pwirthportfolio.weebly.com · Web viewProject Description. PJ Enterprises is a mail-order catalog...

PJ Enterprises Performance Analysis and Training Develop-

ment

Completed by ID Gurus*

Course Plan Completed on August 21, 2015

Project Gap Analysis Strategy..................................................................................................4Project Description...........................................................................................................................4Information Needed.........................................................................................................................4Team Strategy..................................................................................................................................5Analysis Plan....................................................................................................................................5Activity 1 – Questionnaire: Phone Operators....................................................................................7Activity 2 - Interview: Supervisors....................................................................................................8Activity 3 – Interview: Subject Matter Experts..................................................................................9Activity 4 - Group Meeting and Interviews: Senior Leadership........................................................10Activity 5 – Questionnaire and Interview: Former Employees.........................................................11Roadblocks & Dependencies...........................................................................................................11

Performance Analysis Report.................................................................................................13Introduction and Background.........................................................................................................13Purpose of the Report....................................................................................................................13Analysis Methods...........................................................................................................................13Data Summary: Telephone Operator Survey..................................................................................14Data Summary: Customer Service Survey.......................................................................................15Data Summary: Telephone Operator Call Report...........................................................................16Analysis Findings............................................................................................................................17Identification of Needs...................................................................................................................19Recommended Solutions for PJ Enterprises to Consider..................................................................20Proposed Solutions for Consulting Firm to Carry Out......................................................................20Evaluation plan...............................................................................................................................21Request for Proposal......................................................................................................................22

Project Charter......................................................................................................................23Project Information........................................................................................................................23Description of Work.......................................................................................................................25Project Parameters.........................................................................................................................28Approvals.......................................................................................................................................36

Project Plan...........................................................................................................................37Project Information........................................................................................................................37Scope Statement............................................................................................................................38Project Plans..................................................................................................................................40Change Management Plan..............................................................................................................46Project Plan Approvals...................................................................................................................48

Design Document for Product Reference Guide Training........................................................49Document Description....................................................................................................................49Purpose of the Course....................................................................................................................49Audience Description.....................................................................................................................49Course Description.........................................................................................................................49Course Seat Time............................................................................................................................49Instructional Architecture/Strategy for Course...............................................................................49Major Course Objectives.................................................................................................................50

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Learning Assessment for Course.....................................................................................................50Course Outline...............................................................................................................................50Media.............................................................................................................................................51Development Tools........................................................................................................................51Development Time.........................................................................................................................52Support requirements....................................................................................................................52Ownership......................................................................................................................................52Project Sign-off...............................................................................................................................52

Appendix A : WBS for Product Reference Guide Training.......................................................53

Appendix B: Gantt Chart........................................................................................................54

Appendix C: Job Task Analysis...............................................................................................55

Appendix D: Detailed Course Outline ...................................................................................56

Appendix E: Final Assessment...............................................................................................63

Appendix F: Product Reference Guide Mock-ups...................................................................64

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Project Gap Analysis

Project DescriptionPJ Enterprises is a mail-order catalog business that manufactures, ships, and mar-kets a wide variety of unique gifts, clothing, and decorative accessories. The company experienced significant financial growth this year with a forty-one per-cent increase in sales for a net profit of one million dollars for the fiscal year. The potential for marketing and sales outreach stands to increase in the upcoming year with an additional 250,000 names added to the customer catalog list. PJ En-terprises distinguishes themselves in the market with their competitive prices, op-tional overnight delivery and expedited delivery from time to order. Despite the fiscal success of PJ Enterprises, concerns around the quality of customer service have prompted the desire to develop training initiatives to increase sales projec-tions for the upcoming year. Currently, PJ Enterprises relies on their catalog di-rector and merchandising manager to conduct half-day training workshops to their employees prior to each seasonal catalog mailing.

The Instructional Design Gurus has been contracted to design, develop, and de-liver training for telephone operators and customer-service supervisors. A budget of $400,000 has been allocated for this training, which is expected to result in a ten percent improvement in customer service scores. Fully trained operators are projected to increase catalog sales and receive significantly less customer com-plaints. This will support a projected target of seven million in annual sales and thirteen million in catalog sales for the upcoming year.

The purpose of this analysis is to help PJ Enterprises accomplish its goals of in-creased catalog sales and a reduction in customer service complaints determining root causes of the gap between their goals and their actual current performance. Data was gathered from various sources in an effort to make sound decisions and recommendations in regards to improving performance and sales objectives.

Information NeededThe gap analysis is designed to help the Instructional Design Gurus determine the solutions necessary to obtain the desired business objectives and performance. In order to clarify the specific issues and concerns that cause performance gaps, three major areas will be investigated:

Gaps in Environment

Gaps in Communication

Gaps in Motivation

In order to define the most effective solutions for increasing performance at PJ Enterprises, To complete these knowledge gaps, information will be gathered us-

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ing a variety of methods to assess the employees’ motivations, communication and environment related to environmental issues will be gathered to define em-ployee access to necessary materials, resources and/or technology to successfully fulfill their roles. An employee’s environment may be affected by inadequate tools or resources to perform their job effectively. Data will be collected to deter-mine the current working environment for telephone operators and supervisors through interviews and questionnaires. These questions are open-ended and ad-dress those areas related to increasing performance and job satisfaction, either tangible or abstract.

This information will help determine if miscommunication is a contributing fac-tor to performance gaps. Information gaps can include general breakdowns in communication, departments/teams failing to share information, unclear expecta-tions, and/or conflicting goals. Survey questions in this area addressed manage-ment’s response to employee frustrations and how they (employees) felt about the response.

Motivational gaps will be explored to define the employee job descriptions, in-centive and reward structures, company culture, and overall morale.

Using this approach we can attempt to define where the most significant gaps ex-ist and explore further using the strategies we have defined in the next section.

Team StrategyThe Instructional Design Gurus feel as though a mixture of methods for gathering information is needed to present a complete gap analysis. Methods include focus groups, interviews, surveys and review of documentation.

Focus groups will be useful for establishing relationships with employees and can be an efficient method for gathering diverse ideas and options. The potential disadvantage with the use of this method includes the lack of anonymity among the participants. Some participants may be hesitant to participate and/or provide honest responses. More detailed information will be gathered through individual interviews of phone operators, supervisors, subject matter experts and manage-ment. Interviews encourage more anonymity along with the opportunity for more probing questions.

Surveys will allow us to gather more data about the priorities and opinions of large numbers of employees, while still permitting anonymity of the participants. Finally, documentation such as call logs, annual reports and exit interviews will help uncover any patterns in performance or customer service. Additional detail on the methods and potential roadblocks are outlined in the Analysis Plan below.

Analysis PlanThe Instructional Design Gurus will seek the information needed to assess per-formance gaps training desires by using a variety of methods, which include questionnaires, observations, interviews, online assessments and group discus-sions. The chart below identifies what research method will be used for each tar-

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get audience, the information to be learned, and the team member responsible for each audience group.

Research Method

Target Audience

Information We Hope to Gain

Team Member Responsible

1. Questionnaire

and

Observation

Phone Operators

Details and insights, in-cluding:

phone operators’ current skill level

Greg Oda-chowski

Pam Wirth

2. Observation Phone Op-erators

which skills they feel they are miss-ing

which skills do they feel are expected of them

what would encour-age them attend more employee meetingshow much support do they feel they get from their supervisors

Pam Wirth

3. Interview

and

Online Assessment

Supervi-sors

From the supervisors, we need to determine:

the major problems with the phone op-eratorsan example of expected behav-ior among phone operators

the model behavior the supervisors are looking for in phone operators the skills the supervi-sors feel are ex-pected of them

Amy Keppert

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Research Method

Target Audience

Information We Hope to Gain

Team Member Responsible

4. Interview SMEs SMEs explain rationale for:

training once a quarter

timing of training

how training is con-ducted

Pam Wirth

5. Group Meeting

Senior Leadership

Determine how much support there is to hire new staff, replace old technology, and rent PGE’s own customer list.

What barriers does senior leadership view to gather-ing information in sup-port of the project?

Understand what senior leadership expects from supervisors and SMEs.

Greg Oda-chowski

6. Interview Former Employees

Locate the factors that former employees feel should be changed in or-der to establish a better workplace environment.

Amy Keppert

Jessica Wil-son

Activity 1 – Questionnaire: Phone Operators

Details of Activity/Method

A questionnaire will be supplied to the telephone operators asking about skills they feel they are lacking and where more training is appropriate.

