Websitesb+Team_1_Project_Portfolio_141211pm_Jem 1 Project Gap Analysis Strategy October 31, 2014 Project Description PJ Enterprises is a catalog distributor with ambitious growth goals. The company has retained the services of our instructional design consultancy to address their training needs in support of their growth projections. As part of the project, Training By Design will also examine the overall business environment at PJ Enterprises to maximize the effects of any training developed and provide additional recommendations to improve their operations. Information Needed After a preliminary review of PJ Enterprises operations, the Training By Design team has compiled a list of areas for further examination. These include: Who is our main point of contact? Who are the key stakeholders for this task? Call center capacity, from a technical perspective: Is it possible existing infrastructure will not support the projected growth? Online Ordering System: Does PJ Enterprises intend to develop an online purchasing capability to relieve pressure from the call center operators. What is the timeline for deployment? What training methodologies has PJ Enterprises experimented with? What is the budget for internal labor to allow employees to attend training? Who do they intend to do the instruction – internal staff, vendors, or Training By Design staff? Training By Design would like additional information about the incentive program – flexibility, budget, tolerance for modification, etc. What are the reasons for relatively high employee turnover in the call center? How does PJ Enterprises retention compare with industry standards? Can we interview line employees to get further insight into this area? As a rough order of magnitude, what is the scope/scale of the company’s desire to grow its internal customer list? What is management’s timeline for this project? How do they intend to achieve this goal? How does PJ Enterprise’s management team communicate process, procedure, and standards to its workforce? What does success look like (in terms other than net revenue gains) Team Strategy The team suggests a strategy of one-on-one interviews and surveys with employees at different levels, performing different functions within the organization. While PJ Enterprises suspects call center training is a root cause, Training By Design would like to execute a more holistic needs analysis that includes a review of:
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Websitesb+Team_1_Project_Portfolio_141211pm_Jem 1
Project Gap Analysis Strategy
October 31, 2014
Project Description
PJ Enterprises is a catalog distributor with ambitious growth goals. The company
has retained the services of our instructional design consultancy to address their
training needs in support of their growth projections. As part of the project,
Training By Design will also examine the overall business environment at PJ
Enterprises to maximize the effects of any training developed and provide
additional recommendations to improve their operations.
Information Needed
After a preliminary review of PJ Enterprises operations, the Training By Design
team has compiled a list of areas for further examination. These include:
Who is our main point of contact? Who are the key stakeholders for this
task?
Call center capacity, from a technical perspective: Is it possible existing
infrastructure will not support the projected growth?
Online Ordering System: Does PJ Enterprises intend to develop an online
purchasing capability to relieve pressure from the call center operators.
What is the timeline for deployment?
What training methodologies has PJ Enterprises experimented with? What
is the budget for internal labor to allow employees to attend training?
Who do they intend to do the instruction – internal staff, vendors, or
Training By Design staff?
Training By Design would like additional information about the incentive
program – flexibility, budget, tolerance for modification, etc.
What are the reasons for relatively high employee turnover in the call
center? How does PJ Enterprises retention compare with industry
standards? Can we interview line employees to get further insight into this
area?
As a rough order of magnitude, what is the scope/scale of the company’s
desire to grow its internal customer list? What is management’s timeline
for this project? How do they intend to achieve this goal?
How does PJ Enterprise’s management team communicate process,
procedure, and standards to its workforce?
What does success look like (in terms other than net revenue gains)
Team Strategy
The team suggests a strategy of one-on-one interviews and surveys with employees
at different levels, performing different functions within the organization. While
PJ Enterprises suspects call center training is a root cause, Training By Design
would like to execute a more holistic needs analysis that includes a review of:
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recruiting/interviewing/hiring, management training, and incentivization. The
team would also like to evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of PJ
Enterprise’s call center, and enter a discussion with leadership regarding the
viability of shifting some workload to an online purchasing portal.
Analysis Plan
Analysis
Activity/Method
Target Audience Purpose or Information You Hope
to Gain
Team Member
Responsible
1. Interviews Telephone
Operators
In the current working
environment, what has training
prepared you to deal with? What
do you feel the organization could
benefit from if they trained more
formally? What training do you
personally feel would enable you
to do your job better, and to derive
greater satisfaction? What
customer issues do you routinely
encounter day-to-day? How can
training be better?
