02 Project Gap Analysis Strategy

Module 2 Project Gap Analysis Strategy
for Team #4
4/18/2016
Project Description
PJ Enterprises develops, manufacturers, and markets gifts, apparel, and home
accessories through its retail location and mail-order catalog division. PJ
Enterprises exceeded their revenue expectations last year and have a number of
aggressive growth goals for next year, including increasing overall sales, growing
customer lists for catalog distribution, and improving customer service scores. One
strategy PJ Enterprises has identified to meet these goals is to improve customer
service and work satisfaction among customer service employees. Customer
surveys indicate that half of the respondents are not inclined to continue doing
business with the company due to poor customer service provided by telephone
operators. Informal staff surveys indicate that more than half of the telephone
operators are unhappy with their jobs to the point of leaving. PJ Enterprises
believes that a lack of product knowledge among the telephone operators is
causing the increase in complaints and customer service issues. Based on this
analysis, PJ Enterprises has hired Superior Solutions to develop a training program
for telephone operators that will make them experts in product offerings, with end
goals of increasing catalog sales, improving employee satisfaction, and reducing
customer complaints.
Prior to developing a training program, Superior Solutions will perform a
comprehensive gap analysis to determine the current state of operations at PJ
Enterprises, articulate their desired end state, and define the nature and causes of
the gap between these states. With this information, Superior Solutions will
propose the most appropriate and effective solutions to enable PJ Enterprises
achieve its goals.
Information Needed
Superior Solutions will collect and analyze the data in the following categories to
determine the current state of operations at PJ Enterprises and the gap between the
current state and the companys desired state:
Customer experiences with mail-order catalog calls and products
Customer service employees training, job performance, and job

satisfaction factors, including:
02_Project Gap Analysis Strategy.Docx
Call and IT systems activities, such as calls per hour and

distribution among telephone operators
Telephone operators level of expertise and comfort with call

system, products, and other work processes and tools
Previous telephone operator training, PowerPoint presentations,

and other job aids
Training programs and protocols for new telephone operator

employees
1
Employee satisfaction survey data
Changes in human resources (HR) policies that affect telephone

operator employees
Agendas from employee meetings
Telephone operator employee schedules and hours worked
Management policies and actions that affect employee motivation,

including incentives, rewards, feedback, and discipline
Comparison of PJ Enterprises employees compensation to

compensation for similar roles in competitive businesses
Interview process and requirements for hiring new employees
Demographics of current telephone operators, including language

abilities and level of formal education
Other operational issues, such as:

o
Employee conditions, performance, and satisfaction among

warehouse employees
Product shipping times, quality, and rates of return, which may be

factors affecting customer happiness beyond call center issues
Team Strategy
Superior Solutions will use the following strategies to collect the information for
needed for analysis:
Interviews
Surveys
Document review
Work observation
Analysis Plan
Research Method
Target Audience
Information You Hope to Gain
Team Member Responsible
1.
Interview
HR department
employees
Compensation, incentives, method of

recruiting and interviewing potential
employees, employee recognition and
discipline policies, telephone
operators background and skill level
Fred Klein
2.
Document
review of
customer service
survey results
and call logs
PJ Enterprises mailorder catalog

customers
Review of call logs, recorded calls,

and customer surveys to determine
customer experience
Hayley McNabb
3.
HR document
review
Telephone operators
Review of previous telephone operator

surveys to determine causes of
telephone operators dissatisfaction
Fred Klein
4.
HR document
review
HR department
Changes in benefits, employee

handbook, and other HR policies,
agenda/purpose of required employee
meetings
Joni Grove
5.
Interview
Warehouse
employees
Quality and efficiency of order

information coming from customer
service, shipping efficiency, and need
for new hardware and IT systems
Sandhya Lakhanpal
Research Method
Target Audience
Information You Hope to Gain
Team Member Responsible
6.
Interview
IT representative
Reasons for the stated need for

hardware upgrade and warehouse
improvements, any issues with the
current phone system or order entry
system, future IT plans
Hayley McNabb
7.
Work
observation and
interviews
Telephone operators
and customer service
supervisors
Workflow issues, current work

environment and challenges, training
and tools gaps
Molly Placke Silver
8.
Survey
Telephone operators
Job satisfaction, challenges, pay

satisfaction
Sandhya Lakhanpal
9.
Document
review of
training
materials
Sheena Perez and

