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A newsletter published by the
International
Association of Reservation Executives
Issue
30, April 2006
First Call
Resolution: It sounds like a dream; does it really exist?
By
Ronda Trog, Best Western International, Phoenix, AZ
Some
companies claim to have first call resolution but the minute the
guest goes from being a member of the frequency club to having a
problem with a product or stay, the call needs to be transferred to
another person.
What is First Call
Resolution?
To me,
first call resolution is the ability of the person who answers the
phone being trained and empowered to assist the caller with any
need. It might be a reservation booking for a North American
hotel, an international location, a request to redeem frequency
program awards or a call to express a concern with the service provided by our
company.
Transferring a caller to a variety of departments to resolve or
address a customer's need is time consuming and frustrating for both the
caller and the person answering the phone.
How does one get their
staff to the point of first call resolution?
At Best
Western, we are cross training our staff in Phoenix to handle
reservation sales calls and at least one other type of call, either
Frequency Operations calls or Customer Service calls. A number of
our staff handle all three types of calls. To help facilitate this
transition, we have re-organized all three work groups into one
department, Customer Care.
Challenges to First Call
Resolution
One of the
challenges has been working with supervisors who specialize in
one of the three areas. Supervisor meetings held on a frequent
basis are helping us overcome the boundaries that had existed in the
past. Supervisors have a team of cross-functional agents assigned
to them which is helping to support the First Call Resolution
approach as well as ensuring the supervisors are experiencing a
variety of questions to support their staff.
We have
identified a few key initiatives for the supervisors: coaching
their staff, additional on-the-job training for new representatives
and mentoring for staff development. We found that in smaller work
groups the supervisors perform a variety of administrative duties
for their employees. In order to give the supervisors the time to
focus on the initiatives above, we have established a Control center
that approves and tracks time off, attendance line calls, time
keeping issues and call flow between the skill sets. The
supervisors are still learning to take advantage of this new
resource available to them but each day I see improvement.
The need
for a transition period for new staff handling customer service
calls has resulted in a transition bay for three weeks. One
experienced agent is always at hand to assist the agents with any
questions or tricky situations. A supervisor is assigned to review
documentation and listen to their calls and provide on-the-job
training during these three weeks. This has been extremely
successful.
Re-training
representatives to “think outside the box” is challenging as well.
They need to be reassured that their decision-making skills while
learning to handle different types of calls will not always be
perfect but that this is how they will learn. Their first line
supervisor is the key to a successful transition.
Benefits of First Call
Resolution
The
satisfaction callers receive when they don’t have to be transferred
around is also very valuable. We have noticed an increase in the
number of staff compliments we are receiving from our callers about
the great job our staff did for them.
The
satisfaction I see from our staff when they are able to assist the
caller with a variety of needs is incredible. The smiles on their
faces and the skip in their step each day is a welcome site.
The
supervisors are still a bit over-whelmed but are starting to see the
benefit. Working with more satisfied employees is certainly going
to make their jobs easier day in and day out.
Corporate Change on a Shoestring
Budget
By Kenny Moore,
KeySpan Corporation, Totowa, NJ
The economy’s tight. My
company no longer has wads of money to throw at high-priced
consultants to transform our culture. If change is to happen, it’ll
have to be done by ordinary employees and on a minuscule budget.
And I’m discovering that I may need to get personally involved. My
two-part plan is presently underway. It’s cheap and it’s fun: two
clear signs that senior management won’t embrace it. But who
cares? With limited financial incentive from my company, I’m
learning to look to small pleasures to keep me engaged in the
business.
It Starts Small
The first part of the plan all started with Beverly. She works in
accounting. She’s not the department head. She’s not even on our
list of “High Potential” employees. Fact is, Beverly’s a union
worker. But she’s wonderful. When I have an accounting problem, I
go to Bev. When I fall short in following the most recent financial
procedure, I go to Bev. On the days I can’t get to her, it’s often
because there are other befuddled employees seeking out her
practical wisdom.
Does my company need to re-engineer accounting practices to make them
more user-friendly and efficient? You bet! However, based on my
limited experience in dealing with accountants, it’s unlikely to
happen in my lifetime. So in the interim, I rely on Beverly.
A Serendipitous Moment
I was in the local dollar store the other day looking for a cheap
nightlight for my son’s bedroom. Wandering down the aisles, I saw a
coffee mug engraved with a heart that read: “You’re the Greatest.”
Even though it was hand-painted in China, this oriental work of art
was available for a mere $1. The sign said the supply was limited,
but I think they still had a few cases in the back room. The cup
reminded me of Beverly so I bought it. On the way back to my
office, I passed her desk. “I got you a small gift, Bev … a present
for all the help you give me” and took the cup out and gave it to
her.
She smiled. “Even though I don’t drink coffee,” Bev said, “I still
love it. I can use it to keep my pens and pencils in.” But more
than her words, it was the look in her eyes that captivated me. It
was a glint of appreciation. A sparkle of affection. A tinge of
some positive primordial emotion tethered to the woman’s sacred
soul. It was one of those rare moments of Divine Revelation in the
workplace.