Michele
2. Hiring Process
Review and
Compensation
Plan Discussion
HR Managers What is the process, is it legal, and
why does the company have a
retention problem?
Jamison
3. Training
Program
Review
Telephone
Operators
Customer
Service
Supervisors
Determine current state of
training, understand the types of
training currently used.
Sophia
4. Customer
Experience
Data
Customers What happens when problems are
brought to management’s
attention?
Dave
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Task 1 – Employee Interviews and Training Program Review
Details of Activity/Method The Training By Design team anticipates the bulk of information needed to structure the
training program will be derived through interviews and follow-on discussions with line
workers. The team will use a sequence of online surveys followed by in-person interviews
to gain an understanding of:
- The needs of telephone operators.
- The current procedures?c
- The correct procedures.
- Factors are impacting retention at PJ Enterprises.
The team will also use the same strategy with each of the four the Customer Service Supervisors.
The goal of this discussion is similar, and should provide insight to:
- The needs of the Customer Service Supervisors.
- The common hygiene factors impacting working conditions at PJ Enterprises.
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Questions to Ask Catalog Division Employees The questions below will be integrated into an online survey mechanism.
Questions for the Online Survey – Telephone Operators and Customer Service Supervisors 1. How long have you been employed at PJ Enterprises:
< 1 year 1-3 years 3+ years
2. Overall, how satisfied are you with your job? Very satisfied Satisfied Not satisfied, but no unsatisfied Unsatisfied Very unsatisfied
3. What factors about your job give you the most satisfaction? 4. What factors about your job are the most significant irritants? What might cause you to seek
new employment? 5. Do you feel you got enough training to do your job?
Yes No
6. Describe the types of training you have received to make you better at your job. 7. Which method of training do you prefer?
Classroom Internet Video
8. Would seeing and touching the products be helpful in the training? Yes No
9. Are employee meetings helpful? Yes No, because_______________
10. Identify two things that motivate you.
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Task 2 - Hiring Process Review and Compensation Plan – Human Resources Managers
Details of Activity/Method Training By Design will interview Human Resources Managers at PJ Enterprises to:
- Understand the specifics of their hiring process
- Review exit interviews to determine reasons employees leave
- Understand/gain insight into PJ Enterprise’s compensation strategy
Training by design will interview Human Resources managers using the questions below.
Following the interviews, Training By Design will review the data collected, determine key
response topics, organize the topics, compare the results of the interview to industry best practices,
and present results to the stakeholders.
Questions to Ask Catalog Division Employees In addition to looking at the exit interviews, the Training By Design Team will use the
following questions as a guide to execute this activity:
- What does the telephone operator hiring process at PJ Enterprise consist of?
Expected responses should include the various stages from job application
vetting through hiring and up to onboarding.
- How are telephone operators compensated for quality work? How does PJ
Enterprises seek to recruit and retain “best in class” operators?
- What are the industry norms for compensation, and how does PJ Enterprises
compare? (This is an off line research question the team will answer using
external resources)
- How do you feel employee retention at PJ Enterprises compares to industry
standards?
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Task 3 – Training Program Review
Details of Activity/Method This activity will target trainers and training designers, telephone operators and
supervisory personnel. We may also seek access to Human Resources and Management
Personnel. The purpose of this activity is to gain an understanding of what the course
currently contains. We know the training room contains a LCD projector and the trainees may
learn best by hearing and working with information as opposed to reading the information. We
will review the current content and design of the Power Point decks used in pre-catalog
release training seminars.
Task 4 - Merchandising
Details of Activity/Method Training by Design will interview Buyer Staff at PJ Enterprises to: 1) Find out the catalog
item selection process. TBD will meet with Buyer Staff at PJ Enterprises to interview
them, using a series of questions related to trade show and vendor numbers, product
quality, and overall selection processes. Upon completion of the interview process,,
Training By Design will review the data, determine key response topics, organize the
information and present the results to stakeholders.
Questions to Ask The Training By Design Team will use the following questions as a guide to execute this
activity:
- How are items selected for the seasonal catalogs?
- What types of trade shows does the buying staff attend?
- How many vendors are involved in PJ Enterprises Merchandising process?
