Introduction:Managersneedtoplanandguide

theworkfortheiremployees

Inordertoaccomplishthegoalsdesired,youwill
needtohaveagoodstrategicandtacticalplan.You
willneedabasicroadmaponwhereyouarenow,
andwhereyouaregoing.Youwouldalsoneedto
determinethebestwayonhowtogetfrompointAto
pointB.Finally,youwouldneedtomakesureyou
havethemeanstogettoyourfinaldestination.

Forexample,ifprovidingexcellentcustomerservice
wereyourmainobjective,youwouldneedtocome
upwithastrategytomakesurethecustomersare
satisfiedineveryway.Thisiswheremanagingand
organizingyourdepartmentcomesintoplay.

Youmightneedtoorganizethedepartment
differentlytoachievethegoalsuchassettingupa
Tier1grouptohandlethesimpleandquickcalls,
andaTier2grouptohandlethedifficultlonger
lastingcalls.Youwouldneedtodeterminewho
wouldgointoeachgroupandwheretheywouldsit.
Youwouldhavetohavethecallsrouteddifferently.
Youwillneedtodirectthestafftofollowtheprocess
andmonitortheperformancetomakesureall
functionsarerunningsmoothlyandinacoordinated
fashion.Youalsoatthesametimeneedtotakeinto
considerationthecostsassociatedinstructuringyour
departmentwhilestayingwithinbudget.Theseare
thekindsofthedecisionsthatcomewithstructured
planningandorganizing.Howyoudealwiththese
kindsofdecisionsareabigpartofbeingasuccessful
manager.

Inthisprojectwewilllookatamodelthatcanhelp
youfullyunderstandandimproveyourorganization,
andwaystosetupyourdepartmenttoitsoptimum
performancetobeabletomeetanygoalsor
objectivesthatmaycomeyourway.

Alsointhislesson,andthroughoutthecourse,we
willbeusingmanagementexamplesofaCustomer
Service/TechnicalSupportManager.Customer
serviceissoimportantandjustabouteverymanager
hassomesortofcustomerserviceexpectations
relatedtotheirgoalsandduties.Thismakesthese
examplesexemplary.Wewilluseanexample
companythatprovidestelephoneandInternetservice
calledSampleCorp.Thefictitiousproductbeing
usediscalledaWidget,whichisanInternetservice
relatedproduct.Themanagersnamethatisbeing
usedintheshortstoriesinlessons1through7is
JohnSmith.Besuretokeepinmindthatthebasic
 premiseandlogicoftheseexamplescanbe
translatedintojustabouteverymanagerialscenario
andfunction.

The7SModelandhowitcanhelpimproveyour
organization

The7Smodelisausefulwaytolookatthemany
interrelatedaspectsofacomplexorganizationandit's
agreatwaytohelpyouunderstandyourorganization
andleverageittomaximumefficiencyand
profitability.ItwasdevelopedbyTomPetersand
RobertWatermanwhileworkingatMcKinsey&
Company.

Thebasicpremiseofthemodelisthatthereare
seveninternalaspectsofanorganizationthatneedto
bealignedifitistobesuccessful.Itisthesevenkey
elementsofanorganizationthatarecriticalto
understanditseffectiveness.Thesesevenelements
are:Strategy,Structure,Systems,SharedValues,
Style,Staff,andSkills.Thebeautyofthe7Smodel
isthatitcanbeusedinawidevarietyofsituations
suchas:
Adiagnostictoolforanineffectiveorganization.
Improvetheperformanceofacompany.
 Guidesorganizationalchanges.
Aligndepartmentsandprocessesduringamergeror
acquisition.
Determinehowbesttoimplementaproposed
strategy.
Combinesrationalandhardelementswithemotional
andsoftelements.

ManagersmustactonallSsinparallelasallSs
areinterrelated.Allelementsmustalignequally:
Thesevenelementsaredistinguishedinsocalled
 hardSsandsoftSs.Thehardelements(consisting
withStrategy,Structure,andSystems)arefeasible
andeasytoidentify.Theyareeasiertochangethan
theothers.Theycanbefoundinstrategystatements,
corporateplans,organizationalchartsandother
documentations.

ThefoursoftSs(consistingofSkills,Staff,Style,
andSharedValues)arenotasfeasible.Theyare
hardertochangedirectly,andtypicallytakelongerto
doso.Theyarehardertodescribesincecapabilities,
valuesandelementsofcorporatecultureare
continuouslydevelopingandchanging.Theyare
highlydeterminedbythepeopleatworkinthe
organization.Effectivecompanies,however,tendto
payasmuchattentiontothesefactorsastothehard
Ss.

Essentially,you'llwanttorunthrougheachofthe
sevenpointsandanalyzehowtheyfitinwithyour
business.Theconceptsremainfairlysimilar,with
someminorchanges:

