people processes ascent group

The Ascent Group, Inc.

  Many of your most loyal and skilled employees are facing retirement

  It’s more and more difficult, and expensive, to find the right employees

  Newer generation of employees have different wants and needs   New technologies and the Internet are revolutionizing recruitment,

hiring, training, performance, and customer service itself   The Customer Experience is “It” and customers are expecting more

To Be Successful, You Must Excel in the “People Processes”"

©Copyright 2010 The Ascent Group, Inc.

  Recognizing this, the Ascent Group launched a landmark research study in late 2009 to identify “customer service best practices” from all industries in the “people processes” for front-line customer service.

  Interviewed Best-in-Class Companies - recognized leaders in customer service

  Conducted Multi-Industry Benchmarking Survey of Practices:

▪  Recruiting ▪  Hiring ▪  Training and development ▪  Disciplinary process ▪  Awards and incentives


Engaged People Growing People

CollaborativePeople

Secure People

CommittedPeople

“A satisfied customer made this possible” is printed on every FedEx pay envelope reflecting a true customer driven culture that recognizes

the complete dependence that FedEx has on each of its employees

FedExʼs Five Dimensions of Innovations and Performance Culture"



•  FedEx is driven by meeting and exceeding its customers’ expectations.

•  It shares its strategies and goals in plain and simple language. And it localizes the message.

•  Executives continually meet with front line employees to both present FedEx’s organization messages but just as importantly, to receive information back from the people who most frequently interact with FedEx’s customers.

•  A more formal form of management by walking around––a tried and true method.

FedEx Continuously Monitors Customers’ Expectations

The Total Customer Experience Customer Value Proposition Service Quality Indicator Weighting

Phone call answered promptly Abandoned Calls 1

Packages picked up as scheduled Missed Pickups 10

Packages delivered on time Right day late deliveries 1

Wrong day late deliveries 5

Packages not damaged Overgoods 5

Lost packages 10

Damaged packages 10

Billed correctly Invoice Adjustments 1Complaints resolved promptly Missing proof of delivery 1

Complaints reopened 5Traces 1

The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit.

  Customers and Employees are Southwest’s top priority   Family, Love, and the Golden Rule   Always capitalize “C” in “Customer” and the “E” in

“Employee”.   Paychecks are signed “From Our Customers”   Positively Outrageous Service is stressed from day one

to all Employees.   Every Employee recognizes the goal of excellent

Customer Service, regardless of rank.   Humor is an essential element and employees are

“required” to be fun.

“We take the competition seriously, but we don’t take ourselves seriously.”


Recruitment & Hiring

  200,000 applicants annually to fill 4,000 new positions   System matches applicant to location and open position   Briefing, job requirement handouts, minimum hiring form, initial group

interview, individual interviews with recruiter, supervisor, peer   Interview team has been carefully selected and trained, committed   Frontline involvement in hiring process builds buy-in and relationships   3-level interview helps understand behavior and attitude

“We hire leaders for every position. Leadership has nothing to do with title. We will hire someone and teach someone the technicalities if they are willing to learn. What we will not tolerate is a bad attitude. People know immediately if they are not a good fit at Southwest. There is such peer pressure to maintain the culture. If you can’t laugh at yourself and you're not touchy feely, then Southwest is probably not a good fit for you.”

Colleen Barrett, President Southwest Airlines


Performance & Management

  Creates a work ethic and atmosphere that emphasizes the employee and the importance of customer service

  Actively communicates with employees - routine employee feedback focus groups, regular meetings with management, face-to-face communication, always on a first name basis

  Encourages employees to involve families in events and visits to the workplace -- this fosters an at-home support network that makes it enjoyable to come to work

  Employees are given general guidelines of their position and then expected and encouraged to go outside those guidelines fearlessly -- empowered to take on the responsibility for maintaining the high performance standards of the company

  Promotes community involvement


  Top hiring criteria for the retail stores:   Customer orientation   Attitude   Above average literacy   Enthusiasm   Sales background and desire

  EVERYTHING ELSE CAN BE AND WILL BE TRAINED––”We hire based on attitude”   Technical and product training   Sales training   Customer service training


  Gold Standards - easy-to-understand definition of service quality. Aggressively communicated and internalized at all levels of the organization. Key to providing caring service and memorable visits.

  Three Steps of Service:

  Warm and sincere greeting, using guest name if possible

  Anticipation and compliance with guest needs

  Fond farwell, using guest name if possible

  “The 20 Basics” specify the Ritz-Carlton service philosophy. Each day, all hotel employees around the world discuss the same Ritz-Carlton principal - 1 of the 20, in a 15 minute lineup. This keeps the Ritz philosophy front and center.

  Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center created in 2000 as a resource for other companies interested in benchmarking Ritz-Carlton business practices and service philosophy.


Screening & Hiring “We don’t try to convert people to meet our standards, to change their behavior or thoughts—not everyone is cut out to be in a service business. We would rather find people who fit our needs—those who genuinely care to serve people—and put them where they want to be.”

  Predictive instrument to assess character traits of applicants versus those demonstrated by successful employees. ▪  Extensive questionnaire that identifies caring, conscientious and enthusiastic candidates ▪  External party screens candidates, using the Ritz behavioral model.

Employee Involvement

  Employees are vested with the latitude to “move heaven and earth” to satisfy a customer.   If an employee discovers a problem or encounters a customer complaint, he or she owns the

problem until the customer is satisfied and the shortcoming rectified. The goal is to resolve 100% percent of complaints before guest departure.


Incentives & Awards   More than 40 different awards of employee excellence

  President and senior management routinely thank individual employees for exemplary service

  90% of senior management time is spent with customers and employees

Training & Development   Each new employee must stay at a Ritz-Carlton hotel to reinforce training, help them feel a part of the family,

and to experience the mystique.

  New employees undergo a month-long certification program that introduces them to the Ritz-Carlton service philosophy and core values.

  Each employee receives a minimum of 310 hours of training the first year and are paired with departmental trainers to ensure comprehension, skill, and knowledge.

  Annually, employees must complete a detailed training certification program that includes written and practical demonstrations of the philosophical and technical aspects of the job.


Screening & Hiring

  Management Deployed Qwiz online assessments to streamline new agent selection process and strengthen quality of new hires through pre-employment screening

  Tests are multiple choice, less than 20 minutes per test. Scores are automatically calculated, candidates ranked based on assessment scores. Three tests are used:

▪  Basic skill assessment evaluates math and following written instructions

▪  Another test simulates customer conversations to test listening skills, computer skills, and give applicants a feel for the type of calls to be handled. Also evaluates customer service attitude, problem solving skills, and emotional intelligence under pressure and predicts productivity

▪  Third test -- trustworthiness, conscientiousness, managing work pressure, getting along with others, and safety orientation. Also screens the more difficult character traits such as drug and alcohol use. Identifies high quality, conscientious, service-oriented employees by rating courteousness, tact, cooperation, attentiveness, helpfulness, and by pointing out people-oriented and extroverted personalities


  Applicants participate in all three tests during one meeting, using web-based browser.   Application takes them through the test bank, one test at a time.   Each test has a tutorial and sample test that can be reviewed prior to taking the

test.   Once test is started, system measures the score, even if candidates quit early

  Qualified candidates are then scheduled in a face-to-face interview

  Management noticed a significant improvement in performance from new hires - cut the time to standard in half -- agents are more productive sooner

  AirTran management is impressed with the psychometric analysis and profiling. Hard to contact previous employers and difficult to judge behavior through interview. Removed subjectivity and helped pinpoint the right personalities.


  Strong company culture that emphasizes excellence in customer service, from the top down

  Hire the right employees, based on the propensity to serve customers, not technical specialization

  Extensive training programs to relay corporate culture as well as job specifics

  Career and other development opportunities

  Respect for employees and customers

  Incentives and recognition programs to reward exemplary performance

  Employee involvement opportunities

  Extensive internal communications to keep employees plugged-in

  Continual improvement

  Best-in-Class companies focus on customer service at every step of the process


Industries Represented

Consumer Products

7% Financial Services

7%

Government5%

Healthcare2%

Insurance5%

Retail5%

Services7%

Tech Support7%Telecom

10%

Teleservices (Outsourcing)

2%

Transportation5%

Travel7%

Utility31%

Countries Represented

Australia

8%

Canada

7%Hong Kong

2%

Philippines

2%

Spain

2%

USA

77%

Belgium

2%


Emphasis on the Front-end (Hiring) Makes Everything Else Easier"

Recruitment & Hiring

Training Performance Management


  Companies use one of four basic approaches to identify candidates with a “customer service” personality

  13% use “behavioral” based interview questions

  15% report the use of “behavioral-based” assessment

  Behavior-based interviews and testing advantages:

  Less time hiring, reduced costs   Reduced training costs   Less attrition   Better performance   Reduced absenteeism   Improved morale

Identifying Customer Service

Personality & Skills

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Interviews

Testing & Interviews

Interviews & Role

Playing

Interviews &

Simulation

% Participants


  Most companies use pre-hire screening tools or assessments (81%)   Fewer test “customer service” skills, only 18%

Top Pre-hire Testing & Assessment Approaches

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Simulator/Role Playing

Telephone Pre-screen

Personality/Behavioral Fit

Customer Service Aptitude

Basic Skills/Aptitude

Percent Respondents Reporting


  Talent Plus has worked well for INTRUST Bank.   The company interviewed its highest

and lowest performers to identify the scoring range.