Questions to Ask

In what areas do you feel more training is necessary? A. Product Knowledge, B. Customer interaction, C. Telephone Etiquette, D. Other

Have you familiarized yourself with the current catalog? (Yes/No)

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How many employee meetings have you attended since hired? A. 0-1, B. 2-3, C. 4-5, D. 6+

How does the current technology impact your ability to drive sales? Yes/No If so, how?

Are you aware of the company’s new pension plan and HR policies that were im-plemented in February? Yes/No

What complaints do the customers raise?

What improvements do they suggest?

Do company policies clarify what is expected of you in your job role? Yes/No

There has been a 30% increase in customer complaints since this time last year. What do you think is contributing to that?

If we were to reduce the number of calls that had to be triaged to a supervisor, what kind of support what you need?

Customers are complaining that phone agents lack product knowledge. What are your thoughts about that?

What questions do customers they ask that you can’t handle currently?

What kind of tools would you need to make your job it easier to handle customer those questions?

On average, agents are handling three calls an hour; the desired target is twice that. What are some barriers you see to being able to hit that target personally?

Beyond product training, how are new telephone operators trained?

What do you most like working at PJE?

What do you least like about working at PJE?

What is needed in order to improve your job performance and job satisfaction?

How do the incentives drive your motivation for success and/or sales?

How do management respond to your frustrations? Was it satisfactory?

For every three calls, two of them result in a complaint. How does that make you feel? What would motivate you to im-prove? What kind of support do you need?

Activity 2 - Interview and Online Assessment: Supervisors


An interview and/or online assessment will be conducted with the Supervisors to gain an understanding of how well they know their telephone operators’ knowl-edge of the products.

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Questions to Ask

Is there a better way to institute employee meetings? Online? During break time? Hour paid after work?

How do you ensure that callers will call back and use the system again? Is there a frequent purchaser rewards program?

What complaints do the customers raise? What improvements do they suggest?

What are the types of product knowledge complaints? Can you give examples? Can you provide examples of the product knowledge complaints? Can you give examples of the phone etiquette complaints?

What percent of complaints are related to:

product knowledge deficit

phone etiquette

call response time

Are there examples of model behavior for performance (either in training mod-ules/model employees)? Yes/No

Is there a reward system in place for desired performance? Yes/No

What skills/knowledge do the lowest performers lack?

What skills/knowledge do the highest performers demonstrate?

What changes or improvements in the company would you like to see imple-mented?

Beyond the product training, how are new phone agents trained?

What interventions are made for low-performing agents (are there improvement plans prior to firing)?


On average, agents are handling three calls an hour; the desired target is twice that. What kind of feedback are you giving to operators who are missing the tar-get? What is preventing staff from hitting six calls per hour?

Once a call is triaged to a supervisor or a complaint is made, what type of feed-back and coaching does the agent receive?

How often are agents evaluated for call quality and what does that tool look like? How often are you giving your operators feedback and coaching related to per-formance?

Are calls being transferred to you that you think your team should be handling? Can you provide specific examples?

What type of phone etiquette skills do agents need to succeed?

What barriers/challenges do you face as a supervisor?

What do you most like working at PJE?

What do you least like about working at PJE?

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What is needed in order to improve your job performance and job satisfaction?

How do the incentives drive your motivation for success and/or sales?

How do management respond to your frustrations? Was it satisfactory?

Activity 3 – Interview: Subject Matter Experts Ray Johnson, Sarah Commons, Maria Gomez


SMEs will be interviewed to better understand their training methods and how often phone operators are trained on policies and catalogs.

Questions to Ask

What additional training can be instituted for the hiring managers to improve hir-ing procedures?

Are there procedures in place for the employees to learn the new HR policies? If so, how are they implemented? Can phone etiquette training be implemented in the next week

Are there supplemental trainings offered throughout each quarter to better edu-cate the phone operators on etiquette, products, and policies?

What new products are in development? How will they affect business

What type of product knowledge do you expect agents to have? What types of questions should they be able to answer?

Describe the “perfect” call from a product knowledge standpoint. What does it sound like? What should agents be able to recall vs. reference?

Would simplifying the product catalog information by categorical grouping of items be beneficial to the operators? Is it possible to simplify the information for the agents if we grouped them by categories of some type or some other strategy?

Are all products equal or do we want agents to focus on being experts on a key sub-set?

What strategies have you tried in the past to help the phone agents improve their product knowledge? What seemed to help? What didn’t work?

Let’s look at a few examples of phone logs recording a recent customer transac-tion with a telephone operator (from agents or supervisors or data). Can you walk me through what the agent should have said?


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Activity 4 - Group Meeting and Interviews: Senior Leadership


Speaking with senior leadership will provide the Gurus with additional informa-tion to support the complete picture of performance gaps at PJ Enterprises. Se-nior leadership wants to increase profits in the next year, but are they willing to put extra money into hiring and training?

Questions to Ask

How are employees compensated for attending the employee meetings (vacation day earned, initial sale cataloged…)?

How much will it cost to get the current hardware configured and extra work sta-tions added in order to account for increase in sales?

Do you feel the current number of customer service supervisors is sufficient to handle the workload? Is it possible to hire one more customer service supervisor to bring total to five (one supervisor for every five phone operators)?

What do you see as the greatest risk to the success of this project?

What do you think the strengths and weaknesses are of the customer service de-partment at PJ Enterprises?


Tell us about your supervisors. What’s their experience? Where they previously phone agents or external hires? What kind of management or coaching experi-ence/training do they have? What tools do they need to better support their teams?

What are your expectations for your supervisors? What are their metrics? How often are you meeting with them to review? What type of feedback/coaching are you providing? What happens when they miss team performance targets? Are they eligible for incentives based on team performance?

What other factors do we need to consider? Do you have a Learning Manage-ment System to host self-paced training? You have resource to lead training or should our budget include providing a facilitator? In the past, staff received four hours of training per quarter; is the total expected time investment/employee the same for this project?

What challenges or barriers do you see to addressing any issues related to em-ployee morale that you know training can’t fix? What’s your plan to address those issues?

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Activity 5 – Questionnaire and Interview: Former Employees


Former employees will be contacted using previous information on file, and asked questions through an interview about their experience work at PJE. Exit in-terview data will be reviewed, if available.

Questions to Ask

What did you most like working at PJE?

What did you least like about working at PJE?

What was needed in order to improve your job performance and job satisfaction?

How did the incentives drive your motivation for success and/or sales?

How did management respond to your frustrations? Was it satisfactory?

Roadblocks & DependenciesDuring the analysis phase, it’s important to gain a comprehensive picture of any and all factors that may be contributing to the performance gap. If we encounter any roadblocks, we’ll employ the migration strategies listed below.

Roadblocks / Dependencies Mitigation Strategies

Frontline staff and supervisors may be reluctant to participate and pro-vide transparent feedback

Ask senior leadership to send out a communication emphasizing the im-portance of open and honest partici-pation. Schedule paid time for partic-ipation before or after shifts. Chal-lenge company to hit a certain re-sponse rate.

Hawthorne effect –Phone operators might perform differently while we observe

Attempt to validate findings with other data sources including com-plaint history, operator call logs, and any call monitoring supervisors may be conducting. Conduct observations with multiple operators from differ-ent shifts.

Incomplete questionnaires that do not reflect an appropriate population size

Conduct focus groups or 1:1 inter-views.

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Roadblocks / Dependencies Mitigation Strategies

Lack of model behavior among phone operators, which creates un-clear performance expectations to aspire to.

Work with human resources and su-pervisors/senior leadership to define and document expected and supe-rior operator standards prior to proposing any training solutions.

Supervisors may be unwilling to ac-knowledge the necessity of the analysis and therefore provide unbi-ased feedback on operator perfor-mance change ways

Ask senior leadership to establish or reinforce clear performance expecta-tions for supervisors. Promote buy-in from supervisors by asking about their support needs and barriers.

Blinders from upper management Be proactive and meet with them in advance. Solicit buy-in to objectively review the data and allow the data to drive next steps.

Lack of timely access to SMEs or se-nior leadership due to PTO or leave.

Ask key contacts to share significant time commitments for project time period and proactively identify a back-up person if the SME becomes unavailable unexpectedly.

Quality of staffing may be fixed due to salary and/or recruitment limita-tions.