1 Strategy:Referstotheplanorroutemapto
maintaincompetitiveadvantage.Whatisyourplan
forthefuture?Howdoyouintendtoachievethe
objectives?Whenwasthelasttimeyoulookedat
 yourbusinessplan?Whatweretheactionsyoutook
afterlookingatit?Whenwasthelasttimeyou
updatedyourbusinessplan?Howdoyoudealwith
competitivepressure?Whatarethesourcesof
sustainablecompetitiveadvantagesuchascost,
quality,serviceandtechnicalleadership?Whatare
thekeystrategicprioritiessuchasimproved
customerservice?Howarechangesincustomer
demanddealtwith?Howdoyoudelivergreater
valuetocustomers?
2 Structure:Referstotheframeworkinwhichthe
activitiesoftheorganizationsmembersare
coordinated.Akeyfunctionofstructureistofocus
employeesattentiononwhatneedstogetdoneby
definingtheworktheydoandwhomtheyshouldbe
workingwith.Howistheorganizationalstructure
designedrightnow?Howistheteamdivided?How
dothevariousdepartmentscoordinateactivities?
Howdotheteammembersorganizeandalign
themselves?Isdecisionmakingandcontrolling
centralizedordecentralized?Isthisasitshouldbe,
givenwhatyouredoing?Wherearethelinesof
communication?Ifyouhadtosuddenlyhireanother
6employeestomorrow,whatwoulditlooklike?
Whatchangeswouldyouhavetomake?Ifyour
customerhasacomplaint,orifthereissomekindof
emergency,howareproblemsescalated?Istherea
 statedhierarchyandan"inpractice"hierarchy?
3 Systems:Referstothedaytodayprocessesand
procedures.Havingeffectivesystemshelpsreduce
redundancyandstreamlinesprocess.Howdoyou
gatherbusinessintelligence?Doyouhaveaunified
database?Doestheorganizationhavethesystemsit
needstorunyourdepartmentsuchasmonitoringfor
customersatisfaction?Ifyouhavetoputtogethera
reportonsomething,couldyoudoitquickly?What
happensifoneofyourstaffleaves;willtheytake
withthemakeypartofyourbusinessintelligence?
Whatarethemainsystemsthatruntheorganization?
Wherearethecontrolsandhowaretheymonitored
andevaluated?Whatinternalrulesandprocesses
doestheteamusetokeepontrack?
4 SharedValues:(alsoknownasSuperordinate
goals):Referstotheguidingprinciplesofthe
organization.Thesearethecorevaluesofthe
companyandyourdepartment.Whatareyourcore
andstatedvalues?Whatdoyoumeasureandreward?
Aretheythesamething?Howcanyoumakeminor
changestobringtheminlinewitheachother?What
areyourstatedvaluessupposedtocontributetoyour
business?Dotheycontributewhatyouwantthemto
contribute?Doesyouremployeeshaveashared
understandingofwhythecompanyexists?Dothey
sharethesamecompanyanddepartmentalvision?
 Howdotheydescribedthewaysinwhichthe
companyisdistinctive?Isthefocusonquality,
emphasisonpeople,etc?
5 Style:Referstotheleadershipapproachandthe
organizationsoveralloperatingapproach.How
wouldyoudescribeyourdepartment?Howwould
youremployeesdescribeyourdepartment?How
wouldyourcompetitorsdescribeyourdepartment?
Howwouldyourcustomersdescribeyour
department?Howwouldyourvendorsdescribeyour
department?Ifallfivewouldsaythesamethingthen
you'reontherighttrack;iftheysaydifferentthings
thenitcouldindicateapotentialproblem.Isthis
samestyleandculturegoingtocarryyouthroughthe
nextfewyears?Whatwillhavetochangeforyouto
grow?Howparticipativeisyourmanagementand
leadershipstyle?Howeffectiveisyourleadership?
Howgoodareyouatmakingdecisions?Wheredo
youfocusmostofyourtimeandattention?Doyour
employeestendtobecompetitiveorcooperative?
Arethererealteamsfunctioningwithinthe
organization,oraretheyjustnominalgroups?
6 Staff:Referstothestafflevelsandhowpeopleare
hired,developed,trained,socialized,integrated,and
ultimatelyhowtheircareersaremanaged.Areyou
staffedtoservecustomersadequately?Willthe
additionordeletionofoneortwostaffmembers
 changeanything?Howdoyoutrainandmentor
employees?Isyourtrainingmethodseffective?Are
yourstaffmemberstrainedtodotheirjobs?Canyou
givethemanyotherskillsorresourcestodotheirjob
better?What'sholdingthembackfromhelpingyou
growyourbusiness?Arethey"boughtin"toseeing
yourbusinessdevelop?Whatpositionsor
specializationsarerepresentedwithintheteam?
Whatpositionsneedtobefilled?Aretheregapsin
requiredcompetencies?
7 Skills:Referstothedistinctivecompetenciesof
peoplewithintheorganization.Whatskillshaveyou
beenhiringfor?Whatskillsdoyouneed?What
skillswillyouneedin1or2yearsfromnow?Does
someoneinyourorganizationhavethoseskillsand
areyougroomingthemforanimportantroleinthe
next1or2years?Whatskillswillyouneedto
possessintwoyearsthataredifferentthantheskills
youpossesstoday?Whatarethestrongestskills
representedwithintheteam?Arethereanyskills
gaps?Whatistheteamknownfordoingwell?Do
thecurrentemployeeshavetheabilitytodothejob?
Howareskillsmonitoredandassessed?

Anexampleofthe7Smodelinaction,foran
improvementopportunity,wouldbeifthe
departmentwasmisalignedresultinginpoor
performance.
Wewillactonsomeofthequestionsjustdescribed
fromthe7Smodelinthenextsectionofthislesson,
ManageyourDepartmenttoitsOptimumin10
steps.

ManageyourDepartmenttoitsOptimumin10
steps

Managingadepartmentthatissuccessfulinmeeting
itsgoalsisthegoalofeverymanager.Youwanta
solidorganizationthatknowsthegoalsandrunslike
awelloiledmachine.Everyoneshouldbeonthe
samewavelengthwiththesameunifiedvisionand
sharedcorevalues.Byfollowingtherightsteps,you
canbesureyouhavecoveredeveryangletoachieve
successinmeetingthedepartmentsgoalsand
objectives.

Tobeginwith,youneedtofullyunderstandwhatis
expectedofyouasmanager.Youneedtoknowwhat
productsand/orservicesyouaresupporting,whatthe
goalsandobjectivesareofthecompany,andwhat
thegoalsandobjectivesareofyourdepartment.
Onceallofthathasbeendetermined,youcanstart
oncreatingawellorganized,plannedout,fully
trainedandcontrolleddepartment.

Herearethe10stepstoplanandbuildyour
departmenttoitsoptimumtomeetthegoals:

Step1Determineyourpartinthecompanysgoals
andobjectives
Step2Absolutelyknowwhatsexpectedofyouas
manager
Step3Fullyknowthecompany'sproducts,
services,andsystemsusedtosupportthem
Step4Establishgoalsandobjectivesforyour
department
Step5Strategize,planandstructuretomeetthe
objective
Step6Gettherightpeopleyouneedtomeetthe
objective
Step7Gettherightmaterialstogetthejobdone
right
Step8Getyourstaffallofthetrainingitneeds
Step9Organizeitalltoputtheplanintoeffect
Step10Monitorandcontrolitalltokeepitrunning
smoothly

Eachoneofthese10stepswillbediscussedinthe
followingsegments.Therewillalsobeexamples
usedfromthepointofviewofacustomer
service/technicalsupportmanager.

Step 1 Determine your part

in the companys goals and
objectives
Acompanyneedstoalwaysthinkstrategicallyand
befocusedonthefutureinordertosucceed.Goals
andobjectivescouldbeanewproductorservicethe
companywantstoproduceorprovide,targetingthe
marketsthroughresearchanalysisthatbestsuitthe
companysproductline,raisingcapitalbasedon
financialprojectionsthroughpotentialsalesand
earnings,orincreasecustomersatisfactionthrough
itsoperationalstrategies.

Oncetheplanisfullyinplace,thepiecesofthe
puzzleneedtobeputtogether.Anytimeaplanhas
beenestablished,theinformationtotheentire
companyusuallyflowssomethinglikethis:

1.Thecompanysgoalsandobjectiveswillbe
filtereddowntoalldepartmentmanagers,mostlikely
whileinmeetingswithuppermanagement.

2.Departmentmanagerswilltaketheirpartofthe
planandfullyunderstandthegoalsandobjectives.

3.Atimelinetoachievethesegoalswouldneedtobe
putintoplace.

4.Thedepartmentmanagerwillcreatetheprojects
andtasksassociatedwiththeplanandclearlystate
thegoalsandobjectivestotheiremployees.Training
isgivenandprocessesarecreated.

5.Theprojectismonitoredtoensurequalityand
maintainfocus.

6.Themanagerreactstoanyproblemwiththe
processassoonaspossible.

7.Statusreportsandupdatesaregiventoupper
management.

Soundssimple,butwithoutcarefulplanningitcan
getmuddled,confusing,andunorganized.Themost
importantaspectoftheplanistobeabletoclearly
translateitthroughoutthecompany.
Onceyourmanagerialresponsibilitiesoftheplan
havebeendetermined,youmustclearlytranslatethe
goalsandobjectivestoyourstaffalongwitha
timeframe.Youneedtotellthemwhythegoalsare
importantandwhattheymeantothecompany.There
shouldneverbeareasonwhyyourstaffdoesnot
knowthereasonsandgoalsofeachprojectthat
comestheirway.

