Reforming Customer Service Process for Customer Satisfaction Improvement.doc

a- 1 - reforming customer service process for customer satisfaction improvement at datang software company 论文摘要论文摘要 大唐软件公司技术有限公司是国内最早成立的专业电信软件研发机构，是 专业从事电信管理领域和研发及服务供应商，首批通过了国家计算机信息系统 集成资质壹级认证。公司于 2003 年当选为“国家规划布局内的重点软件企业”， 并连续四年获得 “中国软件产业最大规模前 100 家企业”称号，名列“中国软件 欧美出口工程”试点 a 类企业名录，通过了 cmm2 认证等。 但随着业务范围的扩大及市场占有率的提高，越来越多的客户对服务及产 品质量不满意，公司虽然设有专门客服部门，由于流程不畅，不能高效地处理 客户投诉。具体来说，有的客户不通过客服部门进行申诉，而是直接找工程师 解决问题，这样由工程师直接受理的投诉得不到有效的跟踪和监督。同时，客 户对处理的时间结果不满意，认为处理时间太长，投诉不能及时得到反馈。此 项目的目标是从服务质量的角度，改善目前现有客服流程，通过修订质量体系 文件，理顺客户与公司之间客服渠道，以提高客户满意度。 项目于 2006 年 11 月 20 日开始实施，历时 2 个多月。前期通过目标客户进 行问卷调查，swot 分析，问题分析等方法确定客服流程改进的具体措施。在中 期的执行计划中，采用项目活动时间表以及项目周报对项目进行及质 量进行跟踪。在项目后期，通过再次对目标客户进行问卷调查，对比两次调查 的结果，分析客户服务流程改进的前后，客户满意度是否提升。 通过周密的调查分析和对项目计划的跟踪监控，最终使得客户满意度提高 了 8.54%，客户满意度的提高提升了客户对于公司的忠诚度，培养了更多的优 质客户，为进一步合作打下了良好的基础。 尽管客户满意度较之前有所提高，但在项目过程中，我们也发现，客户服 务工作是个长期的过程，需要在实践中不断地优化和改进，可以充分利用信息 工具,例如利用互联网技术，建立一套客户服务系统。同时，在提高服务质量的 同时，也应加强产品质量等其他因素。 abstract this paper is presents a detail report of a project implemented to reform customer service process of datang software company to improve customer satisfaction. based on hypothesis that target customers and employees can follow our process, a half of two-month project was carried out. scientific research methods of customer survey, swot analysis were used in the identification, analysis of problem and project evaluation. project framework, activity flow chart with time scale and weekly repot were used to monitor the project implementation. with the effort from all members, the project has finally achieved its goal. customer satisfaction ratings have increased from 77.64% to 86.18%. the project hypothesis has proved to be reasonable and appliance. the project has successfully achieved its objective. table of contents 1introduction.1 2problem and problem analysis.2 2.1problem identification.2 2.2problem analysis2 2.3current business situation analysis.3 2.3.1human resources3 2.3.2financial resources 3 2.3.3customer profiles3 2.3.4pest analysis.4 2.4needs and wants analysis4 2.5swot analysis5 2.5.1strengths .5 2.5.2weaknesses .5 2.5.3opportunities 5 2.5.4threats 6 3project objectives and hypothesis .6 3.1project objectives.6 3.2project hypothesis7 4project rational7 5project design10 5.1planning activities.10 5.1.1activities plan to take place10 5.1.2a critical path analysis of these activities.11 5.1.3people involved in the project.12 5.1.4time-scale of the activities13 5.2cost consideration.15 5.3risk analysis16 5.4plan for the monitoring and evaluation of the project.17 5.4.1monitoring the plan 17 5.4.2evaluating the plan.18 5.5project framework.18 6project implementation and evaluation .18 6.1project implementation.18 6.1.1stage one19 6.1.2stage two19 6.1.3stage three .19 6.1.4stage four.20 6.2project monitoring.20 7project finding and discussion.21 7.1project result.21 7.1.1result of first customer survey（before implementation）.21 7.1.2result of second customer survey (after implementation)24 7.1.3comparison of pre- and post project implementation26 7.2project discussion.30 8conclusion30 bibliography32 appendix.33 appendix 1: flow chat of activities to take place.33 appendix 2: flow chat of critical path34 appendix 3: weekly report.35 appendix 4: project framework.36 appendix 5: customer questionnaire38 appendix 6: customer lists.39 appendix 7: microsoft gunter chart.40 - 1 - reforming customer service process for customer satisfaction improvement at datang software company 1introduction datang software technologies ltd. was founded in 1993 that with responsibility for application software research and develop for telecommunication industry which had obtained the national system integration qualification at first time. it also gained a glory of the top 100 corporation of largest scale in continuous four years. in the last several years, the business of datang software has grown rapidly; our products and solution involve five leading telecommunication provider (china telecom, china network communication company, china mobile communication company, china unicom company and china railway communication company) covered with 26 provinces at home. however, customer satisfaction has declined rapidly due to the following reasons: the customer service department don not run regularly due to customers are used to communicate directly with engineers. with the expanding of business scale and marketing rate, departments and employees are increased in short order. employees fluxion is another big problem in it industry that customers complaints are not responded in time. so company does not know customers wants and needs in time, as such customers complaints are not responded in a proper time. consequently, customers are dissatisfied with our services. customer complaints are involved the following aspect: company visualizes, product quality, service quality, etc. as a manager of quality department, it is urgent for me to correct the customer service process to improve service quality. we have used the questionnaire, swot analysis and problem analysis to make the goal and aims of project. at the beginning of the project, we do a customer survey to understand why the customer complaints. during the project executing, we trained employees about customer service. when we do the - 2 - evaluation of the project, we do another customer survey used the same questionnaire to verify project effect. i hope the successful implementation of the project will improve our customer satisfaction. 2problem and problem analysis 2.1problem identification the problem is that how to improve customers satisfaction along with companys development in order to extend the market, and besides, maintain the loyal customers. as a manager of quality department, i am responsible for improving customers satisfaction. as a primary task, i have discussed with my colleague. we have made some measures, all of which aim to solve the problem effectively. first, we will analyze the reason of customers complaints, and what are the customer complaints via customer survey and data analysis. second, we will find a help way to change the states from customers and ourselves. 