Module 2 Project Gap Analysis Strategy for Team #4

Project Managers to the Rescue

Project Description
PJ Enterprises is a mail order catalog business that has been in operation for the past 6 years. Currently, PJ
Enterprises recorded a profit for this year, with annual sales of 6 million dollars. The management team is currently
negotiating the business plan for the upcoming year. Some concerns include:

Whether it is reasonable to expect that the company will continue to grow at the present rate and if so,
could the present management team facilitate and control while remaining profitable.
What financial, human resources and other resources would be required to maintain or exceed projected
targets and maintain profitability.

Fifty percent of customers surveyed last year responded that they are not inclined to do business with PJ
Enterprises as a result of the poor customer service that they received. In light of the aggressive targets and
customer dissatisfaction among telephone operators in particular, senior management is proposing the use of a
slightly different approach for the training of telephone operators and customer service supervisors to decrease
customer complaints concerning telephone operators product knowledge, telephone etiquette and call wait times.
A gap analysis is being performed to determine what will be the best way to meet these goals.

Information Needed
Employee performance ratings

To ensure they are performing to expectations, are employees having an annual review of their
productivity, efficiency and attitude over the course of their employment?
Employees are not attending employee meetings. Find what are the factors affecting low attendance.
Does the company have an employee recognition processes in place, and if so, is it effective?
o Does it need to be revised?

Growth or mentoring opportunities for managers/supervisors

What are the current HR recruitment, selection and hiring strategies?

Do the employees identify with company goals?
Is supervisory staff provided with job aids or follow-up lessons to reinforce and support the training
concepts with employees on the job?
Are training staff providing training materials to supervisors?
What is the current knowledge of customer service staff?

Current customer service procedures

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What is the data on per call order totals, highest phone traffic times, and the most productive telephone
operators?
How often is customer wait time longer than expected?
What factors are contributing to the low number of calls being answered?
What are the circumstances when customer service operators are transferring calls to the
supervisor?
Are there any benchmarks and goals for customer service staff in place?

Previous training processes

Is there a pre and post training assessment conducted?

How are employees currently trained?
Is there a lack of participation/engagement during the training sessions?
Do employees really know what is expected of them?
What is the effectiveness of the current training process?

Specialized training

Training on product information is done four times a year, but are there specific trainings for telephone
operators on customer service skills?

Technology

How effective is the existing technology that is in place currently?

Are computers and software used sufficiently?

Resources

Does the training department have product reference guides or cheat sheets available for staff?
How long does it take the telephone operators to look up product information?
What other resources are available?

Team Strategy
Project Managers to the Rescue will use the following methods to collect needed information:

Individual interviews with leadership

Employee surveys
Analysis of current call data/records and sales data
Focus group with telephone operators
Work/training observations

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Analysis Plan
Research
Method

Target Audience

1.
Individual
interviews

Judie Thompson,
Sheena Perez,
customer service
supervisors and
human resources

Information You Hope to Gain

Current quality standards,
accountability measures and desired
performance outcomes:
Time on each call requirements
Accountability practice and
performance improvement
plans
Incentives and rewards offered
for meeting quality standards
Information on new
performance evaluation process
Information on current job
descriptions and expectations
communicated to telephone
operators

Team
Member
Responsible
CJM

Perceived needs/current problems

impacting PJ Enterprises:
Possible reasons for low staff
meeting engagement
Reasons for lacking customer
service performance among
telephone operators and long
customer wait times
Perceived reasons for product
knowledge complaints
Perceived reasons for high
turnover rates and other human
resources challenges
Other areas that they think may
need improvement and why
Hiring practices and standards
Current training and materials
available to operators
Are training staff providing
training materials to
supervisors?
Are supervisory staff members
provided with job aids to
reinforce training concepts with
associates?

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2.

MG
Employee
survey

Telephone operators

Education level and more sensitive

material:
Education level, language and
knowledge, skills and abilities
of operators
Overall level of job
satisfaction
Perceived ability to make
decisions and provide service
to customers
Satisfaction with current
incentive programs
View of management and
current rewards/recognition
Satisfaction with tools and
resources available
Knowledge of current
processes and
hardware/systems

3.

NA
Analysis of
current call
data/records
and sales data

N/A

Information on customer complaints

and call volume:
Reason for complaint
Amount of time on hold
Number on incoming calls
Questions asked on customer
service survey
Highest phone traffic times
Information on sales history:
Most popular products
Least popular products

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4.

AH
Focus group

Telephone operators

Current tasks performed/method of

order entry on a standard call:
Tools used
Script followed
Current training practices:
What could be improved
Effectiveness
Determine what could be causing
operators to go over their call time and
number of calls per hour standards:
Ease and availability of
resources
Knowledge of how to use
current resources
Other
technology/environmental
obstacles
Level of understanding in quality
customer service:
Do the operators understand
how to deliver quality service?
What documentation is
available on work standards?
Are certain situations causing
more problems than others?
In what instances does a
customer have to be transferred
to a supervisor?
Employee meeting attendance and
participation:
Determine factors affecting low
attendance

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5.