Youneedtodevelopprocessesandproceduresthat
areeasytofollowandmakesureeveryoneistrained.
Itisuptoyoutodirectthemtowardobjectives,
monitortheirprogressandreactwhennecessary.
Youneedtobeabletoshowuppermanagementthe
progressbeingmadebyreportingstats,survey
results,andanyotherrelevantdata.

Remember,whendealingwithuppermanagement,
Itisbettertounderpromise,andoverdeliver.
Mostmanagersdotheopposite.Alwaysremember
thissimplephrasewheneveryoufeelaprojectthat
comesyourwayisbiggerthanwhatitfirstappearsto
be.
Step 2 Absolutely know
whats expected of you as
manager
Youneedtoknowexactlywhatitisupper
managementexpectsfromyou.Ifyouhaveany
doubt,chancesaretheyareexpectingsomethingyou
mightnotbeabletodeliver.Thisiswhythe
informationflowasstatedinstep1issoimportant.
Whatyoushouldexpectfromyourselfistoalways
thinkbig.Youareeitherinmanagement,orinspiring
tobeinmanagement,becausedeepdownyouknow
youcandothejob.

Onethingthatisforcertain,youareexpectedto
createastrongteam,inspiretheteamtoperform
well,clearlystatethegoalsexpectedoftheteam,
achievethosegoalswithprooffromstatisticaldata,
andrecognizeandrewardajobwelldone.

Inordertoachieveandevensurpassexpectations,
youwillalwaysneedagoodsolidplanthatiswell
understoodbyall.Youwillneedtofigureouthowto
bestdevelop,communicate,andtraintheprocesses
andproceduresassociatedwiththeplan.Youneedto
makesurethatthereisnodoubtfromyourstaff
regardingthegoalsathand.Thesegoalscanvary
fromcallcentermetricssuchascustomersatisfaction
surveyresults,toaproductionlinesuchashowmany
unitsneedtobemadeperhour.

Howyoustructureyourdepartmentcandetermine
whetherornotyouhityourgoals.Youneedtomake
surethesetupandflowofthedepartmentworksin
efficiencyandharmony.Inorderforthedepartment
toflowinharmony,youfirstneedtomakesureyou
andyourteamfullyunderstandsthecompanys
systems,productsand/orservices.

Step3Fullyknowthecompanysproducts,
services,andsystemsusedtosupportthem

Youhavetoknowthecompanysproducts.When
youandyourstaffdonthaveagoodgrasponthe
productsorservicesyourcompanyprovides,more
mistakes,lessconfidenceandwastedenergyis
inevitable.Howcanyouexpectyourteamtosupport
anewproductreleaseorserviceofferingwhenthey
arenotevencertainabouttheexistingproductsand
servicesthatarebeingoffered?

Thisnotonlypertainstotheproductsandservices,
butthecompanyssystemsandtoolsusedtotrack,
troubleshoot,andenterpertinentdata.Yourjobisto
makesureeveryoneis100%comfortablewiththe
toolsandsystemstheyuseaswellastheproducts
andservicestheyaresupporting.Makeitapointto
demystifyeverythingthatisinvolvedwithinyour
department.Youshouldalsomakeitapointto
personallyknowhowtouseorworkontheproducts,
tools,andsystemsasthatofyourstaff.Thiswayyou
willbeabletobetterrelatetoanycommentsor
suggestionstheymayhaveaswellasgiveyoumore
confidence.

Whenwetalkaboutaproduct,wearetalkingabouta
tangibleitemthatcanbephysicallytouched.When
talkingaboutaservice,wearetalkingaboutan
intangibleactionperformedbysomeoneoraservice
provided.Forexample,ifyoubuyacarbattery,
yourebuyingaproduct.Ifyouelecttohave
someoneinstallthebattery,thatpersonisprovidinga
service.Therearemanytimeswhentheproductand
servicearecombinedfromthecustomerspointof
view.Forexample,thesteakfromarestaurantis
consideredaproduct,whereasthecookwhocooks
thesteakandthewaitresswhothenbringsthesteak
tothecustomerisconsideredaservice.Managersin
thesetypesofcompanieshavebothproductand
 servicetoworryabout.

Thereareimportantqualitydistinctionsthatmustbe
maderegardingproductsandservices:

Agoodproductisanentitythatmeetsallquality
standards.Productsthatareflawedareconsideredof
lowquality.Thisisaproblemforboththecustomer
andthecompanyemployeeswhohavetosupportthe
product.

Agoodserviceiscompletesatisfactionfromthe
customerspointofviewwiththequalityofthe
companyshelpandactiontaken.Servicethatisbad
isconsideredoflowqualitycustomerinteraction.
Badservicecanalsoberelatedtonumerousoutages
fromserviceprovidingentitiessuchasyourelectric
orInternetservice.

Byfullyknowingthecompanyssystems,products
and/orservices,andhowthequalitycanalterthe
customersperceptionandtheemployeesmorale,
aredetrimentaltothesuccessorfailureofamanager.

Yourstaffalsoneedstobeawareofthereasonwhy
theproductstheyproduce,orservicestheyprovide,
goesbeyondthemarketplacesotheircustomerswill
continuetobeloyal.

Step4Establishgoalsandobjectivesforyour
department

Asmanager,youneedtodeterminehowthegoals
andobjectivesforyourdepartmentareset.These
goalsmightbeestablishedthroughyourboss,upper
management,ormightevenbedeterminedbyyou.In
anycase,thegoalsaremostlikelybasedonindustry
standards,orusingthecompetitionasabenchmark.
Nomatterhowthegoalsareset;youneedtofully
understandtheirmeaning.Youalsohavetobeable
toclearlycommunicatethesegoalswithyourstaff.

Youremployeesneedtofirmlyknowwhatis
expectedofthem.Theyshouldbeabletoquotethese
goalswhenasked,andhavethemeaningofthese
goalsengrainedintotheirmemory.Thiswaythey
willalwayshaveaunifiedfocusonwheretheyare
now,andwheretheyneedtobeheaded.Goalsetting
encouragesemployeestoputinsubstantialeffort;
becausetheyknowexactlywhatisexpectedofthem.
Thereislittleroomleftforalackofeffortgoing
unnoticed.Goalsettingalsoprovidesdirectionanda
senseofpurpose.Goalsarethemotivatingforceto
workharder.Tomakethegoalsworthwhile,there
needstobearewardofsomesort,oncethegoalis
achieved.Wewilldiscussmoreaboutcompensation
andrewardsinLesson3.

Youshouldsetupbothlongtermandshortterm
goals.Thelongtermgoalscapturethemain
objective.Theshorttermgoalsprovideguidanceon
adaytodaybasistomeetthatobjective.An
exampleofalongtermgoalwouldbetoimprove
customersatisfactionratingsfrom80%to95%.The
shorttermgoalstowardsthatincreasedcustomer
satisfactionwouldbetoaddressissuessuchas
serviceoutages,providemoretechnicaltraining,
focusonpersonalskills,ortodevelopamore
standardformattoincreaseefficiency.Theshort
termgoalsshouldalwaysberelatedtothegreater
goodofthelongtermgoal.Ifthelongtermgoalis
measuredinmonths,thentheshorttermgoalsshould
beachievedinjustafewdays,oracoupleofweeks.
Determiningthetimeframeoflongtermandshort
termgoalscanvarydependingonthesizeorseverity
oftheproject.

