Project Gap

Analysis Strategy
Team 3: Coast to Coast
Objectives...Page 2
Current Situation...Page 2
Outcome.....Page 2
Project Description...Page 2
Information Needed.Page 3
Learner Demographics
Environment / Morale
Leadership/ Management
Training and On-boarding
Team Strategy..Page 8
Activity 1# - Observation. .Page 9
Activity 2 # - Interviews. Page 10
Activity 3# - Manager Survey..Page 11
Activity 4#- Employee Survey.Page 15
Survey AnalysisPage 18

Objectives:

Develop survey and interview questions to obtain critical information from management,
operators, human resources and SMEs.
Compile information received from surveys and interviews.
Analyze data obtained from surveys, interviews and observations to determine a design
plan.
Determine a plan that aligns with organization's goals and objectives.

Current Situation:
Currently, the telephone operators and director of sales support, Human Resources and SMEs
contain the knowledge we need to get a better picture of what the current situation is at PJ
Enterprises. The team recommends gathering information through surveys from management
and operators, interviews from management, human resources and SME and observations of
environments and office culture to determine the next step in the planning process.

Outcomes:
The team will compile and analyze the data received from interviews, surveys and observations
to determine the next step in the planning or design process. In the analysis process, the team
will devise methods to ensure that the objectives are met to meet the needs of the client and
enhance the companys mission.

Project Description
PJ Enterprises is requesting the design, development and delivery of a learning program for
their telephone operators. The training that has been requested is projected to be delivered
before the catalogs are mailed and targeted to address customer service supervisors, and
telephone operators on catalog items.
PJ Enterprises is reporting a high turnover rate of the telephone operators and a poor customer
service reporting. As a result, PJ Enterprises is seeking consultation to improve customer
service results. Coast to Coast needs to analyze training strategies, onboarding and orientation,
technology needs, management and employee communication, office culture, and expectation
and workflows.
Coast to Coast will create a project to assist PJ Enterprises in promoting better customer
service results.

Information Needed
Analysis
Category
Learner
Demographics

Key Questions

Environment /
Morale

Objective

Age range of operators? Develop Survey and interview questions to target

core issues within organization
Educational
background?
Provide analysis of data
What is the most
common employment
experience background?
Operators roles and
responsibilities?
Current work schedule?
How would you describe
the current work
environment?
What are the current
reward structures?
What is the turnover
rate?
What is the environment
like (e.g., lighting/
heating)?
Why are employees
dissatisfied with their
jobs?
Are there advancement
opportunities?
Can we observe the
operators and shadow
calls/listen to
recordings?

Determine office culture and environment and

supports needed to ensure employees feel valued
and appreciated

Create employee/ management and communication

strategies

Assess development of employees to increase

employee retention

Leadership/
Management

Roll out date of the

catalog?
Previous customer
service experience?
How is leadership
managing the workflow?
Have employees been
trained on phone
etiquette? Other
trainings?
Is there a standard
greeting?
What is the most
common issue with
customers?
How are the customer
issues addressed?
How are customer
issues addressed with
operators?
How many calls are the
operators required to
take each hour/day?
How long should an
average call take?
Is there access to an
employs knowledge
base/process
documentation data
base?
Are there call scripts and
role strategies used?
What is an example of a
call that goes well?
What is an example of a
call that does not go well
and what should be
done afterwards?

Crate workflow and timeline progression for

employee production
Determine management structure, training and
employee feedback strategies
Management expectations of employees
performance
Assess needs and gaps in training, documentation,
training manuals and performance from a
management perspective

Training and
On-boarding

Assess current training and onboard strategies

What is the current
onboarding process like?
Determine training needs
Is the current training
effective? Why or why
Assess how training can be improved
not?
How experienced are the
current trainers? What
are the guidelines to be
a trainer?
Is there any training
feedback? operators
How knowledgeable are
the operators with
answering product
questions?

Team Strategy
Currently, the company is experiencing high turnover, low customer service ratings, and
problems with workflow processes. As a result the following strategies will be utilized to help
determine how to solve the core problems within the company and address additional problems
to improve overall performance:

Surveys
Operators
Leadership
Interviews
Operators
Leadership
metric
Survey Analysis Review resul
Analyze data
Performance solution
Observe Operations
Operator ergonomics
Physical environment
Office culture
Access of process documentation/training

Analysis Plan

1.

