manage knowledge and information system

BSBINM601 Manage Knowledge and Information

Reading Notes:

Obtaining Information Relevant to the Business

In today’s business environment, companies need to know their knowledge resources and competencies and how to use this information effectively to gain or sustain competitive advantage. Examples of business knowledge and information relates to data on how the business performs, responses by customers, statistics and financial indicators.

Data can offer managers a wealth of information but can also overwhelm them with conflicting outcomes that can hinder or limit their decision making capabilities.

Too often business owners don’t realise the power behind identifying their most desirable customers and targeting sales and marketing efforts to draw those customers to them. Responsibility for a business owner is to make the business work for them and their employees that will provide the best possible return on investment. Review staff and customer feedback and business performance data to help you identify factors that may hinder performance objectives and track progress against performance objectives.

Staff reviews help employees know how they have been doing and what further development or training they need to do to improve. Enabling a process to receive responses from customers provides a company the opportunity to address issues or customers may have with their products or services. Decisions made from negative feedback can be widespread if it relates to a product deficiency and possible lawsuit. Managers can make decisions based on feedback to determine if a product is discontinued or a new product is manufactured.

Without information, you sometimes can’t act at all. In most organisations, information is piecemeal. It’s on a ‘need to know’ basis only and the assumptions about ‘who needs to know what’ rarely get questioned and usually run along the lines of the hierarchy. In this environment, information becomes a control and access to it becomes part of the organisation’s structure that shape activity and behaviour. The result being that people who are tasked to ‘get it done’ rarely know everything they need to know to recognise and interpret early signs of change or trouble.

It is important to identify, define and analyse business problems and issues before they escalate to major incidents that can cost your company valuable time and loss in revenue. Ensuring you have the right indicators to monitor performance and issues ensures you have the ability to respond quickly before a problem or issue worsens.

Companies that recognise information is the most important tool to performance institute an open book management style. Here employees understand financial information and the opportunity to see the real financial implications of everything the company does, including the effect on the whole business of their own department and job role. Essentially, employees in this environment are more comfortable to take the ‘right action’ if they have the whole picture.

How do you know what information is the right information you require to make a decision? It depends on how the decision impacts the overall vision of the business and its ability to meet its objectives. If a business is looking to grow by acquiring new businesses, then the information right for this decision is whether the potential business fits into the overall vision of a company. What do you know about its people, systems and resources in order to integrate its operations effectively and smoothly with our own.

How would you fund the acquisition and what do you need in terms of documentation and information to successfully conduct a due diligence on whether your decision is feasible?

To ensure credibility and relevancy of your information, you can improve the validity of the data by gathering information from a range of sources relevant to your business, market and of importance to key stakeholders. Understanding the big picture helps provide the context of where a company operates and a wide range of sources enable managers to make informed decisions to help minimise potentially risky situations.

Having a checklist to evaluate the credibility of your sources is one way of managing this process. Think about how reliable you need the information to be in relation to the situation or environment you operate. Consider the medium with which you are working and their experience and credentials of the area they represent, for example, peer-reviewed printed journals are usually considered a reliable source because many professional reviewers were involved to ensure accuracy of evidence. Wellknown, accepted business models used to produce the information and references to real case studies help provide a certain level of assurance and confidence in the source material.

Researching the author and their expertise in the subject, knowing when the data was published and understanding who has the most to gain from producing the information will also help provide credibility. Collecting survey data for instance from large numbers of customers can help companies identify market and buying trends.

With the continuing emergence of new technologies increasing accessibility and speed of information from all parts of the globe, what is applicable to a retail business operating in London may be different for a retail business operating in the Sydney market in terms of political policies, market, social and cultural norms. In every situation it is important to test information for reliability and validity and reject information that may be contradictory or ambiguous in nature.

In this global example, most employees involved in working across organisational boundaries nationally and culturally will learn to appreciate the cultural differences across the organisation and how information can be misunderstood if it’s not taken in its wider context.

For business and commercial customers, you must keep in mind that a person (not a business) makes the buying decision. How they decide is different for organisations and is influenced by additional factors, depending on the nature of the organisation, for example, when you understand the demographics of the organisation, its industry, product line, size of business etc., it enables you to build a profile of how best to approach and communicate with that customer or market.

One of the most underutilised methods of acquiring knowledge and information is the inability of businesses to utilise formal and informal networks to access corporate knowledge and learn from experiences and memory of existing staff and past relationships with former customers. Typically, this information is not held in formal systems but should be reviewed appropriately for relevancy.

Collecting data in-house is the least expensive way of building knowledge and can be conducted by simple observation of current customers. Asking your customers and staff a few well-placed questions to get the information that can’t be observed and documenting your findings will help define your target market. Gather this data on a monthly basis during seasonally different months of the year to help place the data in its wider context.

Analysing Information and Knowledge

By adopting the S.M.A.R.T. technique to achieve goals, companies can ensure objectives are met based on data analysis that is clear, relevant and consistent with the decisions made. When goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound, data can be managed and applied to see whether the goals were met, not met and where they fell short. Action plans can then be developed to help address these shortfalls.

With increasing storage capability and technical advances, masses of historical data and input of new data from wider sources can help companies identify patterns and emerging trends based on what has happened, why it happened and what could happen to a business under different scenarios.