Dealingwithnumbersisanecessarypartofbeinga
manager,andisthenatureofbusiness.Managers
havetodealwithschedules,productioncosts,service
statistics,qualitymeasures,andsatisfactionresults,
justtonameafew.Numbersshouldbeanimportant
partoftheguidingprinciplesinrunningyour
department,however,nottheonlydrivingforce.You
needtosettargetsandgoals,butifyoulivebythe
numbersalone,youmightlosethepersonaltouch.
Youremployeeswillbemoreworriedabouttheir
personalstats,ratherthanprovidingapleasant
customerexperience.Forexample,ifacompany
pridesthemselvesonprovidinganexceptional
customerexperience,yettheemployeesarebeing
judgedwiththeamountoforderstheytook,notby
theextrapersonalcustomertouchtheygave,youare
inforaconflictofinterest.Besides,oncetheyhit
theirquota,theymaynotbeinspiredtodoanyextra
work.

Itisafinearttobalancethemetricswithapersonal
touch.Forexample,youneedyourcustomerservice
representativestoquicklyanswerthecalls,provide
theinformation,andgettothenextcallassoonas
possiblesothatyoudonothavetoomanycustomers
onhold(whichisameasuredmetric).Youmighthit
yournumbers,butthecustomerfeltrushedanddid
nothaveapleasantcustomerexperience.If,
however,yougavetoomuchattentiontoeverycall,
thenyouwouldhavelongerholdtimes,thus
aggravatedcustomerswhojustwantedaquickand
 easyanswer,thuspoorcustomersatisfactionratings
becauseoflongholdtimes.Thisisatypicalcatch22
scenariothatmostmanagershavetoface.

Structuringyourdepartmenttoitsoptimumplaysa
keyroleinthesetypesofsituations.Theskillstaught
inthislessonandthroughoutthiscoursewillhelp
youfacethesetypesofscenarios.

Hereisalistofsometypicalgoalsandobjectives
thatarecommonwithinabusinessthatyoumight
havetofaceasamanager:

Improvecustomersatisfaction
Reducechurnrate(customerswhonolongeruse
yourservice,product,etc)
Prepareforanewproductlaunch
Improveprojectmanagement
Reduceattritionrate(employeesleavingthe
company)
Reduceproductdefects
Reduceserviceoutages
Reduceholdtimes
Reducecosts,andincreaseprofits
Coordinateeffortsonacquiringanothercompany
Outsourcespecificprojects
Expandoperations
 Improveproductdeliverytime
Improveorderdeliverytime
Implementnew(orupgrade)yourcompanys
informationsystemssuchasaninventorydatabase,
troubleticketdatabase,testingsoftware,ororder
processingsystem.

Step5Strategize,planandstructuretomeetthe
objective

Agreatplancomesfromabsoluteattentionto
detail,whichiskeytosettingupandstructuringfor
success.Notonlydoyouwanttomeetthegeneral
goal,butsetupaspecificstandard.Ageneralgoal
mightbetoanswercallsquickly.Aspecificgoal
wouldbetoanswerallcallsinanaverageof30
seconds.

Beforeyoustartplanning,youneedtoknowthe
generalandspecificgoals,theexpectations,thetype
ofproductsand/orservices,whatiscomingdownthe
pipeline,ortheanticipatedprojectsinthenearfuture.
Eachsituationcallsforadifferentplan.Someplans
aresmallerandnotasimportant,whereassomeare
majorprojectswithutmostpriority.Youneedto
knowwhichprojectstostartplanningonfirstandbe
preparedforanysurprisesthatmaycomeyourway.
Youwillnormallyfindoutduringyourmanagement
meetingswithyourbossoruppermanagementwhat
istobeexpected(whichwascoveredinstep1).

Oncedetermined,youstartplanningonhowto
accomplishthetaskathand.Youshouldfirstshare
thisinformationwithyourkeystaffmemberslike
yoursupervisors,leads,andyoursubjectmatter
experts(orSME,pronouncedsmee).Youwill
mostlikelyuseawhiteboardtochartallthe
requirements.Ifthereisanyconfidential
information,useinitialsorcodesthatonlyyouand
keymembersofyourstaffunderstand.Theremaybe
justonebigprojectthatrequiresyourfullattention,
ormanysmallerprojectsworkingconcurrently.In
mostcasesitisboth.Itisimportantthatyou
prioritizethemostcrucialprojects.Youneedtobe
abletomaketherightcall.

Youalsoneedtocreateandsticktoarealistic
timeline.Itneedstobechallengingyetattainable.
Mapouttheplanfromstarttofinishwitha
descriptionofeachtaskandprojectedcompleted
dates.Again,thinkaboutthesaying,Underpromise
andoverdeliver.Whatmightlookamazingtoupper
managementatfirstcouldcomebacktohauntyou
whenyoumissyourtargetdate.Dependingonthe
typeofbusiness,asimplespreadsheetwillnormally
do.Ifitisalargeandintenseproject,Microsoft
ProjectManagerisagreattooltouse.

Whetheryouinheritedthedepartmentbybeing
promotedfromwithin,orfromanotherdepartmentor
anothercompany,thebesttimetoplanandmake
majorstructuralchangesiswithinthefirstcoupleof
monthsofbecomingmanager.However,becarefulif
youarefollowingamanagerwhowasvery
respected.Majorchangesmightlooklikeaslapin
thefaceandyourstaffmightresentyouforit.Itis
mucheasiertomakemajorchangeswhenyoufollow
amanagerwhowasinefficient,eventhoughits
hardertocleanupthemessthatwasleftbehind.

Uppermanagementisusuallymorelenientabout
certainexpensesanddisruptionwhileyouare
makingyourmarkinyourfirstfewmonthsas
manager.Forexample,youmaywanttoreorganize
theseatingarrangement,requestnewcomputers,buy
softwareupgrades,buyextramonitors,getbetter
toolsforthetrade,getnewuniforms,investin
 advancedtraining,movetoanewlocation,oreven
changetheoveralldirectionofthedepartment.Once
youaresettledandthingsarerunningsmoothly,itis
hardertogetthefinancestomakemajor
improvements,evenifitiswithinyourbudget.

Letslookatascenariofromacustomer
service/technicalsupportpointofviewinacompany
thatprovidestelephoneandInternetservice.Letssay
youareanewmanagerwhohastakenovera
departmentwithpoorcustomersatisfactionratings
duetolongholdtimesthatisalsolosingcustomers
(knownasChurn)becauseofrepeatissuesandthe
timeittakestorepairtheproblem.Whenyouwere
hiredbyuppermanagement,theyletyouknowthat
yourmainobjectivewastoimprovecustomer
satisfactionratingsandreducechurn.After
discussingwithuppermanagementandcomparing
industrystandards,yourgoalasmanageristoobtain
thefollowingmetrics:

Callsareansweredinanaverageof30seconds
Abandonrateneedstobeunder3%
Repeatcasesneedstobeunder5%
MTTR(MeanTimeToRepairwhichistheaverage
timeittooktoopen,troubleshootandclosethecase)
needstobeunder90minutes
 CustomerSatisfactionsurveysofallcustomers
polledwithinyourdepartmentneedstobe95%or
greater

Toobtainthesenumbersyoufirstneedtolookatthe
wayyourdepartmentissetup.Youwouldneedto
figureoutproblemssuchasthenumberofstaff
needed,howlongeachcallshouldlast,findoutthe
skillssetsofyouremployees,findtherightbalance
betweenqualityandquantity,etc.Youwouldalso
needtolookatmethodsonhowtomakeaneffective
andstreamlinedprocesstoreducecallhandletime.

