Creating value for customers, employees and shareholders
UKCSI & ICSI launched YOUR SAY PAYS A NEW TYPE OF PANEL CITY & GUILDS REWARDING PEOPLE FOR THE RIGHT THINGS THE WEB OF LIFE
PLUS NEWS BOOK REVIEW DIARY DATES
May 2007 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1 £4.50
Customer Satisfaction Measurement
Customer Satisfaction Measurement
Level 1
Level 2
A practical one day course that will take you step-by-step through the process of accurately measuring your customers’ satisfaction.
This course examines the more advanced research techniques relevant to customer satisfaction measurement and is suitable for people wanting to develop or critically assess their existing process.
The day covers
The day covers A sensitive measure for tracking improvement Different ways of measuring importance Measuring the customer experience Identifying givens, differentiators and delighters The causes and consequences of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction Linear versus asymmetric data Timing and frequency
Questionnaire design Sampling Methodology Analysing & reporting How to calculate a Satisfaction Index Pitfalls to avoid
Dates 26th June
London
Dates
29th August
London
4th July
Bristol
5th July
Birmingham
27th June 3rd October 18th October
London London Manchester
Cost: £325 excl VAT
Cost: £295 excl VAT
Over 5000 delegates have attended worldwide Presenters are authors of leading books in the area of customer satisfaction & loyalty
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mit i l e
Pl
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For more information and a detailed agenda: CALL RUTH COLLETON on
01484 467000 Book online at
www.leadershipfactor.com
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Diary Dates
Training courses and Conferences from around the country
May 2007 32 Personal Development Rachel Davies talks us through a tool for personal development that aims to balance all of our priorities.
7 News John Lewis named the shoppers favourite
8 Customer Robert Crawford talks about the launch and significance of the UK Customer Satisfaction Index
35 Fast Guide ...to implementing a management information dashboard.
15 Customer
38 Book Review
A new online panel promises quick insight and an online community
In this issue...
VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1
YourSayPays 20 Case Study Rose Moore from City & Guilds talks about the broad-based focus on improvement at the awarding body. 27 Employee
39 Training Directory
Rewarding people for the things that matter most. Stakeholder May 2007
3
To get eye catching design and high quality print you need to pay high prices right? - Wrong! Call us on 01484 467016 for top quality design and print at shoestring prices
design
01484 467016
Charlotte Ratcliffe editor
This summer is a bit of a landmark for customer service in the UK and Ireland. The launch of the UKCSI and ICSI by the Institute of Customer Service is the first systematic large-scale attempt to measure the satisfaction of consumers across a range of industries. Robert Crawford (page 8) explains how it will work. This is a really exciting opportunity to build a truly objective measure of how satisfied consumers are in different markets. As it grows and develops we will also be able to see how the leading organisations in each sector stack up against each other. As the prominence of a fair, independent, national measure of customer satisfaction grows there will be increasing pressure on companies to deliver the service that customers demand. Platitudes will no longer be enough. City & Guilds (page 20) show that some organisations are already taking customers seriously. Ultimately, though, it is employees at the front line that determine how happy customers are. Ray Robertson (page 27) talks about rewarding employees for the right things (including satisfying customers).
Cover artwork by James Crowther Stakeholder Satisfaction is the magazine for people who want their organisation to deliver results to employees, customers and any other stakeholders as part of a coherent strategy to create value for shareholders. We publish serious articles designed to inform, stimulate debate and sometimes to provoke. We aim to be thought leaders in the field of managing relationships with all stakeholder groups.
Editor: Features Editor: Contributors
Charlotte Ratcliffe Sarah Stainthorpe Nigel Hill Stephen Hampshire Robert Crawford Rachel Davies Ray Robertson Rob Ward Designer: Creative Director: Rob Egan Louise Martin Advertising: Editorial Director: Janet Hill
Printers of Stakeholder Satisfaction www.stakeholdermagazine.com info@stakeholdermagazine.com Stakeholder Satisfaction PO BOX 1426 Huddersfield HD1 9AW Tel: 0870 240 7885 NB: Stakeholder Satisfaction does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors. The points of view expressed in the articles by contributing writers and/or in advertisements included in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this magazine, no legal responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for loss arising from use of information published. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrievable system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent of the publisher. Copyright Š STAKEHOLDER SATISFACTION 2004
ISSN 1749-088X Stakeholder May 2007
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Diary Dates
MAY
JUNE
Customer Satisfaction Measurement – Level 1
Customer service Awards Ireland 2007 – Gala Dinner
Customer Satisfaction Measurement – Level 2
Weetwood Hall, Leeds www.leadershipfactor.com
Thursday 14th June – Burlington Hotel, Dublin www.instituteofcustomerservice.com
Wednesday 27th June www.leadershipfactor.com
This one day training course takes delegates set-by-step through the process of using customer surveys to accurately measure customer satisfaction. It includes instruction on relevant research techniques, group exercises and opportunities to ask questions relating to your organisation’s customer satisfaction practices.
The Customer Service Awards for Ireland recognises excellence and innovation in customer service, across all industry sectors. The Gala Dinner is the celebration event at which the winners are recognised.
This course examines the more advanced research techniques of relevance to Customer Satisfaction Measurement and is suitable for people wanting to develop or critically assess their existing process. This course will help you learn more about the suitability of the questions you ask and how to benchmark your customer satisfaction against other organisations.
01484 467000
The European Customer Management World Conference 2007- Putting the Customer at the Heart of the Business 14-17th May 2007 – Royal Lancaster Hotel, London www.instituteofcustomerservice.com Now in its seventh year, the European Customer Management World conference will connect you with the people who are looking for a solution. Past attendees have come from a wide range of industries. The event will cover a range of in-depth topics and case studies such as Inspirational Leadership and motivation and brand and marketing innovation. Amongst the first keynote speakers to be confirmed for the event are Michael Eisner, Former CEO, Walt Disney Company and Steve Redgrave, Five Times Olympic Gold Medal Winner.
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Diary dates
Stakeholder May 2007
Financial Stakeholder Communications Conference 14th & 15th June Central London This two-day Marcus Evans Conference will feature a number of expert speakers such as Gillian Karran-Cumberlege, Group Head of Investor relations for Volkswagen AG and Alejandro Piaza, Director of Investor Relations for Repsol YPF. The conference will cover topics such as building relations with Investors and the utilisation of tools for better targeting of shareholders. Both days with feature a number of case studies and panel discussions that will allow you to “Increase your value through effective communication.” For further information contact Adam Ruman, Conference Producer at marcus evans Prague Tel +420 234 702 328 or email – AdamR@marcusevanscz.com.
JUNE
01484 467000
JULY/AUGUST Improving Customer Satisfaction Wednesday 7th July – Manchester JPD www.leadershipfactor.com
01484 467000
It can be very difficult to know what to do next once you receive the results of your customer satisfaction survey. This one-day course examines the strategies that you can adopt once you receive the results of your customer satisfaction survey. This will allow you to action your results and keep the spotlight on customer satisfaction.
Complaints Management Wednesday 22nd August – Manchester JPD www.leadershipfactor.com
01484 467000
There is growing evidence that complaints that are well handled can result in higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty. This one day training course explores best practice in managing complaints system as well as understanding the customer experience of the complaints process.
News
news
Call Queues Cut across The Financial Services Sector The financial services sector cut call queues in the last quarter of 2006 by over 60%. Research carried out by Netcall, based on a sample of over one million called queues, showed that this sector performed well against the UK national average which saw the British public having to wait on hold for an average of 13 minutes at busy periods in comparison to only 7 minutes in the financial services sector. With customer service regarded as a necessity and with fierce competition in the financial services sector, it is not at all surprising that the sector has made every effort to improve its waiting times and with the help of Netcall many leading organisations are moving forward and trying to find alternative options to offer their customers such as inviting them to leave their details and returning their call often within minutes.
