Introduction
Projects are essential parts of any business because they are the means for achieving organizational objectives. While operations are routine activities that are foundational to the functioning of a company, projects are planned and implemented in order to achieve specific goals. For instance, if a business is facing challenges and has to deal with deteriorated performance, a project can be proposed and accomplished to resolve these issues. I work in a call-center environment and the primary objective of our company is to ensure that the customers of our clients receive quality support in a timely fashion. Several months ago, our call-center was informed that one of our important customers is planning to cancel the contract with us due to significant performance issues. This paper will discuss why this issue emerged and what type of project we attempted to implement to address the problem.
Reporting
Our call center, despite servicing several companies, is dependent on one major client. Its customers regularly left negative feedback on social networks, which made the client willing to cancel our contract. We had to resolve this issue in a short period of time, and therefore, we proposed a project to increase performance. In the beginning, we used a single metric – an individual’s time he or she is available to answer calls. Because we were in a rush, no proper analysis was conducted, and our only goal was to increase the time an employee is available for answering customer calls. After several weeks of manipulating with operational processes, we found that the number of outrageous customers only increased. We had to hire an external consultant to handle the issue.
The consultant was a lean six sigma expert who began his work by carefully analyzing the root cause of the issue was. He concluded that the majority of customer problems were not resolved on the first call. Because they required additional research to be solved, L2 support specialists had to participate. However, because the company used the metric of call availability, L2 support technicians also acted as L1 specialists – they had to answer phone calls. As a result, complex issues that required L2 research would not get an adequate amount of time and stay unresolved. Customers that did not receive replies would call back and further stress the call center system. The external consultant also told us that the metric of call availability was fallacious – he discovered that individuals with more call availability time had fewer resolved cases.
The expert completed the performance improvement project in two weeks. He ensured that L2 support representatives did not answer calls but instead worked on resolving customer issues that required research. He set new performance goals – the number of first-call resolutions had to increase. If there was a significant decrease in first-call resolutions, the management team had to analyze to discover the reasons. The consultant contributed significantly to our call center because our performance increased, and the number of negative reviews decreased substantially.
Responding
When we received news of our client’s intention to cancel the contract, I lost focus and panicked. Because we were limited in our time, there was no possibility to conduct comprehensive research of the situation. After several brainstorming sessions, we decided to initiate the performance improvement project immediately. With no consistent process and no framework to organize our project activities, we expected to yield favorable results. However, we later realized that our project did not result in any benefits but instead deteriorated the situation. I thought that senior management would decide to dismiss all employees. The reason is that it is a common practice to lay off employees when there are performance issues. When the external consultant informed me that the problem could be resolved with several changes to the work process, I became more positive.
Relating
I was a novice in the context of project management. The fact that I panicked and was not able to propose any viable solutions only proves this claim. It was my first experience when I felt a need to make systemic improvements but did not know how to proceed. The lack of knowledge of project management theory and available frameworks to tackle the issue resulted in my incapability to contribute to the project. None of the team members was knowledgeable – we had to hire an external consultant.
Reasoning
All projects pass through a predictable life cycle which consists of several phases. It was impossible to differentiate these stages when we first tackled the issue. Because our approach to the project was chaotic, there was no structure and consistency in our activities. The generic version of the project life cycle model consists of four phases – Selecting and Initiating, Planning, Executing and Closing, and Realizing (Kloppenborg, Anantatmula, and Wells, 2018, p. 62). Companies often adapt this model to reflect their unique needs based on the industry they are operating in and the organizational structure of the company (Kloppenborg, Anantatmula, and Wells, 2018, p. 62). For instance, Research and Development projects may follow a slightly different pattern.
Our first attempt did not follow any model – the chaotic process motivated by strict time constraints and anxiety was set to fail from the beginning. Following a model not only helps conceptualize the work to be done but also assists in planning and following a schedule. DMAIC model would suit the purpose of our projects – such projects are aimed at improving systemic issues to achieve more favorable performance results. DMAIC model is short for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (Kloppenborg, Anantatmula, and Wells, 2018, p. 63). According to the model, we had to define our problem clearly and unambiguously.