- What is the baseline of quality the company seeks to provide?
- How are employees engaged in the merchandising process?
- Do Telephone Operators understand the products they are representing to
customers?
Task 5 – Customer Experience Data
Details of Activity/Method This is expected to be a quick activity – we seek to gain insight to the customer’s
perception of value and service from their experience at PJ Enterprises. We will review
the customer feedback already available to look for trends. We will also seek permission
and access to recent customers to derive independent data.
Questions to Ask
- Do you have customer satisfaction survey data that you can share with us to
aid our analysis?
- (If yes) How do you use this data to improve operations in the call center?
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- (If no) Would you be willing to allow us to contact recent customers to
interview them about their purchasing experience?
Roadblocks & Dependencies
Roadblocks are to be expected on a project of this nature – the fact is that people are reluctant to change.
We hope to establish a project charter from the beginning, and we plan to help PJ Enterprises with strategic
communication and messaging throughout the project. Our major concerns at this point:
- Employee Resistance -- do they want to participate?
- Timing and access to employees. What is their coverage plan so we have
access without further disrupting operations. Are they being paid to
participate?
Strategies to Mitigate Risks
- Advise employees that their inputs are confidential and won’t be shared with
PJ Enterprises Leadership (outside of aggregated data)
- Tie participation to something they want?
- Make sure they know what’s in it for them?
- Keep the surveys SHORT!
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IMPROVING SERVICE AND SALES – AN ANALYSIS REPORT Prepared for PJ Enterprises
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Performance Analysis Report
November 9, 2014
Introduction
This report is submitted to PJ Enterprises on behalf of Training By Design
Incorporated. PJ has asked for Training By Design to design, develop, and deliver
a learning program for the telephone operators to substitute the training course that
has previously been done by Sheena Perez and Judie Thompson. The company
would like to increase sales and revenue while improving customer service and
employee retention.
Background
Many PJ employees had the opportunity to interact with our team. Training By
Design met with Jane (management) to get more information about the customer
service complaints and employee turnover. After this meeting, Training By Design
suggested a full performance analysis be done to examine PJ’s business operations.
Performance Analysis elements included interviews with Jane (management),
Judie Thompson (catalog director), Sheena Perez (merchandising manager) at PJ
Enterprises. A group interview was done with operators and supervisors to explore
thoughts regarding catalog sales, customer service, incentives, PJ’s mission and the
monthly meetings. In addition, managers, previous trainers, and telephone
operators completed electronic surveys, which gathered information regarding
ordering, training, and general PJ information. Last, we observed working
conditions and employee interactions. The following report details our
observations and recommendations.
Purpose of the Report
This report is provided in response to your request for a training solution to issues
of customer service and employee retention. We understand PJ Enterprise’s
aggressive growth goals for the future and have target areas and recommended
a uniform manner. These training sessions could be recurring in nature, and could
also introduce some fundamental leadership, management, and performance
feedback/counselling techniques. One feature we would include would be call
review, where real, taped conversations could be played for group critique to
emphasize themes, articulate trends, or address specific learning objectives.
Additionally, our training process would feature a mentor/protégé relationship
between experienced operators and newer hires. This would give new hires a near-
peer to interact with for questions, alleviate some manger workload, and also begin
to define a progression for employees considering long-term employment with PJ
Enterprises.
Lastly, we have experience developing and fielding low-cost online training
solutions. If implemented, a properly managed learning management system can
enhance communication, standardize training, and allow employees remote access
to training materials.
Evaluation Plan
The Training By Design Team endorses a Five Level Training Evaluation Plan.
We develop our evaluation plan before we begin training development; this
calibrates objectives and ensures that any training we develop will deploy and
achieve desired effects. It allows us to spot problems immediately and make on-
the-fly corrections. Finally, our process recognizes that training evaluation is an
additional investment for our clients, so we apply these resources prudently. Some
tasks can be evaluated with simple academic knowledge checks. Others require
more in depth observation to accurately gauge training efficacy. We propose the
following evaluation strategy for our training program:
Level 1: Student Reaction At this level of evaluation, we seek to ensure the students are responding favorably to the training, and that the training environment is conducive to facilitiate learning.
