due to a long commute, do not miss this! Extending well beyond virtual environments, Jonena will cover how her company has combined a variety of Web 2.0 technologies and old-fashioned spreadsheets to get the job done right.

After the presentation we’ll be holding a Q&A that will not be recorded, so be sure to arrive on time to secure your seat!

To join us in Second Life, you’ll need to do the following:

1. Go to SecondLife.com, create an account, and install the software.
2. Log in through the Second Life software using your user name.
3. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tropical%20Treet/67/223/2 to be teleported to our studio before 4pm Pacific.

Please join me and Caleb Booker as we debut his new video series devoted to, and filmed entirely inside, virtual worlds. The program, “Virtual Worlds Keynote,” is filmed in Second Life in front of a live studio audience. Well, virtually live.  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tropical%20Treet/67/223/23    Thanks! Jonena

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Today At 4PM Pacific Time: Why We Sold Our Real Building and Went Totally Virtual

(Caleb Booker)

Clear a half-hour of your schedule at 4pm SLT and join us in Second Life http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tropical%20Treet/67/223/23 as our guest Jonena Relth, President of TBD Consulting, gives a 15 minute presentation entitled: “Why We Sold Our Real Building and Went Totally Virtual”. We’ll be recording and broadcasting live through http://treet.tv/.

If tough economic times have driven your business to look for new cost-cutting measures, or if you’re at risk of losing highly skilled employees due to a long commute, do not miss this! Extending well beyond virtual environments, Jonena will cover how her company has combined a variety of Web 2.0 technologies and old-fashioned spreadsheets to get the job done right.

After the presentation we’ll be holding a Q&A that will not be recorded, so be sure to arrive on time to secure your seat!

To join us in Second Life, you’ll need to do the following:

1. Go to SecondLife.com, create an account, and install the software.
2. Log in through the Second Life software using your user name.
3. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Tropical%20Treet/67/223/2 to be teleported to our studio before 4pm Pacific.

Does Your Call Monitoring Process Make You Look Like the “Call Cops?”

Help me welcome back Dr. Barb, a well-know blogger for TBD who has been off learning everything there is about managing a Lean implementation.  For those who have been reading our blogs for several years, you will remember her specializing in TBD's core competencies that focus on improving performance management, employee engagement and process effectiveness.  Welcome back, Barb!  Jonena

Posted by:  Dr. Barb Austin, aka Dr. Barb

We just implemented a new call monitoring software to help improve agent-customer interactions. My agents are frustrated – they call us the “call cops” and resist any feedback we provide.  What can we do?

DR. BARB’S ADVICE

Like many other call centers, you invested money in call monitoring software with expectations that this new technology would solve your customer service problems and make your agents superstars.  But as a result, the agents hate the automated recording applications, automated scorecards and dehumanized feedback process.

Too often management perceives technology as the panacea for developing extraordinary agent-customer interactions without understanding that the software is only one of many tools in the call monitoring process toolkit.  Albeit, some of these software programs can help immensely in capturing calls, reporting statistics and developing powerful training curriculum, but they can’t humanize the process.  The key component of any successful call monitoring process is the people.  Let’s further define the people component by adapting four basic questions from a major Gallup Organization study.

Do agents know what is expected of them?

Don’t be too hasty in replying “yes” to this question.  How do you know they understand the expectations?  Because you have a scorecard?  How do you know the scorecard actually measures the behaviors agents need to effectively serve your customer?  Before you get too comfortable with your scorecard behaviors, ask your customers if these are the behaviors they want from agents.

Gallup studies indicate that customers are most satisfied when agents meet four expectations:

• Accuracy - Customers expect agents to give accurate information. 
• Availability - Customers expect agents to be available, i.e., answer their calls quickly and stay on the line until their needs are met.
• Partnership - Customers expect agents to listen, be responsive and care about solving the problem.
• Advice - Customers want agents to help them learn something new.  This could include the root cause of the initial problem or a new product that could meet their future needs.

All the behaviors on your call monitoring scorecard should clearly influence customer satisfaction. 

Do agents have the materials and equipment needed to do their job right?

In the call center industry, this question typically refers to PCs that run efficiently and a reference system that allows agents to retrieve answers quickly and accurately.  If their PCs don’t have the capacity to run multiple programs or agents have to refer to multiple databases to find answers to customers’ questions, you could see reduced customer service through no fault of the agent.

Do agents have the opportunity to do what they do best every day?

Assuming you hired accurately, can you honestly say that agents have the opportunity to do what they do best?  Their best usually implies sincere and meaningful interaction with the customer.  Although much of the interaction is scripted (i.e., opening, greeting, questioning, closing), the actual psychological interaction between the agent and the customer is very personalized via tone, language and empathy.  Is your call monitoring scorecard so rigid that the agent isn’t allowed to do their best

In the past seven days, have you given recognition to individual agents for a job well done? 

If you’re waiting for the quarterly recognition ceremony, you’ve missed opportunities to keep agents actively engaged and motivated to provide excellent service to your customers.  More importantly, you’ve missed opportunities to reinforce the behaviors that best serve the customer and the company.  In their book, First, Break All the Rules, Buckingham and Coffman, encourage you to spend the most time with your best people.  Yes, show favoritism for those who are performing exemplary behaviors.  By the way, are these exemplary behaviors described on your call monitoring scorecard?  If yes, you’re on track.  If not, perhaps this is a good indicator as to why your agents are frustrated.

Using the Gallup findings, we’ve only scratched the surface of fundamental ways you can ensure the call monitoring process enhances productivity in your center.  If you answered “yes” to these four questions, and the answers align with your call monitoring process, you’ve got a good start in meeting both your agent and customers’ needs.  By giving each agent the company’s expectations, materials and equipment to do they job right, opportunity to do their best every day, and regular recognition for a job well done, you will quickly get out of the “call cop” role. 

Dr. Barb is a  past employee of TBD Consulting.  As a valued alumnus, we are so thrilled when she has time to contribute to our blog.  To learn more how TBD can assist with you call center performance needs, please call our office at 602-263-1961. 

Happy New Year! Jonena Relth, President and Leadership Evangelust