Something more was going on here than the exchange of porcelain.
Something, I suspect, that was only loosely connected to the fact
that the cup was hand-painted in the Orient. It was a small moment
of acknowledgement for the talent of a lone employee who was making
a difference. It represented an undersized deposit into the
overdrawn account of employee passion that daily gets bestowed for
the sake of the corporate common good. My single regret from the
encounter was that there was no high priced consultant nearby to
witness the event.
I now regularly find myself visiting the dollar store and using my
small budget to keep the tectonic plates of culture change in steady
movement.
It Ends Small
The second part to my grand, but cheap, change plan is to take
fellow employees out for a cup of coffee. Not Starbuck’s, since I
no longer have the budget for such luxury. We go down to the
company cafeteria. It costs me 80 cents. If they want a juice,
it’s a dime more. I tend to invite folks who other employees are
drawn towards. They represent a type of “heliotropic leadership” in
the rugged jungle of business life. They radiate a natural
luminescence that co-workers gravitate towards and are nurtured by.
With these folks around, corporate toxicity is kept to a minimum and
a form of workplace photosynthesis takes place.
I spend the first part of these caffeine-laden meetings expressing
my appreciation and thanks. It’s odd how seldom people share a
personal “thank you” in a corporate setting. The rest of the time
is spent in a whimsical conversation about how we might make the
company a better place to work. I seldom walk away with a
detailed action plan. Most of the time, I merely enjoy taking a few
minutes out of an otherwise hectic day squandering it on a person I
admire. I’m also darkly reminded how seldom I detach myself from
petty complaining and give some thought to creating a positive
future. It’s common that these conversations wind up changing me
more than the culture.
But I’m learning that maybe that is exactly what’s needed in these
tight financial times. I believe Ben Bernanke and the Federal
Reserve would be proud of me.
P.S. If you’re thinking
about writing me, give in to the temptation.
I love getting mail
... and being influenced by what you have to say. Please e-mail me
at kennythemonk@yahoo.com.
Kenny Moore is co-author of
The CEO and the Monk: One Company’s Journey to Profit and Purpose
(John Wiley and Sons, 2004), rated as one of the top ten best
selling business books on Amazon.com. He is Corporate Ombudsman and
Human Resources Director at a New York City Fortune 500 energy
company. Reporting to the CEO, he is primarily responsible for
awakening joy, meaning and commitment in the workplace. While these
efforts have largely been met with skepticism, he remains eternally
optimistic of their future viability.
Kenny has more than 20 years
experience with managing change, developing leaders and healing the
corporate community. He’s been profiled by Charles Osgood on CBS
Sunday Morning News and interviewed by Tom Peters, The Wall
Street Journal and Fast Company magazine regarding his
unique leadership style. Kenny is the recipient of Notre Dame
University’s 2006 Hesburg Award for his significant
contribution to the field of business ethics.
His business practices are
based on those of Louie Armstrong who said: “I am here in the
service of Happiness.” Louis died a rich and beloved man; his voice
still sings in the ears (and hearts) of millions.
Prior to his work in corporate
America, Kenny spent 15 years in a monastic community as a Catholic
priest. Several years ago, he had the good fortune of being
diagnosed with “incurable” cancer, at its most advanced stages. He
underwent a year of experimental treatment at the National Cancer
Institute and survived. Kenny came away from that experience
recalling the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes: “Most of us go to our
graves with our music still inside us.” Kenny’s lifetime goal is to
spend more of his time playing his music. Having dealt with both
God and death, Kenny now finds himself eminently qualified to work
with senior management on corporate change efforts.
Kenny is a watercolor
artist, poet and photographer. He is Founding Director of
Art for the Anawim, a
not-for-profit charity which works with the art community in
supporting the needs of terminally ill children and the inner city
poor. His poems have been published in several anthologies; one was
selected as a semi-finalist in the North American Open Poetry
Contest. Kenny lives in Totowa, New Jersey and is married to the
“fair and beautiful” Cynthia. Together, they are fighting a losing
battle of maintaining their mental stability while raising 2 growing
boys.
Kenny can be reached at
kennythemonk@yahoo.com or (973) 956-8210.
Don't miss Kenny Moore's
presentation at the IARE 21st Annual Conference! Click here for more information:
http://www.iare.com/Conference/2006/conference.htm.
Generational Diversity: Merging
the Gap
By Dana Bickford, Founder and Principal Consultant,
EMPOWERMENT RESOURCES, Tulsa, OK
How many
times have you said, regarding a peer, boss or direct report,
something similar to, “I just don’t GET them!”? You may have even
said the same as it relates to a spouse and/or child. We don’t “get
them” many times because of the different generations in which we
belong. Our lack of understanding of the differences in our
generations can cause stress, discomfort, conflict and frustration.
In turn, these differences can also become a source for creativity
and productivity.
