m2 Gap Analysis
m2 Gap Analysis
Project Description
Management of Best Products Inc. is negotiating a business plan for the upcoming
year with objectives of maintaining profitability and aggressive growth with a
focus on quality and customer service.
The client has identified issues with the quality of customer service. A lower than
acceptable sales call volume rate has also been identified, which significantly
affects the company’s annual revenue. Both of these issues directly affect the
company’s number of returning customers.
Best Products Inc. is requesting a thorough gap analysis that examines both
performance and training assessment issues. This will ensure that the training we
provide will meet all company goals including financial, customer satisfaction,
employee satisfaction, and employee engagement.
Information Needed
Learning Gurus will analyze the current state of operations of Best Products, Inc.
These areas include:
The current recruiting and onboarding processes implemented by Human
Resources
Current staffing, recruitment and open positions
The initial and recurring training options provided to staff
The options presented to staff and customers regarding feedback and
support
The current state of sales and revenue, including information related to the
reason for the increase in sales as well as specific challenges the call center
is experiencing
The current state of the call center and support departments, including
staffing capacity and call volume data
Information pertaining to the specific customer complaints and the origin
of the complaints
Detailed information regarding employee exit interviews and feedback
Team Strategy
Learning Gurus, Inc. will use a number of research methods to address key
performance and personnel issues exhibited at Best Products, Inc. Primary issues
identified by the company include poor customer service ratings, poor staff
retention, and high employee dissatisfaction. To uncover and address the source of
Research Method Target Audience Information You Hope to Gain Team Member Responsible
1. Data acquisition Call Center Obtain results from an end-of-training Karen Hunter
Supervisors, survey to examine perceived
Telephone Operators effectiveness of the catalog training.
Data that we hope to obtain includes:
5. Interview Sponsor, Jane To gather information about the overall Melissa Stitt
MacKenzie company and specific project
expectations related to:
6. Interview Vice President of To gain insight into factors related to Melissa Stitt
Sales, Mike Merrill sales performance, including:
Reasons behind the increases in
sales last year
Areas for improvement in sales
numbers
Existing sales challenges and sales
expectations for the future
8. Data Acquisition Customer Service To obtain data that will provide insight Elise Bixby
Records (complaints) into why there has been a 30% increase
in customer complaints including:
Customer complaints related to
sales calls or service calls
To determine whether the
complaints were primarily
regarding operator etiquette,
product knowledge, or technology
Call volume, cadence of calls as
well as call center staffing schedule
to ensure that staffing is adequate to
properly assist customers
10. Survey Telephone Operators To obtain information from current Kelly Brown and Elise Bixby
operators, including:
Onboarding process.
Initial training content, format and
process
Current on-the-job difficulties
11. Interview Call Center To obtain information on the tasks and Melissa Stitt
Supervisors work completed by supervisors and
perceptions of telephone operators by
supervisors, including:
12. Focus Groups Telephone Operators To obtain information on the tasks and Melissa Stitt
work completed by telephone operators
including:
Process, job information and job
tasks as understood by telephone
operators.
Attitudes and job skills
Training perceptions and job
knowledge as understood by
telephone operators.
Questions to Ask
Gaining the specific data listed above would allow Learning Gurus, Inc. to
determine if there are any gaps in the information being covered in training as it
compares to the customer service goals and desired output. Further, interviewing
the training facilitators lends a unique perspective into the details of how training
is conducted and factors that could impact participant learning.
Training curriculum and content will be reviewed and analyzed for how well it
addresses the following training objectives:
Increase call operators’ knowledge of the features and benefits of each new
product represented in the quarterly catalogs.
Increase call operators’ skill in describing product information catalog and in
answering questions not answered in the online product information.
Questions to Ask
When conducting the materials review, the analysis will specifically address the
following questions:
Learning Gurus, Inc. Gap Analysis 9
Does the training include catalog information on each new product?
Does the information presented cover the key features of each new product?
Does the information presented cover the benefits of each new product?
Does the training cover the communication skills necessary to convey product
information in a clear and concise manner?
