Problem Solving and Decision Making Essay

BackgroundI work for a comp whatever c every(prenominal)ed npower and we are an energy supplier in the UK. Specifically, I work within the Blended Services department and we deal with miscellaneous types of inward contact from our clients such as email, letters and teleph ace calls. I manage a team of 15 people advisors and their role is to effectively deal with customer enquiries that come in via the different methods of contact. Due to the large volumes of commensurateness that we behave come in, its non always practical to respond to customers via a written response and we therefore ask the advisors to call as mevery a(prenominal) customers as possible and resolve their enquiries by phone, this allows the advisors non altogether deal with the customers original enquiry exactly to also answer any subsequent questions that may arise when they are presented with the answer we give them.Description of the problemWhen advisors call a customer there are regulations around dat a protection and also concealing customer contact details up to date that we must adhere to, we refer to these regulations as complaisance. This is a very menacing and white subject, we must be submissive in all we do one C% of the conviction. The problem that has come to light that in our department, is that our advisors are not 100% compliant 100% of the time. They lead fully cover data protection and request up to date contact information on some calls but not others. This presents a problem for the department and me as a manager as well as the advisors in question as these inconsistencies contribute cash in ones chips to varying degrees of disciplinary exertion for the advisors and the company. The impact of this for the advisors is that it can lead to disciplinary action such as informal warnings, up to more formal action such as written warnings and even loss of their job. In extreme grammatical cases collide withending advisors can even face personal fines.As a manager, I then have to consider the potential knock on effects of such action which can include loss of advisor faith, a decrement in staff esprit de corps, and opportunity for progression may be reduced or interpreted away and all of these in turn may strike an advisors attendance. For me as a manager the concerns are that these actions could affect my time as I am required to carry let out investigations in to severally case of non- form. This is turn could leave other members of my team to feel neglected as my time becomes consumed with investigations and carrying out disciplinary action. Potentially, this could lead to a general loss of morale within my team as a whole and go on to impact their performance.This issue also affects our customers as if we are seen to be breaking such important regulations as data protection, and then this could ca lend oneself an increase in complaints, damage our customers confidence in us as a company, lead to a decrease in customer loyalty and ultimately the loss of their business. From a company point of view the impacts are possibly the greatest. however a few potential knock on effects from non- contour are loss of customers, brand damage, legal consequences including large fines and potentially losing out license to trade. corrective action can lead to loss of staff and this brings further impacts such as the time and cost of recruiting and training new staff and all of these could finally impact our ability to provide a desired service to our customers.Analysis of the problemIn trying to identify options to solve the problem of advisors inconsistently adhering to conformation regulations, I first looked at gathering as much information as I could in to how much it was affecting my department and if there were any contributing factors to the problem. I liaised with our quality analysts. The QA team had recently marked a sample of the calls we make within the department and informed me that in the month of fami ly they sampled four calls from each team within the department. This was made up of one inbound call (calls where the customer calls npower) and one outbound call (calls where we call the customer) for deuce advisors on each team. There are 18 teams so this is 36 advisors that were sampled and scored. The results showed that of the advisors monitored only 69% were fully compliant. This is ca use for concern then as the localise is 100%. Following on from this, I needed to do further investigation.My time, however, is very valuable and for me to take on such an investigation alone is not feasible. I discussed the problem with my manager and we came up with an idea to help us follow up the results from the QA Teams quality checks. Within our own operations group (5 Teams) we asked each manager to mark two calls for each of their advisor focussing solely on whether or not the advisors were following compliance regulations that we must adhere to. In the first week of October, each man ager carried out the quality checks for their teams. The results showed that we were 50% compliant as an operations group. Following these results each manager went out to the advisors that were not following the compliance regulations and gave them a training sitting as well as an informal warning that this kind of action was not acceptable and that compliance must be adhered to at all times.The managers including myself then remaining the advisors for a couple of weeks and then went back and completed the same quality checks once more. The punt time around we noticed an improvement as we scored 70%. However, we were and still are a long way short of our ultimate design. Following on from this, I devised what I saw to be a ingenuous yet effective questionnaire that would be completed by a sample group of advisors. The innovation of the questionnaire was to establish possible argues why the advisors failed to be consistent in regards to meeting compliance when speaking to cust omers on the telephone. I looked to address such matters as how surefooted they were that they were personally 100% complaint 100% of the time, were they aware of the tools that npower provide to assist them in being complaint, what barriers they have encountered that make it difficult to be compliant