Case Studies
Please click an example below:
- Improving Customer Experience
- Performance Improvement
- Performance Improvement
- Outsourcing
- Performance Improvement
- Operational Audit
Improving Customer Experience
Sainsburys
Our Client, a newly launched UK Mobile Telephone Network, asked Orchid to design and implement a Customer Experience Programme providing measurements and benchmarks for the entire operation.
This included the design, implementation and delivery of a Customer Satisfaction Survey, and the design and implementation and ongoing tracking of a Customer Experience Scorecard.
We also produced customer lifecycle process maps, and a raft of measurement points for each process. We conducted analysis of their competitors’ customer satisfaction, and established internal benchmarks against these.
Orchid also implemented various operational improvements to positively impact the business model, including the set up and management a dedicated escalations and complaint handling team.
This improved the overall performance of the organisation to a ‘right first time’ culture, and ensured a minimal level of outstanding unresolved cases at all times.
We produced new staffing models and working practices, resulting in major advances across all service levels and significant reduction in costs.
In conjunction with our operational performance improvement, Orchid were successful in improving the customer satisfaction from 37% to 81% over the course of 9 months.
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Performance Improvement
NPower
NPower engaged us in October 2007, and this work was undertaken by our Partner Prit Ahluwalia, who has won the 2008 Interim Manager of the Year for this piece of work.
The challenges were clear :
* Improve failing service levels, which had a massive 20-point gap to target (80%).
* Introduce/embed a performance management culture.
* Introduce a greater commerciality.
* Design/Implement a Balanced Scorecard of KPIs to improve performance.
* Significantly improve performance whilst reducing cost.
* The real question was to identify staff required to achieve benchmark performance.
In parallel with reviewing under-performance, Prit set in motion a number of initiatives; this involved briefing management and gaining buy-in from individuals, of long-standing. As communication was key, Prit took on board the responsibility of addressing all staff, ensuring they understood requirements and expectations.
Having reviewed performance and capability, Prit introduced a change programme to address cultural issues and transform performance.
It was necessary to demonstrate outstanding leadership skills to gain buy-in from skill-sets ‘set in their ways’ – managers indicating they had tried things before without success. Development needs were identified for managers to perform and tackle the challenges.
Focus was on introducing accountability and responsibility for personal performance, enabling productivity improvement. It wasn’t long before staff were motivated to drive core business objectives with a determination to deliver best-of-breed service.
Actions included;
* Role models were identified who would ‘pace-set’ for staff to follow.
* Performance reporting developed.
* Daily feedback introduced.
* Ineffiencies identified.
* Cultural behavioural changes introduced.
* ‘Roll of Honour’ introduced for staff achieving standards.
* Scorecard introduced covering productivity, financial and quality.
Prit tackled the performance / people issues and the outcome was stunning, within 29 days the 80% target was not only achieved but a record level of 91% (Nov) was delivered, a 57% improvement (June 58%). Record performances in the group’s history now being delivered month-on-month.
By December, the service level increased to 96% - 66% improvement.
Abandoned calls were down to 200 (from 2.5k) a 92% improvement. Wait times down to 4 seconds from 10/15 minutes.
This was hugely significant outturn for a utility, matching the highest of financial service sector performance.
Revenue targets were introduced with £2.2m collected in the Q4 and 7k accounts converted to DD.
Beyond the Brief
- Prit provided additional counsel to management, providing strategic direction and new ideas.
- Prit held Customer Experience workshops challenging current thinking.
- Developed a customer charter to ensure a consensus ad idem with customers over expectations – this has been hugely accepted and will reduce unnecessary contacts.
- Introduced written competency tests to identify training needs – to be rolled out across the business.
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Performance Improvement
We were contacted by our client in February 2007 to provide an Interim Site General Manager for their 800 seat site. This piece of work was undertaken by Orchid’s founder, Keith Gait, and we were engaged for an initial period of 8 weeks.
We were asked to undertake an immediate and drastic performance improvement exercise to make some quick and fundamental changes to bring the operation to a more stable state prior to the appointment of a permanent manager to run it going forward.