Once data is collected, businesses can analyse the information statistically and interpret where appropriate, where and how they fared in the past against previously agreed goals. Data will also enable them to build models to forecast future results. Quantitative measurements of outcomes based on decisions made help businesses understand their current positions, where they need to make changes, and what they need to do to ensure the vision, the only certainty in business remains the primary focus.

Businesses can use data to create models of scenarios where they can test theories and strategies. By undertaking sensitivity analysis on any proposed options, businesses can see the impact on their bottom line if they made changes for example to the price of a product or service, how they marketed to their customers and where they could expand into new markets. Models help minimise the potential risk of their decision.

Sensitivity analysis commonly referred to as the ‘what-if- tool is an effective forecast model based on calculating various scenarios of what ifs. Businesses can forecast the effects on its bottom line when sales for example are increased or decreased. Measurable scenarios based on specific numbers can provide good estimates of what their bottom line could be if x% of units were sold than forecasted.

Understanding the assumptions behind the strategies and tasks enable a business to review its position and revise its approach based on new assumptions. Ensuring documentation reflects a logical approach to the evaluation of the evidence and conclusions drawn helps a company to monitor and evaluate quickly how they went, how the evidence and conclusions were drawn and where they could make the changes in order to remain on track.

The ability of a company to respond quickly to changes in market forces because management can refer back to comprehensive documentation on the impacted area, ensures competitiveness and its ability to perform effectively in today’s environment of change.

Inadequate, out-dated systems not able to capture, manage, process and report current data can result in poor or wrong decisions made by the business. Businesses today recognise that the ability to meet information processing objectives relies in their ability to adjust their management information systems to provide the information they need to make informed decisions.

There are countless examples of poor decision-making resulting in financial losses by companies. One example is a large multi-location department store in the United States that generally lost market share to its main competitor when it lacked the foresight to create a modern supply chain management to support an increase in customers. Even more significant is the fact that its competitor had openly declared in public that it would wage a price war policy specifically against the department store based on their data telling them their competitor’s systems were inadequate to cope with this pricing strategy.

To ensure the successful delivery of your products and services, take decisions on business issues identified and agreed to by relevant stakeholders as relevant to meeting the overall vision and goals of the business. This ensures a high-quality, coherent system based on collaborative and inclusive input by stakeholders to help meet your objectives. Engaging stakeholders with relevant, diverse experience, knowledge and opinions delivers strong outcomes that generally, extends beyond what can be achieved in isolation.

A stakeholder engagement model seeks to

· Create a coherent approach to what needs to be taken

· Establish planned and informed policies, programs and services

· Facilitate effective collaboration and knowledge sharing, and

· Communicate the businesses’ commitment to and principles of stakeholder engagement to its stakeholders.

Ensure sufficient valid and reliable information/evidence is available to support a decision. Why? For information to be reliable, it also needs to be valid, in that the information is measureable according to what it needs to be measured. To enlist the motivation and engagement of stakeholders, they need to believe the measurement of evidence is accurate or they may become disengaged with the task.

Some ways to improve validity are:

· Make sure goals and objectives are clearly defined.

· Expectations are noted and documented

· Stakeholders are involved and supportive of how the information is assessed, and

· Comparing the validity outcomes with other relevant data that may be available

A risk management plan describes the potential risks to a business and an analysis of the impact of each risk. It is a structured approach to manage uncertainty and businesses should look to utilise risk management plans to determine acceptable courses of action to minimise costly and stressful problems. A well-developed plan includes risk strategies to help the business reduce the consequences if the risky event occurs.

It’s just as important to put your business quantification into usable form and distribute it where it can do the most good. This is achieved by organising the data, possibly performing some calculations, and displaying it so that it makes sense and helps you and your stakeholders understand what’s really going on in your business. Companies that use an appropriate quantitative method to assist in this decision making process knowing quantitative outcomes can be measured.

Financial quantification methods are usually uniform across companies taking the form of known financial statements such as the balance sheet, income statement or cash flow statement. To quantify non-financial indicators, it is best to start with the areas of your business that are most critical to its success. Typically, they are:

· Your employees

· Ability to produce units and level of current productivity

· How customers feel about your business

· Ability to generate sales and account manage clients

· Where you are placed, competitively, and

· Adequacy of your support services

It is important to establish credibility and boost your reputation by consulting specialists and other relevant groups and individuals to support your business goals. They can provide valuable experience and insight because they have been where you want to be, and if used effectively, can help your business reach its goals quicker.

Your staffing responsibilities are defined by your organisational strategy, your systems development plan, your business plan, and your budget. Where people make a difference in your business is in their productivity. You hired employees based on their skills to meet their responsibilities and achieve their goals, its important then to ensure decisions delegated and taken by stakeholders are within the delegation and accountability of the department, group or employee responsible.

Business Decisions

Make decisions in accordance with organisational guidelines and procedures to ensure your business is on track to make your vision a reality and achieve its objectives. Because the company vision is the only certainty in a business environment, reviewing your strategies and tactics to achieve the objectives may change but a common purpose and vision ensures the overall objectives of the plan move forward.

Whatever the response to market forces are from appropriate stakeholders, the underlying actions and decisions made to ensure the survival of the business or continued success, need to stay in line with the overall objectives, values and standards of the company. This ensures consistency in message to all stakeholders, a shared responsibility by employees and commitment to act in order for the company to stay on track

Improvements in data performance will result in better, timely decisions which may increase customer satisfaction, loyalty and attribute to increased revenues as a result of fewer errors and less rework. Making data readily accessible to sales teams out on the road will enable salespersons to develop and position customised solutions onsite to their prospects. This reduces the decision making process of the prospect and if the salesperson is successful, will bring in new revenue because relevant information was delivered in a timely fashion.