and what do they feel would ensure that they were 100% compliant 100% of the time going forward.The results of the questionnaire showed that the advisors knew what was required of them to be compliant and that they recognised the implications of not being compliant. It also showed that all of the advisors were aware of the various support tools that npower provides them to help with compliance though not all of them used them. This suggests then that the problem of being inconsistent in regards to compliance may be down to advisor attitude or focus but at this point I precious to avoid making assumptions. With all of this information, I used a simple fishbone to drill down for possibl e reasons for these inconsistencies. I looked at the following headings and then added the possible reasonsConfidence (lack of)* Inconsistent heart and soul* Un urinate on whats expected* Cannot deal with contradict (from customers)* DPA doesnt feel natural (in call structure)* Situations outside of the norm (3rd party calling on behalf of the customer)Knowledge (lack of)* No or little training (new to business)* Lack of communication (not advised of possible veers)* Inconsistent message (unsure what is correct)Skill* Unsure how to resolve conflict* Not certain how to incorporate data protection in to their call structure * Not able to control a call (allows a customer to drive a conversation, potentially skipping past vital areas for not wanting to interrupt)Attitude/Behaviour* Doesnt understand potential consequences* Doesnt like change* Refuses to comply afterward considering all of the above the potential solutions to my problem could be creating a guide that points out to ad visors what they must do to be fully compliant but that isnt rigid in its delivery so that the advisors can make it their own. Ensuring that the guide and its use is clever out in a urinate manner that makes sure there are no questions unanswered. Providing the advisors with extra training to enable them to capably and confidently deal with situations of conflict i.e. if a customer refuses to go through data protection. Finally, making sure that the consequences of non-compliance for both advisors and the company are clearly communicated.Resolution of the problemI went to manager with my findings and stated what I wanted to achieve. I needed the goal to realistic and to be measurable. Remembering that QA Team reported the department to be 69% compliant for the month of September my goal statement was this * To decrease the compliance fail rate in our department by 15% during the month of November based upon 36 evaluations. In making this statement, I ensured that if would be a f air reflection since it would match the original investigation completed by the QA Team. Its SMART, because I have a specific goal that can be measured against previous findings. Its both achievable and realistic as all managers make on make numerous quality checks end-to-end the month and Im trying to achieve the ultimate goal of 100% compliance but instead make a small but reasonable step towards it and finally, its time bound as all steps will be put in regularise and measured passim November. Once the goal had been set, my manager and I held a brain storming session to look at possible options to resolve the problem. Further to those I mentioned earlier, we came up with these additional ideas* Speech Analytics* Scripts for data protection* A specific inbound call team* A specific outbound call team* Feedback, coaching and evaluations* An inbound and outbound call decision making tree* Brief to include whats expected and what the consequences are for non-compliance* Complian ce champs* Compliance tick sheetAfter we had come up with these various options I went away and decided which would be the best course of action. To help me decide I used a simple Pros and Cons method. I put each of the above options in to a table and then listed what the advantages and disadvantages were. Below, I have sightly presently outlined some of the key points for each one.Speech analyticsPros* It saves time (its all automated, listening to and identifying key words and phrases in conversations) so managers go intot have to do manual checks. * A large sample is gathered (it pulls data from all recorded calls) therefore the reflection is very accurate. * Reports can easily be pulled, since all data is compiled and exported in excel spread sheet format.Cons* Its not an immediate solution. Speech analytics for npower is in early test stages and its unlikely to be available for at least another year.* Cost Its very expensive to implement and so even to gallop in a small t est environment is currently unlikely. Scripts for data protectionPros* It would clearly set out what needs to be said (no hoary area)* Advisors would have something to reference at all times* Can easily be updated when changes occur* Managers could easily cover this in a coaching sessionCons* Advisors may not feel it comes across as natural* Advisors may forget to keep it on their desk each twenty-four hours* It would need to be updated with each new change (potentially old ones could be in circulation)* Repeat contact customers would have to go through the exact same process each time and may feel it comes across as roboticSpecific inbound/outbound call teamsPros* Advisors would deal with only one call type (one set of compliance regulations, more specialised, less(prenominal) hazard of failure)* Becoming specialised may increase confidenceCons* It may not be feasible to have a decorous specialised teams to deal with the workload * We would lose multi-skilled advisors, impacti ng our ability to deal with other work volumes * Specialised teams leave us vulnerable to outside influences such as absence.Compliance ChampsPros* Position of responsibility for trusted advisors* Someone on hand to reference in uncertain situationsCons* Those not chosen may feel bilk* The cost of taking advisors away from completing work may not be feasible in such a busy time * Having to await for a Champ may impact customer wait times and thus service * Takes ownership and responsibility away from the advisorsCompliance ChecklistPros* Advisors already use something similar, so it would be familiar* Advisors could