Judie Thompson
Information covered in previous

product trainings, activities and
assessments used
Sandhya Lakhanpal
Sheena Perez and

Judie Thompson
Description of current training

program and training environment,
thoughts on customer service issues
Joni Grove
10. I Interview
n
t
Activity 1 Interview HR Department Employees

Details of Activity/Method
Fred will conduct individual interviews with employees in the HR department to
determine human resources policies or procedures that might be affecting issues
with the telephone operators and customer service supervisors in the call center.
Questions to Ask
Fred will ask the following questions to HR department employees to determine
potential causes of issues within the PJ Enterprises call center and gain background
information on the telephone operators that might affect our instructional design
for training programs:
What is the pay scale and compensation package for telephone operators and
customer service supervisors? How does this compare with compensation
offered for similar positions by competitive companies in your industry and
area?
How often are raises given? How is the percentage of raise determined
based on time of service, performance reviews, or other factors?
What other incentives do you offer employees?
How and why are operators hired?
What qualities/experience are you looking for in new employees? What is

your interview process?
Have there been changes in the hiring process in the past year? For example,
have there been any changes in basic skill or experience requirements? If so,
when and why?
Has there been a change in the level of competition for this operator job?
Have there been changes in the local economy that could be affecting
employment opportunities?
How often is the employee handbook updated? What were the major
changes in the last revision, and what were the reasons for the changes? How
were the changes communicated to staff?
Can you provide any of the following demographic and educational data for
the employees of the call center?
Age
Sex
Level of formal education
Level of English fluency
Level of computer skills
Length of employment at PJ Enterprises
Length and type of prior employment before joining PJ

Enterprises
Activity 2 Document Review of Customer Service Records

Hayley will review call log data, customer survey results, and a random sample of
recorded calls from the phone system to determine the current customer
experience.
Questions to Ask
Analyze one years worth of call log data to answer the following questions:
On average, how many incoming calls does the system receive per day?
How are the calls distributed throughout the day? Graph the results by hour.
What is the average wait time for a call to be answered by an operator?
If the call is transferred to a supervisor, what is the average wait time to talk
to a supervisor?
What percentage of calls is transferred to a supervisor?
What is the average time spent talking to an operator?
What is the average time spent talking to a supervisor?
The previous years customer survey results will be collated to answer the
following questions:
What was the original purpose of your call?

o
New order
Change to existing order
Follow-up on shipping dates
Return an order
Other
Was the wait time to talk to an operator acceptable? (Y/N)
Was the operator able to answer questions about our products? (Y/N)
Was the operator polite and helpful? (Y/N)
Would you be willing to shop with us again? (Y/N)
A random sample of recorded calls will be retrieved from the system to determine
the following:
The reason for the call
Tone of the conversation
If the customer sounded frustrated, what was the apparent cause
How effectively the operator communicated information to the customer
Activity 3 Document Review of Previous Telephone Operator

Surveys
Fred will review employee satisfaction surveys from telephone operator employees
for the past five years.
Questions to Ask
Fred will compile information from previous telephone operator employees to
attempt to answer the following questions:
What are the main complaints about the job? How have the complaints
changed over time?
What are the positive aspects about the job? How have the positive
comments changed over time?
What, if any, comments have telephone operators included in surveys

regarding their comfort level with product offerings and ability to answer
customer questions?
What comments about training and job support have employees included?
Do the survey responses provide any indication as to why only three calls
are answered per hour?
What kinds of customer complaint issues arose in the past and more
recently?
By comparing previous customer survey results with changes in HR policies

researched in Activity 4 below, is there any time link between a change at
the company, such as changes in training protocol, call per hour goals,
incentives, or HR policies, and a change in telephone operators aptitude and
attitude about their jobs as indicated by survey responses?
Activity 4 HR Document Review