Knowledge management, and faster technological mediums ensure decisions based on credible information is made and taken in a timely manner

As a measure of shared responsibility, all departments and key stakeholders in the organisation need the same information to work collaboratively and ensure consistency and coherence in its response. How and when this information is delivered illustrates to all those involved the importance of communicating information in a cooperative manner.

Ensure advice and information needs are documented and are specific to location, available in the correct format and time line to enable the effective exchange of information. Identifying the best means of communication is part of the planning and reviewing process.

Document information and update databases regularly to ensure decisions made in the company reflect what is really going on in the market. Your ability to respond quickly based on current information ensures you maintain competitive and take advantage of opportunities that may be overlooked based on out of date data.

The design of a system or process has important implications for the accuracy, transparency and accountability of the decision making process. Businesses who invest in designing and testing systems will be wise to address and meet the information requirements of those involved in the decision making process. Ensuring the system is easy to use, simple to install and can be supported and maintained to meet the future needs of the company will instil confidence that the systems in place were designed to best practices and can be updated to reflect changes in conditions.

Sharing Information and the Accuracy of Data

Accuracy in data in the health industry can be a matter of personal life and death. In most other industries, it can make a difference in whether a company survives, thrives or is forced to close its doors. Businesses must ensure information gathered is up-to-date, accurate, relevant and sufficient for the recipient to make an informed decision.

Accuracy ensures decisions are a calculated risk and made based on the best information available. An inaccurate database is essentially useless and in the example of inaccurate pricing, can cause the business to lose money or overcharge its customers and/or suppliers affecting how it is perceived in the market and loss of reputation.

Businesses that develop communication plans and disseminate information relevant to its departments need to ensure they reflect the overall goals and values of the business. Examples of communication tools used to disseminate information could be the company website. Here people can find information about the company, what it does along with any public statements and documents the business considers necessary to inform and update its stakeholders with the latest news. Information considered confidential may be accessible to selected personnel on password protected pages.

Other mediums such as print media could also be used to disseminate information. Whatever the medium chosen, the key elements of an effective communication and dissemination plan is to:

· Outline the goals of the proposed project

· Assign appropriate tasks to achieve the goals

· Confirm the profile characteristics of the ‘potential user’

· Identify all relevant sources of information

· Recognise the appropriate channel to deliver the message

· Determine how activities have been successful

· Show how access to information will be promoted

· Identify what marketing strategies will be implanted to make the public aware, and

· Overcome potential obstacles that may affect how targeted users access this information

A key point to remember is that many customers and non-stakeholders think some information is just ‘none of your business'. There are facts that customers believe are too personal, or that expose them to risks that they don’t want to take. Three proven techniques will help overcome this objection to providing sensitive information, show them that they’ll benefit, protect their privacy and depersonalise the information for them.

While privacy and confidentiality can be addressed by including them in company policy, regulations enforced by laws also exist to protect the rights of the consumer and the market to discourage abuse of companies who hold this data from misusing the information to exploit and harass the consumer.

The Privacy Act 1988 regulates the business community by outlining how they need to protect and handle personal information collected about their employees and customers. Included in the Act are National Privacy Principles or rules relating to the collection, use and way personal information is disclosed and securely stored. Privacy and confidentiality is important to the credibility and reputation of a business and if the business is found negligent or careless in how it stores this data, the Act can enforce fines and expose companies to breaches of contract. The Act and a company’s own Code of Conduct ensure they apply confidentiality and privacy when releasing any information or advice of the data they possess.

Good organisations review and update communication plans regularly to ensure relevance and awareness by your stakeholders of where the business is currently at and its future prospects. There are enormous advantages when communicating for example, with existing customers if you have a good customer information database. In the first place, you know your customers far better than you know your target markets in general. In the second place, you already have ready-made channels to reach them.

When you make a sale to a customer, there’s an interaction and opportunity to gather information whenever you are in contact with them.

Technology focused on efficiency or quality of service enables businesses to improve the flow of information, minimise errors and respond to its changing business environment quickly.

In the health industry, most people believe technology will improve how information is shared efficiently amongst different health practitioners. Here technology can provide optimum efficiency and quality of care compared to the current slow, manual process of sharing data.

How you store your intellectual property (IP) is a business decision not just a technology decision. Corporate knowledge and data can be seen by some to be the most important assets of any organisation, the ability to maintain corporate knowledge and ensure security is imperative to preventing companies from major disruption in operations or closing down altogether. How you communicate your data is stored and used to your customers also provides them with confidence that it will not be exploited and how much they choose to share with you to help improve business processes.

Your IP rights can enable your business to grow. For example, it can:

· Be used to expand into new markets

· Form an essential part of your marketing or branding

· Provide a competitive edge

· Be sold or licensed to provide a new revenue stream

TASK 2

 Task specification

Write a report (no more than 1000 words), addressed to Jason Healy, CEO, and the senior executive team of Jason’s Bank measuring performance of the Customer Service Department Call Centre. The report should contain the following structure/ content:

1.Introduction

2. Findings of the performance review

 Areas which are not performing well

 Suggested reasons for the poor performance in these areas

3. Recommended strategies for improving performance in the areas identified in section 2

 Support for your recommendations

 Goals/ targets for the next 12 months

 A cost/ benefit analysis of recommended strategies

Please support your report with figures, charts, research or marketplace citations, wherever possible. You will need to conduct substantial trend analysis and benchmarking.