clearly track what they have and havent asked* Peace of mind as it states clearly what they must ask* Natural, as it states what they must ask but doesnt tell them how to do it* Cheap and easy to implement* Easy to amend when changes occur* Advisors can easily keep it with them either paper based or electronically* Puts the responsibility on the advisor* Best use can b e coached aroundCons* Must be altered with each change (old ones could be left in circulation) * Puts the responsibility on the advisors (must be trusted to use it) After evaluating the options and the pros and cons to each. I decided to go with a compliance checklist. Once I had decided on what I believed to be the best solution I asked myself two important questions, in various decision making models these are also known as Acid Tests 1&2. Acid Test 1 If I implement all of my plans for action will my problems be overcome? In considering the answer I thought back to areas that I had identified earlier that linked into the problem of inconsistent compliance. To reprise these were things such as * Advisors were unsure what they should be asking.* They lacked confidence that they were saying all the right things. * They could often miss important information if interrupted by a customer before the compliance checks were complete. * The solution needed to be simple and easy to implem ent, so that it was clear and simple to train out. The majority of my advisors already use a checklist of sorts to capture the work they complete and how they contacted the customer, by adding compliance prompts to this it creates a visual aid for the advisors reminding them of what they need to ask and it remains in a mountain that they find familiar. Also, because the advisors are able to tick off the various requirements as they go along it makes it very clear what must be asked and its less likely that theyll miss things out if they are interrupted as they can simply go back along the list and pick up where they left off.Its also likely to come across as more natural when the advisors are talking to them customers as well as again it only prompts them with what they need to ask rather than telling them how to say it. Finally, its relatively cheap to implement, it isnt very time consuming to put in place and its something that can be done immediately. A copy of the checklist is attached (Appendix A) Acid test 2 If I get rid of all my problems will I achieve my objectives? Again, the answer should be yes. My solution will give advisors something black and white, thats clear and easy to understand and familiar to them in their day to day role. This should in turn give them the added confidence when talking to customers on the phone.There is, however, a human element. This is that the solution once trained out and implemented, relies upon the advisor taking some ownership and making sure that use it every day even if they feel confident that they are fully compliant. Because this is a personal choice there is no plan that I can implement that will solve this. However, as a company we do have measures already in place to manage this. If an advisor is proven to have the skills and the knowledge to be fully compliant and yet for whatever reason chooses not to, then I or any other manager would need to ensure that this is managed in the proper fashion.Implementa tion and communication of the solutionAs previously stated the advisor already usage a data capture sheet in their day to day jobs. I have taken that and added some simple yet clear checklist boxes that prompt the advisors on what they need to be asking when speaking to customers on the telephone. I will start off with a trial in my operations group and then if the desired results are proven then I will discuss with my manager a plan to roll it out to the whole department. Ill start by holding a small group meeting with my fellow team managers, briefly describing the problem that Ive been looking in to. Ill present my solution and tell them how I would like it to be used. The managers including me can then go out to our own teams and deliver the message in a brief team meeting. The compliance checklist will be distributed via email to the managers and advisors alike. This way the advisors can choose to mug it off and fill it in manually or they can simply fill in in on their PCS.Th is also means that they will always be able to access a copy even if they have to move desks as it will be saved to their email. Following this, I would plan to follow up with some side by side observations. This would be to ensure that the advisors are using the checklist as intended and it also gives me the chance to answer any questions that they may have as well as offer advice and praise where they are doing things well and hopefully begin to build that confidence in their ability back up. As far as monitoring and reviewing of the situation, this should be quite straight forward. I know what the problem is and I have identified a list of causes.I also know clearly what I expect to achieve from the solution. I perform at least one quality check on each of my advisors each week, so these will prove useful when monitoring progress in this area and the results should be clear to see. These quality checks are always given to the advisors as feedback and trends from multiple quality checks are used to build useful coaching sessions. The feedback that I hold from the advisors at this point should also allow me to monitor if they are using my solution as expected and how confident they feel with it. As a department, we also receive daily, weekly and monthly reports.These will enable me to view the progress of the other teams in my operations group to see if they are showing the results that are expected. I will raise the matter for discussion in the weekly operations group meeting and this will allow me to receive feedback from my fellow managers and get their thoughts on what is and potentially isnt going well. Finally, the QA Team will perform another quality check across a random sample of the department. This will peradventure be the ultimate mark of whether or not my solution has been successful. If so, then there should be a significant increase in the percentage of advisors that pass compliance.