Joni will review a number of HR documents to supplement information gathered
from interviews with HR department staff in Activity 1. She will compare the new
performance evaluation process to how employees were evaluated previously,
review the new employee handbook, compare the new pension program to the
previous program, and review the agenda of the employee monthly meetings.
Questions to Ask
Performance evaluation process:
How were employees evaluated before this process was implemented?
Did the previous evaluation process have any effect upon employee
compensation?
How does the new evaluation affect employee compensation?
Are employees able to review and discuss the evaluation findings with
their supervisor?
What does the self-evaluation process entail?
How does the self-evaluation affect employee compensation?
Employee handbook:
Are any of the policies listed in the handbook a departure from how things
were previously handled? If so, what changed?
What are the policies for paid time off, sick leave, and any other benefits?
What procedures are listed for any performance issues that may arise?
How are employee grievances handled?
Pension program:
What benefits are the employees receiving under the new pension
program?
How does the new pension program differ from the previous program?
Is the pension program the same for all employees?
Employee meeting agenda:
When are the meetings held?
How long do they last?
Who leads the meetings?
Are employees notified of the meeting agenda prior to the meeting?
What topics are discussed at the meetings?
Are any actions taken at the meetings that affect employees?
Are there any implications arising from the low employee turnout?
Activity 5 Interview Warehouse Employees

Details of Activity/Method:
Sandhya will interview warehouse employees to gauge any problems in shipping
and handling that are causing high call volumes or unhappy customer calls to the
call center. She will study the processes for documenting and maintaining
inventory and the time it takes to ship products. A representative sample of
warehouse employees and managers will be selected to be interviewed for 20-25
minutes each. The interview sessions will be conducted during the work day, and
the employees will not be expected to contribute extra time towards the work
schedule to make up for interview time.
Questions to Ask
What is your position in the warehouse?
List your job responsibilities.
What software/hardware do you use to keep track of inventory in the

warehouse?
Are you adept at using the software/hardware?
What procedures do you use to update the technology for maintaining the
inventory?
Is your inventory up-to-date?
How long does it takes for the product to be shipped from the time you
receive the order to the time it leaves the warehouse? Is the information
you receive about orders accurate and complete?
Is there a minimum number of packages that you are expected to ship per
day?
Do you meet your goals for volume and timeliness of shipping orders?
Can you find the items to ship easily?
Who/what decides the space utilization/warehouse layout? For example,

do you keep fast-moving and high-selling inventory near the front for easy
access?
What kind of training or standards do your quality control employees

follow?
How many people fill out documentation regarding the item before it is
shipped?
Do you use a barcode technology, which eliminates multiples touches

while handling a product?
How often are you trained on shipping and handling procedures? How is
this training delivered? What resources do you have for getting answers to
questions you have about procedures or products after training?
What motivation techniques have you used in the past to motivate your
employees?
What shipping companies or mail carriers do you use?
How do these shipping companies compare to other competitors in terms

of cost, lead-time, handling, packaging material, and efficiency?
What percentage of products shipped are returned to the warehouse by

customers? Of the returned items, what percentage are defective and
discarded vs. the percentage that are restocked for sale?
Activity 6 Interview IT representative

