Customer Service Justification - Assignment Example

Service Justification Report Tracy Ulmer ENG 315 – Professional Communications Mark. W. Crilly, Ph.D. October 29, Tracey Anthony Chief of Compliance Crane Worldwide 1140 Logistics Lane Houston, TX 75550 October 29, 2015 Tracy Ulmer 6313 Phillips Ct Lithonia, GA 30058 Dear Mrs. Anthony: I have been assigned by my brokerage team in the Atlanta office to present you with suggestions on making our workplace more efficient. I am honored that my team has entrusted me to research and provide upper management with suggestions to help our workflow move more efficiently. I am happy to present my findings on the need for staggering customer service agents for the upcoming year. An analysis of the need for west coast personnel shows that emails and phone calls go unanswered for several hours which delays service commitments. When information is requested, the time difference between the Eastern Time zone and western time zones is 3 hours. Plus, overseas time zones are between 5 and 13 hours ahead of the Eastern Time zones. It is therefore recommended that we stagger customer service hours and allow telecommuting to better service the needs of our customers. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to research telecommuting as a potential alternative for the need of 24 hour customer service. I appreciate your consideration of my recommendation. Should you have any questions regarding this report, please do not hesitate to contact me at (404) 555-5555. Sincerely, Tracy Ulmer Enclosure: Justification Report Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Executive Summary 4 Terminology 5 Report Overview 5 Overview of Alternatives 5 Research Methods 6 Evaluation of Alternatives 6 Findings and Analysis 7 Recommendation 8 References 9 Executive Summary This report examines the need for customer service on a 24 hour basis. Our company operates globally with the need for representatives around the clock. Methods of analysis include internal and external calls to each station, questionnaires given to customer service agent and online research. This report researches the pros and cons for a customer service agent to have the ability to telecommute. It analyzes statistics for the rise of telecommuting over the past five year. It is my recommendation that this become the standard in order to service the needs of our company on a global aspect. Customer Service Crane Worldwide Logistics has been growing at a very fast past in the last 3 years. Customer service is currently unable to keep up with the high incoming phone calls and emails. After discussing this problem with several managers, the company feels that an analysis should be performed to find a way to combat the problem. The Justification Report presents the need to determine a suitable way to provide round the clock customer service. It presents the scope of the problem, presents two solutions, and evaluates them utilizing five criteria to best decide which change of work methods will be suit the company and provide customers with 100% satisfaction. Research has been conducted via internet research, internal and external emails and a final recommendation is provided. Problem Statement Crane Worldwide has an increasing demand for round the clock customer service. The ability to hire in several times zones with the added benefit of working from home might help solve this problem. The company would like to see research information and charts in order to show the benefits. Terminology “Follow-the-Sun Model” – a distinct type of global workflow that facilitates handling and passing of issues between officers in a range of time zones. The model increases responsiveness. “Telecommute” – working from home using the internet, telephone and emails to communicate. Report Overview This report was written to help Crane Worldwide to solve the rising demand for round the clock customer service. The company has been growing at a very fast pace, which is why it is currently overwhelmed by many customer service demands. The report analyzes two alternatives, Telecommute (Alternative A) and Hiring of Personnel in different time zones (Alternative B). The company requires the alternatives to be evaluated based on cost, desirability, implementation, teamwork, and time management. An extensive evaluation of the two method show that Crane Worldwide would benefit more if it implements Alternative A. It is cheaper, faster, and better than Alternative B. Overview of Alternatives The following two alternatives considered in this report meet Crane Worldwide criteria: Alternative A – Telecommute: The Company can opt to hire customer service representatives from one country who can telecommute. It is flexible and fast relatively cheaper. Currently, many global companies are using this approach to meet the extra customer service demand. Alternative B – Hire personnel in different time zones: The Company can decide to hire workers in different time zones, which makes it possible to adopt the “follow-the-sun” approach to customer care service. It means customers can be served anywhere any time. The services not interrupted by the time. The creation of different teams in different time zones means that can be divided to meet the needs of all the customers. Criteria Crane has stressed that following five criteria would be used to judge the feasibility of each alternative: 1. Cost – How much will the employees save? What will the company save? The alternatives should provide opportunities for both employees and the company to keep the costs low. 2. Desirability – Who want this the most? The brokerage employees are requesting the flexibility and option to telecommute. 