The Client:
Financial Services ClientBackground:A major financial services company sought to change the way it handled collection of late loan payments. The business had consistently written off over $100 million annually in noncollectable debt. The executive in charge of this division had a vision for a new way of doing business which represented a radical departure from traditional collection strategies.
Challenge:Success in implementing this customer service strategy plan hinged on fundamentally changing the nature of interactions between the company representatives and their customers. This would require:
- Company Reps to change existing behaviors
- Reversing a trend of poor customer satisfaction
- Increasing customer follow-through on commitments
The Approach:The company provided seasoned and new managers with training, tools, and consulting support that helped them create and execute a plan for implementing the new service approach within their organizations. The approach focused on the following:
- Create a clear link between the new strategy, organizational purpose, and customer loyalty
- Develop personal accountability and ownership for adopting new behaviors
- Increase people’s readiness for to embrace the change management process
The Results:As a result of this process the company was able to significantly improve employee engagement levels and, in turn, customer behavior to generate significant business outcomes:
- A 60% increase in desired behaviors
- Measurable increases in customer loyalty & satisfaction around how reps handle transactions
- A 30% increase in “promises kept per hour” – customers following through on payment commitments
- A 29% increase in dollars collected per hour
- Reduced charge-offs by 39% and $44 million in one year
The Client:
Global Manufacturer - High Tech Industry
Background:A large, highly respected global technology manufacturer changed its strategy to create a high performance culture and therefore remain competitive in its market segment and financially viable as an ongoing entity. The new strategy fundamentally repositioned the company from commoditized offerings to value-added services and high margin products.
Challenge:
After two years, major functional groups in the company had yet to adopt the new philosophy or implement enabling strategies. People were also highly skeptical about the new strategy succeeding. Finally, implementation would require substantial effort throughout the company with significant change in the following functions:
- Product development needed to completely revamp their R&D focus
- Renewed emphasis on executive development and coaching to support teams responsible for making sure any new strategies stick and impact the bottom-line over time.
- Manufacturing had to retool much of their production operations
- Sales needed to redefine and tune the strategic sales model and target audience
The Approach:
The company embarked on a comprehensive, structured process working with intact teams to create implementation project plans and actions. The process, supported by training and ongoing executive coaching, was cascaded down through the organization with the following objectives:
- Align all efforts in the organization around the achievement of the new strategy
- Engage each group and individual in a process to create ownership around goals and objectives need to successfully implement the strategy
- Develop capacity for change within the workforce to facilitate the transition from old to new ways of doing business
The Results:
As a result of this process the company achieved significantly improved and sustained business results as well as higher levels of employee retention and engagement. Specific results include:
- 22.6% increase in Q4 revenue over the prior year
- Gross margin improved to 61.4 %, up from 54.7 % in the prior year
- Developed and launched over 150 new products supporting the new model
- Significant measurable increases in commitment/action to the new strategy
- Measurable increases in virtually every dimension of employee engagement and retention