Each phase of the DMAIC model has a distinct set of responsibilities. The measure phase consists of activities that are aimed at gathering facts about the problem, including quantitative data (Kloppenborg, Anantatmula, and Wells, 2018, p. 296). During the third phase, these facts are analyzed to propose potential root causes (Kloppenborg, Anantatmula, and Wells, 2018, p. 296). The fourth stage is comprised of solution implementation based on the identified root causes (Kloppenborg, Anantatmula, and Wells, 2018, p. 296). The final step is iterative – the company has to control continuously to keep improvements in place (Kloppenborg, Anantatmula, and Wells, 2018, p. 296). When I think of the work of the external consultant, I now realize he followed the DMAIC model when working on the project.
Another significant issue in our approach to project management was the ambiguity of roles. It was not evident who had what responsibilities and tasks. We had no document describing the functions and required skills to perform those roles. Planning human resource management is an essential part of project management (Kloppenborg, Anantatmula, and Wells, 2018, p. 212). It is “the process of identifying and documenting project roles, responsibilities, required skills” and making decisions about what individuals are needed for the project and for how long. (Kloppenborg, Anantatmula and Wells, 2018, p. 212). I should note that none of these items was existent when we approached our project the first time without the help of the external expert. The results were mentioned – our data collection method was not valid, which made us make incorrect decisions about performance metrics. Many of the arrangements during the project were made by individuals who lacked the required expertise. This situation was possible due to the absence of a document that outlines the roles and skill requirements. Also, no subject matter experts were involved, which is a clear indication of the lack of a staffing management plan.
There are a plethora of other issues that resulted from the fact that we did not follow a consistent project life cycle model. These issues caused other problems which eventually led to project failure. Choice of a model has a significant impact on the project because each model brings with it a specific body of theoretical knowledge and practical applications. For instance, the DMAIC model, which was used by the external consultant and led to project success, is a complete methodology on its own. During the Measure phase, it requires a comprehensive definition of what data is needed and how it can be collected (Kloppenborg, Anantatmula, and Wells, 2018, p. 296). Also, it requires that root causes be confirmed through statistical analysis (Kloppenborg, Anantatmula, and Wells, 2018, p. 212). A chaotic approach does not set any requirements, and therefore, it is not possible to succeed with it.
Although we chose call availability as the primary performance metric, we failed to explain why we made this decision. We did not rely on statistical data and only guessed that by increasing call availability rates, we would be able to improve performance. However, data analysis conducted by the external consultant yielded utterly different results. He concluded that call availability was a poor metric. He proposed case resolution as the benchmark and discovered that as the call availability increases, case resolution rates decrease. It is emphasized in the project management theory that the decisions should be based on sound data and projects do not tolerate guesswork (Kloppenborg, Anantatmula, and Wells, 2018, p. 357). Elimination of guesses is also a significant part of team management and communications.
Reconstructing
The work process of the external consultant was exemplary and the opposite of what we did without his assistance. By comparing these two approaches, I now can reflect on what was wrong and how I should handle such situations in the future. First, I realized the importance of knowing about the project management theory. This body of knowledge is based on years of research and helps avoid common pitfalls and mistakes. When a similar situation occurs in the future, I will first think about what the problem is and how it can be approached. Choosing a correct project life cycle model will be a manifestation of this contemplation.
As the market continuously changes, so do the demands of customers. Therefore, it is inevitable that there will be a constant need for systemic improvement. My experience with the discussed project equipped me with the necessary knowledge to be able to handle improvement projects. I now know that DMAIC is often the suitable life cycle model for such ventures. Exposure to the project acquainted me with concepts like Lean Six Sigma and PDCA. It also ignited an interest to learn more about project management theory and judge my previous experiences to understand what I might have done incorrectly in the past.
Before the experience, I believed that people are responsible for the results. Therefore, after realizing that the company’s client was receiving a large volume of negative feedback due to low-quality customer support, I thought that the management would resolve this issue by retiring some of the employees. However, I learned that the work process has a substantial impact on the outcomes. Although personal qualifications matter, collaboration, and a streamlined work process are more significant. In this context, the role of the management team is substantial. Seniors need to have a vision of how the work should be done to achieve favorable performance results. The event demonstrated that our company’s management is not as competent as required.
Conclusion
Project management is organizing resources and knowledge to achieve specific goals. Without this management, it is not possible to reach the desired objectives. This claim is supported by my personal experience when the company I work at failed to increase employee performance. The external consultant that we hired after we failed showed the correct process of working on a project. He followed a consistent life cycle model and utilized the knowledge of project management theory. After witnessing his work, I realized the significance of project management as a discipline.
Reference List
Kloppenborg, T., Anantatmula, V. and Wells, K. (2018) Contemporary project management. Stamford: Cengage Learning.