3. Implementation – Rules for working from home? Employees are to work their normal 8 hours with the ability to alter their schedules as needed. Periodic email checking is recommended. 4. Team work – Will the team be able to cover for each other? Yes the team will cover for one another. Employees will now have the ability to schedule work hours from 5 am-11 pm. 5. Time management - How will the employee manage their downtime working from home? Employees will have flexible schedules and will coordinate between an online signup sheet Research Methods Research methods includes the analysis of companies that use the two methods to determine their respective benefits. Crane Worldwide was also searched in the internet to understand its scope of operations. Several websites outline the benefits and limitations of the two alternatives were analyzed. Crane Worldwide workers were surveyed to understand why they prefer a given alternative. Evaluation of Alternatives Cost 1. Alternative A – Crane Worldwide will save on the overhead costs because employees will be working from home. The employees will save on the cost of moving from home to office every day. The cost of maintaining a telecommuting workforce is very low. 2. Alternative B – It is expensive to maintain employees in different time zones. It explains why it is an approach adapted by organizations that have adequate resources. Desirability 1. Alternative A – Brokerage employees have expressed their interest in telecommuting. It has a flexible schedule for the employee and the employer. 2. Alternative B – Crane Worldwide management considers it good because it will increase the responsiveness of customer care service. Employees in different time zones can divide work and serve customers at any time of the day. It is a viable solution to the current problem in the organization. Implementation 1. Alternative A – Employees are expected to work for 8 hours every day. They have the freedom to alter their schedule. The aim is to have people available every time of the day. Some can work at night and some during the day. 2. Alternative B – Opening offices in different parts of the world and hiring customer care representatives. They will be expected to work 8 hours every day. Employees will sometimes handle calls from different time zones to provide 24 hour customer service. Teamwork 1. Alternative A – Telecommuting allows employees to schedule work at different times of the day. This means when some employees are resting some are working. Every shift goes for 8 hours. 2. Alternative B – Employees from different time zones will cover for each other. This is because a night time in one part of the world is day time in another. Time Management 1. Alternative A – Flexible schedules will make it every easy for employees to manage time properly. An online signup sheet will be used to make sure every employees follows the 8 hour rule. 2. Alternative B – Employees will work the normal working hours under the supervision of management. Findings and Analysis The two alternatives have the potential to be the solution that Crane Worldwide needs. Alternative A provides an opportunity for employees and the company to save on overhead costs (Knapp, 2014). It is less expensive compared to the cost of maintaining customer service workforce in multiple countries. Furthermore, Alternative A offers employees flexible schedules, which is something desired by brokerage employees (Verbeke, Schulz, Greidanus, & Hambley, 2008). The cost of implementation has to be taken into account. A high cost of implementation is not desirable. Alternative is relatively easy to implement compared to Alternative B. Alternative B requires hiring of employees worldwide, which requires so much resources. Alternative A is just a matter of advertising positions and conducting interviews (Keuper, Oecking, & Degenhardt, 2011). Employees are taken once they complete the interview. Both alternatives provides employees a chance to work a team (Granered, 2005). This brings unity in the organization (Granered, 2005). Alternative is superior when it comes to time management. Telecommuting employees deal with flexible schedules, which makes time management a personal initiative. For a graphic depiction of the findings and analysis, see Figure 1 below: Criterion Alternative A (Telecommute) Alternative B (Different time zones) Cost Cheaper More expensive Desirability Good Negligible Implementation Easy Difficult Teamwork Good Good Time Management Good Good Total Feasibility High Moderate Figure 1: Graphic Analysis of Findings Recommendation It is recommended for Crane Worldwide to consider telecommuting to solve the increasing demand for 24 hour customer service. The cost of implementation is relatively low, which means there is no need to spend too much resources. Employees are likely to respond positively because they have been asking for it. References Blanding, W. (2012). Practical Handbook of CUSTOMER SERVICE OPERATIONS. Boston, MA: Springer. Granered, E. (2005). Global Call Centres : Achieving Outstanding Customer Service Across Cultures and Time Zones. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing Ltd. Keuper, F., Oecking, C., & Degenhardt, A. (2011). Application management : challenges -- service creation -- strategies. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien. Knapp, D. (2014). A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Service Desk Professional. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Verbeke, A., Schulz, R., Greidanus, N., & Hambley, L. (2008). Growing the virtual workplace : the integrative value proposition for telework. Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar. Read More