Work with hiring team to identify baseline skills phone operators will have vs. skills that need to be acquired via training.

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Performance Analysis Report

Introduction and BackgroundPJ Enterprises is a mail-order catalog business that manufactures, ships, and mar-kets a wide variety of unique gifts, clothing, and decorative accessories. The company experienced significant financial growth this year with a forty-one per-cent increase in sales for a net profit of one million dollars for the fiscal year. The potential for marketing and sales outreach stands to increase in the upcoming year with an additional 250,000 names added to the customer catalog list. PJ En-terprises distinguishes themselves in the market with their competitive prices, op-tional overnight delivery and expedited delivery from time to order. Despite the fiscal success of PJ Enterprises, concerns around the quality of customer service have prompted the desire to develop training initiatives to increase sales projec-tions for the upcoming year. Currently, PJ Enterprises relies on their catalog di-rector and merchandising manager to conduct half-day training workshops to em-ployees prior to each seasonal catalog mailing.

The Instructional Design Gurus have been contracted to design, develop, and de-liver training for telephone operators and customer-service supervisors. A budget of $400,000 has been allocated for this training, which is expected to result in a ten percent improvement in customer service scores. Fully trained operators are projected to increase catalog sales and receive a ten percent decrease in customer complaints. This will support a projected target of seven million in annual sales and thirteen million in catalog sales for the upcoming year.

The purpose of this report is to help PJ Enterprises accomplish its goals of in-creased catalog sales and a reduction in customer service complaints. Data was gathered from various sources in an effort to make sound decisions and recom-mendations in regards to improving performance and sales objectives.

Purpose of the ReportThe purpose of this report is to assess the data contained within in order to assist PJ Enterprises in increasing catalog sales and reducing customer service. Data was gathered from various sources in an effort to make sound decisions and rec-ommendations in regards to improving performance and sales objectives.

The purpose of this report is to determine the causes and possible solutions to low customer service scores and high operator turnover rate at PJ Enterprises.

Analysis MethodsTo determine causes and recommend solutions, the Instructional Design Gurus performed a number of tasks with the phone operators, supervisors, SMEs and management.

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Phone Operators: Questionnaires and observations were used to gather the following:

phone operators’ current skill level

skills they feel they are missing

skills they feel are expected of them

what would encourage them attend more employee meetings

how much support do they feel they get from their supervisors

Supervisors: Questionnaires and interviews were used to gather the following:

most significant problems with the phone operators

model behavior the supervisors are looking for in phone operators

skills the supervisors feel are expected of them

Subject Matter Experts (Sarah Commons, Maria Gomez, Ray Johnson): Interview

rationale for training once a quarter

rationale for timing of training

how training is conducted

Senior Leadership (Jane Smith): Group Meeting

determine how much support there is to hire new staff, replace old technology, and rent PGE’s own customer list

determine how will success of the project be measured (weekly, monthly, annually)

understand what senior leadership expects from supervisors and SMEs

Data Summary: Telephone Operator SurveyIn order to further understand the nature of the job satisfaction issues and morale of the telephone operators, an electronic survey was conducted of all operators at PJ Enterprises. Each participant was asked to select those factors most important to them in regards to improving morale. Participation was high with a response rate of 92% and provided the Instructional Design Gurus insight into the perspec-tives of telephone operators.

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Most operators indicated a general dissastifaction with their job, but were able to suggest potential areas to increase their own efficiency. Two main factors, work-place efficiency and training, were noted as important to operator job satisfac-tion. The majority of telephone operators rated an efficient computer as the most important factor that would affect their job satisfaction (88%). More focused training in shorter segments (80%) was ranked as second most important, fol-lowed by a preference for learning by “doing” and “seeing” (72%) (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Telephone Operator Job Satisfaction Survey Results

0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.50%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

My computer oper-ated more efficiently =

88% I received training in shorter increments =

80% I learned by doing and seeing = 72%

"I would feel more successful in my job if..."

% o

f Par

ticpa

nts

Ranking (1= Most important)

Data Summary: Customer Service SurveyTelephone service operators were also asked to collect customer service data at the completion of each call. This survey asked the customer to rate their experi-ence on factors related to courtesy, accuracy, call/order time and overall satisfac-tion with the operator. Compared to the previous year, customer complaints have increased by thirty percent. The majority of these complaints (66%) centered on areas of operator product knowledge, operator telephone etiquette and response time. As shown in Figure 2 below, the majority of customer complaints stemmed from a lack of product knowledge by the telephone operator (28%). This fre-quently led to additional issues from extended call times (20%) and frustration by the operator seeking answers through the paper-based product guide. Break-downs in communication occurred during extended call times as operators be-came frustrated with their inability to quickly retrieve product information (16%). The remaining survey responses were either not specified by topic (26%) or were not completed (10%).

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Figure 2. Customer Service Survey

Data Summary: Telephone Operator Call ReportThe Instructional Design Gurus gathered additional data on telephone operations through direct observation and recorded call logs. We listened to 15 recorded calls and observed five operators make three separate calls each. Thirty-percent of the calls met the company timing policy of completion in under 10 minutes. The remaining calls averaged 20-25 minutes each.

Many delays were the result of the operator searching for information requested by the customer. As shown in Figure 3, half of the calls were completed and placed (50%), although the customer expressed frustration with the process. Company guidelines for customer support are to pass any calls in which the oper-ator is unable to answer a customer’s questions over to a supervisor. In 10% of the case, the call was referred to supervisor for help by an operator. More fre-quently, the customer would ask to be transferred over to a supervisor (17%). The same percentage of calls (17%) demonstrated frustration by the operator due to their inability to address the customer’s questions. A small percentage of cus-tomers (6%) cancelled their order completely.

Product Knowledge

28%

Telephone Etiquette

16%Response Promptness

20%

Not Specified26%

No Response10%

Customer Complaints

Product KnowledgeTelephone EtiquetteResponse PromptnessNot SpecifiedNo Response

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Figure 3. Telephone Operator Call Report

17%

10%

17%

7%

50%

Call Outcomes

Customer asked for supervisor

TO escalated to super-visor

TO got frustrated by questions

Cancelled Order

Order Eventually Placed

Analysis FindingsSales

PJ Enterprises earned $10 million in catalog sales the previous year with a net profit of $1 million.

Annual sales totaled $6 million.

Sales increased by forty-one percent over the previous year.

Training

Training of telephone operators currently consists of slide show presentations prior to the release of new seasonal catalogs. These training sessions are pre-sented in the training room using an LCD projector. New employees receive a full day orientation consisting of demonstrations on the order entry system along with company and product information. Half-day sessions are presented to cur-rent employees on a quarterly basis prior to each catalog rollout. Approximately 25-50 new products are introduced each quarter. Product information only is the focus for quarterly meetings.

Formal training materials/manuals are not made available upon completion of training. Operators have access to paper-based, letter-sized product reference guide to assist with customer questions. Products are listed on this document by type; images and product number are not listed. This causes frustration and de-lays on the part of the operators while searching for customer-related inquires. They expressed a desire for a more user-friendly method or tool for retrieving product information in a timely manner. The electronic Product Reference Guide will provide a quickly searchable platform for retrieving product information by item number, keyword or category.

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Workplace EnvironmentThe following describes the main elements of the telephone operator working en-vironment:

Workstations are standard-issue with separate telephones and handsets. Operators have the option to purchase their own headsets if they prefer. Currently the telephone system is only being used at 85% capacity.

Company policy is for telephone operators to complete 6 calls per hour. Currently 2-3 on handled on average.

Workstations have Internet Explorer 9 installed; soundcards have been removed from the computers.

Meetings

Employee meetings are held on a monthly basis once during the morning shift and again during the evening. Attendance is not required. Employees have ex-pressed frustration at the theme of these meetings, which is frequently to berate the lack of operator performance.

Human Resources

Telephone operators and supervisors work eight-hour shifts. Phones are staffed 24 hours a day/7 days a week.

There are a total of 25 operators and 4 supervisors.

All phone operators are women, with a wide age range represented. All have completed high school or possess a GED. A few employees have completed some college. Some operators have prior telephone experi-ence. The night shift has 4 operators, the day shift 11, and the evening shift has 10.

Managers/Trainers have worked for PJ Enterprises on average 2-6 years. Telephone operators have worked for PJ Enterprises on average for 2 to 10 months.

More than half of the telephone operators were informally interviewed and indicated dissatisfaction with their jobs to the point of leaving.