2.2problem analysis to better understand the problem of customer complaints, we conducted a swot analysis, comprised of current business situation analysis and customer needs and wants analysis and a swot profile summarizing datang software companys advantage and disadvantage. - 3 - 2.3current business situation analysis 2.3.1human resources we offer a project manager in one province to deals with project routine. there are ten to thirty people under him involves two to four quality members. these quality members are charge for software testing and quality tracking. it is a good opportunity to understand every projects states for me because they are report to me directly. and also we have a two professional customer service staff to teat with customer complaints. 2.3.2financial resources the companys capital stock is 130,000,000 yuan. in the last year, companys outstanding achievement was excellent. turnover was 200,000,000 yuan and profit was increased 87% than 2005. so the budget of the project is assuring. 2.3.3customer profiles telecom industry is dog-eat-dog which needs complex technique to carry out their flexible business development. 1)a majority of projects investment is almost considerable expensive included software and hardware. so customers must check the validity of investment seriously. 2)customer requirements are multiplex due to different area and different market. so same requirements adapted to southern province might refused by northern province lie one market factor. 3)employees of telecom industry are well-educated. basically, they have the ability to operate computers and apply application software our provided to running their own business. - 4 - 4)cruel competition between telecom providers result in higher and higher response rate of software companies. 2.3.4pest analysis china is a big developing country which has a stable political, economic, and social environment. people need more and more convenient service settled for progress of living condition. however, the construction of information technology in china has a long way to catch the developed countries. government has promulgated a serious policy to encourage develop of information industry. it is a good opportunity for every telecom provider who can catch the chance. so each telecom provider must offer various products and convenient services in order to occupy market share. at the same time, software companies must study new technology continuously to produce appropriate product for these telecom providers. 2.4needs and wants analysis a customer survey was carried out to find out weakness of customer service. first, a questionnaire was designed. then forms were distributed to eleven typical customers. in one week, all eleven forms were returned to the customer service center. the results show that customer satisfaction of response time was worst. it was only 66.36%. response time was subject aspect of customer service showing our companys service standard was bad. the next was service efficiency and communication; they were 78.18% and 79.09%. we must strengthen problem track and keep the communicate channel was available. - 5 - 2.5swot analysis based on the results of situation analysis and needs and wants analysis, i came up with the following swot analysis. 2.5.1strengths 1)our company holds a big market share of china network communication company. 2)our companys structure is clear for customer service. 3)our engineers are well-educated. about 85% have above ba degree. most of us are experiences in software design and development. 4)we have flexible product and products and are easy to install and configurations. 5)we have iso9001 quality system to guide us how to assure product quality. 2.5.2weaknesses 1)some customers are still immature in such chinese surrounding, so it brings communication risk for us. 2)customers requirement are often changed, whereas the schedule and investment are not changed. due to pressure of project schedule and cost, we must face so many projects that our energy and physical strength are separated at the same time. 3)some engineers do not transfer complaints to customer service center when they receive customers complaints 4)operation of our products is too complex and needs more professional training. 2.5.3opportunities 1)governments support for information industry. - 6 - 2)headquarters of china network company issued a new sales promotion which would be supported by our products. 2.5.4threats 1)staff demission is a common problem in it industry. 2)uncertain marketing factors are risks. 3)be cautious to use of new and instability technique. the problem is that how to improve customers satisfaction. to resolve the problem, we need to deal appropriately with all of its weaknesses as well as some threats. we will perfect our iso quality system and train employee related customer service. to overcome its weakness, sales should enhance communication with customer to lead customer to manage their logical requirements. in conclusion, if our company can make good use of strengths, grasp some opportunities, avoid the threats and overcome its weakness, our customer satisfaction will be improved rapidly. 3project objectives and hypothesis 3.1project objectives the problem that i will research is that more and more customers of our company are dissatisfied with our products and services. their complaints involve product quality, customer service response time, service staff attitude, etc. our company, datang software technologies co. ltd., is large-scale application software provider of telecom industry which customers extended all over the country. response time and service attitude are very important in it industry, it means that our company will lose potential market and business chance. so the goal of my project is to improve our customers satisfaction rate more about 5%. - 7 - the objectives are to analysis the reason of dissatisfaction, to establish an effective customer service system, to make sure employees can use correct style to handle customers complaints. 