I’m 35, balding & overweight. So, I recently decided to get a grip on the one attribute over which I have considerable control (and, no, I didn’t get hair plugs). I began exercising, and I hired a personal trainer to assist me through my “get-in-shape” journey.
My trainer is providing me with guidance on where I can get better (shed some unwanted weight), and how specifically to do that (which exercises to perform, along with a proper diet).
And this kind of guidance is exactly the same sort of help many contact center leaders are looking for now that the 2011 planning season is under way. Interestingly enough, though, few companies have an effective way to identify and narrow their list of potential initiatives for the coming year.
Instead, often companies have “strategic” brainstorming sessions resulting in a laundry list of initiatives to tackle. This list includes “pet projects” and well known opportunity areas, but often doesn’t reveal what to tackle first, and rarely uncovers previously unknown opportunity areas. It’s similar to a person in my situation (wanting to get in better shape) going about it without a plan or a solid understanding of what to improve/how to make those improvements.
The end result? Companies make decisions about initiatives that haven’t been fully vetted, and often go in the wrong direction with their strategic initiatives.
In order to build a solid game plan for the coming year contact center leaders should:
1) Identify opportunity areas: Group brainstorming can actually hinder creativity; ask staff to determine opportunities individually, then come together as a team to discuss.
2) Determine which opportunity areas have the most potential impact on the business : Also ask staff to determine, individually, which opportunities have the most potential (and ask them “why” that is).
3) Gauge consensus on these opportunity areas: Discuss results of 1) and 2) with the entire team & address any inconsistencies that exist; failing to gain consensus can lead to inaction.
4) Determine a course of action to improve the opportunity areas: Having a clearly defined road map will help to ensure that improvements stay on course.
And while this approach is pretty straightforward few organizations have a plan to execute on the four steps above. Ultimately, time gets in the way of getting these steps right. There’s not enough time to fully diagnose opportunities, nor enough time to build consensus around planned initiatives. The lesson here is: start the process earlier than you’d think. You’ll need more than a few days to get through these steps.
For CCC members, the Anatomy of a World Class Contact Center is an excellent prioritization tool to help contact center leaders achieve the first three of these objectives, and partnering with CCC will successfully lead you to achieving the fourth.
Regardless of where you are in the planning process, it’s important to have some guidance for your preparation, and just like a personal trainer helps guide you to success, some basic planning will help shape up your strategy for the coming year.
CCC Members, want to learn more about this incredibly popular diagnostic that’s available to you? Just contact your account manager to begin implementing this survey at your organization.
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