Real-life applications for Inova’s products, part 2

September 7, 2010 — Mari

A couple weeks ago, I shared with you examples of how real call centers are utilizing the Inova Solutions reporting system. By popular request, here are a few more examples.

1. A leading online education company came to us because they want wanted to change the culture of their admissions department to emulate that of a high performance call center. They realized that with the rapid growth of online education comes an equally rapid increase in competition. Every delayed or abandoned call from a prospective student could lead that student to call a competing company.

Our LED and desktop solutions allow 700+ admissions advisers to be aware of queue conditions so that they can manage their time most effectively. The result is a reduction in average speed of answer and therefore abandoned calls, and a corresponding increase in new student enrollment.

2. The payroll department at a major player in the retail industry came to Inova because they wanted to leverage the call statistics captured in their new Avaya phone system. The call center needed a way to optimize productivity without adding headcount. They implemented the Inova LightLink system with an interface to Avaya CMS with statistics and alerts output to OnTrack LED wallboards.

The initial small system was so successful that the company has since more than quadrupled the number of Inova OnTrack displays and expanded the Inova system to optimize the benefits department by enabling “management by exception” and employee empowerment.

3. A health care company came to Inova with two goals. First, to present a professional and proactive image to visiting and prospective clients to demonstrate that the company invests in leading technology in order to provide a high level of service and customer satisfaction. Second, the center hoped to reduce average handle time while maintaining service levels.

These goals were accomplished by providing call center agents and managers with real-time information regarding queue conditions, supporting information, and trigger-based messages that guide optimal work processes.

The company deployed the Inova LightLink and Broadcaster digital signage system in its call center. Our LightLink middleware captures and monitors real-time and historical information from the telecom system. This information is displayed graphically on large screen LCD monitors along with ad-hoc and threshold messages and multimedia content such as graphics, flash presentations, logos, etc.

4. Another health care institution came to us when they were contending for a prestigious industry award which requires visual notification of call center status to agents. Additionally, with the emergence of social networking and internet sites that rate patient experience, the institution wanted to ensure positive reviews by providing excellent customer service for patients calling the appointment and billing centers.

They also hoped to improve resource utilization, and therefore revenue, throughout their system by using visual displays to alert schedulers to the availability of same day appointments in different facilities.

They initially deployed the LightLink system with real-time statistics and alerts on four OnTrack LED displays. After achieving positive results, they added five more LED displays as well as informational RSS feeds.

Curious how Inova’s real-time reporting solutions can help your call center? Send me a note and I’ll be happy to discuss!

Posted in Business, Customer service, Digital signage, Installation, LED displays. No Comments »

Working Remotely: Keys to Success

September 3, 2010 — Jay

Working remotely has emerged as a popular trend as companies look for ways to cut costs, incentivize employees and become more flexible. If you have ever considered working remotely but questioned or doubted your ability to remain productive review the following tips which have helped me personally remain active and engaged while situated almost 2500 miles away from Inova’s corporate office.

  • Pretend you still commute to the office every day: Just because your daily commute now consists of walking down the hall, doesn’t mean your daily preparation for work should change drastically. Set a schedule and stick to it. Wake up with enough time to get ready, eat breakfast and take care of whatever would normally be required before work.  If your day begins at 8 am I can guarantee a wake up time of 7:55am will not be a successful routine.
  • Dress for Success: Yes, your work attire is now probably a lot more relaxed, but that doesn’t mean you should take pride in the fact that you wore a robe until quitting time. My suggestion is to maintain a balance, never become so relaxed that you subconsciously lull yourself into a state of complacency.  Be comfortable, but maintain a level of personal professionalism.
  • Stay Engaged with your Coworkers: A major drawback to working remotely is the loss of the daily face to face interaction with coworkers (some people may argue the opposite). Stay connected, use chat, email or even call your coworkers when you need a quick break.  Just because you are sitting in your office alone doesn’t mean you are alone. Create your own virtual water cooler.
  • Separate your work space and your personal space: If you are working from a home office, make sure that office has a door or some form of separation from the million other things going on in your life. Pretend you aren’t home, close the door, ignore the doorbell and any other distractions you wouldn’t encounter if you were actually at the office.  This advice will also enable you to reject any of your spouse’s requests to perform household chores during the workday.
  • Take Breaks: It’s counterproductive to force yourself into a non-stop work cycle. If you need a lunch, take it. You’d take a quick break at the office, refill your coffee or stop by someone’s cube for a quick chat, don’t chain yourself to your desk.
  • There is an adjustment phase: It may feel strange at first and you may need some time to adapt but you will figure out a routine that works best for you. Give it time.

Of course these steps are not foolproof; working remotely is just not an option for some of us. For everyone else the above mentioned tips should be a nice starting point. A remote workforce is a prevailing trend nationally and if you are fortunate enough to have the option…consider it.