Thewaythedepartmentissetupatthemomentis
onebiggroupthattakesonallcalls,nomatterthe
skillsetorthenatureofthereportedproblem.These
callscanvaryfromregulartelephoneservicerepair
callstoInternetaccessrepaircalls.Theseincoming
callscanalsovaryfromeasytofixrepairstointense
troubleshootingrepairs.Somepeoplesstrengths
weremorerelatedtovoicerepairwhileotherswere
morerelatedtoInternetdatarepair.Unfortunatelyfor
thecustomer,whentheycalledintorepair,theywere
gettingbouncedaroundquiteabit.

Aftercarefulanalysis,thebestplanmightjustbeto
restructurethedepartment.Tomakethedepartment
runmoreefficiently,itmakesmoresensetosplitthe
groupintotwoteams,onethatdealswithvoice
repairissuesandanotherthatdealswithdatarepair
issues.Thenextstepwouldbetosplitthosegroups
intwotohaveoneteamthatanswerstheeasy
questionswithshortcallhandletimes,andonethat
worksontheharderandlongerdurationrepairs.A
supervisorwouldbeappointedtoeachteamaswell
asaleadtechnicianoraSME(SubjectMatter
Expert,pronouncedSmee).Withacoupleof
programmingchangestoredirecttheincomingcall
flowandsomeseatingchanges,therestructuredplan
wouldbecomplete.

Dependingonthetypeofbusinessyouarein,many
timesitdoeshelpstodividethedepartmentintoa
tieredstructure.Youcancreateateamwithineach
tierandmodifythegoalsofeachtiertofittheoverall
goalofthedepartment.Youwillneedtodetermine
boththephysical setup(i.e.whereyouremployees
shouldsitandbegrouped,etc)andthelogical setup
(i.e.theincomingcallflow,etc).
Sometimesifyouarelucky,onebiggrouporanall
forone,oneforallstrategyworks,however,what
usuallyhappensisyourbetterA&Bemployees
spendhalfoftheirtimewiththesimpleissuesor
easyorders,whiletheCemployeesspendhalfof
theirtimeondifficultissuesorthebigger/harder
orders.YoureA&Bemployeeshaveahigherskill
setandareyourtopperformingemployees.
Anotherincentivetocreateatieredstructureistopay
themorequalifiedpeoplemoremoney.Thisgives
incentivefortheTier1peopletowanttolearnmore
inordertobepromotedintotheTier2group.Thisis
agoodideaaslongasyouhavethemoneytodoso
inyourbudget.
Goingbacktothecustomerserviceexample,what
tendstohappenisacallwillbeinqueue(onholdin
theorderreceived),whichtendstomaketheabandon
rateincrease(peopledonotliketobeonhold).
Thisalsoincreasesthetimeittakestorepaira
problemandalsoresultsinmorerepeatcases
becausethelessqualifiedemployeesarepotentially
workingonthehardissues.Theendresultwould
thenbeadissatisfiedcustomerwhowouldgivepoor
marksontheirsatisfactionsurvey.Bybreakingthe
departmentintoatieredstructure,youwouldbeable
tosetupthedepartmentlikethis:
1.Tier1answersallincomingcalls.Theyhavean
easytofollowflowchartandwouldonlyanswer
questionsthatareeasyinnatureanddonottakeup
toomuchtimetoexplain.Eventhoughtheyhavea
flowcharttofollowthetroubleshootingsteps,you
shouldmakesuretheyhaveadequatetrainingtohave
theconfidencetotroubleshootthebasicsontheir
own.Theyhaveanaverageof5minutespercallto
resolvetheissue.Iftheycannotresolvetheissue,
theywouldpassthecalltoTier2.
2.Tier2takesoverthecall.Allofthe
troubleshootingdonebytheTier1technicianwillbe
notedinthetroublecase.TheTier2technician
wouldpickupfromthatpointon,whichwillmean
thecustomerswouldnothavetorepeatthemselves.
Tier2hasanaverageof1hourpercase,asthe
problemwillmostlikelytakesometimeto
troubleshoot.
Whatwouldhappenwiththissimpleyeteffectiveset
upwouldhelpreducetimeinqueue,whichwould
lowertheabandonrate,whichwouldalsoreduce
MTTRalongwithareductionofrepeatcases,which
wouldleavethecustomermoresatisfied,which
wouldresultinfewercustomersleavingthe
company.Highercustomersatisfactionisachieved
andthechurnrateisreduced.Alloftheobjectives
andgoalswouldbeachievedwiththisrestructuring
move.
Thegoalsforeachtierwouldbedifferent.You
wouldnotwanttohaveagenericgoalforboth
groups.ThegoalsforTier1wouldbebasedmoreon
quantity,whereasthegoalsforTier2wouldbebased
moreonquality.ThatisnottosaythatTier1
shouldntdoqualitywork.ItjustmeansthatTier1s
maingoalistoanswercallsquicklyandiftheydo
notknowtheanswer,passthecalltoTier2.Tier2
wouldalsobeexpectedtoperformacertainquantity,
buttheirmainconcernismoreonreducingrepeated
issuesandchronictypeofproblems.Somethingto
keepinmind,youcanalwayshaveonegrouphelp
theotherintimesofneed.
Aspartoftherestructuringinthisexample,a
knowledgebasecouldalsobebuiltsothatTier2can
documentthetroubleshootingstepsforcertain
problems.Byutilizingtheknowledgebase,
technicianscancutdowntheirtroubleshootingtime,
thusreducingMTTR.Someofthesetroubleshooting
stepscanalsobeplacedonaFAQpageonthe
companyswebsite.Customersmightbeabletofix
theproblemthemselves,thusreducingtheamountof
callsintoTier1,thusreducingholdtimeeven
further,thusreducingabandoncalls.Thiswould
reducehavingtohiremorestafftohitthegoals,thus
savingthecompanymoney,whichmakesupper
managementveryhappy.
Eventhoughthisexamplewasbasedonaparticular
customerservicescenario,thesamelogiccould
applytoanyplanningandstructuringsituationsyou
mightface.
Step6Gettherightpeopleyouneedtomeetthe
objective

Itsprettyobviousthatyouneedtohavegood
peopletodoagoodjob.Thetrickypartistohave
therightpersonfortherightjob.Ifyouhavebeen
outonthefloorgettingtoknowyouremployees,
knowingtheirstrengthsandweaknesses,trustingin
yoursupervisionstaffonyourtopperformers,and
knowingwhohastherightattitudeandaptitude,you
shouldbeabletofindtherightpeopleforthejob.If
youhavedoneyourjobcorrectly,youwillhavean
inspiredstaff,fullofknowledge,justwaitingtoshow
youtheirtalentsandstrengths.Youwillalsoneedto
startoffwithhiring,andkeeping,therightpeople,as
wellaskeepingthegoodpeopleyoualreadyhave.