Exit interviews of operators indicated dissatisfaction with pay rate.

New performance criteria have recently been implemented that allow op-erators to rate themselves on politeness, response time and order accu-racy, which are compared to supervisor’s ratings. The current data sug-gests that TOs and their supervisors are in close alignment in the perfor-mance ratings when it comes to politeness, order accuracy, and response time. They differ significantly when it comes to handling customer ques-tions. Supervisors typically rate TOs a 2.5/5 on that skill while TOs rate

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themselves a 4/5. TOs report feeling frustrated because they feel like they’re doing the best they can with the tools they’ve been provided. They feel like managers have unrealistic expectations given the number or products and a well-worn paper product guide.

Employee incentives are based on order volume and include additional percentages off of an operator’s own orders for one week. While employ-ees like the incentive, they feel it encourages them to spend more money and requires them to take advantage of it within a mere week’s time.

There are no raises for longevity.

Identification of NeedsThe Instructional Design Gurus used a gap analysis to determine the criteria nec-essary to obtain the desired business objectives and performance. In order to clar-ify the specific issues and concerns that cause performance gaps, three major ar-eas need to be addressed:

Gaps in Environment

Gaps in Communication

Gaps in Motivation/Incentives

To complete these knowledge gaps, information related to environmental issues was gathered to define employee access to materials, resources and/or technol-ogy. PJ Enterprises is partially addressing the technology issue through the intro-duction of new hardware and telephone systems targeted to rollout in the first quarter of 2016. The Gurus have identified a necessity to train employees on an electronic Product Reference Guide that will streamline a telephone operator’s ability to find produce information quickly and efficiently at their workstations. This training will help familiarize the TOs with the process of using the new computer systems to ensure a smooth transition. This training will be addressed based on immediate need and ability to adjust the timeline of introduction.

During the interim, the telephone operators will need additional job aids to help facilitate customer service. The ID gurus are evaluating the possibility of a prod-uct reference guide to assist the operators in answering product-related questions. The introduction of this tool is a priority to provide immediate improvements in customer service and quality.

Data gathered during surveys and interviews indicate a disconnect between em-ployee expectations, supervisor roles and training requirements. Through our analysis, it is expected the ID Gurus will have a clearer projection of those ele-ments that contribute to employee performance.

Motivational gaps have been discussed and found to be a contributing factor in employee retention. In addition to the need for improved access to production in-

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formation, operators are dissatisfied with pay and overall company culture. Em-ployees have expressed dissatisfaction with the current employee discount incen-tive, meeting schedules, and pay structure. PJE needs to consider the develop-ment of an incentive plan to attend meetings and strive to provide the best cus-tomer service telephone skills in the industry.

Recommended Solutions for PJ Enterprises to ConsiderBased on the data, we recommend that PJ Enterprises consider:

1. Revisiting the plan to take a phased approach with the new system up-grade scheduled for Q1 2016. Consider incorporating the addition of product information into the first phase of the project rather than the later phases.

2. Reviewing the current incentive system for the TOs and implementing a revised system that provides tangible rewards for error free performance and averaging six calls/hour. If this isn’t in the budget for 2015, we rec-ommend including this in the budget planning process for fiscal year 2016.

3. To encourage TO retention, we recommend implementing a separate in-centive tied to service time, whether it be additional PTO or a small pay scale differentiation. Since the average service time is 2-10 months, we’d recommend the scale start at six months of service.

4. Revising the catalog content to include an FAQ section for customers for common and general questions the TOs receive. We’d also recommend reviewing new item descriptions to provide more detail about available colors, if an item can be personalized, and size specifications. While this may increase printing costs, customers may be more prepared to place their order when they call in.

5. Paying employees to attend a monthly team meeting for 30 minutes so this time can be leveraged to provide on-going education & support around product knowledge

Proposed Solutions for Consulting Firm to Carry OutWe are prepared to assist PJ Enterprises with the following:

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Priority Solution Description

1 Create a searchable Product Reference Guide in an elec-tronic format.

The primary issue seems to be accessibility of the information agents need to answer product question. While it wouldn’t be integrated into the incoming software (2016), this stopgap measure would reduce time to answer product questions.

2 Create scenario based quarterly product training for the Fall/Winter cycle. This will be lever-aged for existing employees and new hire staff.

We’ll design a training that fo-cuses on using the new elec-tronic format Product Reference Guide. Rather than taking a product-by-product approach, we’ll create practice scenarios that focus on using the new tool to efficiently answer customer questions.

3 Create a 30-day Products of the Day campaign that TOs could access on the company intranet for 10-15 minutes either before or after their shift as paid train-ing time.

TOs gave feedback that smaller chunks of learning would be better for them. We’ll create templates & materials that pro-mote 1-2 new products each day for the month leading up to the new catalog releases. Our solu-tion will include an archive for staff to go back and review as needed.

4 Create a Customer Service Skills training module for TOs.

We’ll create a brief two-hour module that provides basic cus-tomer skills for new TOs. This training will focus on managing customer frustration and guid-ing the customer to the best product to meet their needs. Ex-isting staff would complete this module as well.

5 Create a Coaching & Feedback skills module for the supervisors.

We’ll develop a scenario-based supervisor training module with a focus on how to give TO’s ef-fective feedback about improv-ing call handling time and cus-tomer service etiquette.

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Evaluation planThe ID Gurus will use the Kirkpatrick Evaluation model to assess the impact of our interventions. We’ll include the following elements.

Level 1: Employee Reaction. Immediately following the quarterly train-ing we will survey the TOs for their feedback about the training.

Level 2: Learning. Part of our quarterly training will include a timed quiz where agents use the new support tool to answer mock participant questions. We will set 80% as our passing target and evaluate the result.

Level 3: Application on the Job. Thirty days after training we will sur-vey TOs and supervisors to see how many TOs are using the new support tool and how consistently they’re using it. If we have the existing TOs participate in Customer Service skills training, we should also evaluate if and how often they are using those skills.

We will also survey the supervisors to assess if they are using the skills that were taught in the Supervisor training.

Level 4: Business Results. We will review data on the following success metrics:

1. Percent improvement in average TO call handling time.

2. Percent improvement in average number of calls handled per hour.

3. Percent improvement in error rate and customer returns

4. Percent improvement in the number of customer complaints com-pared to previous quarters

5. Percent improvement in employee satisfaction data

6. TO retention or turnover data across two quarters.

7. We will compare quarterly sales results from Q3 2014 in compari-son to Q3 2015 and we’ll do the same for the Q4 results.

8. We will calculate any potential cost savings associated with re-duced employee turnover.

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Request for ProposalThe ID Gurus have carefully assessed and analyzed contributing factors to the customer service challenges PJ Enterprises is facing. We welcome the opportu-nity to work with your team to hit your financial goals for the 2nd half of 2015.

Please let us know if you would like us to submit a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Proposed Solutions outlined above.

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Project CharterProject Information

Project Name and Description

PJ Enterprises is a mail-order catalog business that manufactures, ships, and mar-kets a wide variety of unique gifts, clothing, and decorative accessories. The company experienced significant financial growth this year with a forty-one per-cent increase in sales for a net profit of one million dollars for the fiscal year. The potential for marketing and sales outreach stands to increase in the upcoming year with an additional 250,000 names added to the customer catalog list. PJ En-terprises distinguishes themselves in the market with their competitive prices, op-tional overnight delivery and expedited delivery from time to order. Despite the fiscal success of PJ Enterprises, concerns around the quality of customer service have prompted the desire to develop training initiatives to increase sales projec-tions for the upcoming year. Currently, PJ Enterprises relies on their catalog di-rector and merchandising manager to conduct half-day training workshops to their employees prior to each seasonal catalog mailing.

The Instructional Design Gurus have been contracted to design, develop, and de-liver training for telephone operators and customer-service supervisors. A budget of $400,000 has been allocated for this training, which is expected to result in a ten percent improvement in customer service scores. Fully trained operators are projected to increase catalog sales and receive significantly less customer com-plaints. This will support a projected target of seven million in annual sales and thirteen million in catalog sales for the upcoming year.

The purpose of this project is to help PJ Enterprises accomplish its goals of in-creased catalog sales and a reduction in customer service complaints. This project will also seek to improve employee retention and improve company sales.

Project Manager

The project manager for this project is Greg Odachowski.

Project Sponsor

The project sponsor for PJ Enterprises is Jane Smith.

