Effective Complaint Handling Part 10

• The causes can be grouped as follows
• People factors may include:
• Poor training
• Lack of interpersonal skills
• Unclear objectives
• Lack of motivation
• Poor attitude
• System factors which may contribute to poor handling of complaints include:
• Lack of measurement and accountability
• Poor or absent planning
• Inadequate communication systems
• No customer focus in the activities
• Avoid the following words and phrases when handling complaints as they make customers cringe
• Our policy is……
• The computer… 
• They…
• I can’t… 
• Why Some People Don’t Complain
• Apathy  -  couldn’t be bothered
• Empathy -  too nice to complain because they understand
• Sympathy -  feel sorry for the people involved so don’t complain 
• Accessibility - they don’t know how to get their complaint to the relevant person in the  organization 
• Fear - they don’t know what impact their complaining may have on them in the future
• Frustration - complaining has not resulted in a positive outcome before, so they don’t complain

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Effective Complaint Handling Part 9

• Information from the complaints handling process and the trending data can be used to drive continuous improvement
• Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle:
• Plan  --- Planning the improvement activity
• Do  --- Implementing the plan
• Check --- Measuring the outcome against what has been projected in the plan
• Act --- this will mean either continuing with the planned activity or changing the plan to improve the results
• Complaints need to be tracked to ensure
• Completion
• Attention
• Feedback
• Action
• Some trends to watch out for:
• Most complaints per product
• Most complaints per salesperson /sales area
• Most complaints per customer
• Seasonality
• Functionality
• Increase in complaint numbers
• Decrease in complaint numbers
• Failure of the complaint handling process can have a major impact on an organization due to:
• Loss of revenue when customers move away
• Competitors use the source of the complaint to attract customers to their products
• Increased sales and marketing expenditure to attract new customers
• Decreased revenue and profitability

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Effective Complaint Handling Part 8

• The Complaints Handling Process is a business critical component and as such needs to be validated through testing   This can be achieved through:
• Dummy complaints being followed through the process
• Mystery complainers who will have their experience documented and provide feedback
• Examining the level of knowledge of the process within the organization
• The process testing will be made more effective by:
• Process mapping the stages involved
• Identifying the critical points within the process
• Checking that they are functional under a range of conditions - both internal and external
• Making recommendations for improvement and implementing them in the process. This can be achieved through the PDCA cycle
• Auditing the Process:  check your process for
• Ownership / Responsibility are clearly defined
• Adherence to standards
• Completion of activity
• Implementation of findings
• Communication - both internally and externally
• The complaints handling process should be audited  This would allow:
• Problems to be highlighted
• Best practices to be praised
• Improvements to be suggested
• External validation of the process
• To audit the process you can:
• Question staff re: their knowledge of the procedure for handling complaints
• Review past complaints
• Document review
• Customer feedback
• The audit may be carried out by:
• Internal auditors who work in the organization
• Customers who wish to see how the process has been working
• Third party auditors who are auditing to check performance in terms of compliance with a recognized quality standard such as ISO9001

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Effective Complaint Handling Part 7

• The overall responsibility for those involved in the Customer Complaints Handling Process is to ensure that
• The Customer is satisfied
• Action has been taken to prevent the complaint from occurring in the future
• The roles and responsibilities will be bounded by a set of objectives which are:
• Specific to the handling of complaints
• Measurable in terms of input and results
• Achievable - in terms of capabilities and expectation
• Relevant - in relation to the overall business goals of the organization
• Time-bound - so  that the personnel involved have a time scale to work within
• Training:  To ensure that ownership lies with those who are operating the process it is important that they are trained with regard to:
• The importance of handling complaints
• The organizational impact of poorly handled complaints
• The expectations of customers
  And finally
• The actual process itself
• Measurement: Key performance indicators may include
• Customer Satisfaction Rating
• Close-out time
• Document audit non-conformance levels
• Understanding of system by personnel
• Improvements implemented as a result of a corrective action identified in the process

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Effective Complaint Handling Part 6

• To formulate an appropriate solution you need to know:
• What the customer expects to see
• What constraints you are working under
• Time
• Information
• Power
• Finance
• Key considerations
• What is the impact of the solution going to be on:
• The customer
• The market
• Your organization
• Your current processes
• Your products
• Your profitability
• The solution must be
• Reliable
• Acceptable
• Deliverable
• Affordable
• Robust
• Suitable
• As with any business process there are particular roles which must be filled such as:
• Communicator
• Investigator
• Documenter
• Auditor
• Leader
• Each of these roles is important to ensure that the process works in the organization

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Effective Complaint Handling Part 5

• Basic complaint-handling documentation consists of:
• Standard Operating Procedure for Handling Complaints
• Complaint Form
• Complaint Communication Tracker Log
• Corrective Action Record
• Complaint Report
• Documentation should be designed so as to be:
• Clear
• User-friendly
• Complete
• Prompting
• Standardized
• Official
• Controlled
• Document Type: Complaint Handling Form   
• Customer Name & Contact Details
• Details of Person Handling Complaints
• Complaint Reference Number
• Start & Completion Dates
• Information on the Complaint
• Linkages
• Information on the complaint form must be
• Logical
• Coherent
• Relevant
• Clear
• Complete