Thissectionaloneisalessonortwowithinitself.We
havededicatedmuchmoreinformationtothis
subjectinlesson3regardingideasonhowtocreate,
motivate,recognize,evaluate,andcompensateyour
people,andLesson4,whichisdedicatedtohiring
andretainingtherightpeople.

Step6isprobablythemostimportantstepinthis
lesson.Itreallyisallaboutthepeoplewithinyour
organizationwhotrulymakeadifference.Yourjob
asmanagerissomucheasierwhenyoure
surroundedbynothingbutthebestpeople.

Step7Gettherightmaterialstogetthejob
doneright

Youneedtomakesureyourstaffhasallthetools
itneedstogetthejobdonerightsuchasefficient
equipment,materials,andsupplies.Dothingslike
makingsureyourstaffhasgoodworkingcomputers
withplentyofdiskspaceandmemory.Nothingis
worsethanhavingaslowcomputer,especiallywhile
onthephonewithacustomer.Continually
communicatingwithyourstaffisthekeytofinding
outwhattheyneedtomakethingsrunmore
efficiently.Manymanagersassumeeveryonehas
whattheyneedbecausetheydonotaskforanything.
Theymightthinkitistootrivialorthattheydonot
wanttowasteyourtimewithsmallrequests.Dont
letthishappentoyou.Encourageyourstafftolook
foranyimprovementsthatcanmaketheirlivesa
littleeasier.

Hopefullyyouhaveenoughinyourbudgettoadhere
totherequests.Manytimes,itemssuchascomputers
arepartofCapex(capitalexpenditures)andshould
notnecessarilycomeoutofyourbudget(basic
financeandcreatingabudgetwillbediscussedin
moredetailinlesson8).Insistfromupper
managementthatyouneedthisequipmentinorderto
achieveyourobjectivesandgoals.Thesoftwareyou
chooseisalsoofvitalimportance.Clumsyandhard
touseprogramslikeoldDOStypeofsoftwareis
hardtouseandtakesextratimetofindandenter
information.Youshouldalsobeabletoshowhow
thebenefitsoutweighthecosts.Lesson9goesinto
detailregardinghowtodeterminethecostbenefit
analysis.Gettingfastcomputerswitheasytouse
softwareprogramsmakesforeasiertrainingand
efficiencyimprovements.

Step8Getyourstaffallofthetrainingitneeds
Beforeanyonecandoanything,theyneedtoknow
howtodoit.Whensurveyingemployeesforwhat
theywouldlikeandneed,trainingisthemost
requesteditem,besidesofcourse,moremoney.
Everyonewantstobetrainedwhethertheyarenew
andjuststarting,orareaseasonedprowhowantsto
getevenbetter.Propertrainingandsupportforall
levelsofworkproducebetterandmoreproductive
employees.Youwillfindthatthecostoftrainingis
metquicklywithlowerturnoverandhigher
productivity.Youshouldperiodicallyaskeach
 employee,whileyoumakeyourrounds,onwhat
trainingtheywouldliketoreceive.
Youwanttrainingdonebyexpertswhounderstands,
andcanclearlyexplain,thesubjectmatter.This
couldbesomeoneinyourdepartmentoranoutside
resource.Thepointistotrulymakethetraining
count.Itisatotalwasteoftimeifyoutrainjustfor
trainingssake.Noonewillgetanythingfromit.It
mightnotevenapplytotherealtrainingneed.
Trainingneedstorelatetowhatyouremployeesdo
onthejob.
Hereare20trainingideasthatcouldpertaintoyour
department:
1 Workwithoneofyourmostknowledgeable
employeestodevelopatrainingprocessand
proceduremanual.Youwouldwanttodocument
everythingfrombeginningtoend.Usingcustomer
serviceasanexample,itwouldstartoffwithhowto
answeracallandexactlywhattosay,howandwhat
informationshouldbedocumentedintotheorderor
ticketingsystem,howtolookupallpricingand
billinginfo,etc.Thisshouldbeprintedandputintoa
binder.Youshouldalsomeetwithyourstaffandgo
throughthemanualtomakesureeveryonefully
understandstheprocess,flowcharts,etc.Whenever
thereareanymajorupdates,makesureyoumodify
theprocess.Ifitstartstobecomeoutdated,noone
 willuseitwhennewproductsarereleasedor
proceduresaremodified.
2 Setupweeklytrainingsessionsforthesupervisoror
leadtogoovertrainingissuesthatpoppedupduring
theweekwiththeirstaff.Forexample,peoplemight
beusingthewrongcodes,thereisnotenough
documentationinthetroublecase,ordersare
incorrect,etc.
3 Findonlinetrainingprogramssuchastechnical
schoolsthatyourstaffcantake.Putasidesometime
duringthedayorevenpayovertimeforafterhours
studyathome.
4 HaveaLunchandLearn.Providelunchforthe
staffinatrainingorconferenceroom,andtrainwhile
theyareeating.Itsawin/winsituationasthe
employeegetsafreelunchandyougetthe
opportunitytogooversometrainingissuesthatdoes
notinterferewiththeirnormalworkschedule.Thisis
alsomotivationalandhelpsinteambuilding.Make
suretoclearthiswithHRtomakesurethereareno
laborlawsviolated.
5 Findawebinarorworkshopthatspecializesinthe
subjectmatter.Itcanbeviewedeitherinhouseorat
ayearlyretreattypeofevent.
6 Youmightfindsomeonewhocanbenefitfromsome
oneononementoring.Agesturelikethisgoesa
longwaynottomentionbuildsmoraleandshows
 leadership.
7 Takethetimetogetwithyourstafftodiscussthe
optimaltrainingtheywouldliketoreceive.What
mightlookgoodtoyouisnotreallywhattheyneed
orwanttolearn.Takeapollbyhavingthemlistthe
top5trainingneedsinasecretballotduetosome
individualsmightbetooembarrassedtopublicly
statethetrainingtheyneed.Gathertheinformation
andfindthemaintrend.Ifthemajorityrequeststhe
sametrainingneed,youcanstartsettingupthe
trainingprocessrightaway.Ifthereareafew
differentideas,youcaneithersetupafewdifferent
trainingsessions,orgatheryourstafftogetherto
discussallpossibleoptions.
8 Ifitiswithinthebudget,offeracompanypaid
tuitiontoalocalcollege.Thisisahugemotivational
andretainingtooltouse.
9 Trytorelatethetrainingtosomethingtheyalready
knowandareconfidentdoing.Itiseasiertolearn
somethingnewwhenyoucanrelateittowhatyou
alreadyknow.
10 Trainingshouldbeasvisualaspossiblewithtrue
handsonparticipation.Theyneedtoactually
performthetaskstheyarebeingtaught.
11 Makesureyourbossoruppermanagementshows
theirexcitementtowardsthistrainingamongstyour
employees.Thiswillgeneratemoreenthusiasmand
 determination.
12 Makesuretheyaremotivatedandwanttolearn.
Theyshouldfeelasenseofexcitementabout
enhancingtheircareerbybecomingmore
knowledgeable.Themoremotivatedtheyare,the
moretheywillwanttolearn.
13 Keepthetrainingareaawayfromanyofficeor
factoryrelatednoiseandcommotion.Theyneedto
be100%focusedwithnodistractions.Thisalso
includesturningoffcellphonesandnotcheckinge
mailfromtheirlaptops.
14 Makesureyoutakeaquickbreakaftereachmain
subject.Eachsubjectshouldbenomorethan1to2
hours.Toomuchinformationallatonceistoomuch
totakein.
15 Itisoktodorepetitivetrainingifitisneeded.The
moreyouremployeessee,hearanddosomething,
thebettertheywillbeabletorememberit.
16 Ifanyonecannotmakethetraining,askoneofthe
employeeswhotookthetrainingtotrainother
employeeswiththeinformationlearned.Thiscould
bethoughtofastrainthetrainer.
17 Duringthetrainingseminar,makesuretodiscuss
howthematerialbeingtaughtappliestoreallife
scenarios.Iftherearegoodexamplestouse,this
wouldbeagreattimetodiscuss.
18 Ifyoucannotsetupatrainingcourseorprovide
 onlinetraining,youcanalwayspurchasebusiness
booksfortheemployees.Askthemtoreaditduring
slowtimesatworkorathome.Youmightevenwant
tostartupabookclubtomeetonceaweeksothat
theemployeescandiscussfactswithoneanother.
19 Setupabuddysystem.Pairupaseasoned
knowledgeableemployeewithalessexperienced
employee.Thiswouldimproveskillsandbuild
confidence.Thisalsobuildsastrongworkethic,
morale,andloyaltywithintheteam.Justmakesure
theknowledgeableemployeeadherestotheserules:
Putsthelessexperiencedemployeeateasebynot
showingoffandishumblewithstoriesaboutwhen
theyfirststartedout.
Askswhatthepersonknowsordoesnotknowabout
thetrainingsubject.Nothingshouldbeassumed,as
thepersonmightbeafraidtoaskanyquestions.
Dontblindthepersonwithsciencebyusing
acronymsortermstheydonotunderstand.
Coversthemainobjectivesandgoalsincludinghow
theirjobrelatestothebigpicture.
Motivatesandcreatesexcitement.Thisisatimefor
positiveinteraction,notnegativeopinion.
Clearlygoesovertheworkflowbothvisuallyandin
theory.Havethelessexperiencedpersonrepeatit
backuntilfullyunderstood.
Makessurethelessexperiencedpersonperformsthe
 tasks.Themaingoalistofullyunderstandthe
processes,proceduresandexpectations.Totalquality
isalwaysimperativeandisabsolutelykeytothe
personsandcompanyssuccess.
Setsupapostmeeting,andifnecessaryanother
trainingsession,tomakesureallisgood.
20.Trainingisanongoingcommitmentyouneedto
maketoyourteam.Youneedtoalwayskeepontop
ofanytrainingneeds.Alwaysremember,Themore
youtrain,themoretheyretain.
Step9Organizeitalltoputtheplanintoeffect