Stakeholders and Impact

The ID Gurus have been employed by PJ Enterprises to decrease customer com-plaints relating to orders made by phone. The following chart describes the im-pact each stakeholder has on successful completion of the project. To help clarify the importance of each position, the major roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder are detailed below.

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Stakeholder Responsibilities Impact

Jane Smith, Project Sponsor

Provide the Gurus with the power needed to make changes in order to provide deliverables in the time agreed upon and has final say on the agreed upon de-liverables.

By contributing to the success of the project, Ms. Smith will potentially con-tribute to greater financial gain and market share for PJE.

Input information to help define scope of the project

Ensures appropriate financial controls are in place.

Ability to influence SMEs and other stakeholders; can help re-move barriers in accessing SME time.

Ray Johnson, Sarah Com-mons, and Maria Gomez,Subject Matter Experts

In case of disagreement, vote to break tie or resolve training dis-agreements. Contributes to de-velopment of training materials by providing subject matter ex-pertise.

Ray, Sarah and Maria will expand their influence in the company by contribut-ing to the new training modules as sub-ject matter experts. They will also ben-efit from improved employee morale through addressing some of the issues raised from the employee survey con-cerning training and customer support. Knowledgeable resource if up-

per management cannot be reached

Expert on PJE training pro-grams.

Provide input on content for product reference guide.

Sarah Commons and Maria Gomez, Trainers

Train TOs on new product re-lease. Provide training to TOs on how to work system and ac-cess product knowledge through catalog. Keep TOs up to date on all product updates.

Sarah and Maria stand to benefit from increased status in the company as trainers. They will also gain satisfac-tion from helping fellow employees through improved training and increas-ing morale. Trainers will benefit from

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Stakeholder Responsibilities Impact

an increased status at PJE as trainers for the company and will be able to add an additional skill set to their cur-rent role.

Trainers will benefit from having con-trol over their working environment and improving the morale of their re-ports through improved access to prod-uct knowledge.

Make sure all content is in the product reference guide, is up to date, and is able to hit its train-ing mark.

Paula Moore and Rosalinda Sanchez,Additional SMEs

Contribute knowledge & com-municate training needs from the TO perspective.

Paula and Rosalinda will benefit from satisfaction over influencing the direc-tion and development of training for all operators. They will also gain satisfac-tion through increasing overall morale of the operators through the improve-ment of training and produce informa-tion access. SMEs will benefit by act-ing as quality reviewers for telephone operator training and be able to pro-vide a targeted perspective, providing the “feet on the street” input. This will benefit them through having control over the new employee training and having status as experts within the company, increasing morale.

Greg Odachowski, Amy Kep-pert, Jessica Wilson, Pam Wirth,Project Team Members

With training, help PJE achieve a projected target of seven mil-lion in annual sales and thirteen million in catalog sales for the upcoming year.

PJE will benefit from the improved sales as a result of the improvements recommended and implemented by ID Gurus. The ID Gurus will benefit from the successful completion of a project that satisfies not only the major stake-holders, but the supporting employees as well.

Develop a program that can be used by PJE in order to train new TOs and that will ensure PJE reaches their projected sales, customer satisfaction and employee morale targets.

PJE will benefit from improved em-ployee morale which will likely trans-late into increased sales. PJE employ-ees will also experience changes in the culture, improved ability to perform their role and experience opportunities for learning.

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Description of Work

Project Purpose

The purpose of this project is to help PJ Enterprises accomplish its goals of in-creased catalog sales and a reduction in customer service complaints. This project will also try to reduce the turnover rate of telephone operators on a monthly basis. Information was gathered from various sources in an effort to make sound decisions and recommendations in regards to improving perfor-mance and sales objectives.

Business Objectives

The business objectives are to decrease customer service complaints, increase sales to support a projected target of seven million in annual sales and thirteen million in catalog sales for the upcoming year. Train supervisors so that they are better able to answer TO inquiries in the future.

Project Deliverables

The Gurus will deliver the agreed upon product information guide, discussed with Jane Smith, the Project Sponsor for PJ Enterprises, on Wednesday July 22, 2015. Additionally, the operators will receive hands-on scenario-based training on the use of this guide. Instructor-led training will be implemented to transfer new product knowledge to the operators as a “Products of the Day” campaign.

Solution Seat Time or Pages

Description

Create search-able electronic Product Refer-ence Guide for TOs

250 pages We will create a searchable product guide that the TOs will access on their workstation from the company intranet. The guide will include recurring catalog items as well as the Fall/Winter 2015 seasonal items.

Train TOs on Product Refer-ence Guide

4 hours TOs will be trained on how to use to the new Product Reference Guide. We’ll employ a hands-on scenario based approach to train-ing.

Create an in-structor-led Products of the Day campaign for 60 products

15 minutes per session

20 total ses-sions: one ses-sion each busi-ness day for the

We will create “mini-sessions” for the su-pervisors to lead a few times each shift to expose agents to the new products. We will provide facilitator materials and quick ac-cess product cards for the TOs to take with them after training. The quick access cards will be laminated and on a D-ring so agents

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month leading up to the new release.

can add new items with each session.

Work In Scope

The ID Gurus are responsible for:

Conducting additional analysis to refine the “Product of the Day” cam-paign strategy working closely with Ray Johnson, Sarah Common, and Maria Gomez.

Creating the content for the Product Reference Guide in collaboration with Ray Johnson. Effort is limited to 250 distinct products.

Working with Ray Johnson, Lucy Feldman and Yun Tsien to determine PJ Intranet capabilities for hosting a searchable electronic Product Refer-ence Guide. If necessary, ID Gurus will bring in Tech Pros for a vendor consultation to help identify and develop the best solution.

Developing a facilitator guide, PowerPoint presentation, and learner sup-port materials for a 4-hour telephone operator session on how to use new the Product Reference Guide. This includes management of the review and feedback cycle.

Providing 40 printed, plastic spiral bound and tabbed learner guides for the Product Reference session.

Providing a trainer to lead one pilot training session and co-lead three ad-ditional sessions with a PJ trainer.

Providing an 8-hour train-the-trainer session for the PJ supervisors on the Product Reference Guide training module.

Developing facilitator and learner support materials for twenty 15-minute Product of the Day sessions that will be facilitated by the PJ supervisors. Limited to a maximum of 60 unique catalog items.

Providing one set of laminated Product of the Day cards for up to 40 tele-phone operators.

Providing a 2-hour train-the-trainer session for the PJ supervisors on the Product of the Day campaign series. One hour will cover the consistent facilitation strategy and the second hour will be spent reviewing the product groupings for the 20 sessions. series.

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Out of Scope

The scope of this project is to develop a catalog or database that encompasses product information which will be easily accessible at any time during a TO’s phone call. The work out of scope for this project includes:

New product additions not agreed upon before development of the prod-uct reference guide

The training of customer service representatives on their customer ser-vice skills, and the training of new employees added after project is started.

Additionally any training of management or new employee orientation or evaluation is not included in the overall scope of this project.

ID Gurus will not be providing policy or human resource training

Project Completion Criteria

The project will be completed when the Gurus have developed a product refer-ence guide for the TOs at PJ Enterprises that outlines each product. The TOs will be given instructor-led training on how to use this guide. Select employees will be provided with train-the-trainer sessions along with facilitator guides to inde-pendently continue the training with future employees. After technological up-grades, this guide will be uploaded to the company intranet for easy access. The Gurus will help PJ Enterprises develop a system that improves employee reten-tion by tying incentives to improvements in sales and an increase in training at-tendance.

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Project Parameters

Budget

The budget below provides a summary of the estimated project costs for key de-liverables. For more detail, please access the Addendum in an Excel format.

Deliverable /Solution Type of Training/ Deliverable

Seat Time or Scope Figure

Total Hours Es-

timated

Cost

Product Reference Guide Electronic searchable guide that will reside on PJ intranet

250 catalog items

182 hours $10,920

Scenario based training for TO’s using the new Product Reference Guide

Facilitator guide & PPT. Learner support materials

80 pages 4 hours

200 hours $12,000

Training Delivery 4 sessions

*includes trainer prep and pilot

36 hours $1,260

Train the Trainer 1 session 8 hours $280

20 mini-sessions for Product of the Day training

Facilitator Guide & Learner Support mate-rials

20 sessions covering 60 products total

125 hours $7,500

Train the Trainer 1 session 4 hours $140

Project Team Members & Roles

The table below lists all team members, their responsibilities, and the hours they will commit to this project.