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Effective Complaint Handling Part 4

• A system for handling complaints is necessary to ensure:   
• A standard approach is taken by all employees involved in the process. This is achieved through having a Standard Operating Procedure
• Consistency in the quality of response
• Knowledge of the responsibilities and where necessary the escalation process
• Customers who are complaining want to be dealt with personnel who have an attitude which is
• Positive
• Professional
• Confident
• Helpful
• Environment for handling complaints must be such as to be:
• Supportive of complaint handling activity
• Adequately resourced
• Customer focused
• Complaint handlers must be competent in the following skills:
• Listening
• People-focus
• Organization
• Communication
• Networking
• Persistence
• Documents need to be managed to ensure that they are
• Complete
• Accessible
• Safe

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Effective Complaint Handling Part 3

• Internal & External Customers
• Complaints may arise from either internal or external customers
• How internal customer complaints are handled has an impact on how external complaints are handled
• The complaint-handling system for internal and external complaints may be different, but the end result should be the same:  nsatisfied customers
• Facts Versus Feelings
• A fact can be proven
• A feeling can make a huge difference as to how the fact can be interpreted
• An opinion is an interpretation of a situation
• An estimate carries less weight than a fact
• Typical Complaint Handling Process has three main aspects:
• Inputs - in this case, complaints
• Transformation process - the complaint handling procedures and methodology
• Outputs - learning from the complaint, improvement, retention of customers, profitability, protection etc

Main Components Are:

• Contact Point
• Information Capture
• Investigation Methodology
• Documentation
• Communication
• Resolution
• Implementation of learning / improvements
• Building the Process includes:
• Acknowledging
• Recording
• Investigating
• Solving
• Reporting
• Fit with culture of the organization
• Level of support within the organization
• Capability of personnel to implement the process
• Flexibility
• Speed
• Accuracy
• Trust
• Accessibility

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Effective Complaint Handling Part 2

• Some Fast Rules
• The cost of satisfying a complaining customer is likely to be less than the cost of losing the customer
• Don’t make promises that you cannot keep
• Write down what you have agreed to do and then do it
• Customers – Perspectives, Perceptions & Expectations
• Reality & The Complaint
• The complainer may technically be wrong - but their perception is that he/she is right
•  Deal with facts and not opinions
• Make sure that you have all the facts before making a decision
• Understand that resolution is not always a matter of right and wrong
• Dealing With Perceptions
• You must understand that the customer's perception of the situation may be much different from yours
• Perception is closely linked with expectation
• Perception may have originated from initial contact
• with the organization
• with the marketing material
• with customers
• with the product
• Expectations are set up by the customer and depend on:
• past experience
• socio-cultural aspects
• education
• You cannot assume what an expectation is.  You need to ask questions and listen to determine what exactly it is.

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Effective Complaint Handling Part 1

A professional approach to the handling of complaints in an organization can deliver benefits in terms of increased customer satisfaction.  How customer complaints are handled reflects on the organization in terms of the value placed on the customer, the ability to support products and services, and the value of the product and service.  There is now a greater focus on how complaints are handled by organizations as focus changes from being product driven to being customer driven.  The business environment has become more competitive.  Service has become the main differentiating factor.

A complaint will arise because a product or service is ‘faulty’ and does not function correctly or a product or service does not meet the expectations of the customer.

• Complaints handled well may lead to:
• Maximum customer satisfaction & loyalty
• Building of customer advocates for the business
• Opportunity to utilize new learning for improvement of the business processes
• Increase in loyalty
• Maintenance of customer base
• Increase in profitability
• Handling a complaint badly may lead to:
• Customers leaving due to dissatisfaction
• Competitors using the failure against you
• Loss of revenue / profit
• Demotivation of personnel involved in the process
• Loss of an opportunity to learn & improve
• If a complaint can be handled and resolved at a point of first contact for the customer, several benefits emerge:
• Customer confidence in the organization is significantly increased
• Organization benefits through the elimination of additional contacts
• The responsibility for handling the complaint lies with the first contact
• The complaint handling time is reduced
  

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

The Most Effective Use Of Time Right Now Part 4

Busy or Productive

Just because you are busy does not mean that you are productive.  There is a need to clearly differentiate between:

• Effectiveness  -- doing the right things
• Efficiency  -- doing the right things correctly

Rating Your Productivity

In order to rate your productivity, you need to be clear on:

• What exactly are your objectives?
• Are you aware of how your productivity is measured?
• How certain are you that you are spending you time doing the right things?

Time logs and Productivity

Log how you spend your time every day for two weeks then identify the following issues that impact on your productivity:

• Issues that you should not have dealt with
• Issues where you had a high dependency on others
• Issues relating to communication
• Issues that relate to poor planning
• Issues that relate to a lack of a particular skill
• Issues that relate to bad habits 

Once these issues have been identified, they can be tackled. It is important to recognize that some are due to bad habits such as dependency or taking on too much, whereas others are due to inadequate systems such as communication and planning.