Nowthatyouknowyourpartinthecompany,
knowwhatisexpectedofyou,knowtheproducts
and/orservicesthatpertaintoyourdepartment,know
thegoalsandobjectivesexpectedofyour
department,developedaplantoachievethosegoals
andobjectives,pickedtherightpeopleforthejob,
havethematerialsneededforoptimalefficiency,and
madesuretheyhavebeenfullytrained,itstimeto
organizeitallandputtheplanintoeffect.Thisisthe
timetomakethephysicalmoves,gettheproject
underway,startthetask,etc.Itisimperativethat
everyoneinvolvedisfullyawareofthesemoves,
projects,andtasksandarefullypreparedtomakeit
happen.
ItisagoodideatoutilizeprogramssuchasVisioor
spreadsheetstomakevisualrepresentationsofyour
structuringplansuchasorganizationalcharts,
schedules,andseatingassignments.Enterprise
iPBXsareverybeneficialforacallcenterphone
systemwithincorporatedreportingtools.

Usingthesamecustomerserviceexample,itwas
decidedthatinordertoachievethegoals,wefirst
splitthecustomerservicetechnicalsupportteaminto
twosections:VoiceRepairfortelephoneservice,and
DataRepairforInternetservice.Itwasdetermined
thatyouneededsupervisorsforeachgroupandlead
technicianstoprovidesupportforthetechnical
supportrepresentatives.Thiswasbasedon
measuringcallvolume,timeonthecall,timeittook
tofixtheproblem,trendingfuturecallvolumebased
onPOS(pointofsale,pronouncedpaws)reports,
determiningtheneedfor24/7coverage,and
customersatisfactionresults.

Bydecidingandplanningcorrectly,yourstaffwill
understandwhatisexpectedofthemandtheirplace
withintheorganization.Puttingyourheadinthesand
andhopingforthebestwillinevitablycatchupto
you.Alwaysplanahead.Herearesomeplanning
 pointerstofollow:
Utilizeyourresourcestotheiroptimalperformance.
Ifyouhaveagreatplananddonothavethe
resources,thenyouneedtobackupthatplanwith
documentedreasoningonwhyyouneedmorestaff,
equipment,seatingarea,etc.touppermanagement.
Lookatallthepossiblescenariosandmakesure
thereareclearbenefitstoeachdecision.
Whenindoubtmapitout.Thatiswhatthewhite
boardisforandyoushoulduseitwheneverpossible.
Visuallylookingatpossiblestructurechangesmakes
thingssomucheasier.
Holddailymeetingswithyoursupervisorstomake
suretheplanwillworkasgoodinreallifeasitlooks
onpaper.Theywillbetheoneswhowillbeindirect
contactwiththeemployeesonadaily,ifnothourly
basis,andyouwanttomakesuretheyarehappywith
theplan.
Makesureyougetyouremployeessuggestions,as
theyaretheonesinthetrencheswhoreallyknow
whichprocessesworkandwhichdont.
Again,eventhoughweareusingcustomerserviceas
anexampleofadepartmenttomanage,thesame
principlesapplytomostanymanagementscenario.
Pointtokeepinmind:Youalwayswanttokeepyour
bossinformedbeforemakinganychangesor
implementinganyplans.Bygivingwelldocumented
processes,procedures,andlaidoutplans,youwill
lookgoodaswellasmakeyourbosslookgood.
Uppermanagementexpectsthistypeofdetailto
achievesuccessfromyou,themanager.

Step10Monitorandcontrolitalltokeepit
runningsmoothly

Nowthatyouhavethedepartmentinorder,
everyoneistrainedandhappy,andyouhaveallof
yourprocessesandproceduresinplace,thebestway
todeterminehowthingsaregoingisthroughreports
andfeedback.

Continuousemployeefeedbackandcommunication,
statisticalreporting,customerbasedsurveys,
feedbackfromsuppliers,feedbackfromother
departmentsthatarecloselyinvolvedwithyours,
salesperformance,financialanalysis,inventory
control,monitoringorderaccuracy,andemployee
evaluationsarejustafewofthenecessarytoolsto
monitorhowyourdepartmentisperforming.