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Name Role Responsibilities Est. Hours Needed

Gregory Odachowski

Project Ma-nager

The Project Manager coordinates activities of the instructional de-velopment team, provides regular status reports for all project activ-ities, identifies and mitigates project issues and risks, oversees and coordinates the drafting of initial charter and project plan and ensures the project is completed on time and within budget.Coordinate vendor relationship with Tech Pro if that service is deemed necessary.

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Amy Kep-pert

Business Analyst

The Business Analyst supports project planning by analyzing re-quirements for completeness, con-sistency and ambiguity. The ana-lyst also ensures requirements are feasible and appropriate for avail-able resources and provides task estimates for time and cost. In ad-dition, they assist in the design/de-velopment of instructional material and may participate in the imple-mentation of training and/or pro-vide post-implementation support.

160

Jessica Wil-son

Technical Writer

The Technical Writer retrieves, or-ganizes and synthesizes project-re-lated documentation into clear, concise information in a variety of formats. The Technical Writer also participates in the design and de-velopment of instructional and training material while recom-mending revisions and improve-ments. They may also assist in the testing of instructional material and post-implementation support.

160

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Name Role Responsibilities Est. Hours Needed

Pamela Wirth

Instructional Designer

The Instructional Designer con-ducts training needs analyzes, de-signs, evaluates and recommends course material for classroom or e-learning delivery, composes assess-ments and evaluation tools. The ID is also responsible for providing task activity, dependencies, and timelines to the Project Manager and/or team and participating in train-the trainer activities.

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Total Hours for ID Gurus

688 (not including optional costs)

Jane Mac-Kenzie-Smith

Project Sponsor

The Project Sponsor defines client needs, confirms project goals and objectives, approves funding, re-views and approves project charter and plan as well as participates in planning sessions.

80

Ray John-son

Subject Matter Ex-pert

Acts as reviewer on training mate-rials and instructional plans as well as provides IT expertise.

160

Lucy Feld-man,Yun Tsien

IT personnel IT expertise on company intranet. 80 (40 each)

Sheena Per-ez, Sarah Commons, Maria Go-mez, Paula Moore, Ro-salinda San-chez

Other Sub-ject Matter Experts

Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) may act as reviewers on instruc-tional plans and materials, provide product-related resources, validate recommendations made by project team, provide advice on training/instructional tasks and/or assist in the training of other employees.

6 each per week

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Project Milestones

Subject to agreement from PJ Enterprises, ID Gurus will roll out the deliverables on the following dates:

Project Deliverables/Milestones DateProject Charter Approved (creates acceptance to begin project) July 27, 2015

Project Management Plan (provides stakeholders with risks, issues, project schedule, constraints, milestones, WBS and change management plan).

August 2, 2015

Design Document Completed (description and outline of training to include course objec-tives, outlines and development time and requirements)

August 9, 2015

Prototype Development

1. Product Reference Guide (searchable electronic format)

August 30, 2015

2. Products of the day (ILT Materials) September 15,

2015

3. TO Customer Service Training (ILT Materials) September 20,

2015

User Acceptance Testing (beta or end-user testing in which small group of intended users test the usability of Product Reference Guide

September 20, 2015

Implement Changes from User Acceptance Testing September 21, 2015

Final Training Deliverables Complete September 28, 2015

Training Kick Off September 29, 2015

Status Reports September 30, 2015

Project Close Out/Hand-Off September 30, 2015

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Vendor Assistance Required

Instructional Design Gurus does not anticipate needing the assistance of an out-side vendor. The product reference guide will be developed by the ID Gurus technical writer and Ray, PJE assistant merchandising manager ID Gurus techni-cal writer and Ray, PJE assistant merchandising manager, will develop the prod-uct reference guide. Lucy from PJE will help with making the product reference guide accessible to staff on the company intranet.

If the solution above is not sufficient for completing the product reference guide before the deadline, an outside vendor, Tech Pro, will be hired to make sure the guide is done on time. Tech Pro is an IT solutions company with expertise in translating large volume content into user friendly searchable electronic formats. ID Gurus will immediately consult with PJE if this solution is needed, prior to contracting any work to the outside vendor.

Possible Problems Related to Project Completion

Problem Area

Like-lihood1 – 5

Problem Owner

Project Impact Mitigation Plan

Full cooper-ation and implementa-tion of train-ing

3 Upper Man-agement

The third quarter is an extremely busy time for PJ Enterprises due to the upcoming holiday season and with the changes in new employee train-ing being imple-mented, this cre-ates additional activities for the staff to accom-modate. The re-sult may be that the training mod-ules do not re-ceive the level of company-wide attention and par-ticipation re-quired for com-pletion and im-plementation.

The product refer-ence guide and products of the day training are designed to be re-leased prior to Q4 in anticipation of the busy holiday season. It is antici-pated the products of the day training may be incorpo-rated into instruc-tor-led presenta-tions to allow for “just-in-time” knowledge trans-fer of current and upcoming prod-ucts.

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Problem Area

Like-lihood1 – 5

Problem Owner


Subject Matter Ex-pert Avail-ability

2 Ray Johnson and Sheena Perez

Key PJ Enter-prises subject matter experts, may not be able to provide the level of involve-ment required of them during the training and de-sign phase. This may result in in-complete infor-mation and a lack of guidance in re-gards to products and training.

The availability of subject matter ex-perts can vary and Sheena’s time in particular has been limited, leaving Ray as the backup for expertise. If Ray were to be-come unavailable, the ID Gurus would depend heavily on the ex-pertise of the su-pervisors Sarah and Maria and may need to ap-proach the sponsor to request a small portion of Judie’s time.

Unable to find/hire new training TO

3 Upper Man-agement

Without another TO acting as a future trainer for PJE, training ma-terials may re-quire longer to implement

Discussion be-tween supervisors and upper man-agement will be needed to fill gap or decide to go forward with the risk of a single trainer.

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Problem Area

Like-lihood1 – 5

Problem Owner


Possible Problems Related to Assessment

Problem Area

Like-lihood1 – 5

Problem Owner


Employee backlash from train-ing

2 Supervisors and Sponsor

Will prolong training and may require new em-ployee hiring

Discussion be-tween supervisors and TOs will tran-spire in order to lessen employee discontent

Unable to find/hire new training TO

3 Upper Man-agement

Without another TO to act as fu-ture trainer, train-ing materials may require longer to implement

Discussion be-tween Supervisors and upper man-agement will be needed in order to start a TO promo-tion plan

Results of observations may be skewed be-cause of TO performance while being observed.

3 Gurus May impact the type and amount of training re-quired by TOs.

TOs observations will be random and they will be unaware of the ob-servation

Incomplete question-naires that do not re-flect an ap-propriate population size

2 Gurus Will not gain a large enough sample of the TO population caus-ing focus areas for training to be misguided.

Questionnaire completion will be mandatory, and some extrinsic re-ward will be of-fered for comple-tion

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Problem Area

Like-lihood1 – 5

Problem Owner


Lack of clear perfor-mance ex-pectations for phone agents & su-pervisors

2 Supervisors TOs will be con-fused as to what is expected of them on a daily basis.

Ask senior leader-ship to establish or reinforce clear performance ex-pectations for su-pervisors. Promote buy-in from super-visors by asking about their support needs and barriers.

Blinders from upper management

2 Upper Man-agement and Gurus

Upper manage-ment may be un-aware of the severity of the situation and the training needs that are required in order for them to reach their sales goals.

Be proactive and meet with them in advance. Solicit buy-in to objec-tively review the data and allow the data to drive next steps.

Assumptions

The ID Gurus are assumed to complete the following deliverables: Development of a product reference guide training program for telephone opera-

tors. The completion of a train-the-trainers session for PJE to independently conduct

training courses on how to use the product reference guide to their employees. Full documentation of the product reference guide training to include an instructor

facilitation guide.

It is assumed PJE will provide the following deliverables:

PJ Enterprises IT resources will be able to collaborate with the ID Gurus to develop an intranet solution to create the searchable Product Reference Guide. If the internal team is unable to develop a solution, Tech Pro will be brought in as a vendor at an estimated cost of $6,400.

Ray Johnson will contribute 30% of the content development for the Product Reference Guide in addition to his other SME contributions. If Ray is unable to assist at that level, the ID Gurus will bill $60/hr for any work Ray is unable to contribute.