John Lewis Named as the UK favourite Store Which? Magazine readers have voted John Lewis and Waitrose their favourite retailers, in its annual customer satisfaction survey of high street retailers for the second year running. The retailers gained top marks for products, customer service, shopping experience and price. Sir Stuart Hampson, Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership – which consists of the department store and Waitrose – said “This is a tremendous accolade for every one of our 65,000 partners and our
success is down to one key factor – the hard work and efforts of each one of them.” He also commented that the loyalty and trust of customers could be gained by providing outstanding choice, value and service – and these principles have driven the success of the business.
Vodafone increases Customer Numbers to over 200 Million
UK Budget Airlines Score Well According to a recent annual survey conducted by Reviewcentre.com, UK Budget airlines are scoring well above their US counterparts. The results showed Leeds based operator Jet2 as the best of the best with an average score of nine out of ten for the quality of its service and praised for all round service and value. BMI, First Choice, Thomas Cook Airlines and Easy Jet all scored above five out of Ten in the survey.
Best Company to work for 2007
Vodafone announced last month that it had added an extra 8.7million customers to its books in the last three months of 2006, helping its customer base to exceed 200 million users. The company also reported year-on-year revenue growth of over 5 per cent, despite operating in a market of fickle consumers and dwindling loyalty, and stated that its renewed customer retention activities have enabled the company to reduce its contract customer churn in most European countries. Vodafone confirmed that its cost-cutting regime is still on track with a series of initiatives in place including outsourcing and network sharing, and confirmed that it is their intention to sign more network-sharing deals with rival operators to both increase service coverage whilst bringing down costs.
Many people in the UK will know that in March this year WL Gore and Associates, inventors and manufacturers of the famous waterproof and breathable Goretex fabric, were named yet again as the ‘best company to work for’ in the UK. No-one seems able to dislodge them from the top of the Sunday Times list. What is less well known in Britain is that America has its own equivalent, run by Fortune magazine, and that Gore also make the top 10 on the other side of the water. The list makes interesting reading with Google right at the top despite having to assimilate a 67% growth in employee numbers.
Stakeholder May 2007
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Customer
THE
In April 2007 the Institute of Customer Service launched the UKCSI (www.ukcsi.com) and IrishCSI (www.irishcsi.com). Similar to the twelve years old American Customer Satisfaction Index, its purpose is to measure and monitor customer satisfaction levels across the UK and Ireland. The questions and methodology are based on the findings of the recent customer priorities research conducted for the ICS by The Leadership Factor. Every six months it will provide an independent picture of customer satisfaction levels based on the views of thousands of customers. ICS Director Robert Crawford explains the significance of the UKCSI both as a valuable tool for organisations and in providing the Government with an insight into economic trends.
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Customer
Stakeholder May 2007
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Customer
· · · · ·
Instead of being something that just happens, service needs to become manageable and managed. To do that, organisations need to measure customers’ satisfaction with their customer experience. It also requires a comprehensive Service Management System that relies on a tailored measurement process but does not stop at measurement alone. Measurement simply sets the scene for implementing actions to continually improve customer satisfaction.
THE LENS OF THE CUSTOMER
WHO CARES WHAT CUSTOMERS REALLY WANT? We all do. Every single one of us, because at one time or another we are all customers ourselves. We want to be treated well, and to feel organisations we deal with value us as a customer. It’s more than just how their staff treat us. It’s actually how we feel about our entire experience with each organisation. Is it easy to do business with? Does its technology facilitate excellent service or get in the way? Are we comfortable in the environment it creates? All organisations need to know what their customers think so they can meet or exceed expectations and deliver worldclass service. So the importance of measurement cannot be over-emphasised.
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The first phase of any customer satisfaction measurement initiative is to define customer needs and priorities - what the University of Michigan has called ‘the lens of the customer’. ICS, with the help of The Leadership Factor, has completed a major and unique piece of research into the service priorities of customers in the UK and Ireland. “Customer Priorities: what customers really want” is based on the views of over 200,000 customers, making it the most robust and authoritative research on this topic. In general, after the quality of the product or service, customers want staff to be friendly, helpful and competent, and to be treated as a valued customer. Don’t we all? They also want to know that, if anything does go wrong, it will be sorted out, swiftly and effectively. The research concluded that customers’ priorities can be grouped into five Service Attributes:
professionalism problem solving timeliness quality/efficiency ease of doing business
The same research also concluded there would be merit, at both organisational and Governmental levels, for the introduction of National Customer Satisfaction Indexes (CSIs) in the UK and Ireland. It outlined evidence, mainly from the US, of customer satisfaction being the biggest single factor determining future growth of the economy as well as individual companies.
WHY HAVE NATIONAL MEASURES OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION? Over ten years of data amassed by the American Customer Satisfaction Index has conclusively demonstrated the value of customer satisfaction to the US economy. Full details are available in “The American Customer Satisfaction Index at Ten Years: Implications for the Economy, Stock Returns and Management” (published by the Stephen M Ross School of Business, University of Michigan in 2005 and available from www.the acsi.org). As the report concludes, “At the macro level, customer satisfaction and household spending are at the hub of a free market. In one way or another, everything else – employment, prices, profits, interest rates, production and economic growth itself – revolve around consumption.” If consumers reduce their spending the economy moves into recession. If they increase it, albeit by a very small percentage, the positive effects on economic growth will be significant. This is quite simply because customers reward companies that meet or exceed their requirements and punish those that don’t. This fact is fundamental to the way free markets
Customer
operate – driving them to deliver as much customer satisfaction as they can in the most efficient way possible. There is also growing evidence that today’s affluent consumer in developed economies has become more interested in quality of life (doing things) than material wealth (owning things). This further reinforces the importance of the amount of satisfaction delivered by the entire customer experience, not just the core product or service.
although many people express views on whether public sector organisations deliver satisfaction to their ‘customers’, we don’t know the score there either. The UKCSI will tell us how much the collective ‘output’ of the public and private sectors is successfully improving the well being of society.
GDP is a measure of the amount, or quantity of economic activity. Customer satisfaction is a measure of its quality (as perceived by its consumers). If it is true that people seek to repeat high quality, pleasurable experiences but avoid those of low quality, we would expect to see a relationship between these two indicators. Analysts at the University of Michigan have identified “a significant relationship between ACSI changes and subsequent GDP changes, a relationship that operates via consumer spending”. Whilst it is obvious that the level of consumer spending is based on the amount of money that people have to spend, it is crucial to understand that it is also affected by their willingness to spend it. Whilst some spending is down to necessity (e.g. the food and shelter necessary for survival), most spending in developed economies is beyond that level and is driven by the anticipated amount of satisfaction that the spending will produce. To quote the University of Michigan again, “The importance of this can hardly be overstated. Since its inception, the data show that ACSI has accounted for more of the variation in future spending growth than any other factor, be it economic (income, wealth) or psychological (consumer confidence).”
· useful to Government as lead indicators of economic growth · beneficial to individual organisations in tracking their own progress together with progress within their own sector and across sectors · independent · authoritative
If customer satisfaction is so important, how much do we know about it? The short answer is that we just don’t know because in the UK and Ireland there is no published information on this subject. Very few customer satisfaction survey results are ever published, so we just don’t know to what extent very large and financially successful companies in the private sector are satisfying their customers as well as their shareholders. And
ICS is in the unique position of being able to develop CSIs that will be:
Consequently, work on producing a UKCSI and an Irish CSI is well advanced with the first results due at the ICS annual general meeting on 28 June.