Work/training
observations

Trainers and
trainees, telephone
operators

Gather observations from training

sessions:
Does current training align with
company goals?
Number of competencies
covered in training session.
What material is covered (ex:
customer service, handling
angry customers)
What is received well for the
operators?
What is challenging for the
operators?
Efficiency of PowerPoint
methodology
Is Q&A time sufficient?
Review training tools provided
What is the training
environment like?

ET

Gather observations on day to day

work processes:
Review telephone etiquette
Observe how operators obtain
product information
Knowledge on product
information
Are the operators efficiency
using company time?
What is the work environment
like?

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Activity #1 Individual Interviews with Judie Thompson,

Sheena Perez, Customer Service Supervisors, and
Human Resources
Details of Activity/Method
Project Managers to the rescue will interview members of management and those in supervisory role to determine
current quality standards and accountability measures, perceived business needs and problems, and the desired
outcomes of this program.

Questions to Ask:
Customer Service Standards

What standards are operators held to in regards to customer service?

o Are these standards documented?
o Do operators have access to the customer service policy?
Are new hires trained on customer service best practices?
o How is this training delivered?
Are there meetings where operators can share best practices?
o If so, how often are they held?
o Is attendance mandatory?

Performance

Currently the goal is to satisfy a customers inquiry in two minutes or less.

o How often is this measure being met?
o What are some possible obstacles to meeting this time limit?
o Do the operators know how they are performing?
o What is the average resolution time for each inquiry?
o What resources are available to operators to solve member inquiries?
Currently the goal is for phone operators to take 6 calls per hour. What are some possible obstacles
causing the operators to miss this goal?
o Is the call volume high enough for each operator to take 6 calls per hour?
What incentives or rewards are being offered when operators do meet the goals?
How are operators held accountable when goals are not met?
o Is call monitoring in place to determine call quality?
o Is there a performance improvement plan in place?
o Does observation/job analysis occur to determine the reason for missed goals?
o Does re-training occur in certain areas if it is necessary?
Tell me about the new performance evaluation process.
How often do customer service supervisors interact with operators?
o Do operators have access to ask questions of supervisors while handling a call?

Customer Complaints

What is the most common customer complaint?

What are some possible reasons that an operator could not provide sufficient product knowledge to a
customer?
o What product information resources are available to operators on the call?

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What types of customer service complaints are received (ex the operator was rude; my questions were
not answered)?
o What are some possible reasons that an operator could not provide quality customer service?
What do you feel is the reason for the long customer wait time?
Do operators have the authority to resolve customer complaints?
o Do the calls always need to be transferred to a supervisor?

Perceived Needs

What do you feel is the biggest training need in the organization?

Are there any technology needs that are not being met? If so, what are they?
What additional tools do you think could improve employee performance?

Human Resources

Are there formal job descriptions available for telephone operators and supervisors?
o Are the job expectations communicated to new hires?
Is there adequate staff to handle the current call volume and sales goals?
When hiring operators, what are the requirements?
o Do most have past customer service experience?
o Do they have experience using the technology provided on the job?
o If experience is lacking, is there adequate training and resources provided to ensure the new hire
can succeed?
What could be a reason for the high turnover rates?
What could be a reason for low staff engagement in staff meetings?
Are training staff providing training materials to supervisors?
Are supervisory staff provided with job aids to reinforce training concepts with associates?

Future Goals

What are the future customer service goals?

What are the future call time and volume goals for phone operators?
What are the future goals for operator product knowledge?
What does a successful phone operator look like?

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Activity #2 Employee Survey

Details of Activity/Method
Project Managers to the Rescue will create and distribute an employee survey. It will be distributed randomly to
around 15 of the phone operators and be anonymous. The survey will collect information on level of experience,
education and other more sensitive details that operators may not feel comfortable sharing in a focus group.

Questions to Ask:
Knowledge, Skills & Education

What is your current level of education?

o Some high school
o High school diploma/GED
o Some college
o College degree
o Masters degree or higher
On a scale of 1 to 5, please rate your current knowledge level of the following topics, 1 being no
knowledge and 5 being expert.
o Data entry/typing skills
o Basic computer functions (Ex: Navigating between windows, opening programs)
o The current telephone answering system
o Product reference guides
o The automated order entry system

Job Satisfaction

On a scale of 1 to 5, please rate your current level of job satisfaction, 1 being extremely unhappy, and 5
being extremely happy.
What motivates you to come to work and meet the performance goals?
Are you happy with the current incentive programs?
Why or why not?
Do you receive recognition from your management/supervisors when you meet your call goals?
Do you receive criticism from your management/supervisors when you do not meet your call goals?
Do you receive constructive criticism from your management/supervisors aimed to improve your
performance?
Do you have suggestions for employee retention?

