ICMI's Customer Management Insight - January 2008 - (Page 13)

PEOPLE How the Performance Pyramid Foundation Can Guide Your Testing Strategy Use a test designed to assess a specific characteristic (Level 4) Cognitive ability È To predict individual performance in behaviors And achieve desired and activities (Levels 2 outcomes (Level 1) and 3) Solves problems and learns new products, systems, markets, etc. È LEVEL 2: ACTIVITIES. Critical activities needed to produce those outcomes. LEVEL 3: BEHAVIORS. Key behaviors required to perform those activities. LEVEL 4: APTITUDES AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES. Basic talent (aptitudes, Increased pass rates for training and industry licensing Improved one-call resolution Service orientation “Fit” to work culture Consistently delivers highquality service Demonstrates high levels of job satisfaction and commitment to center Follows rules and policies and arrives for work on time High customer satisfaction ratings Reduced turnover Conscientiousness and dependability Superior time and attendance metrics skills, such as keyboarding, data entry and multitasking. Management assumed it was a winning solution to the center’s problems, but it was off the mark. Why? A key factor in choosing a hiring test is making sure that it is relevant to solving your problems. In this case, ABC’s test measured the wrong skills. Their testing should have assessed applicants’ propensity for service orientation and quick thinking to solve problems from callers’ inquiries. ABC’s struggling call center overlooked this critical point. It made the costly assumption that one high-profile set of core performance skills was automatically tied to another set of skills. How could this situation have been avoided and valuable processes saved in the hiring process? A STRATEGY TO LINK YOUR WORKFORCE CHALLENGES TO TESTING ing the right prehire test, use a systematic approach that starts with identifiable critical business outcomes. This will help to formulate the correct applicant evaluation steps. For the ABC center, the desired business outcomes were: 1) consistent, first-rate service delivery, and 2) successful one-call resolution. The testing must address these specific issues; otherwise, it will result in additional labor without the crucial desired results. At LIMRA International, we have created a basic methodology — which we call the “performance pyramid” — to guide companies in using a systematic approach to link applicant evaluation steps to critical business outcomes. HOW THE PERFORMANCE PYRAMID WORKS The performance pyramid (see figure on page 12) provides a simple roadmap that includes four levels: LEVEL 1: BUSINESS OUTCOMES. Key To eliminate guesswork and as - success outcomes for your contact sumptions when it comes to select- center and your business. icmi’s insight skills and personal characteristics) needed to perform those activities. To apply the pyramid, start at Level 1 and identify some key success outcomes. Commonly desired outcomes may include improved one-call resolution, increased customer satisfaction and higher sales revenue. Next, Level 2 focuses on key work activities needed to accomplish each outcome. For example, to increase one-call resolution, the most important activities might include identifying caller needs, gathering necessary information, solving the caller’s inquiry and responding to the caller in understandable terms. Then, in Level 3, determine the critical behaviors needed to perform those activities as identified in Level 2. For one-call resolution, it involves listening for the key facts and questions, knowing where to find necessary information, multitasking to simultaneously talk to the caller and retrieve the information, and speaking clearly about the resolution. Finally, Level 4 is the foundation level, composed of the basic talents and skills underlying the key behaviors. In the one-call resolution example, one critical talent is the cognitive ability to think logically to deduce and solve the problem, as well as to learn information (or learn where to access information). Of course, there are other skills to consider. To fully build your performance pyramid, you’ll need to determine key activities for all important out| JANUARY 2008 www.icmi.com 13 http://www.icmi.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ICMI's Customer Management Insight - January 2008

ICMI's Customer Management Insight - January 2008 Contents Customer Care Technologies Ad Index Editor's Page Contact Center Spotlight People: Prehire Tests In The Center Strategy: Video Contact Centers Show Preview Operations: Knowledge Management Industry Research Contact Centers Face Today's Realities: A Case for Consolidation 2.0 Is Your Agent Training Process Evolving with the Role? The Key to Innovation Is Maintaining Your Strengths Becoming Strategic: Using Customer Contact Analytics to Empower the Contact Center's Role

ICMI's Customer Management Insight - January 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.