HOW WILL IT WORK? The data will be collected and analysed for ICS by The Leadership Factor. During April and May, a randomly selected and demographically representative sample of adults from the UK and Ireland will be invited to complete a web-based questionnaire. Participants will also be invited to join a panel which will give them the chance of taking part in future waves of the UKCSI. Panel members will be able to receive rewards or make charity donations for completing the questionnaire and will be personally notified when the UKCSI results are released. If you would like to take part, register at: www.ukcsi.com or www.irishcsi.com. The questionnaire is based on the top 20 Customer Priorities detailed in the ICS Breakthrough Research report “Customer Priorities: what customers really want”. Satisfaction scores will be collected at each wave, with importance scores based on those generated by the customer priorities research (which will be reviewed every two or three years). So we’ll know that only elements important to customers are being measured. Like the
American Customer Satisfaction Index, a 10-point numerical rating scale will be used and CSIs will be based on a composite index rather than a single overall satisfaction question. For national, sector and individual company CSIs, the satisfaction scores for the 20 customer priorities will be weighted by their relative importance, as identified by the Customer Priorities research. The sectors that will be covered by the UKCSI are: · · · · · · · · · ·
Automotive Financial services Government Leisure Local Government Retail Services Telecoms Transport Utilities
The Customer Priorities study showed
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Customer
Customer Satisfaction by Sector 50%
55%
60%
65%
70%
75%
80%
Leisure
95%
100%
79.5%
Financial
78.8%
Retail
76.7% 75.3%
Telecoms Utilities
74.8%
Government
72.1%
Transport
Overall
90%
80.5%
Automotive
Council
85%
84.1%
Services
70.2% 61.3%
75.3%
that customer satisfaction varies very widely across the ten sectors, as shown in the chart above. The survey will collect data for companies with a high share of the market in each segment of the private sector and the main players in the public sector. The aim is to cover over 50% of the market in each sector although, in practice, this will be more straightforward in some sectors than in others. In financial services, for example, it may comprise a small number of companies whereas the service sector could involve a large, impractical number. Source “Customer Priorities: what customers really want”, available from the Institute of Customer Service, www.theinstituteofcustomerservice.com As well as measuring and monitoring customer satisfaction, the methodology will highlight PFIs (priorities for improvement) based on areas where customers’ requirements are not being met and will also identify key drivers where world class performance will delight customers.
Public reporting The results will be reported on a free-toaccess public website: · UKCSI plus overall scores for each Attribute and each Customer Priority · sector CSIs plus scores for each Attribute and each Customer Priority · national/regional CSIs plus scores for each Attribute and each Customer Priority (where available) · CSIs for the highest two or three organisations in each sector (where possible) · satisfaction scores for the highest two or three organisations on each Customer Priority (where possible) · top level trends and conclusions about the state of customer satisfaction in the UK and Ireland and recommendations for improving it.
The objective is to update the CSIs every six months at the beginning of January and July each year. The data collection will take place in April-May and OctoberNovember respectively. There will be two levels of reporting:
Stakeholder May 2007
Sectoral Subscribers will be able to: - ensure the number of responses on their organisation, for each wave reaches 200 - access and download all data relating to their own organisation - access and download all data for one sector, subject to restrictions on use. Subscribers will be able to: - ensure the number of responses on their organisation reaches 100 - access and download all data relating to their own organisation S If you want to take part in the Panel or your organisation wants to subscribe, register at www.UKCSI.com or
www.IrishCSI.ie
Subscriber reporting Alongside the operation of the UK and Irish CSIs, organisations will be offered the opportunity of participating, to benchmark themselves against the CSIs. To maintain the purity of UK and Irish CSI results, data collected for subscribers will not form part of the public reporting suite. There will be three levels of Subscriber Reporting:
REPORTING
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- receive additional exclusive information based on more detailed questioning of critical Attributes (Problem Solving AND Complaint Handling in the first instance) across all participants - access and download all data relating to their own organisation - access and download overall data across sectors, subject to restrictions on use - gain advance access to data at each wave - receive a customised report about current customer satisfaction in the organisation, how it compares within their sector and recommendations for improvement.
· Principal Subscriber · Sectoral Subscriber · Subscriber Principal Subscribers will be able to: - ensure the number of responses on their organisation for each wave, reaches 500
Robert Crawford Director Institute of Customer Service
Customer Satisfaction Measurement Level 1 One day training course £295
(excluding VAT)
Learn how to ask the right questions to the right people in the right way to get actionable customer satisfaction data. Valuable for anyone wishing to initiate customer satisfaction measurement or to improve an existing customer survey programme.
Birmingham
Thursday 5th July
Bristol
Wednesday 4th July
Manchester
Tuesday 10th July
Learn how to:
Tuesday 21st August
· Generate accurate, reliable and actionable data · Design your questionnaire to ensure the best response rates · Analyse data and communicate results · Introduce the survey for maximum participation · Provide feedback to customers after the survey · Calculate an accurate Customer Satisfaction Index which can be monitored over time
London
Tuesday 26th June Wednesday - 29th August
Visit our website for information on more courses
www.leadershipfactor.com
For a detailed agenda please contact Ruth Colleton on 01484 467000 or email ruthcolleton@leadershipfactor.com
The
F A C T O R L E A D E R S I N S AT I S F AC T I O N M E A S U R E M E N T
The Leadership Factor Taylor Hill Mill Huddersfield HD4 6JA
Tel: 01484 517575 Fax: 01484 517676
Email: info@leadershipfactor.com Web site: www.leadershipfactor.com
Customer
s society evolves businesses must develop new techniques to communicate with consumers, or risk turning into dinosaurs. Marketing campaigns are increasingly “viral” or even “guerrilla”—relying on word of mouth communication rather than blunderbuss-style mass advertising. Real people sharing real opinions about products and services is far more engaging and compelling than overblown and untailored marketing claims.
A
The growth of the “blogosphere” (online networks of personal websites) has extended the reach and power of ordinary people to discuss the companies they deal with and the service they receive. Tapping into this new form of communication is essential for accurate research into consumer attitudes.
of a cross-section of consumers. The panel is made up of people of all backgrounds, young and old, from every region. What brings them together is their interest in expressing their opinions and affecting the way businesses work.
YourSayPays.co.uk is an innovative new approach to online research, set up by The Leadership Factor to address the needs of clients who need quick access to the views
YourSayPays aims to be more than an online survey and panel site. Built around that is a community of consumers—bloggers, participants and interested readers
More than just a panel
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Customer
the articles on the site and share stories of particularly memorable experiences (good and bad). We’re recruiting some star bloggers, so if
you’ve got a good story, and you think you can tell it well, send it through!
Sadly, if predictably, not all the responses have been so positive. Sally has a familiar story of pushy salespeople:
Joe sent us this one about his experience with the Four Seasons hotel in Dublin:
Joe “We visited for 2 nights in March 2007 having previously stayed in 2006. The service was exceptional. The booking in was made very simple and I was asked if I wanted to use the same credit card. On arriving the car door was opened for my wife, the greeter asked my name and told me he would look after baggage. When I went into reception the lady said ‘Good evening Mr XX you are welcome back to the Four Seasons’ (obviously my name had been relayed from outside). Later in the evening as we arrived back at the room, we met an employee who was replenishing the ice. He also greeted us with a ‘Good evening Mr & Mrs XX.’ All small touches but they do add up to a wonderful customer experience”
Sally “Recently I was approached to change my internet provider. The salesman was very persuasive and assured me that everything I had with present provider would be the same but at nearly half the price—no catch. After receiving the information I discovered a couple of things I wasn’t happy with and when I contacted the company they admitted I had been given wrong information. Thank goodness I was able to cancel, but I was very annoyed as the salesman had wasted nearly an hour of my time.” 16
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Customer
Other people, like Ellen, haven’t got a particular horror story, but are just fed up with ongoing substandard service:
YourSayPays will be a place for consumers to get together a discuss each other’s experiences and points of view.
Do we agree with Adrian, who says?...
Ellen “Maybe I’m the only one, but it always seems to be that when I join a queue I get the woman serving who hasn’t got a clue...can’t get a price check, puts other people’s stuff in with mine, can’t get the till to work, has no notes so you have to leave with a handful of shrapnel...no matter what I do I always end up with these types of people!”