Does the training cover the importance of phone etiquette in a customer
service role?
Does the training test for knowledge gained on new products?
What resources are available to employees after the training?
Does the training include information on how to access those resources?
The training facilitators, Sheena Perez and Judi Thompson, will be interviewed to
learn more about key elements of the training process, including, flow, delivery
and impact on the staff performance goals.
Questions to Ask
Training Delivery
What is the physical set up of the classroom? How is the space used during
the sessions?
What are the teaching techniques that the facilitators use throughout the
sessions?
What are the presentation methods that the facilitators use to illustrate key
points?
Training Flow
Who creates the training?
How are the training topics organized/sequenced?
How was the time allotment of four hours determined?
What is the timing of delivery as it relates to the rollout of each seasonal
catalog?
Training Efficiency
How is the time during training used?
Is participants’ prior knowledge accounted for prior to training?
Are new products only addressed or does the product review include old
products as well?
Is equal training time dedicated for each seasonal catalog? Is the time used
in the same manner for larger catalogs vs. smaller catalogs?
Are questions asked during the entire Q&A session? Do the facilitators
have the content knowledge to immediately answer the questions?
Training Effectiveness
Are knowledge checks used during training to measure learning?
How is training feedback gathered from participants to determine
satisfaction and perceived quality of training?
What is the level of engagement in the Q&A session during training? Are
questions answered?
How are the training results measured in terms of targeted performance
goals?
We would like to meet with Susan Turner to introduce ourselves and discuss our
process and our goals. We will inform her that she is a valuable stakeholder in our
analysis and the resulting implementation.
We are interested in finding out details pertaining to the company’s onboarding
process and training. We additionally want to establish the client’s expectations for
their employees so that it can be compared to the perceived expectations by the
employees. We would also like to determine if the problem with retention and
performance is related to hiring practices or the dissemination of expectations in
the call center.
Questions to Ask
Questions to Ask
Company Information
What is the mission or vision statement for the company?
Do you feel there are any issues in terms of current management or
organizational structure?
Do you feel the company management has the skills necessary to meet
Best Products, Inc. goals?
We would like to interview Mike Merrill about financial goals and perceptions. We
are interested in finding out details pertaining to the company’s sales, sales
expectations, and sales growth.
Questions to Ask
Company Information
What is your vision of Best Products, Inc. future?
Do you feel there are any issues in terms of current management or
organization structure?
Do you feel the company management has the skills necessary to meet
Best Products goals?
What was the 41% in sales attributed to last year? Area, product,
catalogue, etc.?
Employees
Do you attend employee meetings?
If so, what is typically discussed at the meetings?
Do you think all employees should attend the employee meetings?
Do you think employees would attend meeting if they were offered
incentives?
Questions to Ask
Call center data will be collected to determine if there is adequate staffing to assist
customers and to understand the common complaints of customers. The type of
data that will be collected will include cadence of calls, the overall call volume and
the call center staffing schedule. The data collected will also include the times at
which telephone operators are busy taking a call, working (between calls),
available (waiting for a call), or on break. The customer surveys and information
that detail complaints from customers will also be collected to determine possible
root causes of issues customers face.
Questions to Ask
This method will involve conducting surveys amongst the customer service
telephone operators. This will help to determine their daily management and
provide insight as to why they may be slow to take calls and their inability to
continually answer customer’s questions. The survey will also provide insight into
the training of the job, the confidence level of the employees and any obstacles that
they perceive.
Questions to Ask
Questions to Ask
Trainings
What trainings have you completed?
Do you feel you benefitted from those trainings?
Do you have any suggestions to improve those trainings?
What trainings might help you improve job performance or reach your
career goals?
Questions to Ask
Trainings
What trainings have you completed?
Do you feel you benefitted from those trainings?
Would you suggest any improvements to those trainings?
What trainings might help you improve job performance or reach your
career goals?
Individuals may not take the time We will find an alternative way to
to complete surveys which would access the information we
result in a low response rate and requested, including other data
incomplete information. acquisition sources such as staffing
data, exit interview data, and
company sales metrics.