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PJE will assume responsibility for maintaining the Product Reference Guide after the initial implementation. If desired, the ID Gurus can sup-port maintenance for a four catalog cycle year at an estimated cost of $12,000.

PJE will provide at least one trainer to co-lead three of the Product Ref-erence Guide training sessions and provide trainers to lead the Product of the Day campaign.

PJE assumes all training delivery responsibilities upon completion of the project.

Constraints

The following constraints may impact the project in the following ways:

The availability of supervisors. They will be busy supervising TOs, so we have a limited amount of time to consult with them.

The shift-work nature of the TOs will constrain their availability for training.

The necessity for phones to be covered will constrain availability of the TOs and supervisors for training.

The need for Ray Johnson to put in a significant amount of time as an SME and for content development.

External Influences/Dependencies

The following external dependency may influence the projected deadline of the project:

If we determine the assistance of Tech Pro (outside vendor) is required to close to the deadline, we may find that they are no longer available and we’ll need to find another vendor with availability.

The need for all 50-60 seasonal items to be defined by the time we start our work on the product reference guide.

Approvals

Role Signature Date

___________________________________ _____________________

___________________________________ _____________________

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Project PlanProject Information

Project Name

This course will be referred to as the Product Reference Guide Training. In 2016, Products of the Day Training may be added.

Project Description/Overview

PJ Enterprises is a mail-order catalog business that manufactures, ships, and mar-kets a wide variety of unique gifts, clothing, and decorative accessories. The company experienced significant financial growth this year with a 41% increase in sales for a net profit of one million dollars for the fiscal year. The potential for marketing and sales outreach stands to increase in the upcoming year with an ad-ditional 250,000 names added to the customer catalog list.

PJ Enterprises distinguishes themselves in the market with their competitive prices, optional overnight delivery and expedited delivery from time to order. Despite the fiscal success of PJ Enterprises, concerns around the quality of cus-tomer service have prompted the desire to develop training initiatives to increase sales projections for the upcoming year. Survey data collected in regards to cus-tomer service determined that two-thirds of respondents were unhappy with their ordering experience. Many complaints were related either directly or indirectly to the telephone operators’ lack of product knowledge. In order to achieve the de-sired business objectives, PJ Enterprises has contracted with the ID Gurus to de-velop a more effective training program to improve the performance of the tele-phone operators and therefore the customer experience.

Currently, PJ Enterprises relies on their catalog director and merchandising man-ager to conduct half-day training workshops to their employees prior to each sea-sonal catalog mailing. The ID Gurus have been contracted to reexamine the cur-rent training model and redesign a new program for telephone operators on the PJ Enterprises product line. A budget of $400,000 has been allocated for this train-ing, which is expected to result in a 10% improvement in customer service scores. Fully trained operators are projected to increase catalog sales and receive significantly less customer complaints. This training is expected to increased telephone operator knowledge and increase efficiency and customer relations while reducing the number of survey complaints. This will support a projected target of seven million in annual sales and thirteen million in catalog sales for the upcoming year.

To help accomplish these goals, the ID Gurus have designed two training models focused on improving operator knowledge: the development of a product knowl-edge reference guide and a “products of the day campaign” aimed at introducing new products to the operators as they become available. The product reference

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guide will be the primary focus of training outlined in this plan. The Products of the Day campaign may be instituted in 2016.

Project Purpose

The purpose of this project is to help PJ Enterprises accomplish its goals of in-creased catalog sales and a reduction in customer service complaints through an improvement in telephone operator knowledge. The product knowledge reference guide will provide the telephone operators at PJ Enterprises a searchable elec-tronic resource that provides easily accessible, organized information on catalog products. Scenario-based training will also be developed and delivered to the op-erators on the use of this guide. Telephone operators will increase their knowl-edge of specific product qualities and be able to translate this to customers in a timely fashion. As a result of this training, it is expected telephone operators will have access to greater information on product lines, reduced call times due to searching for product information and less frustration from this process. Upon completion of the training, satisfaction scores will increase as customers experi-ence reduced wait less, receive requested product information and experience more professional phone etiquette.

Business Objectives

The overall business objectives are to decrease customer service complaints and increase sales to support a projected target of seven million in annual sales and thirteen million in catalog sales for the upcoming year. Telephone operators will support these objectives through increased product knowledge and assisting in the improvement of the customer experience.

PJ Enterprises lists the following goals for the upcoming year:

Aggressive growth to maintain or exceed projected targets.

Maintain profitability.

Focus on quality of customer service with 10 % improvement on cus-tomer service scores.

Focus on quality of work environment as well as staff development and recognition.

Increase the company’s customer list.

Scope Statement

Deliverables Included

To develop the product knowledge reference guide training course, the ID Gurus will deliver the following:

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The Project Plan outlining the plans for the project including the sched-ule, Gantt chart, WBS, risk management, change management, and deliv-erables.

The Design Document specifying course parameters including:

o Job Task Analysiso Major Course Objectiveso Learning Assessmento Course Outlineo Support Requirements

Training Development

o Content creation for the Product Reference Guide in collabora-tion with Ray Johnson. Effort is limited to 250 distinct products.

o Development of searchable electronic Product Reference Guide for hosting on PJE intranet.

o Learner support materials: forty printed, plastic spiral bound and tabbed learner guides for the Product Reference session.

o Development of facilitator guide.

Training Delivery and Support

o PowerPoint training for operators (including scenario-based training and knowledge assessments).

o Provide a trainer to lead one pilot training session and co-lead three additional sessions with a PJ trainer.

o Train-the-trainer session for the PJ supervisors on the Product Reference Guide training module.

Exclusions

The ID Gurus will not provide the following:

New product additions not agreed upon before development of the prod-uct reference guide.

Customer service skill training.

Training of new employees hired after the launch of the product refer-ence guide training course.

Training on employee policy or human resources.

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Project Completion Criteria

Two major deliverables for the project include the development of The project will be completed when the ID Gurus have developed a product reference guide and training oftrained the telephone operators at PJ Enterprises on its use as out-lined in the project plan. Thirty days after the completion of training, the ID Gu-rus will survey the operators and supervisors on the frequency and consistency of operator use of the product reference guide. Based on this data, we expect the fol-lowing criteria to support the finalization of the project:

A notable improvement in average operator call handling time.

A notable improvement in average number of calls handled per hour by operators.

A notable reduction in customer complaints compared to previous quar-ters.

Project Plans

Primary Plans

The ID Gurus will be developing a schedule, Gantt chart, WBS, change manage-ment plan, and a deliverables plan. These plans will be listed in the Project Plans document with quick reference throughout the project.

Scheduled Meetings

Scheduled project meetings for the ID Gurus will be held on Wednesdays at 5:00 pm Arizona Time to discuss current project status, upcoming deliverables and potential risks. Consultation, project review and approvals will be sought from Jane MacKenzie-Smith as project sponsor and PJ Enterprise stakeholder. PJ En-terprises Management will be appraised of the project status on a weekly basis and provided with an opportunity ask questions or address concerns. Additional meetings may be called as needed.

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Meeting Frequency Description

ID Guru Staff Meeting Weekly Provide regular status reports to project manager for all project activities, identifies any project issues and risks, team confirma-tion of project goals and objec-tives.

PJ Enterprises Manage-ment Status Update

Weekly PJ Enterprises will be updated on the current project status to in-clude current schedule of deliver-ables, budget and any risks or is-sues.

Scheduled Status Reports

Individual status reports will be given by each team member of ID Gurus during the weekly staff meeting and summarized for the entire project. This weekly project summary status will be updated on the ID Guru online collaboration tool Bitrix. These reports will be accessible at all times by the entire ID Guru team and to PJ Enterprises through the project sponsor, Jane-MacKenzie Smith. These reports will also be summarized at the weekly status report meeting with PJ En-terprises Management team.

Assumptions

PJ Enterprises is assumed to be responsible for the following:

PJ Enterprises IT resources will be able to collaborate with the ID Gurus to develop an intranet solution to create the searchable Product Reference Guide. If the internal team is unable to develop a solution, Tech Pro will be brought in as a vendor at an estimated cost of $6,400.

Ray Johnson will contribute 30% of the content development for the Product Reference Guide in addition to his other SME contributions. If Ray is unable to assist at that level, the ID Gurus will bill $60/hr for any work Ray is unable to contribute.

PJE will assume responsibility for maintaining the Product Reference Guide after the initial implementation. If desired, the ID Gurus can sup-port maintenance for a four catalog cycle year at an estimated cost of $12,000.

