The Receptacle organization has lost its overall market share by 13% because its customer satisfaction levels has deteriorated over the last 7 months. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) speaks to the Chief
Human Resource Officer (CHRO) about receiving anonymous emails of dysfunction in the customer service department. The CEO asks the CHRO to determine why the department is performing poorly, and if the Head of Customer Service (HCS) is able to lead the team effectively. The CEO states that the rising levels of customer complaints of poor service must be handled urgently and decisively.
The CHRO schedules a meeting with the HCS. The HCS was a top performer as an employee for 4 years and was recently promoted to lead the department. During the meeting, the HCS admits that he is facing significant employee relations problems. He states that certain employees are given preferential treatment by the CEO based on familial ties and these employees cannot be controlled. He is at a loss on what to do about these "problem" employees because they have access to the CEO based on family ties.
Staff in the department respond to an average of 3 calls per hour while the industry standard average is 7 calls per hour. The HCS states that he is desperate for help and is open to any solutions that the CHRO can offer. The CHRO finds that the department is not staffed at full capacity and though the vacant positions have been posted in-house, employees are not keen on applying for the roles based on rumors of poor employee relations, bias, chaotic systems and controls.
How should the CHRO resolve the problem of the small number of calls per hour in the department?
A. Provide orientation training for the staff of the department to increase the number of calls by showing them a line of sight between their productivity levels and the strategic goals of the organization.
B. Develop a Request for proposal (RFP) through which a temporary staffing agency is selected to provide optimum customer service per service level agreements (SLA).
C. Work with the HCS to determine a compulsory work rule of 7 calls per hour for each employee going forward, based on the industry standard average.
D. Take note of the calls, define the nature of the calls and determine the approximate time needed to
resolve customer issues successfully for each call.
Explanation:
To effectively resolve the issue of the small number of calls, the CHRO must first determine critical information on the duration and nature of the calls to determine the root problem before implementing a solution.
Note that until the root cause of the problem is determined, the appropriate solution cannot be known or implemented.