Hayley will interview a member of the IT department to identify any existing
issues with hardware and software.
Questions to Ask
Hardware Issues
An upgrade of the hardware configuration with additional workstations is

underway. Why is this upgrade necessary?
There are technical improvements being made in the warehouse. What exactly
is changing? What triggered this to happen?
Lets focus on the call center now. Are there enough phone lines in the call
center to handle the current call volumes? Will there be enough capacity if our
sales grow as planned this year?
Are there any other issues with the hardware in the call center that you are
aware of?
Software Issues
Now lets talk about the software in the call center. Do you think the phone
system is suitable for the call centers needs? If not, please elaborate.
How often do you receive calls from the call center operators or supervisors to
resolve issues with the software?
Are the problems usually due to the software being faulty or the operators not
knowing how to use it? Or is there some other reason?
If operators receive many kinds of calls, are the calls automatically routed to
certain operators, or do they go to the first available operator? What criteria are
used to route calls?
What is the customers average wait time to speak with an operator?
What hardware, software, and presentation equipment is available for

classroom or group training in the call center?
What are the specifications of telephone operator workstations? Are there any
restrictions of the workstations and network that would impede the delivery of
computer-based training, such as a firewall, browser restrictions, sound card,
memory, etc.?
Do you have any other comments that would be helpful?
Activity 7 Observation and Interviews with Telephone

Operators and Customer Service Supervisors
Molly will spend two days in the catalog division call center observing the work of
the telephone operators, including customer service supervisors, and taking notes
on various aspects of work procedures. Molly will be allowed to sit in the call area
with different operators and listen to calls as they come in. All operators will be
notified of this process ahead of time, along with an explanation that the
observation will be used to improve training and technology for the operators.
While on-site, Molly will take two hours out of each day to conduct detailed
interviews with approximately 20 percent of telephone operators. Department
supervisors agree to allow the telephone operators that are interviewed to take paid
20-minute breaks, in addition to normally scheduled work breaks, to participate in
interviews. Interviewees will be selected to be representative of the experience
level and performance rating of the department as a whole.
10
Questions to Ask
Observation
Molly will gather the following work procedure details through observation of
telephone operators working:
What types of calls do telephone operators receive from customers new

orders, questions about existing orders, complaints, other?
Do operators have scripts available to use when answering customer calls?

How do they access these scripts? Do they use the scripts consistently?
What tone of voice do operators use?
When asked a question, do operators answer confidently or struggle? For

which types of questions? Which questions do they refer to supervisors?
How frequently are calls referred to supervisors?
When entering customer information and orders into the computer system:
o
How long does it take to enter information?
Do operators ask customer to repeat any information multiple

times?
Are there parts of the process that take a long time? Which
parts/procedures? Why?
How are the operators workspaces set up? Do they have adequate room
and tools in an ergonomic environment? Are computers, phone systems,
headsets, paper documentation, etc., accessible and working properly?
What do operators do between calls?
What other responsibilities do operators have besides answering calls?
What are customer service supervisors other responsibilities besides

answering calls referred to them?
How do supervisors interact with operators?
How is operator performance monitored, and how and how often is

feedback offered?
How is operator time logged/tracked?
How do operators interact with each other and with supervisors, in the
context of work questions and also on lunches/breaks?
Interviews
Molly will conduct 20-minute interviews with a representative sample of telephone
operators in the department, and ask the following questions:
What is your position?
How long have you been in your position?
Describe your primary work duties.
What parts of your duties do you find easy to perform? Why?
What parts of your duties do you find difficult to perform? Why?
11
How would you rate your own work performance? Why? What parts of
your job are you good at, and at what parts could you improve?
What tools and resources do you use to do your job? Which of these tools
are effective? Why? Which of these tools need to be improved? How?
Describe your relationship with your co-workers and your supervisors.
What company policies do you approve of or feel supported by? Why?
What company policies do you disapprove of or feel frustrated by? Why?
What other comments, feedback, or opinions do you have to share about

your job?
Molly will conduct 20-minute interviews with several customer service supervisors
in the department, and ask the following questions:
What is your position?
How long have you been in your position?
Describe your primary work duties.
What parts of your duties do you find easy to perform? Why?
What parts of your duties do you find difficult to perform? Why?
Are certain types of customer calls routed to certain telephone operators,