Adrian “I am always saddened by customer service in this country. My partner is from N America, and whenever we visit, I encounter what good customer service really is. Not a student who doesn’t care, a call centre in India who doesn’t understand me, or an automated system which runs me through a rat maze only to cut me off.”
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Customer
Or is it actually better on this side of the Atlantic? Perhaps the good old days of personal service were the halcyon era for service quality, and the CRM systems and IVR technology of the 21st century are heading in the wrong direction? On top of the survey information that will flow from the panel members, the community at YourSayPays will represent an opportunity for ordinary consumers to share their opinions. Whether it’s a horror story, a celebration of great service or simply an opinion on the way things are going it will all contribute to a valuable resource about consumer attitudes. This also means that organisations that want to get to know what consumers are thinking would do well to spend some time at the site. As well as the survey data there is a huge amount of qualitative, anecdotal, “data” represented in the blogs and comments. It gives businesses a chance to find out what consumers are saying to each other about the service they experience day to day.
Panels have pros and cons when compared to conventional sample research approaches. The fundamental difference is that panel members are a standing group of people with whom the research agency has an established relationship.
Nigel Hill, founder of The Leadership Factor says: “With people of all ages spending more and more time online, search engine optimisation will be an essential ingredient for driving traffic to the website. Once there, the incentive of payment will help to encourage visitors to complete surveys, and regular users will be able to clock up a nice bit of extra pocket money over time.”
This makes the process of sampling, or selecting people to take part, much easier. It also tends to improve the participation rate. On the other hand there is a danger that panel members may become “professional respondents”, meaning that their views are no longer exactly representative of the wider population.
“The ‘donate to charity’ option is also an important feature, and we predict that a large percentage of respondents will choose to donate the money rather than keep it for themselves. So every survey posted on the website will not only generate valuable information for The Leadership Factor and our clients, but also raise considerable funds for charity.
Panels vs. sample research what’s the difference?
For this reason it is usual to refresh panels by adding new members on an ongoing basis. This also means that the panel approach is more suitable to certain types of research, and is certainly not a replacement for conventional sample research.
The panel Making the panel work So how does it work? The panel is made up of a broad cross-section of different types of people, designed to be representative of the population in general. This means that a survey can be opened to a sample of consumers who are representative of everyone in the country, or to just a sub sample if, for example, you only want to test the view of the over 65s. Panel members log into a special area of the YourSayPays site in order to complete surveys for which they are eligible, to update their details and to check how much money they’ve earned. Each member can complete each survey only once. Surveys will take around 5-15 minutes to complete and for each completed survey we will pay between 50p and £2, with the respondents able to choose between earning the money themselves or donating it to charity.
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The Leadership Factor has also invested in a wide-ranging marketing programme to help ensure that the website attracts varied users. Awareness of the website will be generated by ongoing PR activity, as well as an online marketing campaign, which includes search engine optimisation.
In depth research was carried out during development of the YourSayPays website to ensure that the concept was viable and to make the experience for panel members as user friendly as possible. Our research suggested that after attracting an initial base of respondents, the website will be self-perpetuating as more and more users introduce their friends and family to this exciting new way to earn some easy cash or donate to charity. S
Visit YourSayPays at www.yoursaypays.co.uk and sign up to get your opinion heard and make some money in the process.
Get paid to take part in online research
YourSayPays web panel will: Invite you to take part in online research only - surveys will take 10 to 15 minutes to compete Pay you up to £2 for each completed survey or make a donation to charity YourSayPays web panel will: NOT sell to you NOT pass your personal details on to any third party We would really value your feedback and opinions on a wide range of subjects including how satisfied or dissatisfied you are as a customer or how you would describe your ideal customer service assistant. We want to know your views and we’re willing to pay for them!
Visit
www.yoursaypays.co.uk and click on ‘Join the panel’.
www.yoursaypays.co.uk
YourSayPays
Case Study
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Case Study
City & Guilds is a household name that strives to stay on top of the game by reacting to and anticipating the needs of its customers. A customer satisfaction survey sits next to other research activity to feed information into ongoing initiatives to improve and make the process easier for customers. A mixture of innovation and concentrating on getting the basics right is paying steady dividends as the organisation works its way up the customer satisfaction league table. Stephen Hampshire spoke to Rose Moore, Marketing Intelligence Manager, about the journey on which City & Guilds has embarked. Two familiar messages emerge—you must have top-level commitment for change to happen, and everyone in the organisation is involved in meeting customer needs.
Background about City & Guilds City & Guilds is a name everyone is familiar with, but it's probably worth going through exactly what they do. As you probably know, City & Guilds offers vocational qualifications such as NVQs and VRQs. In practical terms this involves accrediting centres to offer their qualifications and issuing certificates to successful students. The centres register students with City & Guilds and look after them through the qualification. A more longterm part of the business consists of developing new qualifications and refining existing ones. In terms of infrastructure, City & Guilds is based in 12 regional and national offices with a headquarters and main contact
centre in London. Through these they serve 5,700 centres in the UK. The organisation is also international. Nearly 2,000 international centres offer IVQs (International Vocational Qualifications) across the world. It is these centres, or rather key contacts within them, that are the customers that City & Guilds deals with directly and whose satisfaction levels are measured on a regular basis. Of course, end user perceptions are important too, and have been the subject of separate research efforts. City & Guilds' main competitors are large awarding bodies that also offer non-vocational qualifications (companies such as Edexcel, OCR and AQA). City & Guilds is
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Case Study
unique in that it offers only vocational qualifications, across a range of industries, and is run as a not for profit organisation. Other competitors are those that focus on a specific sector, such as the motor industry. Their focus on cross-sector vocational qualifications means that City & Guilds has approximately 50% of the market for NVQs.
Customer Satisfaction Measurement at City & Guilds
City & Guilds commissioned The Leadership Factor to conduct exploratory research (see box) with its customers in order to establish what was most important to them. This phase involved a number of depth interviews with contacts at City & Guilds centres. The result was a refined list of factors that are crucial in the eyes of customers, which was used to design a new questionnaire for the ongoing quantitative research work.
Exploratory research City & Guilds had been running customer surveys for many years, on a six monthly basis, when a decision was made to refresh the approach and revisit the relationship from the point of view of customers. This is not a decision that is easy to take. Many organisations become trapped by their history of customer measurement and by the weight of historical information to which comparisons must be made. In the long run, though, it is always worth thinking about the future and making changes now if they need to be made. If nothing else it is likely that customer needs will have evolved in the years since the survey was first established, and meeting those needs is the entire purpose of the research.
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When the aim of a piece of research is to deepen knowledge or find out more about a subject, it is referred to as exploratory research. This usually happens as a preliminary, but also sometimes as a follow-up, to a normal large scale research project. There is no hard-and-fast connection between the purpose of the research and the techniques used, but in practice exploratory research is normally qualitative, based on focus groups or depth interviews. In simple terms this means that the emphasis is on building understanding rather than the exact measurement provided by quantitative techniques. Initially twice yearly surveys were felt to be enough, but around two years ago the process was switched to monthly top line reporting, which Rose believes is a valuable way to "pinpoint any sudden areas of discontent". As for most companies these monthly results tend to involve relatively
small sample sizes, so every six months the results are rolled up into a cumulative report based on a large enough sample to break the results down to lower levels within the organisation. Moving to a regular tracking survey like this enables an organisation not just to react to any sudden crises, but also to become more in tune with the way its customers think. As an example, City & Guilds soon found that there is a fairly strong seasonal effect on satisfaction— going up in August when demand is low and down in September when demand peaks. The field of qualifications is probably more seasonal than some, but this type of effect is common across most businesses, and needs to be understood if sensible decision-making is to be made. One of the key lessons from City & Guilds, I think, is to realise that customer research is a product like any other, with "consumers" whose needs must be met. The only way to build engagement within an organisation and motivate colleagues to make changes is to give them the kind of information they want to see. An example was to separate out scores for the regional and national offices and those for the London HQ. Regional managers wanted to be able to see scores reflecting their individual efforts, which is an excellent sign that employees want to take ownership of the results. This analysis has
Case Study
proved very popular, giving consumers of the research more personal, actionable findings. Best of all it demonstrates to all that the research exists to serve people in the organisation, not vice versa. Another lesson was that people within the organisation put great value on the transcripts of verbatim comments recorded during interviews with customers. Although these don't have the objectivity of a score out of 10, they do bring the customer's voice to life—something which helps to engage staff with the whole process. They can also provide concrete examples of times when things haven't been quite as they should be, and provide a rich vein of ideas for improvement.