The ability
to relate effectively to all types of people is one of today’s
essential leadership skills. For the first time in history we find
ourselves with four generations in the workplace at one time. The
task of bringing these generations together is not an easy one, yet
one that must be addressed. As diversity becomes more of a hot
topic in American society, generational diversity’s importance
increases as well. Knowing that each generation possesses unique
traits and characteristics, companies must address the issues of
each generation. By doing this, companies will be able to create a
more cohesive work environment.
Claire
Raines, renowned generational diversity expert, uses the metaphor of
a deck of cards to help in understanding how we think about
businesspeople and the issues they face. (Connecting
Generations: The Sourcebook for a New Workplace, Crisp
Learning, 2003) If your co-workers, direct reports, etc. were a deck
of cards, you could sort that deck in all kinds of ways. You might
want to split the deck into two stacks – one for men, one for
women. You could separate them according to ethnic background. You
might stack the deck according to sexual orientation. You could
sort according to co-workers’ countries of origin. You could make
sixteen piles that represent the Myers Briggs ™ types. You could
even sort them according to the generation in which they belong.
Karl Krumm,
an associate with Ms. Raines and a Ph.D. of Psychology, believes –
and I agree – that each time you sorted the cards and then explored
the way the stacks were different from and similar to the others,
along with the ways all the cards in a stack were similar to each
other, you would get helpful information that would give you
valuable insights about every card. Of course, sorting the cards
would never give you a picture of the complete person;
individual human beings are way too complex for that. But, if you
are interested in people and how to work more effectively with them,
I am certain you’ll find the generational sort to be an extremely
valuable one.
Today’s
most effective organizations don’t just tolerate diversity. They
seek it out. They go looking for people of all nationalities,
political beliefs, backgrounds, ages and genders. Again, it is not
always easy, because differences are often thought of negatively, as
in, “We’ve had our differences.” Says Thomas Crum, “Conflicts can
be disastrous or miraculous, depending on how you react to them.” (The
Magic of Conflict, Touchstone Press, 1987) Differences become
miraculous when we appreciate them and utilize them.
Today’s
best companies create competitive advantage by becoming employer
of choice – by being the company for whom all the best people
want to work. This requires a work culture that recognizes and
appreciates a variety of perspectives, styles and opinions – where
differences are sought out, valued, respected and put to use.
Business success requires a workforce that is educated about
diversity, where associates have developed their awareness and
appreciation for differences and have learned useful skills for
merging the gaps and tapping into the best of everyone.
Merging the
generational gaps requires effort and commitment. In addition, in
order to ensure the future success of businesses these issues must
be overcome. Companies that do not address these issues may have
difficulty creating an environment conducive for their employees to
be productive, therefore compromising the company’s success. Other
companies may recognize these gaps and implement programs to close
them. Those choosing to facilitate the merging of the generational
gaps will certainly reap the rewards of their efforts.
Note from
Dana……participants
of my upcoming workshop will leave with an overview of the four
generations currently in the workplace, events that shaped their
values, personal attributes, the do’s and don’ts when interacting
with them, their likes and dislikes, as well as a list of 10
creative ideas to introduce and/or enhance generational awareness in
your own companies.
For more than 20 years Dana Bickford
has been training and inspiring leadership teams and associates.
She is a certified facilitator with AchieveGlobal, formerly Zenger-Miller,
and Development Dimensions International (DDI). Bickford received
her Bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University and is seven
hours from completion of her Master’s degree in Occupational and
Adult Education with emphasis in Human Resource Development.
Other experience Bickford
brings to the table is six years service on the management team for
the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group worldwide contact center. She
also, for eight years, led a successful unit as a Mary Kay Sales
Director and earned the use of the coveted pink car, as well as
guiding, developing and assisting nine of her unit members into
management with the company, of which they each earned the use of a
car.
Bickford
has provided people with opportunities for personal and professional
growth through workshops on topics such as leadership development,
generational diversity, trust and the core elements, empowerment,
communication, emotional excellence, high performance teams,
conflict resolution, embracing and initiating change, self
development, customer service, attitude, problem solving, building
high self-esteem, managing time and priorities, as well as many
others. In her workshops everyone becomes part of the learning
process through an interactive training approach. Using stories,
games and props she is able to communicate important values that
produce desired results.
Don't miss Dana Bickford's
presentation at the IARE 21st Annual Conference! Click here for more information:
http://www.iare.com/Conference/2006/conference.htm.
Are you Attending IARE's 21st
Annual Conference? Check Out Who Will Be There
IARE's 21st Annual Conference begins on Saturday, April 22
and will continue through Wednesday, April 26.
Click here to
download a list of your colleagues who have registered so
far.
See you in Chicago!
About
IARE-News
The IARE-News is a quarterly publication
distributed electronically to provide ongoing communication and
information for IARE Members.
The IARE’s Communications & Technology Committee produces
IARE-News.
Articles
may be submitted via email to iare@assnoffice.com
and are subject to acceptance and editing by the Communications and
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2006 -- International Association of Reservation
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Last edit
04/20/06
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