Problem Solving and Decision Making Essay Example for Free

Problem Solving and Decision Making EssayBackgroundI work for a company c totallyed npower and we are an energy provider in the UK. Specifi nominatey, I work within the Blended Services department and we deal with various types of inbound contact from our customers much(prenominal) as email, letters and address 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 long volumes of correspondence that we stick come in, its not always practical to respond to customers via a written response and we at that ordinatefore take in the advisors to call as many customers as possible and locate their enquiries by ph whizz, this allows the advisors not exclusively deal with the customers original enquiry but to in equivalent manner re bodily function any subsequent questions that whitethorn arise when they are presented with the answer we give them. Description of t he problemWhen advisors call a customer there are regulations most data protection and also keeping customer contact details up to date that we must follow to, we refer to these regulations as compliance. This is a in truth black and white subject, we must be submissive in all we do 100% of the meter. The problem that has come to light that in our department, is that our advisors are not 100% compliant 100% of the time. They go forth full cover data protection and request up to date contact information on any(prenominal) 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 cornerstone lead to varying degrees of disciplinary action for the advisors and the company. The impact of this for the advisors is that it can lead to disciplinary action such as in baronial warnings, up to more formal action such as written warnings and even exposelet of their job. In extreme cases run intoendi ng advisors can even face personal fines.As a manager, I then fuck off to consider the potential knock on effects of such action which can include loss of advisor boldness, a reduction in staff morale, and opportunity for progression may be reduced or interpreted away and all of these in turn may affect an advisors attendance. For me as a manager the c formerlyrns are that these actions could affect my time as I am required to carry erupt investigations in to severally case of non-compliance. This is turn could leave other members of my team to olfactory modality 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 suspension such important regulations as data protection, and then this could ca handling an increase in complaints, damage our customers conf idence 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. Just a few potential knock on effects from non-compliance are loss of customers, brand damage, legal consequences including large fines and potentially losing out independence to trade. Disciplinary 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 eventually 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 compliance 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 lumber analysts. The QA team had recently marked a sample of the calls we make within the department and informed me that in the calendar month of family line they sampled four calls from apiece 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 two 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 amply compliant. This is cause for concern then as the target is 100%. pastime on from this, I needed to do further investigation.My time, however, is actually valuable and for me to take on such an investigation completely 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 separate (5 Teams) we asked each manager to mark two calls for each of their advisor focussing solely on whether or not the advisors we re following compliance regulations that we must adhere to. In the first week of October, each manager carried out the quality checks for their teams. The results showed that we were 50% compliant as an operations assort. Following these results each manager went out to the advisors that were not following the compliance regulations and gave them a training session 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 left-hand(a) the advisors for a couple of weeks and then went back and completed the same quality checks once more. The second time around we noticed an improvement as we scored 70%. However, we were and still are a long way short of our ultimate goal. Following on from this, I devised what I saw to be a simple yet effective questionnaire that would be completed by a sample group of advisors. The purpose of the questionnaire was to establish possible resolves why the advisors failed to be consistent in regards to meeting compliance when speaking to customers on the telephone. I looked to address such matters as how confident 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 wanted to avoid do assu mptions. With all of this information, I used a simple fishbone to drill down for possible reasons for these inconsistencies. I looked at the following headings and then added the possible reasonsConfidence (lack of)* absurd message* Un tripping on whats expected* Cannot deal with conflict (from customers)* DPA doesnt feel natural (in call structure)* Situations outside of the norm (3rd party occupational group on behalf of the customer)Knowledge (lack of)* No or little training (new to business)* Lack of communication (not advised of possible changes)* 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 complyAfter considering all of the above the potential solutions to my problem could be creating a guide that points out to advisors 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 dexterous out in a clear manner that makes sure there are no questions unanswered. Providing the advisors with additional 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, devising sure that the consequences of non-compliance for both advisors and the company are cl earlier 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 No vember based upon 36 evaluations. In making this statement, I ensured that if would be a fair reflection since it would match the original investigation completed by the QA Team. Its SMART, because I have a special goal that can be metric against previous findings. Its both achievable and realistic as all managers go away make numerous quality checks throughout the month and Im trying to achieve the ultimate goal of 100% compliance but instead make a miserable but reasonable step towards it and finally, its time bound as all steps will be put in place and measured throughout November. Once the goal had been machinate, 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, train and evaluations* An inbound and outbound call decision making tr ee* Brief to include whats expected and what the consequences are for non-compliance* Compliance champs* Compliance tick pallAfter we had come up with these various options I went away and unconquerable 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 just briefly 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 dont 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 intimately 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 testing stages and its unlikely to be available for at least another year.* Cost Its very expensive to implement and so even to run in a small test environment is currently unlikely. Scripts for data protectionPros* It would clearly set out what needs to be tell (no grey area)* Advisors would have something to reference at all times* Can easily be updated when changes occur* Managers could easily cover this in a train sessionCons* Advisors may not feel it comes across as natural* Advisors may forget to keep it on their desk each daytime* 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, little hazard of failure)* Becoming specialised may increase confidenceCons* It may not be feasible to have a enough specialised teams to de al with the workload * We would lose multi-skilled advisors, impacting 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 disappointed* The cost of taking advisors away from completing work may not be feasible in such a busy time * Having to wait 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 be coached aroundCons* moldiness 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 12. 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 follow-up 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 complia nce checks were complete. * The solution needed to be simple and easy to implement, 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 background signal 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.Implementation 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 cho ose to grade it off and fill it in manually or they can simply fill in in on their PCS.This 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 qua lity 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 cod 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 by chance 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 advi sors that excrete compliance.