Top-level support and low-level action Rose sat down with Sue Hill, Director of Sales, Marketing and Customer Relations and Di Walster, the Head of Customer Relations to draw up an action plan based on the survey findings. The starting point was the Priorities for Improvement (PFIs) identified by The Leadership Factor as those areas where change would result in the most benefit to overall satisfaction. These PFIs were addressed by the team and turned into specific actions that could be addressed by appropriate departments. The team met monthly to work through the plan, and review the process of getting departments to implement the actions.
In later waves a customer satisfaction project group was formed, sponsored by the Director. This project team was made up of representatives from across the organisation, making it easier to get buyin and ownership from other departments, overseen by a project board of top management.. Like most projects that accomplish something this had a defined end point, which has now been reached.
THE MAIN LESSON IN TERMS OF MAKING IMPROVEMENTS IS THAT YOU HAVE TO ENGAGE THE WHOLE ORGANISATION. IT’S NO GOOD THINKING THE CUSTOMER RELATIONS DEPARTMENT HAS RESPONSIBILITY FOR DEALING WITH CUSTOMERS, AND EVERYONE ELSE CAN JUST SIT BACK AND HOPE THAT THINGS WILL IMPROVE. Improvements to the PFIs, and to customer satisfaction in general, usually come about because of a large number of small changes. Recognising this, the improvement team set about collecting ideas for, and implementing, a lot of initiatives. One example was that customers had been critical of the time taken to get through to the contact centre. An initial target was set to answer 80% of calls within 20 seconds. Specific actions to
bring this about included making sure that the call centre was fully staffed and encouraging customers to be self-serving by improving the clarity and scope of information on the website. More importantly staff were trained to be multi-skilled so that, when there was a high volume of calls, staff could be brought in from other sections to handle the surplus. Another objective, for the operations department this time, was to reduce time taken to issue certificates. At first the target was to send 90% within six weeks. In practice the changes have been so successful that the current target (which is being achieved) is 99% within three weeks and an even faster turnaround is planned for the future.
WE’RE WORKING VERY HARD TO GET FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES RIGHT. THIS IS THE KEY TO MAKING CUSTOMERS HAPPY. One project grew up around improving the quality of "publications for qualifications"—the literature designed to support courses. This involved improvements, but also changes to availability such as making them available on the website. Coupling incremental improvements with
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innovation in terms of what is available electronically delivers a double pronged attack on customer satisfaction. Many small changes in these areas will soon add up, and customers will notice that efforts are being made on their behalf.
Building engagement Rose is very clear about who needs to drive forward any process of improving customer satisfaction—"it has to come from the top". Fortunately, Chris Humphries, City & Guilds’ Director General is a very vocal supporter of improving customer satisfaction, which is important, but of course the DG can't take action on his own. This enthusiasm had to filter down the organisation. Senior executives took ownership of the idea that everyone in the organisation has some kind of relationship with customers, directly or indirectly, and then passed that on, down into their departments. Alongside this direct, cascaded route was a more general effort on internal communications. Again the message was very clear—even if you never see or talk to a customer, everything you do will have some kind of impact on them.
The context of customer satisfaction measurement Customer satisfaction does not exist in a vacuum, and an effective understanding of the nature of customer satisfaction as well as other crucial concepts to which it relates can only be fully established with an array of measures. As well as its customer satisfaction survey, City & Guilds has also conducted a brand survey, designed by The Leadership Factor to dovetail with the ongoing customer satisfaction study to provide information on perceptions of different awarding bodies in the market and an objective measure of the success with which City & Guilds is liv-
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ing up to its brand values. This work on brand follows up extensive work internally on the culture and living the values. If companies ask us how, in general terms, to improve customer satisfaction, or what sets the top performers apart from the rest, the answer usually comes down to two things. The first is to get the basics right—the sort of nuts and bolts operational issues that City & Guilds has focused on. At the same time it's crucial to realise that good customer service is delivered by people, and meeting the needs of those people is normally the best way to make sure that they are motivated and equipped to deliver for customers. City & Guilds conducts a regular employee opinion survey addressing the needs of its staff. The next step will be to try to establish a pattern of links between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction, something which is rarely easy to do in practice. If possible, though, it is a very valuable piece of evidence for the principles of the Value Profit Chain.
WE’VE COME A LONG WAY, BUT OF COURSE AS CUSTOMERS’ EXPECTATIONS CONTINUE TO RISE THE PROCESS IS NEVER COMPLETE.
Conclusion The City & Guilds story is not one of gimmicks or enormous, thrilling, new initiatives. But it is all the more compelling for that. Its approach to improvement has been well thought through and well supported from the top, based on numerous small changes. Whilst City & Guilds has invested heavily in new technology, online services and training and development of its staff, it is the small practical innovations and incremental improvement outlined in this case study that will increase customer satisfaction in the short and medium term, and perhaps more importantly make customers realise that City & Guilds is serious about improving.
Where next? The customer satisfaction project group may have made a big impact, but that doesn't mean that City & Guilds is resting on its laurels. Rose says "We want to continue to make improvements. We want to be league table leaders: that’s our goal!"
At the other end of the scale, instilling a culture in which everyone understands that they are responsible, in some small way, for customer satisfaction, is neither a quick nor an easy thing to do. But in a market where customer service is the only possible differentiator it will pay rich dividends in the long term. S
This is a very positive attitude. Continuous incremental improvement to customer satisfaction is essential, but it isn't easy to sustain the focus and passion that this demands. Big changes will not happen overnight. In particular it becomes harder and harder to improve as you get closer to the top of the "league table" of companies, but the ambition to succeed is the key to success. City & Guilds recognises that customer satisfaction is vital to its business. In particular, with NVQs there is no difference technically between the qualifications offered by different awarding bodies. The only differentiator is the customer service offered to the centres and the value centres and learners place on the City & Guilds brand.