You will also need to access the spread sheet file attached (will be provided by your Trainer) to assessment task 2

The Customer Service Call Centre of Jason’s Bank Ltd.

Background

Jason’s Bank was founded by Jason Healy (Senior) in 1961. Jason was a former Olympic wrestler who represented Hungary in the summer Olympics in Melbourne in 1956 and sought and received asylum in Australia during those games. After initially working for the Commonwealth Bank for 5 years, Jason saw the opportunity to open his own bank and boldly took it.

Jason’s Bank was originally a community bank for immigrants, initially having strong ties to the Iranian and Filipino communities in Sydney. Gradually it grew (into other cities and communities) and came to be seen as the bank for all immigrants and as these communities assimilated, it became a trusted name and authentic brand across all communities in Australia, particularly in suburban and regional Australia.

The bank has always been structured as a not-for-profit and invests revenues earned from communities back into those communities, through contributions to communities in areas such as sponsorships, scholarships, discounts and joint ventures with other community service organisations or service providers.

When Jason snr was tragically killed playing cricket in Tasmania, Jason jnr took over the CEO role in 2008, only one week before the global financial crisis (GFC) took hold in September of that year with the collapse of Lehmann Bros in the U.S. The post-GFC period saw Jason’s Bank take over 3 small regional banks each of which were experiencing severe funding problems when the credit markets froze in October 2008. These banks were:

· Mylene’s Bank (predominantly serving the Vietnamese community. Founded in 1978),

· Jasmine’s Bank (predominantly serving the Columbian and other South American communities. Founded in 1993), and

·         Judith’s Bank (predominantly serving mining towns in remote areas of Western Australia and Queensland. Founded in 1989)

These three banks kept their brand names so that Jason’s Bank, a public company which listed on the ASX in 1998, is in reality 4 bank brands, each with its own brand identity. Head office is located in York St, Sydney, where treasury; wholesale lending; credit and risk management; marketing; IT; and human resources heads are located. The customer service call centre is also located in the York Street headquarters building.

Last year the bank celebrated its 50th anniversary and remains a trusted and well-run bank, the 5th largest in Australia with a market capitalisation of $7.2 billion. It has over 1.3 million customers and over 6,700 staff.

Unfortunately, the customer service call centre has been experiencing problems with customer satisfaction, efficiency, staff morale and engagement. This area is dragging down the bank’s overall brand strength.

The latest annual Cannex customer satisfaction ratings (as at July 2012) are as follows:

Bank

Overall satisfaction

Branch service

Call Centre Service

Internet Banking

Products and Pricing

ATMs

Friendliness

Commonwealth Bank

****

****

*****

*****

****

*****

****

National Australia Bank

*****

****

*****

*****

*****

****

*****

Westpac

****

****

****

*****

****

*****

****

ANZ

****

****

*****

*****

****

****

*****

Jason’s Bank

****

*****

***

****

****

****

****

This compares to the same ratings from a year earlier (July 2011):

Bank

Overall satisfaction

Branch service

Call Centre Service

Internet Banking

Products and Pricing

ATMs

Friendliness

Commonwealth Bank

****

****

*****

*****

****

*****

****

National Australia Bank

*****

****

*****

*****

*****

****

*****

Westpac

****

****

****

*****

****

*****

****

ANZ

****

****

*****

*****

****

****

*****

Jason’s Bank

*****

*****

*****

****

*****

****

*****

The main problem has been the fall in customer’s satisfaction with the call centre, which dropped from 5 stars to 3 stars. This undoubtedly had some impact also on the Friendliness rating dropping from 5 stars to 4 stars. Branch service remained at 5 stars so the dissatisfaction is clearly stemming from the customer service call centre.

Russell Jackman manages the call centre. He is aware that performance of the call centre is below the expectations of senior management and shareholders.

The following pages will show some of the data that has been collected:

 Customer satisfaction survey results

 Staff engagement results

 Call Centre KPIs as part of the Customer Service Call Centre’s balanced scorecard

Customer Satisfaction Survey results

Below is the standardised Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSS) which is send via email to customers who have recently contacted Jason’s Bank’s Customer Service Call Centre. The CSS is administered by Clive Lloyd Consulting (CLS).

The CSS has been conducted every 6 months, one in May and another in November, for the past four years.

The most recent survey results (from May 2012) are based on the answers from 2,814 respondents:

The survey takes about 60 seconds to fill in and return and is as follows:

The results are shown for the previous 3 surveys.

May 2012 Customer Service Survey

1

2

3

4

5

Very

Dissatisfied

Neutral

Satisfied

Very

Question

Dissatisfied

Satisfied

1

Were you happy with the way your call was answered?

10%

17%

17%

34%

22%

2

Were you happy with the speed your call was answered?

34%

25%

19%

15%

7%

3

Was our agent able to answer your query?

9%

8%

13%

32%

38%

4

Was the information they gave you accurate?

7%

9%

10%

34%

40%

5

How would you rate the overall call?

19%

24%

23%

19%

15%

Yes

No

6

Was this the first time you have contacted us?

10%

90%

7

Do you use Jason’s Bank’s smartphone app?

18%

82%

8

Which other communications channels would you like to use to access Customer Service?

i) email

31%

ii) Interactive voice

8%

iii) Web chat

38%

iv) SMS

21%

9

If you requested literature did it arrive as promised?