- In class – instructor interim summary/Q&A session
- “Third party” sensing sessions – training director, training analyst, PJ internal, could be a
member of our team
- Student end-of- training critiques
Likert Scale and constructive response
Level 2: Student Learning At this level of evaluation, we check learning at the group and individual levels. In our experience, we find students and instructors prefer to operate in a game-based activity (as compared to paper tests). We provide a variety of activities that allow the instructors to assess learning, and also to provide additional content or review weak areas based on group performance.
- Classroom review activities:
- PowerPoint Games: Jeopardy/Pyramid/Clue, etc
- Formative/Summative quiz/test
- Lightweight role playing activities
Level 3: Behavior This level of evaluation occurs post training, and assesses how the trainees retain the information they’ve learned, as well as how well they
have been able to incorporate the training into their daily on-the-job routines. Notice the natural linkage that will exist between Program A – Telephone Operator Training and Program B – Product Training. This linkage will offer some rudimentary evidence to support Level 3 evaluation in the training environment.
- Observation in the work center
- Post-training supervisor interviews (how are they different, what’s better, what can be
improved)
- QA/TO call recordings
Level 4: Results – Return on Expectations Return on expectations is measured at this level of evaluation. Training By Design will return to the PJ Enterprises site approximately six months following the completion of the pilot program and train the trainer activities to help assess the efficacy of training at this level.
- Customer Feedback positive / negative
- Trendline year over year
- Retention/employee satisfaction (retention is a bottom line issue, the hiring process is
expensive)
- Management Interviews
Level 5: Return on Investment Finally, return on investment is the highest level of evaluation, and measures the results of training at the business level. While other factors will also contribute to this metric,key success indicators of training could include the following list. Alternately, we can consider negative results at this level an indicator of the need to make adjustments to the training programs.
- Did they meet their revenue/sales goals for the year? Are the telephone operators
completing 6 order placement calls per hour with happy customers at hang-up?
- Are there return customers because of their previous experience with PJ telephone
operators?
- Cost of training / year over year revenue metric
Request for Proposal
The Training By Design Team would like to take this opportunity to thank PJ
Enterprises for the opportunity to visit their operations. We appreciate the extra
effort by leadership, management, and employees to make our time productive.
We are excited to help your organization succeed and grow. At your request, we
will submit a written proposal to detail our plan of work. We’re eager to get to
Program B: Product Fam 7 hours @ $80 per hour $560 Program C: Management 8 hours @ $80 per hour $640
Scripts 70 hours @ $80 per hour as below: Program A 35 hours @ $80 per hour $2800 Program B 25 hours @ $80 per hour $2000 Program C 10 hours @ $80 per hour $800
Beta Version Delivery 70 hours @ $80 per hour Program A 24 hours @ $80 per hour $1920 Program B 23 hours @ $80 per hour $1840 Program C 23 hours @$80 per hour $1840
Final Training Delivery 70 hours @ $80 per hour $5,600
Status Reporting 40 hours @ $80 per hour $3,200
6-month Follow-up eval N/C
Total $29,600
Possible Problems
While we feel our experience provides substantial risk mitigation, problems may
arise during the course of any training development project. Based on past
experience, the table below identifies most common problem areas, likelihood, and
the corrective strategy we intend to employ to return to established timelines. We
have used these strategies in the past with proven results.
Problem Area Likelihood
1 – 5 scale
Problem
Owner
Project Impact and Mitigation Plan
Tech problems and
content delivery
3 Sophia
Burris
Development may take longer than expected
depending on training content provided to Training
By Design and inevitable tech problems. Mitigation
plan includes padding in the timeline for possible
tech problems and coordination of content for
training. Also, the tech budget includes tech
maintenance and security protection.
Work Schedules and
Life
4 Jamison
Patrick and
Sophia Burris
Work hours may delay collaboration between PJ
and Training By Design. Mitigation plan includes a
padded timeline allowing for canceled meetings or
delayed deadlines for design, development, and
delivery due to PJ increased work load or life
elements outside of both teams’ controls. Also, a
detailed calendar will be provided at each status
meeting and weekly deadlines will be agreed upon.
Communications 3 Sophia Burris Communications can be incomplete or incorrect
causing for misunderstanding of content, design, or
Given product training, the telephone operator will answer customers’ product questions with 100% accuracy.
