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Background
The company's customers expected their queries to be resolved effectively and efficiently, by whatever medium they had chosen to raise them and preferably on first contact.
However the contact centre structure, procedures, systems and measures had not been designed to deliver against these customer expectations, the result was an unnecessary number of transfers amongst internal departments or the customer having to re-contact the company to have their query resolved.
Survey results and feedback from advisors indicated that 1 out of every 4 calls were not dealt with by the ideal agent.
The change programme, First Contact Resolution, was the umbrella that would enable the transformation of Customer Contact Centres into a customer centric, optimally efficient organisation. At the core of the programme was the rationalisation of the functional organisation to align the operating structure to meet customer needs in terms of their Sales, Billing and Repair requirements.
Objectives
The First Contact Resolution programme (FCR) was focussed on delivering the resolution of 70% of Customer calls to Sales, Billing and Repair functions, online, on the first call with no more than one transfer to a specialist and with at least 80% of calls being dealt without transfer.
Approach
The FCR programme ran alongside a site rationalisation programme which was reducing 109 operating centres down to 33. The target was to introduce a single Primary/ Secondary tier model for all three functions across all the remaining centres.
I was initially engaged in April 2003 on a 9 week basis to support the managers for the Sales, Billing and Repair programmes to develop their plans for the coming 12 months, identify key milestones and underpin benefit forecasts for savings of GBP6.4m in the 2003/4 financial year through to March 2004. The plans were produced and the benefits underpinned as required.
The assignment was eventually extended to 9 months. In the subsequent phases I supported the Billing Channel Programme Manager in leading a virtual team of 18 suppliers to deliver work packages covering such areas as advisor training, desktop modification, IVR simplification and MIS enhancements. I also supported the Sales Channel Programme Manager in planning the migration of over 300 advisors from the Billing into the Sales channel to rationalise how orders were handled and deliver a consistent operating process.
Conclusion
By September 2003, GBP1m of benefits had been delivered on target and signed off, the work package owners had been engaged, specifications agreed, detailed plans developed and initial deliverables made on schedule.
By December the plan for the migration was developed, work package owners signed up, milestones and deadlines agreed. At this point a new organisation for delivery came into operation and the plan was handled over for implementation.
Customer Quote: Head of Programme Reporting and Performance, Major Programmes
"This was a change programme of the size never seen previously in our company, as the programme developed it became apparent that within the company there was a lack of availability of skilled managers who could cope with the size, reach and integrated complexity of a programme of this nature. Not only did Jeff meet the initial criteria for the role he also brought with him an engaging style that quickly established a rapport with the incumbent resource and allayed any fear of their job's being at risk.
Jeff takes an holistic approach to his assignments, I have been delighted with his contribution to the change programme and would like to place on record my appreciation for his professionalism and the success he has achieved in moving this programme towards its final objectives."