94%

6%

10

Would you recommend us to others?

78%

22%

November 2011 Customer Service Survey

1

2

3

4

5

Very

Dissatisfied

Neutral

Satisfied

Very

Question

Dissatisfied

Satisfied

1

Were you happy with the way your call was answered?

4%

15%

19%

37%

25%

2

Were you happy with the speed your call was answered?

13%

19%

21%

30%

17%

3

Was our agent able to answer your query?

4%

6%

15%

35%

40%

4

Was the information they gave you accurate?

3%

7%

12%

36%

42%

5

How would you rate the overall call?

4%

9%

28%

31%

28%

Yes

No

6

Was this the first time you have contacted us?

12%

88%

7

Do you use Jason’s Bank’s smartphone app?

14%

86%

8

Which other communications channels would you like to use to access Customer Service?

i) email

38%

ii) Interactive voice

4%

iii) Web chat

36%

iv) SMS

24%

9

If you requested literature did it arrive as promised?

97%

3%

10

Would you recommend us to others?

89%

11%

May 2011 Customer Service Survey

1

2

3

4

5

Very

Dissatisfied

Neutral

Satisfied

Very

Question

Dissatisfied

Satisfied

1

Were you happy with the way your call was answered?

3%

7%

12%

51%

27%

2

Were you happy with the speed your call was answered?

2%

14%

20%

38%

26%

3

Was our agent able to answer your query?

2%

5%

9%

43%

41%

4

Was the information they gave you accurate?

1%

5%

11%

43%

40%

5

How would you rate the overall call?

2%

5%

22%

38%

33%

Yes

No

6

Was this the first time you have contacted us?

11%

89%

7

Do you use Jason’s Bank’s smartphone app?

8%

92%

8

Which other communications channels would you like to use to access Customer Service?

i) email

41%

ii) Interactive voice

3%

iii) Web chat

31%

iv) SMS

28%

9

If you requested literature did it arrive as promised?

100%

0%

10

Would you recommend us to others?

92%

8%

These customer satisfaction results can be compared with the latest benchmarks as provided by CLS (As at May 2012).

Customer Service Survey Benchmarks

1

2

3

4

5

Very

Dissatisfied

Neutral

Satisfied

Very

Question

Dissatisfied

Satisfied

1

Were you happy with the way your call was answered?

4%

8%

15%

41%

32%

2

Were you happy with the speed your call was answered?

4%

15%

22%

33%

26%

3

Was our agent able to answer your query?

2%

6%

10%

42%

40%

4

Was the information they gave you accurate?

1%

5%

11%

42%

38%

5

How would you rate the overall call?

3%

7%

25%

34%

31%

Yes

No

6

Was this the first time you have contacted us?

7

Do you use Jason’s Bank’s smartphone app?

18%

82%

8

Which other communications channels would you like to use to access Customer Service?

i) email

36%

ii) Interactive voice

3%

iii) Web chat

21%

iv) SMS

37%

9

If you requested literature did it arrive as promised?

98%

0%

10

Would you recommend us to others?

84%

8%

Employee Engagement Survey Results

Every year Jason’s Bank conducts an Employee Engagement Survey (EES) through Viv Richards Consulting (VRC) across all departments. EES Reports are prepared by VRC for each department and for the bank as a whole, as is done for other banks that are clients of VRC.

The first EES was conducted for the bank in April 2007 and the survey has been done annually by VRC every April since then. The questions VRC have asked in their survey have not changed since the first one 5 years ago.

The survey measures four key components of employee engagement:

 Whether employees are satisfied with JB as a place to work (satisfaction);

 Whether employees consider or actively seek a new job with another company (commitment);

 Whether employees would gladly refer a good friend or family member to JB for employment (advocacy); and

 Whether employees are proud to say they work for JB (pride).

The survey questions are filled in according for a scale of 1-5, as follows:

1. No, not at all

2. Not really

3. A little

4. Yes, somewhat

5. Yes, definitely

Jason’s Bank Staff Engagement Survey

1.      Do you know what is expected of you at work?

2.      Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?

3.      At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?

4.      In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?

5.      Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?

6.      Is there someone at work who encourages your development?

7.      At work, do your opinions seem to count?

8.       Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?

9.      Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?

10.  Do you have a best friend at work?

11.  In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?

12.   In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

The results for the past three years are:

April 2012 Staff Engagement Survey

No, not at all

Not really

A little

Yes, somewhat

Yes, Definitely

1

Do you know what is expected of you at work?

2%

4%

8%

45%

41%

2

Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?

3%

8%

11%

41%

37%

3

At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?

14%

26%

22%

21%

17%

4

In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?

11%

16%

34%

30%

9%

5

Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?

19%

28%

31%

14%

8%

6

Is there someone at work who encourages your development?

23%

22%

33%

18%

4%

7

At work, do your opinions seem to count?

23%

27%

29%

12%

9%

8

Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?

18%

24%

28%

19%

11%

9

Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?

12%

16%

19%

29%

24%

10

Do you have a best friend at work?

4%

18%

28%

24%

26%

11

In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?

4%

13%

42%

34%

7%

12

In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

16%

27%

36%

17%

4%

April 2011 Staff Engagement Survey

No, not at all

Not really

A little

Yes, somewhat

Yes, Definitely

1

Do you know what is expected of you at work?

2%

3%

9%

46%

40%

2

Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?

2%

6%

11%

40%

41%

3

At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?