or do calls go to the first available operator? If they are routed based on
type of call, what criteria do you use to select the telephone operators that
get certain types of calls? What training do they receive on answering
these specific call types?
How often and what types of feedback do you provide to telephone

operators?
How would you rate your own work performance? Why? What parts of
your job are you good at, and at what parts could you improve?
What tools and resources do you use to do your job? Which of these tools
are effective? Why? Which of these tools need to be improved? How?
What training did you receive when you became a supervisor? What
topics? How was it delivered? Did you feel prepared to supervise the
telephone operators after the training?
Describe your relationship with your telephone operators and other

supervisors.
Where does employee training take place? How big is the room and what
types of equipment are available?
Activity 8 Survey Current Telephone Operators

Sandhya will administer a survey to the current telephone operators to identify
gaps between the current and desired states for PJ Enterprises. The survey will be
conducted in one sitting and will not take more than 15 minutes to complete. A
random selection of operators will be chosen to represent the operators.
12
Questions to Ask
The following questions will be included in the survey given to the current
telephone operators:
Describe you daily responsibilities. What does a typical day at PJ

Enterprise look-like for you?
What is the hardest part of your job?
On a five-point scale, how satisfied are you with your salary?
Dissatisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Satisfied
Very satisfied
Extremely satisfied
On a five-point scale, how happy are you with your work environment?
o
Unhappy
Somewhat unhappy
Neutral
Somewhat happy
Very happy
How many hours a week do you work?
Which shift(s) do you generally work?
Describe your comfort level with the telephone system in PJ Enterprises.
On a five-point scale, rate your comfort level with the products advertised
in the catalog.
o
Uncomfortable
Somewhat uncomfortable
Neutral
Comfortable
Very comfortable
How often do you achieve your weekly call and sales goals?
What incentives or rewards are provided when you achieve your targeted
sales for the week?
Describe the training you receive on catalog products. How was the
training delivered? Did you feel prepared to sell the catalog products and
answer customer questions after the training?
Do you feel equipped to handle irate customers? What is the process for
handling upset customers?
How many times per week do you transfer calls to a supervisor?
Why do you transfer calls to a supervisor?
13
What is the highest level of formal education you have completed?

o
High school
Some college
Two-year college degree
Four-year college degree
How many years of work experience involving computers did you have
before starting as a telephone operator?
Is English your native language?
Activity 9 Document Review of Prior Training Materials

Sandhya will review materials from prior quarterly product trainings to determine
what information was covered and the instructional strategies, activities, and
assessments used.
Questions to Ask
Through review of the prior training materials, Sandhya will determine:
Were any learning style inventories conducted?
What strategies and methods were used to deliver the trainings?
What was the amount and type of interactions between trainers and
telephone operators during the training sessions?
What information is covered in each training?

o
Amount of time spent per slide.
Text type and pictures used on each slide
How key information is highlighted
Were the trainings differentiated to meet individual learners needs?
Were employees able to practice the information learned in the trainings?
How were employees assessed on product knowledge?
Activity 10 - Interview with Judie Thompson and Sheena Perez

Joni will conduct a one-hour interview with Judie Thompson and Sheena Perez to
better understand the current training program and training environment and gain
insight into their thoughts on the customer service issues.
Questions to Ask
Training-related questions:
14
What is your background? Do you have any experience with adult

education or instructional design?
Describe the training environment where the trainings are conducted.
What methods do you use to deliver the trainings?
What information is covered in each training?
How do you decide which of the new products to include?
What strategies and methods are used during the trainings?
Do employees receive any formal instruction on phone etiquette or people

skills?
How do you tailor trainings to meet individual learners needs?
Are employees able to practice the information learned in the trainings?
How are employees assessed?
Are employees given any handouts to take with them so they can refer to
information later?
What is the most successful part of the trainings you deliver? What area
needs the most work?
Customer service issue-related questions:
Why do you believe customer complaints have risen 30 percent over the
past year?
According to a customer survey, two out of three customers have issue

with the product knowledge, etiquette, and promptness of the telephone
operators. What relationship, if any, do you think training has to these
issues?
A recent survey of telephone operators showed the majority were very

unsatisfied in their current positions. What do you attribute this
unhappiness to?
What role do you see online training having here at PJ Enterprises?
Roadblocks & Dependencies