Presentation Slides Products
10 Home Goods Product Line Introduction
Cohesively answer questions about products to aid in completing phone orders of PJ Enterprise’s Home Goods product line given brief customer requests or product needs.
presentation of facts Products Slides
20
Exploration Activity – Show Product and Tell about Details
Given a choice of new products on a table, learners will give all details of the product that are listed in the product guide in less than 1 minute by presenting to the group.
Presentation Activity: Learners will choose a product off of a table to present to the group with details and “sell” it to the group.
Products Product Guide Activity Slide
10 Call Role Play Given a call scenario, learners will role-play completing a phone order
with a partner by using the product guide and customer service awareness.
partnerships
15
Learning Assessment – Jeopardy
When divided into two teams, the group can complete the jeopardy game with less than 6 missed questions.
remembrance of facts. Scenario quiz in jeopardy form completed in competition style between two teams made up of the group of learners.
Jeopardy Presentation Product Guides
5 Questions/Comments/Closing
Connect activity by learner-led discussion and product knowledge synthesis.
Session Two: Kids’ Toys Products
10 Kids’ Toys Product Introduction
Cohesively answer questions about products to aid in completing phone orders of PJ Enterprise’s Kids’ Toys product line given brief customer requests or product needs.
Presentation of facts Products Slides
20 Exploration Activity – Scavenger Hunt
Identify products that fit the customers’ requests given the product guide.
Exploration Activity: Learners will be given a worksheet to use guide them through “hunting” for products to fit sample customer requests.
completing a phone order with a partner by using the product guide and customer service awareness.
partnerships
15 Learning Assessment – Pyramid Game
Given six product categories arranged in a pyramid, two teams of learners will make associations between statements and matching products using product guide.
PowerPoint Pyramid Game Presentation
Scenario quiz in Pyramid game form completed in competition style as two teams.
Product Guide PowerPoint Pyramid Game Presentation
5 Questions/Comments/Closing
Connect activity by learner-led discussion and product knowledge synthesis.
Mins.
Task / Topic / Key
Content
Objective
Method
Assessment
Visuals / Media
Support
Session Three: Pet Products
10 Pet Products Product Introduction
Cohesively answer questions about products to aid in completing phone orders of PJ Enterprise’s Pet product line given brief customer requests or product needs.
Given 10 pet products, organize them by color, size, materials, and your personal interest.
Exploration Activity: Learners will be given 10 physical pet products to organize in different ways, including: color, size, materials, and personal interest.
Given a call scenario, learners will role-play completing a phone order with a partner by using the product guide and customer service awareness.
Worksheet scenario set-up, completion in partnerships
Worksheet Product Guide
15 Learning Assessment – Lists
Given categories and 15, learners will list 90% of products that fit into category in 20 sections.
Worksheets with lists for each category.
Scenario quiz in List game form completed in competition style as individuals.
Worksheets Timer
5 Questions/Comments/Closing
Connect activity by learner-led discussion and product knowledge synthesis.
Session Four: Seasonal Products
10 Seasonal Product Introduction
Cohesively answer questions about products to aid in completing phone orders of PJ Enterprise’s Seasonal product line given brief customer requests or product needs.
Presentation of Facts Products Slides
20 Exploration Activity – Speed Calling
Learners complete detail worksheets for products by rotating through product stations.
Exploration Activity with stations for different products and worksheets to fill out about each product.
Products Worksheets Product Guide Station Labels Directions Slide
completing a phone order with a partner by using the product guide and customer service awareness.
partnerships
15 Learning Assessment – Pyramid Game
Given six product categories arranged in a pyramid, two teams of learners will make associations between statements and matching products using product guide.
PowerPoint Pyramid Game Presentation
Scenario quiz in Pyramid game form completed in competition style as two teams.
Product Guide PowerPoint Pyramid Game Presentation
5 Questions/Comments/Closing
Connect activity by learner-led discussion and product knowledge synthesis.
60 This review session will connect the product learning to the training in Program A – Telephone Operator Training. Students will be placed in a customer call situation and asked to describe/recommend products. They will also be faced with situations that may require escalation to supervisory staff. Students will have access to all resources normally available at a telephone operator workstation.
- Given a call scenario based on a realistic scenario, learners will simulate the order process with zero mistakes in 10 minutes or less.