  Applicants are measured on six different areas.

  Ritz-Carlton also uses Talent Plus to assess the character traits of applicants versus those demonstrated by successful employees.

“It identifies areas that one excels in and areas that need attention. We have been using Talent

Plus for about a year.”!


Canadian Springs Water - Using SPAS (Service Personnel Appraisal Software). The product has made a "huge improvement in identifying the right candidates":

  Less time associated with screening and hiring process = reduced costs   Greatly reduced costs for training.   Most candidates are surviving the probation period.   Of the candidates screened by SPAS none have self-selected out, i.e. finding

that the job was "not what they expected".   Of the new hires in the past 8 months, several have already achieved "all star

status" in the Contact Centre — they have met or exceeded the performance of Senior Representatives.

  Absenteeism overall has reduced by over 40%   Morale has improved


MetLife’s pre-hire screening involves skills testing and simulation to measure an applicant’s fit.

•  Service Index Questionnaire measures: •  Customer Service Orientation •  Job Structure Orientation •  Work Environment Orientation

•  Multi-media Call Handling Simulation measures the candidate’s ability to: •  manage the customer relationship •  provide accurate and thorough information •  key alpha-numeric data quickly and accurately •  complete calls quickly and efficiently

•  The test takes about 1 hour to complete.


Starting Wage - Market ComparisonUnionized Companies

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Competitive

Above Average

Below Average

% Participants Reporting Starting Wage Competitiveness

Starting Wage - Market Comparison

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Competitive

Above Average

Below Average

% Participants Reporting Starting Wage Competitiveness

All unionized companies pay competitive or above average wages for entry-level customer-facing position.

90% of participants pay above average or competitive starting wages for entry-level customer-facing position


  Companies use a combination of approaches to convey job expectations to candidates:   Ad and posting relay job expectations   Interviews - discuss and/or provide hand-

out to candidates   On-site interview, with direct supervision,

and tour of work environment   Job shadowing - candidates spend time

with front-line employee, observing, hands-on

  Job simulation - candidates simulate working in the job through software/hardware or simulator

  Many companies reiterate job expectations at each step in the recruitment process.

Conveying Job Expectations

to Candidates

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Interviews

Ads/Job Posting

Job Shadowing

Simulation

% Participants


Key Attributes of a Successful

Customer-Facing Employee

- 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00

Computer / Technology Skills

Patient

Desire to Help

Positive Attitude

Courteous & Pleasant

Confident

Problem Solving Skills

Empathetic

Take Ownership

Communication Skills

Average Ranking (1 = least important)


  Most expect transfers to meet the “new hire” qualifications   Nearly 10% had absolutely no requirements

Requirements for Employees Transferring Into Front-line

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

No Requirements

Demonstrate Customer

Service Experience

Solid Performance

Same as New Hire



Recent Changes to Screening Requirements

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

More Interviews and MoreSelective

More Emphasis on "Fit"and "Potential" than

"Experience"

More Customer ServiceSkills Assessment


Recent Improvement to the Recruitment & Hiring Process

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Internal Referrals

Online Aps

More Targeted Recruitment

Enhanced/Revised

Interview Process

Better Assessment Tools



Measuring Quality of Hire

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Time to Hire

Tenure

"Fall Out" Rate

Employee Performance

Turnover

% Participants


  Communicate job expectations—Match Expectations with Work Reality

  Involvement of functional management and peers in the selection and hiring process—To build buy-in and relationships

  Hire for attitude not skill, and potential, not necessarily experience

  Behavioral-based screening tools to select candidates with key customer service attributes—Match the Right Individual with the Right Job

  Competitive starting wages & benefits

  Emphasize the importance of Customer Service


  Focus   Customer Service Operational Improvement   Customer Service Innovation & Best Practice Discovery   Customer Service Performance Measurement & Benchmarking   Customer Service Market Research   All Industries��

  Business Type   Professional Services Firm   Management Consulting & Publisher of Industry Research Journals   No hardware, software, or technology vendor affiliations

  Company Goal   Providing process-oriented data, information, and management ��

consulting to help companies improve customer service performance ��and customer satisfaction, while reducing customer service cost. ��

  Company Background   Incorporated in Georgia, 1989   Offices in Athens, GA   Certified Female Business Enterprise, State of Illinois, State of Pennsylvania, State of

New York, and Nationally through National Woman Business Owners Corporation

Ascent Group Publications

32

Christine Kozlosky • President • [email protected]

120 River Oak Way • Athens, Georgia 30605

TEL 888.749.0001 x.2 • FAX 866.941.0005

www.ascentgroup.com