8%

18%

24%

29%

21%

4

In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?

3%

9%

21%

37%

30%

5

Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?

14%

22%

20%

25%

19%

6

Is there someone at work who encourages your development?

19%

18%

30%

25%

8%

7

At work, do your opinions seem to count?

15%

21%

27%

20%

17%

8

Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?

16%

19%

25%

22%

18%

9

Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?

6%

11%

21%

33%

29%

10

Do you have a best friend at work?

2%

11%

25%

28%

34%

11

In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?

1%

8%

23%

31%

37%

12

In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

8%

12%

21%

28%

31%

April 2010 Staff Engagement Survey

No, not at all

Not really

A little

Yes, somewhat

Yes, Definitely

1

Do you know what is expected of you at work?

2%

2%

8%

46%

42%

2

Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?

2%

5%

9%

42%

42%

3

At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?

7%

17%

22%

31%

23%

4

In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?

1%

6%

17%

35%

41%

5

Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?

7%

13%

21%

31%

28%

6

Is there someone at work who encourages your development?

10%

11%

25%

26%

28%

7

At work, do your opinions seem to count?

14%

17%

21%

22%

26%

8

Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?

16%

18%

22%

24%

20%

9

Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?

5%

8%

22%

34%

31%

10

Do you have a best friend at work?

2%

9%

10%

37%

42%

11

In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?

1%

6%

13%

34%

46%

12

In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

3%

4%

8%

34%

51%

These can be compared with the Australian banking benchmarks, as supplied by VRC.

Staff Engagement Survey Benchmarks

No, not at all

Not really

A little

Yes, somewhat

Yes, Definitely

1

Do you know what is expected of you at work?

2%

4%

11%

44%

39%

2

Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?

2%

8%

15%

38%

37%

3

At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?

7%

24%

21%

30%

18%

4

In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?

1%

7%

24%

33%

35%

5

Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?

10%

18%

20%

28%

24%

6

Is there someone at work who encourages your development?

7%

10%

22%

28%

27%

7

At work, do your opinions seem to count?

18%

18%

19%

21%

24%

8

Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?

20%

24%

23%

18%

15%

9

Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?

9%

14%

19%

30%

28%

10

Do you have a best friend at work?

5%

17%

18%

26%

34%

11

In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?

5%

9%

16%

31%

39%

12

In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

8%

11%

20%

27%

34%

Key Performance Indicators

The Customer Service Department Call Centre uses a number of key performance indicators as part of its Balanced Scorecard reporting ad performance assessment process.

The KPIs for the past 8 quarters (2 years), grouped into their Balanced Scorecard categories, are listed below:

Key Performance Indicators: Jason's Bank Customer Service Call Centre

Customer Satisfaction

Q3 2010

Q4 2010

Q1 2011

Q2 2011

Q3 2011

Q4 2011

Q1 2012

Q2 2012

1

Percentage of Calls Abandoned

6%

5%

5%

6%

7%

9%

11%

13%

2

Average Speed to Answer (seconds)

27

31

28

27

34

41

46

52

3

First-Contact Resolution rate

72%

71%

72%

68%

64%

61%

59%

56%

4

Customer Satisfaction Scores (1-5)

4.2

4.3

4.1

4.0

3.8

3.7

3.5

3.3

Operational Efficiency

5

Agent Occupancy

81%

80%

81%

84%

90%

92%

94%

97%

6

Average Handling Time (seconds)

48

47

49

51

44

41

39

41

7

Call Transfer Rate

9%

7%

8%

11%

13%

14%

16%

17%

8

Cost Per Call

$ 2.71

$ 2.68

$ 2.74

$ 2.71

$ 2.89

$ 2.94

$3.06

$3.18

Business Value

8

Customer Retention

96%

94%

95%

96%

93%

92%

90%

89%

10

Referrals to sales dept (avg per day per agent)

8

9

7

8

6

5

6

5

11

Conversion rate of referrals to sales dept.

64%

68%

67%

68%

71%

66%

69%

70%

People Management

12

Attrition Rate (annualised)

14%

16%

13%

18%

21%

24%

26%

31%

13

Unapproved Absenteeism (annualised days per agent)

6

7

6

8

8

9

12

13

14

Staff engagement rate

77%

76%

77%

75%

71%

70%

68%

65%

Benchmarks for the various KPIs have been provided by the following sources:

 Gary’s Banking Intelligence

 Fema Contact Metrics

 Viv Richards Consulting

 Clive Lloyd Consulting

TASK 2

 Task specification

Write a report (no more than 1000 words), addressed to Jason Healy, CEO, and the senior executive team of Jason’s Bank measuring performance of the Customer Service Department Call Centre. The report should contain the following structure/ content:

1.Introduction

2. Findings of the performance review

 Areas which are not performing well

 Suggested reasons for the poor performance in these areas

3. Recommended strategies for improving performance in the areas identified in section 2

 Support for your recommendations

 Goals/ targets for the next 12 months

 A cost/ benefit analysis of recommended strategies

Please support your report with figures, charts, research or marketplace citations, wherever possible. You will need to conduct substantial trend analysis and benchmarking.

You will also need to access the spread sheet file attached (will be provided by your Trainer) to assessment task 2

The Customer Service Call Centre of Jason’s Bank Ltd.

Background

Jason’s Bank was founded by Jason Healy (Senior) in 1961. Jason was a former Olympic wrestler who represented Hungary in the summer Olympics in Melbourne in 1956 and sought and received asylum in Australia during those games. After initially working for the Commonwealth Bank for 5 years, Jason saw the opportunity to open his own bank and boldly took it.

