Identifying, Understanding, and Correcting Plan Obstacles

The first task in developing a customer service measurement program is to identify, understand, and correct the obstacles within the company that can sabotage successful implementation of the program.

Many companies design surveys, score sheets, or other tools and pass them to their customers without ever realizing that the measurement tool itself is a relatively small part of the measurement process. What has to be considered are the people who interface with the customer, the equipment they have to work with, the support they get from the rest of the company, and the training they need to administer and evaluate the measurement instruments. Without this upfront company analysis, the measurement program is doomed to failure. Exhibit 12-2 lists eight typical problems that must be addressed and corrected before a measurement program can be implemented. Most of these problems can be corrected by building a strong team spirit in the company and by getting 100 percent commitment from the senior management. The importance of senior management commitment cannot be emphasized enough. Without it, the program will fail.

Exhibit 12-2: Identifying, understanding, and correcting plan obstacles.

What Can Go Wrong	What to Do
Inadequate communications between departments, teams, customer, or contractor	Schedule regular team-building sessions and problem-solving meetings.
Employees not rewarded for quality, customer service, or quality effort	Make quality and customer service a performance goal and reward achievement.
Lack of interdepartment support	Usually a result of poor communications. Team-building exercises help but tend to take time. An excellent and more immediate remedy is a project charter issued by the company president describing the project and the expectations of each department.
Understaffing	Understaffing usually is a cost-cutting measure. Tie staffing requirements to customer service and sell to management as a profit enhancement.
Too few or out-of-date information systems	Inadequate or out-of-date equipment is actually more costly in the long term than the cost of new equipment. Provide the best equipment possible.
Inadequate interpersonal skill training	Training for every individual is crucial. Establish budget, identify courses, and schedule employees.
Low morale; no team spirit	Usually a result of poor communication and lack of support. Can be improved with team-building exercises or periodic senior management "town meetings."
Inadequate or poor organizational policies and procedures	Corrected by a regular review and revision of all company policies and procedures.