Following arrival on site, it quickly became apparent that the major areas that needed to be tackled were Attrition, Sickness, Quality and Employee Engagement
Attrition was at over 120%, Sickness was at 21%, Quality was at 48% against a target of 60%, and employee engagement could be seen to be very poor, exacerbated by a poor management culture.
Keith set about the task by immediately engaging with the front line staff, and developed a deep culture change at the site, putting the advisors at the heart of the business and understanding they were the public face of the client.
The results were spectacular. Within 4 and half months, Attrition was below 50%, which had tremendous knock on effects to many areas of the business such as recruitment, training, workforce management, and morale. Sickness was reduced by 50%, and quality scores increased from 48% to 57%.
This was all achieved by hands on delivery and frontline management, strong leadership, by being visible and engaging with the staff, developing a culture of coaching and engagement.
The assignment was extended from an initial 8 weeks to 4 and a half months
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Outsourcing
AXA
We were contacted by AXA in April 2008, following the failure of another consultancy to deliver to AXA’s requirements. AXA were commencing a project that required a vote by their entire policyholder base of 8.2M customers.
Our first job was to work with their existing call centre and understand if they were able to handle the likely volumes that would result. After reporting back to the client with our findings and recommendations, it was agreed that we would procure an outsourced supplier to handle the calls resulting from the project.
Our initial 6 weeks work was to produce an RFP document, and have exploratory discussions with a number of potential suppliers, to make an initial screen of those who would clearly not be suitable or have the capability to deal with the massive one off call volumes.
After working closely with AXA’s procurement department, the RFP was sent to 6 prospective suppliers. We then conducted due diligence site visits to each of the 6 short listed vendors, and following the receipt of their tender submissions, each proposal and site visit was evaluated using our COMFORT model, which is a supplier evaluation methodology. From this a preferred supplier emerged.
We then undertook further due diligence and brokered the legal and contractual discussions between AXA and the Vendor, leading to the formal signing of contracts for the work.
In conjunction with this procurement process, we had also been developing the implementation project plan for the call centre phase of the programme. Following the signing of contract we then began to implement the delivery phase with the chosen supplier in accordance with the plan and their own timescales.
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Performance Improvement
Cobweb
Cobweb contacted us in the summer of 2007 looking for an independent review of their operation, and for improvements to be implemented.
Following our initial discussion with them, it was decided that an initial audit was not necessary, and that they required a consultant on site for an initial period of 50 days to lead and manage the improvement to their operation
Our consultant, Sandra Galer, was engaged, and undertook the initial period of Discovery.
Following this, a programme of improvements were laid out to the client and programme management and reporting lines were agreed.
Sandra then ran the site during the autumn of 2007, making a series of operational, structural, and tactical improvements, that ultimately led to significant improvements in productivity, efficiency, customer satisfaction, quality, and reporting.
Although the initial purchase order was for 50 days, the client extended this for a further period of 3 months. Towards the end of the main part of delivery, recruitment began for the appointment of a suitable member of staff to run the site on a permanent basis.
Following the completion of the recruitment exercise, Sandra undertook an extensive period of handover, ensuring that all the value she had imparted remained with the business long after the end of our assignment, and ensured that Orchid left a positive legacy.
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Operational Audit
Hammonds Furniture
Hammonds approached us in the summer of 2007 with a view to implementing our Balanced Scorecard methodology which has been specifically developed for people centric, customer facing environments. Following an initial discussion with them, it became apparent that they had a number of operational concerns.
We conducted an operational audit for them, which focused on a wide range of areas within their operations, including:
- Operating Model
- Staff
- Structure
- Service Levels
- Operating Standards
- Forecasting
- Workforce Management
- Technology
- Customer Experience
- Quality
- Recruitment
- Training
Following this two week piece of work, we made a number of key recommendations which focused around Training, Operating Structure, Complaint Handling, First Time Resolution, Performance Management, Utilisation, Customer Satisfaction, KPI’s, Process Redesign, and Management Development.
Following this initial piece of work, Hammonds have since engaged us to conduct a six sigma programme to look at their processes, an intensive programme of customer service training for their managers and frontline advisors, and a customer satisfaction survey.
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