Theremightbeproblemsandunforeseenbumpsin
theroadaheadsuchasanewproductlineortaking
onadditionalresponsibilities,however,withallof
theplanningandorganizationyouhaveputinto
place,youwilljustneedtodosomeslight
modificationstokeepitallrunningsmoothly.

Youneedtohavetherighttoolstomeasure
productivityandprocesseffectiveness.Ata
minimum,youneedtoknowhowtoread,createand
manipulateaspreadsheet,knowhowtocreateand
presentaPowerPointpresentation,andworkwitha
WordProcessingdoc.OthergreattoolsareVisiofor
creatingflowcharts,andMicrosoftProjectforlarge
taskrelatedprojects.

Beingabletoanalyzethedatanotonlyhelpsyou
findtrends,italsokeepsuppermanagement
informed.Theycaneitherseetheprogressyouare
makingortheproblemsyouarehaving.Eitherway,
theywillappreciatethefactthattheyarenotbeing
keptinthedark.

Ifanyproblemsarisewhenmonitoring
productivity,makesureyouhavecreateda
systematicapproachinfindingtherootcauseand
correctresolution.Inordertodothis,youneedto
haveaccuratedataaspreviouslypresented.You
wouldthensetupameetingwithkeyplayersinyour
department,andifnecessary,keyplayersfromother
departments.Thekeypointhereistomakesureyou
havetheaccuratedatatobackuptheissuesathand.

Forexample,ifyourteamisgettinginundatedwith
callsduetoafaultyproductcomplaint,youneedto
haveasysteminplacethattracksbyproblemreport
code,category,andresolutionalongwithaccurate
documentation.Thisisneededtohelpspotthetrend.
Withaccuratedatayoucanreportsomethinglikean
18%increaseincustomercomplaintsduetoapower
failure.Thisismuchbetterthanmakingageneric
statementlike,Customersarecomplainingthatthe
productdoesntwork.

Withthistypeofinformation,youcanpresentthe
datawithconfidencetotheotherareaswithinthe
company.Withthisaccuratedata,theyshouldbe
abletofindthesourceoftheissue.Youneedtobe
exact,precise,timely,andconfidentwiththedata
youprovide.Dontcomeofflikeyoudontknow
whatyouaredoing.Youwillnotbetakenseriously,
thecustomerswillcontinuetobeupset,futuresales
willgodown,andthedepartmentmoralewilldecline
duetotheincreaseinworkandcomplaints.Allof
thisbecauseofinsufficientdata.
Donotbeafraidorintimidatedtobringissuesup
tootherdepartmentheads.Thisisexpectedofyou.
Asthemanagerofyourdepartmentitisyourjobto
makesureeverythingisrunningsmoothly,including
issuesthatmightbeoutofyourcontrol.Atthesame
timeyouneedtobecarefulthatyoudonotlooklike
youreonawitchhunttofindtheculprits.Itsall
aboutfindingtheperfectbalancebetweenbeingeasy
goingandaggressive.Youneedtomakesurethat
you,andtheotherdepartmentsinvolved,understand
thatthisisforthegreatergoodofthecompanys
success.Yourpartisjusttomakesureitisclearyou
aredoingeverythingyoucantoachievethe
companysgoals.

Utilizingallthathasbeentaughtinthislessonwill
helpbuildyourvalueandeffectivenessasa
manager.Adepartmentthatisstructuredtoachieve
itsgoalsiskeytobeingasuccessfulmanager.
Followingthroughonyourwellthoughtoutplans
willshowoffyourmanagementandleadershipskills,
itwillalsoearnyouagreatdealofrespect.

Ashortstoryaboutstructuringadepartment
John Smith is the manager of a customer service
department that he had recently inherited. He
provides support for Internet and telephone
services. He has a staff of 50 employees who
have different skill levels and technical expertise.
His department seemed to be doing fine,
however, customers were complaining of bad
service. John made sure everyone was trained
but the customers still kept on complaining. He
thought he had his department in order but
there were no true goals or objectives set, nor
was there a good way to capture the data.
John realized that he needed to come up with a
plan to improve customer service. He decided to
dig deeper through departmental reports to see
what was going on. Unfortunately the reports
did not show much as the data was too generic
and meaningless.
John met with key members of his staff to
address the issues and map out a timeline to
investigate and resolve the problems. John also
made customer satisfaction a prime objective
and made sure his staff fully understood the
targeted goal of high satisfaction percentages.
He delegated certain tasks such as updating and
adding codes to the ticketing system. This was
done to track the root cause of the problems. A
customer satisfaction survey was also created
and was sent out to each customer who recently
dealt with customer service. John also tracked
how long the calls were on hold, how long each
call took, etc. Once the data was analyzed, he
started finding trends.
What he found was that technicians who were
more inclined to work a case quickly, had more
repeats due to not fixing it right the first time.
He also found that the technicians who took
their time on a case, had less repeats, but longer
customer hold times. He found that certain
technicians had better skills at Internet related
issues than telephone related issues. He found
certain times of the day were much busier than
others. Customer survey results showed the
main complaints were long hold times and
repeated trouble. He also found that more cases
were opened in a certain area of the country
than any other city. This was due to network
issues that were captured through his new
coding system.
Through all of this analysis, John was able to
determine how to structure his department. He
utilized his staff more efficiently by transferring
them to the area that best suited their skills. He
organized a tiered system so that Tier 1
addressed the quick and easy issues, and Tier 2
addressed the long and more difficult issues. He
applied this system to both the Internet and
telephone sides of the department. He made
 seating arrangements that put them into smaller
groups associated with the tiers. He scheduled
his techs accordingly to cover the busiest times
of the day. He also worked with engineering to
investigate network related problems.
Engineering was able to find the problem due to
the accurate data they received.
All of these changes directly improved hold times
and repeated issues. Customer satisfaction
results went way up due to hold times and
repeated problems going way down. This also
improved employee morale. John made sure
from this point on to always look for trends and
structure his department based on a plan, not
just because it seemed right.
Epilogue:Asolidplantoobtainthegoalsand
objectivesismandatory.Youcanthendecidehowto
setyourdepartmentbasedontheresultsofthatplan.
Johnwasabletohitallgoalsandachievehigh
customersatisfactionratingsbystructuringhis
departmenttoitsoptimalperformancewithlittle
additionalresources.Mostofwhatwascoveredin
thisstoryrelatestotheexamplesusedinthislesson.

Quick Summary
Youneedasolidplanandthemethodsneededto
 succeedtoobtainthegoalsandobjectives.
Youneedtomakesurebothyouandyouremployees
fullyunderstandthemission,goals,company
products,whatisexpectedofthem,andwhatis
expectedofyou.
Carefullyanalyzeallaspectswithinyourdepartment
beforemakinganychanges.Getwithkeymembers
ofyourstaffanddiscussalloptions.
Youneedtogettherightpeopletodotherightjob.
Youmightneedtoreassignthemforoptimal
performance.
Youneedtosetupatimelinewheneveramajor
project,task,orstructuringtakesplace.Theshort
termplansmustcoincidewiththelongterm
objective.
Youneedtoprovidetherightmaterialsandtraining.
Alackofmaterialsandtrainingwillresultinalack
ofefficiency.
Youneedtoknowhowtouseprogramssuchas
spreadsheetstomonitoryourdepartments
performanceandcorrectissuesastheyarise.