Rose Moore Marketing Intelligence Manager City & Guilds
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We all have the resources within us to achieve our goals but often we need to be challenged to be the best we can be. Coaching has the power to unlock a person’s potential to maximise their own performance. Coaching will help you to:
Gain clarity in your thinking Change limiting beliefs Increase your curiosity and create a useful questioning culture Unleash the power of incremental change Become more productive, effective, creative and committed Identify your key values and focus on what’s important to you Coaching programmes can be aligned with organisational demands or personal needs and typically involve weekly or fortnightly sessions, on the ‘phone or face to face, over a three to six month period. Timeframes are long enough to enable the client to make significant progress but short enough to focus attention. If you want to reach new heights call Rachel Davies on
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Employee
Te am llence exce
R PEO EW THA PLE F AR T M OR T DI ATT HE TH NG ER ING MO S ST
r n me ctio o st isfa u c at s
Imagine a company where people work together toward common objectives which they all understand and agree with; where everybody behaves in ways which are right for customers and long term growth; and where people are rewarded on the basis of their contribution and feel that they are. This is a company business leaders would like to create and people would choose to work for. In this article, Raymond Robertson draws on his new book – The Together Company (reviewed in this issue) – to give his perspective about some of the key reward choices open to organisations. Reward Choices Reward choices are the specific reward practices which support (sometimes drive) the four core business objectives of The Together Company. Some of you may be surprised that there are four only. But, when a company has a myriad of reward practices, each with lots of objectives, this leads to people taking their eyes off the ball, resources being spread too thinly and confusion among employees (shareholders and customers too) because they don’t
know what the business priorities are. Focus on the few, success-critical objectives is what matters most. That’s why I call them “Reward Choices” and they are: Rewarding team excellence Rewarding customer satisfaction Sharing in financial success Rewarding business leaders. Together Companies combine and tailor Reward Choices in ways which match their organisational circumstances. This
might reflect size (numbers of people, for example), sector challenges (maintaining a competitive edge, for example), growth rates (rapid in one part of the business and slower elsewhere) and structure (project working, customer focused teams or the organisation as whole). In this issue of Stakeholder Satisfaction, I’ll look at the first two reward choices: rewarding team excellence and rewarding customer satisfaction. A future issue of will feature the other two reward choices. Stakeholder May 2007
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Employee
Rewarding team excellence
Rewarding team excellence I recently listened to a presentation given by Bear Grylls, the youngest Briton in 2000 to ascend Mount Everest, about the difference between ordinary and extraordinary. Bear talked about the bond that developed between members of the climbing team and how that bond was central to the success of the expedition. He spoke of the trust, reliability and teamwork among the climbers at all times, especially when the whole team or an individual climber faced a critical, sometimes life-threatening, situation. Like that successful Everest expedition, teamwork is the characteristic spirit of The Together Company. People instinctively put the organisation’s priorities before their personal agenda because they know that superior performance (for the organisation and themselves) will be achieved only by working together. While there’s collective responsibility for team objectives, each team member also knows what’s expected of them individually and they know what everybody else in the team is expected to achieve individ-
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ually. So, helping and supporting colleagues to raise performance of the whole team comes naturally. When problems arise each person feels comfortable expressing a different point of view if it’s for the benefit of the team’s success. While most organisations say that teamwork is important, few reward or recognise it. In fact, the reward landscape is covered with examples of individual performance related pay schemes when the organisation wants teamwork. This is where The Together Company differs markedly. It rewards, recognises and celebrates team excellence, regularly and in a wide variety of ways – financial and non-financial. Starbucks Coffee Company provides an excellent example of the right approach.
Rewarding team spirit at Starbucks Starbucks Coffee Company recognises a team of partners (employees are called partners) for a single, exceptional achievement that reflects one or more of the six guiding principles of Starbucks Mission Statement. The principles are:
· Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity. · Embrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do business. · Apply the highest standards of excellence to the purchasing, roasting and fresh delivery of our coffee. · Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time. · Contribute positively to our communities and our environment. · Recognise that profitability is essential to our future success. What actions and behaviours have been recognised? Example: A Team Spirit Award was made to the Republic of Ireland project team in 2005 in recognition of their leadership and commitment which contributed to the successful opening of our first Starbucks store in Dublin. The crossfunctional team enabled a successful new market launch, overcoming significant challenges including planning regulations, legislation, currency and logistics.
Employee
Any partner may nominate any team of partners. Who presents the award? The UK Director of the nominated team makes the presentation. The partner who nominated the team is invited to the award presentation.
Rewarding customer satisfaction
inc an o n v an oyed en dn d eg iss ien at ati ive sf ce ied inc an o n v an oyed en dn d eg iss ien at ati ive sf ce ied
This is the second of my reward choices. How do you feel after you’ve stayed at a hotel where you were treated like a VIP? Great, relaxed and happy! You book a
Rewarding customer service excellence at The Royal Bank of Scotland Group “Performance Plus” is a team-based incentive plan that rewards employees in customer-service related roles for achievements in customer service and sales. The plan covers around 3,000 people in Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest retail branches. For most employees, the plan pays out up to £3,200 per year. However, employees in some roles within the retail branch team have more opportunity to provide higher levels of customer service and generate
VI P
Who nominates teams for the award?
If you want to understand how customers feel about your organisation you have to use the same criteria that they use to make that judgment. Take a train company, for example. You can ask lots of questions about cleanliness, the range of sandwiches, the colour scheme in the coaches and the frequency of services, and get good scores. But, if punctuality and the cost of fares matter a lot to customers and you don’t include them in your questionnaire, you won’t get a measure of how satisfied or dissatisfied they feel. Establishing customers’ views about products and services comes naturally to The Together Company. It’s crucial to understanding what customers want and value, and to securing the customer loyalty that leads to long term growth and business success.
Gr an eat, d h re ap lax py ed
A Team Spirit of Starbucks Award memento for each team member £20 per team member for a team celebration.
Who delivers that customer satisfaction and loyalty? Employees do, of course, by adding value through their product or service expertise, new ideas, efficient / competent service (they know what they are doing!), building relationships with customers (they actually think like a customer) and promoting your organisation’s products and services. That’s why The Together Company rewards customer satisfaction. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is my second example of how to reward what matters most.
VI P
What is the award?
return visit and you tell your friends about it. How do you feel after visiting a retail store where the sales representatives treated you as an “inconvenience” they had to deal with? Annoyed, dissatisfied and negative! You tell your friends and they tell other people too. Next time you, and they, shop elsewhere!
Gr an eat, d h re ap lax py ed
The team celebrated their award by going out as a team for a fabulous dinner with a cocktail or two at a restaurant of their choice.
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Employee
sales, so the plan has multipliers that increase the payment for particular roles. There are various non financial rewards for customer service excellence too.
tomers has a number of points. The financial value of these points is set centrally.
Performance measures
Customer experience: the target is expressed as an improvement in the CSI. Payout works as follows:
To keep the plan simple there are just two performance measures: Customer experience: this is measured at each branch through a Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), which is based on aspects such as employees’ product knowledge, helpfulness and responsiveness. Data to calculate the CSI is gathered in a variety of ways, such as mystery shopping and questionnaires. Customer value points sold: each product such as a mortgage, savings account or loan that the branch team sells to cus-
When performance reaches target and above, there is a sliding scale of payments.
Payouts
If the CSI improvement target is missed, there’s no payout. When performance reaches target and above, there is a sliding scale of payments.
Finally……is your organisation doing enough to reward employees for team excellence and customer satisfaction? If not (or it doesn’t do it at all) you could be paying and rewarding things that don’t add any value to the business. And that’s a complete waste of money! S
Customer value points sold: points sold by the whole team are expressed as a percentage of the minimum target. Payout works as follows: If performance is below target, there is no payout. Raymond Robertson Director Strategic Reward Ray can be contacted at team@strategicreward.com
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The Together Company Rewarding what matters most to people and organisations
Reader Offer: RRP: £19.99 Special offer price: £16.00 (& £2.50 p&p)
Learn how reward and recognition strategies can help your organisation work smarter, satisfy customers, generate profits and growth, encourage people to think like owners and create a great place to work. Learn how to become a Together Company.
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“I really enjoyed reading this book, the topics of which will be of extreme interest to HR practitioners and business leaders. Topics are approached in a systematic and balanced manner. I commend Raymond Robertson’s flexible attitude of recognising that one size does not fit all and that different circumstances will attract different reward solutions.” Roberto Ponte Worldwide Compensation and Benefits and North EU Human Resources Manager Infineum International Ltd
Order your copy at www.leadershipfactor.com or call 0870 240 7885, and mention Stakeholder Satisfaction reader offer.
Personal Development
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Personal Development
SE O RP
ent
PU
lop m
er
Pe
rso n
al D
ney
eve
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than the sum of its parts and can only function optimally if there is equilibrium.
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work that you’d rather be doing? Are you appreciated? Are you utilising all your strengths? Are you being developed?
The constituent parts are outlined briefly below:
Work (W) As you can see from the model above, the web is comprised of 8 segments which together make up 4 key quadrants. This compartmentalised approach can be helpful when trying to decide what to focus on, but in truth, the whole is more
ds ien
Hom
FE LI
At any point in time we can construct our own Web, customising it, if necessary, to identify at a glance which areas we need to focus on to restore some balance.
dy
In reality, of course, most of us tend to concentrate too much on one area at the expense of another and often don’t realise that this is the case until the cracks start to appear.