Posted in At-home and remote agents, Human resources. No Comments »

No bonuses? No problem…Low-cost ways to motivate employees

September 2, 2010 — Maureen

Like many companies, Inova Solutions has had to tighten its belt during the recession. But that doesn’t mean we’ve taken our eye off the ball in terms of employee retention. Attrition costs companies a considerable amount in lost productivity, and the process to rehire can often be lengthy and expensive as well.

For these reasons, our management team has made it a priority to keep employees happy, even if monetary bonuses aren’t in the cards right now. So what can a company do to improve employee morale on a small budget? We recently formed a committee to discuss just that. Here’s what we came up with:

  1. Listen to your employees. Sometimes just giving people a forum to voice their concerns or suggestions is enormously cathartic. It is good to know that the powers-that-be hear you and plan to address the issue. Even if the answer is “no,” it is better to have the question raised and addressed publicly so you can explain the reasoning behind a particular policy. At Inova, we’ve chosen to create an anonymous online suggestion box to suit this purpose. And to discourage non-constructive criticism, we’ve established one rule: If you make a complaint, you have to suggest a resolution (no “complaining just for the sake of complaining” allowed). Then, our CEO will address some of the suggestion box items at our quarterly company-wide meeting.
  2. Feed the masses. Food is the universal motivator, and our committee decided that holding regular events with food will bring everyone together and give us something to look forward to. This doesn’t have to be expensive – last month we offered a pizza lunch and the month before a bagel breakfast. It didn’t cost the company much, but it was much appreciated.
  3. Recognize unsung heroes. While bonuses and prizes are great to receive, the best part about a recognition program is often simply the fact that someone noticed your hard work. To ensure that those getting kudos aren’t just the managers’ favorites or those with quotas, we plan to open up our program to the whole company, inviting anyone to nominate a colleague for recognition. Thank unsung heroes at a company meeting and let them know how much you appreciate their commitment. It will mean a lot to the recognized employees, and may even motivate others to go the extra mile.
  4. Casual Friday. At Inova, we’re lucky enough to have a business casual dress code already, but companies that require suits and ties, take notice. Your employees hate it. And as long as you’re not meeting with clients, why not encourage the team to dress down one day a week (or every day)? It won’t cost you a dime, and it is great for morale.

These initiatives work at our company partly because they are employee-generated ideas. “Mandatory fun” initiatives doled out by management can sometimes be counter-productive, so how about forming a committee of employees to take this on instead? Our committee consists of representatives of different departments across the company and it has worked great for us so far.

How about your company? Have you implemented any low-cost morale programs that have been really successful?

Posted in Human resources. No Comments »

The Science of Workplace Learning: Instructional Systems Design

September 1, 2010 — Kelly

As both a student and a high school teacher, I was often frustrated by the seeming pointlessness of much of the content I was expected to teach or learn.  If I didn’t understand the real world application or benefit of information, it was hard for me to be motivated to find ways to retain it, or to teach it to even more unmotivated ninth graders. I was thrilled, then, when I stumbled upon a graduate program that essentially taught me a more scientific approach to education.

The field of Instructional Systems Design (ISD) is a relatively new discipline, having developed during World War II when it became obvious in the military that learning needed to be systematic to guarantee ultimate efficiency.  Military training had specific learning objectives, and the training needed to be engineered so that trainees could be evaluated on their understanding and performance of those stated objectives.  Research, theory, and practical application led to the creation of an orderly process with measurable outcomes; the basic model for this approach is called the ADDIE model of instructional design.

The ADDIE model consists of the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of instruction.  While there is obviously more detail to each step than can be covered in one post, the ADDIE phases allow for careful analysis of learning needs, the design and development of course content to best meet those needs, implementation of the course itself and, finally, evaluation carefully calibrated to test the stated objectives.

Consider the positive impact that ISD can have on workplace training:

  • Often, the first phase of analysis may indicate that training may not even be the best solution.  This eliminates time wasted on unnecessary training and allows supervisors to identify the best way to address a performance gap.  (More on needs analysis some other time!)
  • The actual needs of the learners are the first consideration, so the course material and objectives are not randomly selected.  Content relevance is virtually guaranteed; both the instructor and the students understand the specific end goal of the learning.
    • A precise understanding of the learning objective focuses the training material to save valuable time in the training session.  The materials can also be carefully developed to guarantee relevance for the learners.
    • Retention and motivation are increased because the course material should be directly relevant for the learners.
    • Evaluation clearly pinpoints the success of the training and learner comprehension so additional measures can be taken as necessary to address specific gaps in understanding.

Now that I understand it, ISD seems to be the only way to approach any educational goals.  Many typical K-12, post-secondary, or corporate educational environments teach material rather arbitrarily, sometimes only because that’s always what has been taught.  However, the processes inherent in ISD ensure that there is a defined learning objective, that the course is designed with that end goal in mind, and that evaluation truly determines the learners’ understanding of the content.

Posted in Training. 1 Comment »
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