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

The Most Effective Use Of Time Right Now Part 3

Prioritization

Prioritize tasks according to Stephen Covey’s Time Management Matrix below to help you decide what tasks to tackle and in what order.  It is especially important to find time for Quadrant II tasks – those that are important in the long run but not urgent.  We may tend to put off these activities in favor of those that are urgent so that we have a short-term focus only.

 

The ability to differentiate between urgent and important can improve productivity by:

• Increasing the focus on important issues
• Removing the fog created by “urgency”
• Force better planning of activities
• Reduce the number of disruptions
• Decrease the amount of time taken to accomplish tasks 

The difference between urgent and important is that an urgent issue gives the impression that it ‘needs’ to be done, whereas an important issue needs to be done because it may have a significant effect in the longer term.

 

Criteria for prioritization can be grouped into 4 main categories:

• People
• Quality
• Efficiency
• Safety  

Which takes precedence will be to a large extent dependent upon the situation. However, it can be taken as granted that all four categories will exhibit some influence on each decision regarding prioritization.

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

The Most Effective Use Of Time Right Now Part 1

Fact 1: People are the most valuable resource an organization can have.
Fact 2: In many cases, people are the most under-utilized resource in an organization.
Fact 3: This under-utilization is in many cases linked to the level of personal productivity.
Fact 4: Personal productivity can be significantly improved in most organizations.

Personal Productivity - Benefits

Benefits accruing to the individual include:

• Increased motivation
• Decreased stress
• Achievement of objectives
• Reward and recognition  

Benefits accruing to the team include:

• Better working environment
• Faster achievement of objectives
• Recognition and reward
• Motivation
• Enhanced teamwork 

Benefits accruing to the organization include:

• Improved productivity
• Lower costs
• Corporate image enhancement
• Happier and more focused employees

Until next time...

Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Leadership and Delegation: Essential Steps Part 1

WHAT IS DELEGATION?
Delegation is the social skill required by leaders to effectively and efficiently empower team members to obtain organizational objectives.

BENEFITS OF DELEGATION

• Increased team involvement
• Increased responsibility and ownership
• Utilize specialized knowledge and skill
• Increase in team and organizational effectiveness
• Ascertain suitability for future roles

WHY DON'T ALL LEADERS DELEGATE EFFECTIVELY?
Many supervisors and managers were promoted to their current position simply because they were good at their old jobs. Now they are faced with managing employees, but often they are not trained to do so.  When faced with the pressure of getting work done, many times, it can seem easier to just do it themselves rather than taking the time to train their employees. The busier the manager is, the more difficult it is to find the time to train others. This sets up a pattern that is difficult to break.

Other reasons for not delegating include:

• Fear of loosing control
• Fear that others may do a better job
• Lack of confidence in team members

Until next time...






Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Importance Rather Than Urgency

As the world moves at a faster and faster pace, it's essential not only that things get done faster, but also that the right things get done in a timely manner.  It's crucial that employees work not only efficiently, but also effectively.

We choose to use our time consciously or unconsciously, and we often let others decide how we spend it.  Getting done what is important to us is time well-spent.  Doing what is important at work is productive.  By getting done what we want and need in the time we've allocated, our stress level is lower and our quality of life is improved.

So, how do we get what's important done in the time allocated?

Knowledge -- Choice -- Time

You need to know clearly what you need or want to do.  Make choices from among the actions that demand your time and schedule time to act on your choices.  Time management is about prioritizing objectives in order of importance rather than urgency.

Setting objectives is about planning.  Planning is about control.  Being in control is being self-empowered.

Setting goals can help us accomplish our priorities based on our values and roles.  In reality, goal-setting is planning for personal achievement.  You decide what you want to achieve with your time and then set the precise personal targets that will lead you to achievement.

We all have important things to do in our lives, but how do we remember how and when to do them?  One way is by making an effective list.  Prioritized to-do lists are lists of tasks necessary to achieve goals.  Lists can be extremely powerful, both as a method of organizing your time and as a method of reducing stress.  Often, problems may seem intimidating or too large.

You may have what seems like a huge number of demands on your time.  Start by writing down the tasks that face you, and if they are large, break them down into smaller and smaller elements until they are manageable.

Happy planning!

Until next time...







Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/

Are you open, honest and assertive?

Are you open, honest and assertive?

When asked which employees they would keep when it comes to communication skills, employers say, "The ones who can most effectively communicate their needs, preferences, ideas, and feelings to their customers, co-workers, and our organization."

Employers and employees today share a common complaint:  the need for better communication in their organizations. The problem seems to be widespread and fairly typical.

Effective communication allows individuals and the organization to thrive and be successful.  However, the environment in which communication takes place must be conducive for communication success by including an atmosphere of trust, mutual respect, and willingness to listen to one another.

To build a climate of trust and keep relationships strong and healthy, both parties must commit to being direct with one another. All forms of manipulation, threats, gossip, tattling, intimidation, and behind-the-back game playing must be eliminated in order for trusting relationships to exist.

Until next time...







Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/