Wo rk
Bo
The Web of Life™ tool encourages individuals to take a helicopter view of their lives and consider how satisfied they are with each of the key areas, rating them on a scale of one to ten. A rating of ‘0’ would mean that they felt completely dissatisfied with that aspect of their life, a’10’ that they were couldn’t be more satisfied with it. The scores are then plotted on the web and joined up so that at a glance it is obvious where adjustments should be made. A perfect life would be represented by a perfectly symmetrical Web, all eight areas receiving due care and attention, resulting in total harmony.
ctor
X Fa
A G IN G RN IN EA LIV
There are eight distinct segments, each inextricably linked to the others by a complex network of gossamer-like connections. How we perform in one area of our life inevitably impacts on another and if too much, or not enough emphasis is placed on one or more areas it can have a detrimental effect on others.
Are you passionate about your job or do you dread Monday mornings? Are you on a positive career path that motivates you or stuck in a rut? Are you paid well for what you do? Is there some other kind of
THE GREATEST HUMAN NEED IS TO BE APPRECIATED. William James
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Personal Development
Money (M) Are you satisfied with your current level of income? Are you financially independent? Are you in control of your finances or do you spend more than your salary? Do you worry about money or are you relaxed about it? Have you planned for the future? Would having more money enable you to do anything different?
Lover/Significant Other (L) Are you happy with your partner, or do you enjoy being single? If you are in a relationship, do you share the same values, enjoy the same interests? Do you make time for each other or perhaps spend too much time together? Is this person your soul mate or a stop-gap? Have you got the relationship you deserve? Is there mutual respect, trust and appreciation?
Family & Friends (F)
to be put up, lawns to be mowed and garage doors to be mended? Have you got an efficient system in operation for the routine household chores or do you end up doing more than you’d like to and resent it?
Body (B) Personal Development (P)
HAVE AN APPETITE FOR LIFE Are you as fit as a fiddle or should you exercise more regularly? Are you happy with your body or do you wish you could lose some weight or be more toned? Do you have a healthy diet? Do you drink or
A GOOD FRIEND IS ONE WHO WALKS IN WHEN THE REST WALK OUT
Home (H) Is your home a sanctuary or a stress pit? Is it a happy loving environment you enjoy or just a drain on your resources? Is the household budget under control have all the bills, the mortgage been paid? Is the house well maintained inside and out, or are there dripping taps to be fixed, shelves
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Where are you in your Hero’s Journey? Are you in a fur lined rut or grasping every learning opportunity you can so you can realise your potential? Is your mind stretched and open to new opportunities? Are you studying or trying new things in your spare time or do you vegetate in front of the TV every evening? Have you set yourself goals to bring you closer to ‘living your dream’ or do you despair that life is meaningless and monotonous? Are you excited about what the future holds and do you possess a ‘can-do’ / ‘seize the day’ attitude?
WITHOUT CHALLENGE THERE IS NO ACHIEVEMENT
Walter Winchell Do you spend quality time with your family? Do you have a loyal circle of friends who support and energise you? Would you go the extra mile for them and vice versa? Do you feel that your family loves you, or takes you for granted? Do they know that you love them? What will those closest to you be saying about you at your funeral?
smoke too much, get enough sleep? Do you look after your general health – have regular eye tests, dental check ups. Do you feel energised and receptive to the world around you. Do you walk with your head held high, proud to be you and glad to be alive?
Rachel Davies Director Peak Performance Training Rachel can be contacted at rachel.peakperformance@tinyonline.co.uk
The X Factor (X) Sometimes you can’t put your finger on this, but it’s fundamentally about making a difference. Do you feel part of the community –connected and contributing? Do you feel at one with the world around you or out of sync with the rest of humanity? To quote Heather Small “What have you done today to make you feel proud?” Have you carried out any random acts of kindness lately? Do you appreciate the little things in life and marvel at the wonders of nature. Do you try to see the good in everyone? Do you have a sense of purpose, a philosophy on life that you are trying to live up to? S
Fast Guide
Dashboards
Management Dashboards are a standard feature of business information systems. The metaphor is that a good dashboard will allow managers to "drive" the business forward safely, able to see key metrics at a glance without taking their eyes off the road ahead for long. Sounds great, but how does this metaphor hold up in practice, and how do we go about designing a dashboard that is up to the job?
point of these dashboards is to help us think about things. So ask yourself "what are the questions the dashboard is supposed to be helping us answer?" Finally, bear in mind that the things that really matter may not be the same in six months or a year—constantly review the measures you need, and be prepared to drop the ones that no longer matter so much.
Measure the right things
Once you have selected which numbers you want, you need to think about how to get the information. The quality of underlying measurement is vital. It's also essential that you understand the amount of expected variability in measurement for any measures based on a sample (whether surveys or quality-control processes). Only if you understand this can you distinguish a trend or genuine movement from random fluctuations. Failure to discriminate results in knee-jerk reactions to phantom movement.
What data should form the basis of the dashboard? If you have adopted a model such as the Balanced Scorecard then the answer flows from that—and many organisations use the term "scorecard" instead of dashboard as a result. Actually that's probably a slightly better metaphor…but more on that later. For other businesses picking the measures is more difficult. One potential danger is that KPIs end up being the things that are easy to measure, rather than the things that really matter. To return to the car analogy, none of the "KPIs" on the dashboard would warn us that we're about to drive over the top of a cliff. In this case the metaphor can be all too close. It is also important to try to capture a sense of cause and effect in the reporting, where possible. If customer attrition is rising, why is it rising? One of the vital advantages of survey-based measures such as loyalty and satisfaction is that they can be forward-looking and predictive of change, while most KPIs are backward-looking. As Peter Drucker has commented, the
Control over measurement
A much less important issue, but one which is often seen as paramount, is the timing of measurement and the speed of reporting. Which brings me onto my least favourite buzzword—real time measurement. Okay for certain KPIs, but no sample-based measure can be "real time". If you're prepared to spend the money surveys can be very frequent, and very rapidly reported, but they're never going to be real time. Far better to acknowledge this and focus your resources on getting reliable measures that you can trust, even if that doesn't sound quite so 21st century and exciting. It is good practice to observe some of the data capture for each measure in person. You'll learn a lot about the strengths and
weaknesses of the measure, and the quality and type of information it's able to give you. Remember that analysis, however clever, is only as good as the data it is based on:
THE GOVERNMENT (IS) EXTREMELY FOND OF AMASSING GREAT QUANTITIES OF STATISTICS. THESE ARE RAISED TO THE nth DEGREE, THE CUBE ROOTS ARE EXTRACTED, AND THE RESULTS ARE ARRANGED INTO ELABORATE AND IMPRESSIVE DISPLAYS. WHAT MUST BE KEPT EVER IN MIND, HOWEVER, IS THAT IN EVERY CASE, THE FIGURES ARE FIRST PUT DOWN BY A VILLAGE WATCHMAN, AND HE PUTS DOWN ANYTHING HE DAMN WELL PLEASES. Sir Josiah Stamp
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Fast Guide
Dashboards continued...
Why is so much data poorly collected? Because, to the person doing the collecting, it seems like a bureaucratic waste of time. Which it often is. Collecting too much data, particularly if doing so absorbs resources that could be spent on actually achieving something, is at least as dangerous as not collecting enough. Think about ways to minimise time spent on recording information, streamline the data you collect, and make it as easy as possible to record. The quality of data will improve, and productivity probably will too.