Jason’s Bank was originally a community bank for immigrants, initially having strong ties to the Iranian and Filipino communities in Sydney. Gradually it grew (into other cities and communities) and came to be seen as the bank for all immigrants and as these communities assimilated, it became a trusted name and authentic brand across all communities in Australia, particularly in suburban and regional Australia.

The bank has always been structured as a not-for-profit and invests revenues earned from communities back into those communities, through contributions to communities in areas such as sponsorships, scholarships, discounts and joint ventures with other community service organisations or service providers.

When Jason snr was tragically killed playing cricket in Tasmania, Jason jnr took over the CEO role in 2008, only one week before the global financial crisis (GFC) took hold in September of that year with the collapse of Lehmann Bros in the U.S. The post-GFC period saw Jason’s Bank take over 3 small regional banks each of which were experiencing severe funding problems when the credit markets froze in October 2008. These banks were:

· Mylene’s Bank (predominantly serving the Vietnamese community. Founded in 1978),

· Jasmine’s Bank (predominantly serving the Columbian and other South American communities. Founded in 1993), and

·         Judith’s Bank (predominantly serving mining towns in remote areas of Western Australia and Queensland. Founded in 1989)

These three banks kept their brand names so that Jason’s Bank, a public company which listed on the ASX in 1998, is in reality 4 bank brands, each with its own brand identity. Head office is located in York St, Sydney, where treasury; wholesale lending; credit and risk management; marketing; IT; and human resources heads are located. The customer service call centre is also located in the York Street headquarters building.

Last year the bank celebrated its 50th anniversary and remains a trusted and well-run bank, the 5th largest in Australia with a market capitalisation of $7.2 billion. It has over 1.3 million customers and over 6,700 staff.

Unfortunately, the customer service call centre has been experiencing problems with customer satisfaction, efficiency, staff morale and engagement. This area is dragging down the bank’s overall brand strength.

The latest annual Cannex customer satisfaction ratings (as at July 2012) are as follows:

Bank

Overall satisfaction

Branch service

Call Centre Service

Internet Banking

Products and Pricing

ATMs

Friendliness

Commonwealth Bank

****

****

*****

*****

****

*****

****

National Australia Bank

*****

****

*****

*****

*****

****

*****

Westpac

****

****

****

*****

****

*****

****

ANZ

****

****

*****

*****

****

****

*****

Jason’s Bank

****

*****

***

****

****

****

****

This compares to the same ratings from a year earlier (July 2011):

Bank

Overall satisfaction

Branch service

Call Centre Service

Internet Banking

Products and Pricing

ATMs

Friendliness

Commonwealth Bank

****

****

*****

*****

****

*****

****

National Australia Bank

*****

****

*****

*****

*****

****

*****

Westpac

****

****

****

*****

****

*****

****

ANZ

****

****

*****

*****

****

****

*****

Jason’s Bank

*****

*****

*****

****

*****

****

*****

The main problem has been the fall in customer’s satisfaction with the call centre, which dropped from 5 stars to 3 stars. This undoubtedly had some impact also on the Friendliness rating dropping from 5 stars to 4 stars. Branch service remained at 5 stars so the dissatisfaction is clearly stemming from the customer service call centre.

Russell Jackman manages the call centre. He is aware that performance of the call centre is below the expectations of senior management and shareholders.

The following pages will show some of the data that has been collected:

 Customer satisfaction survey results

 Staff engagement results

 Call Centre KPIs as part of the Customer Service Call Centre’s balanced scorecard

Customer Satisfaction Survey results

Below is the standardised Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSS) which is send via email to customers who have recently contacted Jason’s Bank’s Customer Service Call Centre. The CSS is administered by Clive Lloyd Consulting (CLS).

The CSS has been conducted every 6 months, one in May and another in November, for the past four years.

The most recent survey results (from May 2012) are based on the answers from 2,814 respondents:

The survey takes about 60 seconds to fill in and return and is as follows:

The results are shown for the previous 3 surveys.

May 2012 Customer Service Survey

1

2

3

4

5

Very

Dissatisfied

Neutral

Satisfied

Very

Question

Dissatisfied

Satisfied

1

Were you happy with the way your call was answered?

10%

17%

17%

34%

22%

2

Were you happy with the speed your call was answered?

34%

25%

19%

15%

7%

3

Was our agent able to answer your query?

9%

8%

13%

32%

38%

4

Was the information they gave you accurate?

7%

9%

10%

34%

40%

5

How would you rate the overall call?

19%

24%

23%

19%

15%

Yes

No

6

Was this the first time you have contacted us?

10%

90%

7

Do you use Jason’s Bank’s smartphone app?

18%

82%

8

Which other communications channels would you like to use to access Customer Service?

i) email

31%

ii) Interactive voice

8%

iii) Web chat

38%

iv) SMS

21%

9

If you requested literature did it arrive as promised?

94%

6%

10

Would you recommend us to others?

78%

22%

November 2011 Customer Service Survey

1

2

3

4

5

Very

Dissatisfied

Neutral

Satisfied

Very

Question

Dissatisfied

Satisfied

1

Were you happy with the way your call was answered?

4%

15%

19%

37%

25%

2

Were you happy with the speed your call was answered?

13%

19%

21%

30%

17%

3

Was our agent able to answer your query?