2.

3.

4.

Research Method

Target Audience

Information You
Hope to Gain

Observation

Telephone Operators

Efficiency, what doe

the process look lik
what is the office
culture like, what do
the physical
environment look lik

Interviews

Leadership (Supervisors,
human resources, SMEs)

Getting insight into

how the leadership
handles and feels
about job
performance, huma
resources to get a
better idea of job
descriptions and
goals and SME s t
get a better picture
training.

Surveys

Leadership and Telephone

Operators

Gain insight into

training, technolog
and equipment,
Environment and
Morale and
management

Survey Analysis Review

Leadership and operators

Analyze data and ga

insight into
performance solutio
form results.

Activity 1# - Observation
Details of Activity/Method
Observe telephone operators across three days observing at least two different shift times to
gain information about the work environment, culture and telephone etiquette. The observer will
be looking at and documenting the physical environment and examine ways to make the
process more efficient, observe how are they spending their time, dynamics of the office and
other changes that can be made. The
In addition, the observer will either sit in on or listen to recorded calls to get a better picture of
how telephone etiquette is being handled and what improvements can be made.
The observer will document the following items:

Physical environment- distractions, equipment, technology, work set up, temp and
lighting.
Telephone operator skills- typing, entering data, wait time/ response time, using the
computer, communication with customers, product knowledge, how they answer
customer questions, transferring calls and billing process.
Office Culture- dynamics between supervisors and operators, dynamics between
operators, breaks and staff distractions

Activity 2 # - Interviews
Details of Activity/Method
The team will interview leadership, which includes Supervisors, Human Resource and SMEs
Judie and Sheena. The team will interview the leadership to get a better picture of how they feel
about job performance and possible improvements they would make. They will also interview
human resources to learn about the hiring process, staff evaluations and performance. In
addition, the SMEs will be interviewed to get more information about their current training
process, what they think is working and what they would like to improve.

Questions to Ask
Human Resources

Can you provide us with job descriptions for Supervisors and Telephone Operators?
What previous experience do you require from telephone operators coming in?
What does an ideal supervisor and operator look like to you?
How do you measure the performance of supervisors and operators?
How would you describe the office culture?
What is your current evaluation process look like?
What are the employee incentives to perform better?
What are some of the advancement opportunities for employees?
What are your key performance indicators for employees?
How is feedback to staff handled and documented?
Can you share some of the new policies and procedures that have recently been put into
place?

Subject Matter Experts Judie and Sheena

What are your current thoughts about the training process?

What were your goals and objectives?
Were you familiar with the trainees and what experience they had coming into the
training?
How did you evaluate/assess the training?
What are some of the biggest strengths of the training?
What are some improvements you would like to make about the training?
Can you share some of the training information you have handed out and presented?
How did the employees respond to the training?

Activity 3#
Details of Activity/Method

The team will conduct a survey to leadership and operators. The survey will be confidential and
address training, technology and equipment, environment, morale and management.

Questions to Ask

PJ Enterprises Manager Discovery Survey

1. Training
Strongly Agree
I am confident that PJ
Enterprises' training
program properly
prepares our
operators to take
calls. (1)
I participate in posttraining feedback
with operators
frequently within the
first 90 days of
employment. (2)
I conduct reviews
periodically about
operator
performance and
make employees
aware of
improvement
opportunities. (3)
All supervisors help
operators overcome
my challenges. (4)
Operators are more
confident as they
gain more experience
taking calls and
receiving feedback.
(5)
Mentoring is an
effective way for
employees to gain
skills from more
experienced
employees.. (6)

(1)

Somewhat Agree
(2) (2)

Somewhat Disagree
(3)disagree (3)

Strongly Disagree
(4) (4)

2. Technology and Equipment

Strongly Agree (1)

The current technology is

adequate for operators to
do their job. (1)

Computers and laptops are

updated and upgraded
regularly. (2)

Operator workspace and

equipment is ergonomically
comfortable. (3)

The operators' workspace

has all of the equipment
they need to do their job
effectively (i.e. dual
screens, keyboard,
telephone, headset, a
mouse, and a comfortable
chair). (4)

Current call software is up

to date and has all of the
features that an operator
would need to do their
work. (5)