Good practice in design Keep it simple—the design of any report should be "transparent". That is, any design choices should improve the clarity of the data, not get in the way. Heavyhanded graphic design elements should be avoided (don't let them run with the dashboard metaphor!). It is normally good practice to avoid showing a single number in isolation. As I'll discuss in the next section, this is
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something that flows from the "dials" part of the dashboard metaphor. A good dashboard should be capable of showing context, trends, and potential relationships between key measures. Think about the impact design decisions may have on management decisions with real implications. What is the rationale for targets? How have the boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable performance been arrived at? We've mentioned looking at the context for a single measure and the relationship between two or more measures. This is vital, but you cannot use the same tool for both jobs. The line chart is an excellent way to show historical context, even on the tiny scale of a Sparkline: 84.2. But a line chart cannot effectively allow you to see the relationship between two variables. The correct, and only, tool for the job is a scatter plot. Have a look at these two charts (shown below). Both show the same data, but the true nature of the rela-
SIMPLE DESIGNS SHOWING HIGHRESOLUTION DATA, WELL-LABELLED INFORMATION IN TABLES AND GRAPHICS WILL DO JUST FINE. Edward Tufte
tionship between the two variables (none!) is only apparent on the scatter plot. More worryingly, the human tendency to see patterns where none exist means that many people will look at the line chart and think they can see a relationship.
Fast Guide
Careful with the metaphor
Conclusion
It is important not to let the base metaphor run the reporting. In a car, dashboard instruments tend to show very simple, one-dimensional, unrelated measurements. Trigger points for warnings are easily interpretable—we're about to run out of petrol. The minimum point on a dial tends to be 0.
Getting the right information to management so that they are in a position to make quick decisions and react to problems is vital. But letting the metaphor or the process take over can be detrimental to the quality of information being presented, the wisdom of any decisions based on that, and to the resources devoted to data collection in the first place.
Dials are great for car dashboards, but tend to fail in the case of business measures. All metaphors can be taken too far, and this is one of the times when the metaphor has been allowed to override good sense. There are a few tricky issues, like questions over what to make the minimum and maximum points on the dial. But the killer is that dials instantly strip a measure of its ability to show a trend.
The time context can be vital in making decisions, revealing the history of performance that a single figure cannot give. An example makes this clear. Let's say we have three KPIs, all of which stand at 70 at the moment—what does that mean? The answer is that it depends on the context, so let's show that in the reporting. A line chart does the trick (seen above).
Lean data collection coupled with clean reporting of analysis focused on trending, differences and relationships will deliver the data you need to make good decisions. Investing time in getting good measurement of the right things rather than over-designed whiz-bang gimmicks shows commitment to improvement rather than a concern with ticking boxes for the sake of it. S
Stephen Hampshire Development Manager The Leadership Factor If you have any thoughts about this article you can contact at stephenhampshire@leadershipfactor.com
Some web resources worth a look. www.dashboardspy.com shows a selection of (mostly over-designed) examples
www.exceluser.com/dash/index.htm for some interesting resources if you're working in Excel...and
www.exceluser.com/dash/gauges_no.htm is an effective demolition of the dial metaphor
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Book Review
The Together Company: Rewarding what matters most to companies and organisations
Cogent Publishing
By Ray Robertson Ray Robertson’s fundamental premise is that many organisations don’t get the best out of their people because they fail miserably when it comes to reward. They take the easy way out, giving people similar “fair” pay increases. They fail to explain how pay is decided, leaving many employees feeling it’s just based on their manager’s whim rather than their own performance. Many completely miss the massive difference that low cost recognition strategies will make to employees’ motivation. In a very readable style, the book gives managers a 3 step blueprint for getting reward right.
times drive, the core business objectives of the together company. The practices are rewarding team excellence, rewarding customer satisfaction, sharing financial success and rewarding business leaders.
Reward Extras There are many little extras that make people feel valued and build ‘a great place to work’. They help to build and retain a culture where people feel valued and keep them informed about what matters most and what they can receive in return. The practices are customised reward strategies, recognition, a rewarding workplace and reward communications.
Reward Essentials There are some absolute essentials like having a clearly understood pay structure that spells out how pay decisions are made and what employees need to do to get rewarded. They are the practices organisations have to get right before anything else because they underpin how people are rewarded and managed more generally. The practices are rewarding performance, fair performance review, a pay framework, understanding your employment market, and equal pay.
Reward Choices These are additional ways of making reward and recognition more effective for different types of organisation, made all the more relevant by the author through regular “Is it right for you?” sections, elaborating different scenarios for different types of company. Reward Choices underpin the key practices which support, and some-
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Stakeholder May 2007
The book is full of detailed case studies covering a wide range of organisations, sectors and types of workforce. There are young, vibrant, exciting workplaces like TGI
ANYONE IN HR SHOULD HAVE THIS BOOK ON THEIR SHELF IN THE SPACE NORMALLY RESERVED FOR THE BIBLE Friday’s, David Lloyd Leisure and Starbucks where reward and recognition strategies are very overt and designed to motivate on a daily basis. By contrast, a more “British” approach can be seen at
Royal Bank of Scotland, ABB Engineering Services and Miller Insurance Services. Scottish Water provides a fascinating example of how an organisation can break free of the traditional public sector pay structure straight jacket and introduce a performance-based culture. High performance is no stranger to the culture at Manchester United but the huge diversity of job roles required to run a conference, hospitality, leisure, financial services and merchandising business, not to mention a football team, provides a real reward and recognition challenge. The author also looks at high involvement at John Lewis, executive reward at BAA and communicating reward at Accor Hotels. Anyone in HR should have this book on their shelf in the space normally reserved for the bible, but if you’re a line manager with any responsibility for appraisals, encouraging teamwork, recognising contribution, in fact, any of the things that good line managers should be doing, this book is a ‘must read’ too. S
SOCAP in Europe
Peak Performance Training was founded in 1995 by Rachel Davies and specialises in management training, particularly in the areas of customer service, team building and motivation.
Join the fastest growing membership organisation for senior managers and directors. For people who influence the delivery of customer service.
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‘When It Hits The Fan’ Michael’s latest book, is a comprehensive and logical new guide to handling crises and issues. It includes a wealth of practical guidance, a test-your-own crisis skills section and 10 indispensable action checklists.
Corporate Communications Crisis Management Media & Presentation Training Creativity Stress/Motivation Michael Bland Communication Consultancy, 3 St Mary’s Road London W5 5RA Tel +44
(0)20 8752 1965
Fax +44 (0)20 8354 5222 Mob +44 (0)7974 365585
www.michaelbland.com info@michaelbland.com
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Leading edge research-Harvard Business School, Bath University/CIPD, world-wide study of professional firms.
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Advertise your training course here Call Charlotte Ratcliffe on 0870 240 7885 or email
World class case studies Marriott/Fairfield Inn, Prudential Financial, Cisco Systems, Southwest Airlines
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Results of research among delegates share and benchmark your practices (pre-briefing questionnaire)
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info@stakeholdermagazine.com
BJ Cunningham is presenting his one day masterclass - Brand Evolution for the first time. This charismatic speaker and acknowledged thought leader in the field of branding, brand marketing and communications, will show you how to clarify your brand promise to unify the internal company culture with the external market, creating an unstoppable organisation.
The Strategic Reward Consultancy 3 Glebe Field, Almondsbury, Bristol BS32 4DL
Tel: 01454 618995 Fax: 01454 617614 email: team@strategicreward.com www.strategicreward.com
To register your interest please contact Charlotte Ratcliffe at The Leadership Factor on
01484 467004 or email charlotteratcliffe@leadershipfactor.com
Stakeholder May 2007
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One Day
Training Courses from £295 + VAT
9 Training Courses from The Leadership Factor
Venues include
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Customer Satisfaction Measurement (level 1) Customer Satisfaction Measurement (level 2) Improving Customer Satisfaction Complaints Management Analysing & Reporting Customer Satisfaction Data Facilitating Focus Groups Questionnaire Design Return on Satisfaction - Modelling the benefits of investing in customers · Improving Employee Satisfaction
Book online at: www.leadershipfactor.com
For detailed agendas please contact Ruth Colleton on 01484 467000 or email ruthcolleton@leadershipfactor.com
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