4%

6%

15%

35%

40%

4

Was the information they gave you accurate?

3%

7%

12%

36%

42%

5

How would you rate the overall call?

4%

9%

28%

31%

28%

Yes

No

6

Was this the first time you have contacted us?

12%

88%

7

Do you use Jason’s Bank’s smartphone app?

14%

86%

8

Which other communications channels would you like to use to access Customer Service?

i) email

38%

ii) Interactive voice

4%

iii) Web chat

36%

iv) SMS

24%

9

If you requested literature did it arrive as promised?

97%

3%

10

Would you recommend us to others?

89%

11%

May 2011 Customer Service Survey

1

2

3

4

5

Very

Dissatisfied

Neutral

Satisfied

Very

Question

Dissatisfied

Satisfied

1

Were you happy with the way your call was answered?

3%

7%

12%

51%

27%

2

Were you happy with the speed your call was answered?

2%

14%

20%

38%

26%

3

Was our agent able to answer your query?

2%

5%

9%

43%

41%

4

Was the information they gave you accurate?

1%

5%

11%

43%

40%

5

How would you rate the overall call?

2%

5%

22%

38%

33%

Yes

No

6

Was this the first time you have contacted us?

11%

89%

7

Do you use Jason’s Bank’s smartphone app?

8%

92%

8

Which other communications channels would you like to use to access Customer Service?

i) email

41%

ii) Interactive voice

3%

iii) Web chat

31%

iv) SMS

28%

9

If you requested literature did it arrive as promised?

100%

0%

10

Would you recommend us to others?

92%

8%

These customer satisfaction results can be compared with the latest benchmarks as provided by CLS (As at May 2012).

Customer Service Survey Benchmarks

1

2

3

4

5

Very

Dissatisfied

Neutral

Satisfied

Very

Question

Dissatisfied

Satisfied

1

Were you happy with the way your call was answered?

4%

8%

15%

41%

32%

2

Were you happy with the speed your call was answered?

4%

15%

22%

33%

26%

3

Was our agent able to answer your query?

2%

6%

10%

42%

40%

4

Was the information they gave you accurate?

1%

5%

11%

42%

38%

5

How would you rate the overall call?

3%

7%

25%

34%

31%

Yes

No

6

Was this the first time you have contacted us?

7

Do you use Jason’s Bank’s smartphone app?

18%

82%

8

Which other communications channels would you like to use to access Customer Service?

i) email

36%

ii) Interactive voice

3%

iii) Web chat

21%

iv) SMS

37%

9

If you requested literature did it arrive as promised?

98%

0%

10

Would you recommend us to others?

84%

8%

Employee Engagement Survey Results

Every year Jason’s Bank conducts an Employee Engagement Survey (EES) through Viv Richards Consulting (VRC) across all departments. EES Reports are prepared by VRC for each department and for the bank as a whole, as is done for other banks that are clients of VRC.

The first EES was conducted for the bank in April 2007 and the survey has been done annually by VRC every April since then. The questions VRC have asked in their survey have not changed since the first one 5 years ago.

The survey measures four key components of employee engagement:

 Whether employees are satisfied with JB as a place to work (satisfaction);

 Whether employees consider or actively seek a new job with another company (commitment);

 Whether employees would gladly refer a good friend or family member to JB for employment (advocacy); and

 Whether employees are proud to say they work for JB (pride).

The survey questions are filled in according for a scale of 1-5, as follows:

1. No, not at all

2. Not really

3. A little

4. Yes, somewhat

5. Yes, definitely

Jason’s Bank Staff Engagement Survey

1.      Do you know what is expected of you at work?

2.      Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?

3.      At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?

4.      In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?

5.      Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?

6.      Is there someone at work who encourages your development?

7.      At work, do your opinions seem to count?

8.       Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?

9.      Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?

10.  Do you have a best friend at work?

11.  In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?

12.   In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

The results for the past three years are:

April 2012 Staff Engagement Survey

No, not at all

Not really

A little

Yes, somewhat

Yes, Definitely

1

Do you know what is expected of you at work?

2%

4%

8%

45%

41%

2

Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?

3%

8%

11%

41%

37%

3

At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?

14%

26%

22%

21%

17%

4

In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?

11%

16%

34%

30%

9%

5

Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?

19%

28%

31%

14%

8%

6

Is there someone at work who encourages your development?

23%

22%

33%

18%

4%

7

At work, do your opinions seem to count?

23%

27%

29%

12%

9%

8

Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?

18%

24%

28%

19%

11%

9

Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?

12%

16%

19%

29%

24%

10

Do you have a best friend at work?

4%

18%

28%

24%

26%

11

In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?

4%

13%

42%

34%

7%

12

In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

16%

27%

36%

17%

4%

April 2011 Staff Engagement Survey

No, not at all

Not really

A little

Yes, somewhat

Yes, Definitely

1

Do you know what is expected of you at work?

2%

3%

9%

46%

40%

2

Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?

2%

6%

11%

40%

41%

3

At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?

8%

18%

24%

29%

21%

4

In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?

3%

9%

21%

37%

30%

5

Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?

14%

22%

20%

25%

19%

6

Is there someone at work who encourages your development?

19%

18%

30%

25%

8%

7

At work, do your opinions seem to count?

15%

21%

27%

20%

17%

8

Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?

16%

19%

25%

22%

18%

9

Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?

6%

11%

21%

33%

29%

10

Do you have a best friend at work?

2%

11%

25%

28%

34%

11

In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?

1%

8%

2