Somewhat Agree
(2) (2)

Somewhat Disagree
(3)disagree (3)

Strongly Disagree
(4) (4)

3. Environment and Morale

Strongly Agree (1)
PJ Enterprises' work
environment
influences employee
production and
positive output. (1)
Employees aren't
recognized enough for
their
accomplishments. (2)
When morale level is
low, job performance
is also low. (3)

Employees are leaving

PJ because they don't
feel management
supports them. (4)

Somewhat Agree
(2) (2)

Somewhat Disagree
(3)disagree (3)

Strongly Disagree
(4) (4)

4. Opinions of Management
Strongly Agree (1)

Somewhat Agree
(2) (2)

As a manager/supervisor I have
confidently prepared my
operators to do their jobs
effectively. (1)

I am actively interested in my
employees' personal and
professional growth. (2)

The call goals and work

expectations are fair and match
up with the business
expectations. (3)

Low call ratings are indicators of

poor performance and
employees should be
reprimanded instead of trained.
(4)

I believe the operators trust me

as a leader and supervisor. (5)

PJ Enterprises Employee Discovery Survey

Somewhat Disagree
(3)disagree (3)

Strongly Disagree
(4) (4)

1. Training
Strongly Agree (1)

Somewhat Agree
(2) (2)

Somewhat Disagree
(3)disagree (3)

Strongly Disagree
(4) (4)

Somewhat Agree
(2) (2)

Somewhat Disagree
(3)disagree (3)

Strongly Disagree
(4) (4)

My training prepared me to
do my job effectively (1)

I receive performance
feedback often. (2)

I receive reviews
periodically about my
performance and am aware
of improvement
opportunities. (3)

My supervisors help me
overcome my challenges.
(4)

Post-training follow up
makes me more confident.
(5)

I have a mentor to talk with

about my job performance.
(6)

2. Technology and Equipment

Strongly Agree (1)

The current
technology is
adequate for me to
do my job. (1)
My laptop or
computer is modern.
(2)
My workspace is
ergonomically
comfortable. (3)

My workspace has all

of the equipment I
need to do my job
effectively (i.e. dual
screens, keyboard,
telephone, headset, a
mouse, and a
comfortable chair.) (4)

The technology
equipment available
needs to be upgraded
to more modern
options. (5)

3. Environment and Morale

Strongly Agree (1)

PJ Enterprises' work
environment influences
employee production and
positive output. (1)

Employees aren't recognized

enough for their
accomplishments. (2)

When morale level is low job

performance is also low. (3)

Employees are leaving PJ

because they don't feel
management supports them.
(4)

Somewhat Agree
(2) (2)

Somewhat Disagree
(3)disagree (3)

Strongly Disagree
(4) (4)

4. Opinions of Management

Strongly Agree (1)

Management has supplied

me with all of the tools I
need to do my job
effectively. (1)

Management is interested
in my success as an
Operator and supports my
professional and personal
goals. (2)

Management's expectations
of my call goals are too
high. (3)

Management reviews all

low call ratings so I can
learn from them and make
improvements. (4)

My overall perception of
management is favorable.
(5)

Somewhat Agree
(2) (2)

Somewhat Disagree
(3)disagree (3)

Strongly Disagree
(4) (4)

Activity #4 - Survey Analysis

Details of Activity/Method
Review data from survey that was conducted with leadership and operators.

Questions to Ask

Review content from surveys given to leadership and operators

Review process form collecting data
Review the quantitative results from the survey
Review qualitative results from the survey
Look for patterns and trends in the data that will help develop a performance solution.

Roadblocks & Dependencies

Roadblocks / Dependencies

Mitigation Strategies

Obtaining accurate information

from telephone operators.

Obtain data from multiple

sources and check for
reliability. c.

Observations - making sure the

employees are not acting any
different while you are there
observing.

Talking to all employees and

making sure they go about their
normal day and try not to
distract them.

Scheduling time for surveys to

be completed.

Blocking out time for operators

and managers to be able to
complete surveys during the
work day.

Determining which individuals

will be interviewed and
coordinating the interviews with
workflow needs and schedules.

Collaborating with management

to determine interview structure
and appropriate times for faceto-face interviews.

Collaboration with schedules

and employees in more than
one location

Utilizing Skype and electronic

surveys to address logistical
issues