Call Process

What are the most important tools you currently use in your position?
Do you lack any tools or resources that could improve your call performance?
Are there areas for improvement in the current call process?
What obstacles prevent you from meeting your call goals - environmental, technology, or other?
On a scale of 1 to 5, please rate the ease of use of the following tools/systems, 1 being very difficult to use,
and 5 being easy to use:
o Workstations/computers
o Phone system

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o Product reference guides

o Automated entry system
Do you feel you have the authority to make decisions to best serve the customer?
o Why or why not?
Are you familiar with:
o a) < 50% of products in the catalog?
o b) 51%-75% of products in the catalog?
o c) 76%-90% of products in the catalog?
o d) > 91% of products in the catalog?
Do you feel it is realistic to know information on all of the catalog items?
Please provide suggestions that could improve the call process.

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Activity #3 Analysis of Current Call Data/Records and Sales Data

Details of Activity/Method
Project Managers to the Rescue will analyze the current call data and records that are available to help fill gaps on
call volume and customer complaints. Also, analyze sales data to determine product popularity and training focus.

Questions to Ask:
Call Records

What are the most common complaints?

How long is the average customer on hold?
What is the current call volume?
What are the highest call volume times?
What questions asked on customer service survey?

Sales Data

What are the most popular products?

What are the least popular products?
Are there core categories of products that could be grouped?
o Which categories of products, or specific products, receive the most customer complaints?
o Which categories of products, or specific products, receive the least customer complaints?

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Activity # 4- Focus Group with Telephone Operators

Details of Activity/Method
Project Managers to the Rescue will gather a focus group of telephone operators to discuss current tasks
performed, ease and availability of resources and technology, and discuss quality customer service and standards.

Questions to Ask:
Call Process

Describe the average call process.

o Provide an example of the current call script.
o What information is available to you when completing calls?
o What tools and systems do you use?
o Are the tools and systems easy to use?
o In what instances does a customer have to be transferred to a supervisor?
o What would make the process easier?
o What other improvements do you recommend?

Customer Service/Call Standards

Are you aware of the current expectations for call time, and calls per hour for telephone operators?
o Are these standards documented?
Currently the expectation is to answer 90 percent of all customer inquiries within two minutes.
o What obstacles are preventing you from successfully answering customer inquiries in this amount
of time?
Currently the expectation is to answer 6 calls per hour.
o What obstacles are preventing you from achieving this goal?
Are there environmental factors that are affecting your job performance?
What are examples of bad customer service?
o Using these examples, how can we provide good customer service?

Training

Describe the current training sessions.

o How effective are the training sessions in improving your product knowledge?
o How could they be improved?
o Would training in additional areas be beneficial to you? If so, what areas?
o Are 4 training session a year enough? Would you recommend more/less training?
o Is the session structured to allow time for your questions?
o How would you rate your engagement level during the training, 1 being not at all engaged, and 5
being extremely engaged?
How could your engagement be improved?
What parts of the training are most engaging for you?

Communication

How would you rate employee meeting attendance & participation?

o Why is there low attendance?
o What could be done to improve attendance?

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Activity # 5- Training and Work Observations

Details of Activity/Method
Project Managers to the Rescue will conduct training and work observations to gain first-hand knowledge and
experience the training process and the day in the life of a telephone operator.

Questions to Ask:
Training Observations

Does the current training align with the organizational goals?

Does the timing of training seem appropriate for the amount of content presented?
Are the trainings scheduled at convenient times for the telephone operators shifts?
Is there enough time for Q&A?

Work Observations

Are there observable roadblocks to operators completing calls effectively?

Is the telephone etiquette of the operators proper?
Are the operators following the call scripts?
Are the operators accessing tools while on the call?
Is the tone of voice of the operators pleasant?
Are the operators demonstrating good customer service?
Demonstrate the steps to access the product reference guides while serving customers on a call.

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Roadblocks & Dependencies

Roadblocks / Dependencies
Operators may be skeptical & suspicious of being
observed

Mitigation Strategies

Employees may not fill out surveys completely, or

may not see reason to assist in gap analysis

Employees may not be able to participate in focus

groups or surveys due to shift work

Employees may not want to participate in focus

groups

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Be fully transparent about the purpose of the

observation. Emphasize the purpose of
posterity.
Invite the supervisor to join
Be fully transparent about the purpose of the
survey. Emphasize the purpose of posterity.
Offer transparency of project and
communicate whats in it for me to the
operators and supervisors.
Design survey so that it cannot be submitted
unless filled out sufficiently.
Make survey mandatory and require
responses for each question.

Schedule more than one session for the focus

group.
Provide survey time for all shifts.
Be fully transparent about the purpose of the
focus group. Emphasize the purpose of
posterity.
Incentivize participation
Offer transparency of project and
communicate whats in it for me to the
operators.

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