Пойгина Л.Б., Туринова Л.А. - English for Masters. Management Part 2 (Пойгина Л.Б., Туринова Л.А. - English for Masters. Management Part 2.pdf), страница 4

Each business unit has its own customer servicerepresentatives to handle inquiries and problems and act as conduits, communicating customer concerns to thebusiness unit. Through this decentralized customer service approach, the customer talks to a knowledgeableservice representative who is a product specialist.

Because the customer service function and production areaare in the same location, the representatives are more efficient and responsive. With the customer dealingspecifically with a product specialist, a closer relationship is possible, which encourages the customer to offerfeedback on enhancements and new products.Looking at Performance from a Customer's Perspective. The noncredit services area of First Chicagodesigned a quality program w i d e l y considered one of the best in American business. This area's efforts wererevolutionary in the financial industry and have now been duplicated by other financial institutions."We wanted to ensure thai we were doing th e right things right the first lime", says Holub. "By asking andlistening to our customers, we learned that what they wanted and expected most from us was timeliness.accuracy, and responsive service.

These are issues not unlike those faced by other service industries—for10example, surely on-time, accurate, and responsive service are quality elements that customers want and expectfrom airlines, insurance companies, doctors, and so on".The next step was to make certain these customer concerns—timeliness, accuracy, and customer serviceresponsiveness—were being met by the bank. If the customers' requirements were not being met, the bank'squality initiatives could not progress. An extensive performance-measurement system, using nearly 700charts, was developed to track weekly every business unit's performance in relation to its products and thecorresponding customer concerns. For example, the accurate processing of money transfers and the turnaround time for letters of credit are measured.

By concentrating on the attributes of each major product andservice, the bank learns how to fix a quality problem or sustain a quality advantage."A customer-based assessment of quality allows a company to recognize if its customers are satisfied withthe current attributes of its products", says Holub.The Guidelines for Quality Measurement. Using the customer's perspective and industry standards, amanagement team established minimum acceptable performance (MAP) levels for each indicator, as well asgoals for exceptional performance.

"These goals are a point of pride and a source of competition among thebusiness unit managers", Holub explains.The minimum acceptable performance and goal lines for each chart are set by the strategic business unitmanager and approved by senior management. To encourage performance improvement, the minimumacceptable performance and goal lines are continually adjusted upward, "so that the carrot is always just infront of the rabbit", Holub says. To help increase management's commitment to the performance-measurementprogram, a management bonus system was put in place, with bonuses tied to attainment of minimumacceptable performances and goals for each business unit.Each unit's performance charts are reviewed weekly with senior departmental management.

All thismeasuring is not done simply to encourage in-house competition. The measuring provides early warningwhen something is wrong, so that corrective action can be taken."For example, when the chart showing (he lime taken to answer telephone-initiated money transfers startedto reflect a downtrend, die business unit manager analyzed the operation", explains Holub. "The managerdiscovered that calls were backing up during peak periods and slowing down the average, so personnel wereshifted around to accommodate peak times. Soon after, performance improved to better than its previouslevel".Both bank customers and suppliers are invited to weekly performance-measurement meetings. FirstChicago receives valuable feedback from customers by having them sit in during these sessions. And sincesuppliers began attending, meir service levels are better."A two-fold benefit is gleaned by inviting both customers and suppliers to attend these meetings", saysHolub.

"First, the bank has an additional forum in which to leam about customers' expectations and concernsinvolving their products and service. We regularly use that knowledge to refine and improve both. Moreimportant, we are sending a loud and clear (and sincere) message that the customer is our central interest."The second benefit is that service levels from our vendors have also improved. Vendors are invited to seehow well they are doing in relation to the bank's performance objectives".At the weekly performance meetings, competing vendors sit next to each other. For instance, the IBMrepresentative may sit beside the competitor from Tandem Computers Inc.

Each vendor has the chance toview the other's graphically shown performance, and then to prepare ways to top the other. The outcome isthat the bank receives its "fair share plus" of its vendors' attention and service.Quality Circles at First Chicago. The performance-measurement system is not the extent of the qualityeffort at the bank. First Chicago currently has more than 30 active quality circles. These small groups ofemployees arc brought together to identify problems or opportunities and to recommend actions to improveperformance. For example, one of First Chicago's money transfer group quality circles spotted a potentialimprovement in the processing of money transfers initiated by telephone.

This group discovered that 67percent of the authorization cards used to verify authorized initiators and confirmers of money transferrequests were being returned by customers with incomplete or inaccurate information. This caused additionalchecking and confirmation, which resulted in delays in processing time.The group analyzed the problem and presented the following recommendations:• Send a sample card with instructions to customers.• Transfer card-update responsibility to the customer service unit.• Develop a way to provide confirmation personnel with additional information on the verification screen.11All three recommendations were approved and implemented, and cards are now being returned with morecomplete and accurate information. The combination of properly completed cards and improved informationflow has improved processing time in the unit by more than one-third.Measuring the Individual Employee.

Yet another successful element of the First Chicago quality process isa program the bank refers to as its Behavioral Engineering Systems Training Program. This program evaluatesindividual employee performance and is reflected in the overall measurement program. It permits a manager tolook at how each staff member is performing so he can identify the source of a problem and work with thatperson to fix the problem. "This is not a big brother is watching' kind of tliiM^J;", Holub stresses. "Wemeasure for improvement, not perfection.

The Behavioral Engineering Systems Training Program setsemployee performance goals, measuring timeliness, accuracy, rate, and completeness. The base-lineperformance is identified by the manager, who then sets a goal 10 to 15 percent above that for each employee.Employees record their performance each day so they can see how they rank in relation to the base and to thestandard. The system offers immediate feedback and positive reinforcement when progress is made".Monthly Performance Awards for Service Products Group. Positive strokes such as "most improved", "bestsustained superior performance," and "most effective in improving quality in a changing environment" wereall given at First Chicago's 1986 Non-credit Services Annual Performance Awards banquet.

First Chicagorealizes the importance of recognizing the accomplishments of employee teams within the business units.These "teams", however, vary in structure. Some employees form a team from their normal work group andaddress problems affecting their department's productivity.