Leadership Team: Group Involvement To Improve Customer Focus

Leadership Team

Group Involvement to Improve Customer Focus

Administration & Introductions

Agenda Ground rules Parking lot Introductions

Goal:

To adapt to changing requirements of our customers and suppliers,

continually find ways to improve, to satisfy our customers, and produce performance results. Performance

results begin with daily work processes.

To improve any work process:

• Understand the mission (business) of the unit• Know the end-users (*customers*) and their

requirements• Clearly define the current work process• Identify the output(s) of the process• Measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the

process• Continually look for improvement opportunities

WORKING WITH CUSTOMERS

The process by which an organization works with – treats, knows, communicates with, listens to, understands, values, relates to, aligns with, and manages its customers.

Validate Customer/Supplier Groups

• What are your Products and Services? To understand who your customers are, organizations firstneed to know what their products and services are.Everything you give to another person or entity – by building, creating, writing, constructing, etc. – is one of their products. Everything they do for another person or entity – such as helping, supporting, advising, repairing, managing, auditing, etc. – is one of their services.

Brainstorm-Unstructured

Validate Customer/Supplier Groups

• Who are our Customers/Suppliers? Brainstorm by asking yourself:

“Who are the recipient(s) of our products and services, and who are affected by them?” Everyone or every entity that is affected by a product or service in any way is, more or less a customer.

Validate Customer/Supplier Groups

• ID Customer Groups/Segments (Group customers into General Categories) - BRAINSTORM

Customer segments are groups of customers with similar

requirements. Their shared requirements usually derive from common socioeconomic or demographic factors, interests, beliefs, values, or needs. Obviously, organizations should strive to satisfy all their customers, but this is not always possible, nor is it necessarily efficient or effective. When organizations divide their customers into segments, they can focus on satisfying groups rather than individuals. Once segmented, an organization can target strategies for specific customers, as well as segment trends andsatisfaction levels tracked and addressed.

Customer Requirements

• Video- Who Cares? (Coastal Training

Technologies Corp. www.coastal.com

Customer RequirementsOrganizations usually have multiple ways of collectingcustomer requirements, each associated with a differentcustomer interaction or access mechanism. Managersshould recognize all customer contact communications asopportunities to collect requirements. Examples include:

COMPLAINTS AND COMPLIMENTS – Provide excellent inputon what customers do and don’t want.

FORMAL AND INFORMAL CORRESPONDENCE – Sometimescustomers come right out and ask for what they want in theform of a formal letter or personal note.

PHONE CALLS – Whenever talking to a customer on thephone, ask about their requirements and satisfaction, andthen document the conversation if it proves insightful.

Customer RequirementsCUSTOMER FOCUS WORKSHOPS – Bringing customerstogether to discuss their common wants is a very efficientand effective means of collecting requirements.

DEFINED PROCESSES – formalize requirements submissionand collection by way of a defined process and forms.

WEB SITE ACCESS AND FEEDBACK – Are customersaccessing the organization’s Web site, and if so, whichparts, how long, and what are they saying?

PRODUCT AND SERVICE TREND DATA – What products andservices are the organization’s customers using (i.e.,demanding), and which ones are they ignoring?

INDIRECT INPUT – What is being collected through market/industry surveysAnd available statistics and information.

SHR Customer Requirements

• “What are the requirements for a product or service that solve or fulfill a customer need?” Write each requirement on a sticky note, affinitize the notes into related groups, and create header cards for each group. Header cards should describe each requirement concisely. Stand-alone cards are okay.

Voice of the Customer /Customer Requirements Matrix

Quality Characteristic Importance Performance Gap Total

Importance: 5 = very important, 1 = not very importantPerformance: 5 = excellent, 1 = poorGap = top performance rating – performance ratingTotal = importance x gap

Develop Customer Contact Standards

Customer Contact Standards can be improved by identifying and analyzing customer contact points. Customers may interact with organizations at different contact points.  A contact point is the method a customer uses to communicate with a company.  For instance, consider the different ways customers may interact with an organization. Analyzing, streamlining, and customizing standards at your contact points can yield positive customer related results. Allowing the customer access to developed customer contact standards and providing realistic response times based on types of inquires are key proponents of customer satisfaction.

Develop Customer Contact Standards

Examples of CUSTOMER CONTACT POINTS:

• In-Person – Customers seek in-person assistance for their needs by visiting different Sector Divisions and also through discussion with other shipmates who are also your customers at your place of business or in their home.

• Telephone – Customers seeking a product or service from you may seek to

have a problem solved may find it more convenient to do so through phone contact.  At many units a dedicated centralized system or customer service area handles all incoming customer inquiries. 

• Internet/e-mail – The fastest growing contact point is through the Internet and e-mail.  The use of the Internet for business has exploded and is now the leading method for Logistical Business Communication.  E-mail is a key area where customers look for help with their logistical needs. Thus, tracking the type of e-mail inquiries and the amount of positive/accurate help and timeliness to remote unit’s supported can improve contact.

Develop Customer Contact Standards

• The result is that for different contact points many units have developed different procedures and techniques for handling customers.  And for some units there exists little integration between the contact points so customers communicating through one point one day and another point the next day may receive conflicting information.  In such cases customers are likely to become frustrated and question the unit’s ability to service its customers.

BRAINSTORM:

DEVELOP STANDARDIZED CONTACT STANDARDS

DISCUSS CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDS

Customer Service Standards are the operational priorities or criteria that ensure the consistent delivery of service. These standards are derived from the customer’s perspective. Each of these standards is prioritized and deployed throughout the organization. A unit communications campaign ensures that everyone knows about the standards.

DISCUSS CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDS

SERVICE STANDARDS:

• Translate the service purpose into actions;

• Set organizational and individual parameters for on-the-job decision-making;

• Prioritize the details of service delivery;

• Allow consistent measurement of service delivery.

Measurements

• Many types of data and information are needed for performance management. Performance measurement should include customer, product, and service performance; comparisons of operational, market, and competitive performance; supplier, employee, cost, and financial performance; and corporate governance and compliance. Data should be segmented by, for example, markets, product lines, and employee groups to facilitate analysis. Analysis refers to extracting larger meaning from data and information to support evaluation, decision making, and improvement.

MEASUREMENT

Measurements

• Determining customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction might include use of any or all of the following: surveys, formal and informal feedback, complaints, and transaction completion rates. Information might be gathered on the Internet, through personal contact or a third party, or by mail.

MEASUREMENT

IDEAS?

ACTION PLANNING

• Parking Lot

• Meeting Feedback

• Question?

• Thanks

This presentation developed by Dave B. Rott, CWO2, USCG

Content in this presentation was developed by the U.S. Government and is, thus, in the public domain.