Superior Solutions has identified the following potential roadblocks and
dependencies for completion of the needs analysis and will implement the
suggested mitigation strategies for issues that arise.
Roadblocks / Dependencies
Employees not motivated to
complete the survey or are
apathetic or uncooperative during
interviews or observations
Mitigation Strategies
Reinforce how this process could
make jobs better. Ensure that time
spent in interviews and completing
surveys is paid and does not take
time away from scheduled breaks
or make shift longer.
15
Roadblocks / Dependencies
Mitigation Strategies
Availability of requested records

and documents (lost, deleted, never
existed, etc.)
Modify interviews and surveys to

try to obtain the intended
information.
Availability of key people
If not available due to scheduling,

try to accommodate persons
schedule by conducting phone
interview or interviewing via email.
If unavailable due to vacation/out
of office, postpone if possible or
interview a substitute.
Lack of management support with

regard to delving deeper into the
root causes
Reinforce the overall goal of the

project and explain how the process
will improve everyones jobs and
the customer experience. If issues
continue to persist, discuss issue
with upper management and project
sponsor, and ask them to intervene
if necessary.
Analysis taking longer than

anticipated
Modify schedule or reduce scope to

stay on track to meet deadline.
Not enough information or

different information than
anticipated obtained from the
strategy
Modify strategy and/or use another

method to obtain the necessary
information.
16

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Module 2 Project Gap Analysis Strategy

Customer experiences with mail-order catalog calls and products

Customer service employees training, job performance, and job

02_Project Gap Analysis Strategy.Docx

Call and IT systems activities, such as calls per hour and

Telephone operators level of expertise and comfort with call

Previous telephone operator training, PowerPoint presentations,

Training programs and protocols for new telephone operator

Employee satisfaction survey data

Changes in human resources (HR) policies that affect telephone

Agendas from employee meetings

Telephone operator employee schedules and hours worked

Management policies and actions that affect employee motivation,

Comparison of PJ Enterprises employees compensation to

Interview process and requirements for hiring new employees

Demographics of current telephone operators, including language

Other operational issues, such as:

Employee conditions, performance, and satisfaction among

Product shipping times, quality, and rates of return, which may be

02_Project Gap Analysis Strategy.Docx

Information You Hope to Gain

Team Member Responsible

Compensation, incentives, method of

PJ Enterprises mailorder catalog

Review of call logs, recorded calls,

Review of previous telephone operator

Changes in benefits, employee

Quality and efficiency of order

02_Project Gap Analysis Strategy.Docx

Information You Hope to Gain

Team Member Responsible

Reasons for the stated need for

Workflow issues, current work

Molly Placke Silver

Job satisfaction, challenges, pay

Sheena Perez and

Information covered in previous

Sheena Perez and

Description of current training

02_Project Gap Analysis Strategy.Docx

Activity 1 Interview HR Department Employees

What other incentives do you offer employees?

How and why are operators hired?

What qualities/experience are you looking for in new employees? What is

02_Project Gap Analysis Strategy.Docx

Level of formal education

Level of English fluency

Level of computer skills

Length of employment at PJ Enterprises

Length and type of prior employment before joining PJ

Activity 2 Document Review of Customer Service Records

What is the average wait time for a call to be answered by an operator?

What percentage of calls is transferred to a supervisor?

What is the average time spent talking to an operator?

What is the average time spent talking to a supervisor?

What was the original purpose of your call?

Change to existing order

Follow-up on shipping dates

Was the wait time to talk to an operator acceptable? (Y/N)

Was the operator polite and helpful? (Y/N)

Would you be willing to shop with us again? (Y/N)

The reason for the call