3.2project hypothesis it is hypothesized that if improving customer satisfaction is related to taking better care of customers needs and wants, then a well customer service process and employees followed the process and procedures will help us to provide better services to our customers. 4project rational how to improve customers satisfaction is the goal of my project. it is hypothesized that a well customer service processes to achieve the goal. to find a really effective and practical way to solve the problem i read some books and articles for reference. our quality system is established on iso9001:2000 and cmmi, the common standards. iso (the international organization for standardization) is a worldwide federation standards bodies. the chapters 5.2 of iso9001 emphasized customer focus (2000):“top management shall ensure that customer requirements are determined and are met with the aim of enhancing customer satisfaction.” the organization shall determine and implement effective arrangement for communicating with customers in relation to customer feedback, including customer complaints (iso9001: 2000). the chapters 8.2.1 of iso9001 (2000:15) points out that customer satisfaction as one - 8 - of the measurements of performance of the quality management system, organization shall monitor relating to customer perception as to whether the organization has met customer requirements. the methods for obtaining and using this information shall be determined. the capability maturity model integration (cmmi) is a process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential elements of effective processes. it is sponsored by the u.s. department of defense. the software engineering institute of carnegie mellon university is a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the u.s. department of defense. in cmmi, the capability of software can be divided into five levels. the level five is the highest. i found several books of cmmi to maintain our quality system. cmmi distilled a practical introduction to integrated process improvement (dennis m.ahern a questionnaire will be designed to understand customers complaints. meanwhile, we will select some important customers as the survey objects. in the survey, we will focus on customer service quality only. ten score to one score will be chose by the investigated customers to show their satisfaction. we will contact our customers by telephone, sending and receiving fax or email, providing questionnaire to collect all kinds of complaints dates. stage 2: analyze customers needs and wants once we got the complaints date, we will classify the complaints by points. first, we will get an average score from the every questionnaire feedback from customers in one survey item. adding all average score of all items as the total score, we can get an average score as customer satisfaction. the score is higher, the customer satisfaction is better. from the data, we can know the weakness of our customer service. stage 3: revise and train the new processes according the result of the analysis, we can find a disparity among exist customer service process and customer needs and wants. we will revise the related processes of quality system to adapt customer needs and wants. after reedit, we will get an approval from senior manager according the requirement of iso9001. at the same time, we will prepare the training of the new quality system documents for related - 11 - staff. stage 4: apply the new processes in stage four, our staff will be provided with related knowledge and skill of customer service. we will apply the rules on the job potentially. after a few days, we will do second customer survey to verify whether our project achieve the goal. therefore we can track the effect of new rules through all kinds channel such as face to face communication, telephoning, email or fax receiving and questionnaire. according to iso9001:2000, improve customer satisfaction rate should be continued. we will perfect our customer service system according as the survey result. actually it is a circle stage. flow chat of this part of activities to see appendix 1. 5.1.2a critical path analysis of these activities in the project, stage one to stage four is in a proper sequences. the first thing is design a valuable questionnaire, and then we will select some typical customers to investigate, after survey, we callback the customers questionnaires. when we get the callback data, we will analyze the date according to the identified classify standard. thus, we can identify the customer needs and wants convenient for next step. next, as long as we know the customer needs and wants, we will make a list of what policy and documents are inconsistent with customer needs and wants immediately. and then, we will reedit these documents and get an approval from senior manager before release these documents. during the documents modification, we can confirm the trained employees. therefore, we can train the staff after the release. after a period time of running of new policy and procedure, we can do a customer - 12 - survey in the same customers to see how their satisfactions are. although this is a last stage, this is also a key step for us. flow-chat showing critical path analysis of the activities is as shown as below, the bold arrow showing critical path. classify the collected date identify customer needs and wants discuss the list of documents for reedit reedit or modify the documents get an approval from senior manager release the documents train the staffs identify the training lists application for few days do second customer survey collect customers feedback contrast the result between two surveys