PJE assumes all training delivery responsibilities upon completion of the project.

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The ID Gurus are assumed to be responsible for the following:

Primary development and delivery of the product reference guide in con-junction with Ray Johnson, PJE assistant merchandising manager.

The contracting of an outside vendor, Tech Pro, to ensure timely comple-tion of the product reference guide if needed.

Development of a facilitator guide and learner support materials for tele-phone operators on the use of the Product Reference Guide.

Providing a train-the-trainer session for PJ supervisors on the Product Reference Guide training module.

Completing the prescribed training deliverables on time and within bud-get.

Constraints

The following situations may constrain the ID Gurus’ ability to carry out the project:

The availability of supervisors. They will be busy supervising telephone operators, so we have a limited amount of time to consult with them about product information and training.

The shift-work nature of the telephone operators will constrain their availability for training.

The necessity for phones to be covered will constrain availability of the telephone operators and supervisors for training.

The need for Ray Johnson to put in a significant amount of time as an SME and for content development.

External Dependencies

The successful completion of the product reference guide and training is depen-dent on the following external factor:

If we determine the assistance of Tech Pro (outside vendor) is required to complete the project within the determined deadline, they may not be available, requiring the ID Gurus to seek another vendor.

Project Approach

The ID Gurus will use a phased approach to develop the courses offered to PJ Enterprises. The Gurus will start with an ILT approach to training the TOs on the Product Reference Guide. Once this has been accomplished, and. This campaign

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will consist of trainings that occur before and after work emphasizing the sales of certain products. The ID Gurus used a modified ADDIE approach to develop the learning materials offered to PJ Enterprises. Gaps in performance were identified during the analysis phase and data collected here was used in the design of train-ing materials in the development phase. Following this process, a prototype for the product reference guide was rapidly developed and user-tested early in the development process. An initial prototype was presented to the telephone opera-tors to test for usability. After revisions, the learning activities were delivered and evaluated again by the operators and supervisors for effectiveness.

Milestones

The following dates are for signoff of indicated documents and training sessions. A full outline of deliverables follows in the Schedule section.

Milestone or Activity Deliverable Target Date

Signoff on plan Project Plan Aug 4

Signoff on course design Design Document Aug 12

Signoff on PRG Product Reference Guide Aug 28

Signoff on course materials Facilitator Guide and Learner Support Tools

Sept 17

Rollout of training Training of TOs Sept 28

Summary of work completed and training results

Results Report Oct 13

WBS Diagram

The diagram below represents the tasks that ID Gurus will perform to complete the project. Note: this diagram is also in Appendix A.

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Schedule

The schedule below documents start and due dates for all tasks associated with the Product Reference Guide Training. If you or any of the SMEs are not able to meet these due dates, please notify Gred Odachowski.

Task Who Start DueAnalyze 1-Jul 27-Jul

Conduct Needs Assessment AK, PW 1-Jul 7-JulAnalyze outcome of needs assessment AK, PW 7-Jul 9-JulSummarize outcome of assessment in project

proposal AK, PW 9-Jul 10-JulInitiate project request GO 10-Jul 10-JulPresent options to stakeholders GO 13-Jul 13-Jul

Design/develop charterAK, GO, JW, PW 14-Jul 21-Jul

Complete initial draft of budget AK 14-Jul 21-JulGain signoffs/approval of charter GO, JM 21-Jul 27-Jul

Project Plan 27-Jul 4-AugFinalize budget AK 27-Jul 28-Jul

Develop scopeAK, GO, JW, PW 29-Jul 31-Jul

Develop schedule JW 31-Jul 3-Aug

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Develop WBSAK, JW, PW 31-Jul 3-Aug

Develop change management plan GO 31-Jul 3-Aug

Finalize project planAK, GO, JW, PW 3-Aug 3-Aug

Sign off/gain approvals on project plan GO, JM 3-Aug 4-AugDesign 4-Aug 12-Aug

Determine objectives PW 4-Aug 4-AugCreate outline/prelim designs PW, JW 4-Aug 11-AugCreate assessments PW 4-Aug 11-AugIdentify instructional strategy/activities PW 4-Aug 11-AugSign off on design GO, JM 12-Aug 12-Aug

Develop Product Reference Guide (PRG) 12-Aug 31-AugScope out available IT parameters on PJ in-

tranet GO 12-Aug 13-AugDefine desired PRG requirements with TO's

and IT PW, JW 12-Aug 14-AugCreate mock-up and reference guide specifi-

cations PW, JW 14-Aug 17-AugPresent to PJ IT for sign-off or engage ven-

dor GO 18-Aug 18-AugDevelop content for 4-5 products JW 18-Aug 19-AugPresent to SME's and TO's for sign off GO 20-Aug 20-AugCreate remaining PRG content JW 20-Aug 27-AugSign off on PRG GO, JM 28-Aug 28-AugImplement on PJ server prior to training GO 31-Aug 31-Aug

Develop PRG Training 31-Aug 17-SepDesign content of ILT training PW, JW 31-Aug 11-SepDesign facilitator guide PW, JW 31-Aug 11-SepDevelop module content PW, JW 31-Aug 11-SepCreate scenarios and hands on activities PW, JW 31-Aug 11-SepCreate any learner support tools PW, JW 31-Aug 11-SepConduct pilot ILT training session PW 14-Sep 14-SepMake adjustments based on feedback PW, JW 15-Sep 17-SepSign off on course materials GO 17-Sep 17-Sep

Implement 18-Sep 30-SepPrint training booklets GO 18-Sep 18-SepSchedule ILT training GO 18-Sep 18-SepConduct ILT training PW 28-Sep 28-SepFinalize ILT training/facilitator guide PW, GO 29-Sep 29-SepTrain the trainers PW 30-Sep 30-Sep

Evaluate 9-Oct 13-OctSurvey supervisors GO, AK 9-Oct 9-OctSurvey operators GO, AK 9-Oct 9-Oct

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Analyze results GO, AK 12-Oct 12-OctReport results GO 13-Oct 13-OctProject closeout GO 13-Oct 13-Oct

Gantt Chart

The Gantt chart below represents the development schedule, at the category level, for the entire project.

Note: the diagram is in a larger format in Appendix B.

Change Management PlanChanges to the scope and budget of this project will have to be approved by Jane MacKenzie-Smith, the project sponsor for PJE. Changes to the budget, such as adding an outside vendor will have to be approved by Jane MacKenzie-Smith. Other factors, such as training of the TOs that may alter the schedule, will be handled by the SME’s after receiving approval from the project manager and Jane MacKenzie-Smith. All technological restraints, such as phone failures or computer glitches that may alter schedule or budget, will be handled by the Jane MacKenzie-Smith the Project Sponsor and the PJ Enterprises IT team.

Purpose

The purpose of the change management plan is to ensure the project stays within scope and budget given unforeseen variables that arise throughout the project lifecycle. By assigning potential problems to specific people this ensures that these problems will be handled quickly and accurately, while keeping the project within scope and budget.

Goals

The goal of the change management plan is to ensure that the project meets the defined goals within the schedule and agreed upon budget. The change manage-ment plan also aims to improve an organization by changing how work is com-pleted. This plan will change management in certain areas in order to improve the organization processes. Any changes to the project will be defined, recorded, tracked and approved by relevant parties through the Change Control Process as defined below.

Change Control Process

The change control process will be used to track changes to the project. These changes can be anything that will affect the budget, scope, schedule and/or deliv-erables of the project. The chart and flowchart outline Change Requests steps:

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Change Control Log

Project Name: PJ Enterprises Product Reference Guide Training

Project Manager: Greg Odachowski

Project Change Control Log Author: Greg Odachowski

Project Description: Development of a Product Reference Guide and scenario-based training on how to use the guide for PJ Enterprises to help telephone opera-tors product knowledge leading to increased sales and lower customer com-plaints.

Information Description

Change Request # Assigned number of change request for tracking purposes.

Date Requested The date the change request was cre-ated

Requester Individual completing the change re-quest form and point of contact.

Change DescriptionSummary of the change request to in-clude the potential impact to the project, or benefits of the change.

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Step DescriptionGenerate

Change Re-quest (CR)

A submitter completes a CR Form and sends the completed form to the Project Manager

Log CR Sta-tus

The Change Requestor Program Manager enters the CR into the CR Log. The CR’s status is updated throughout the CR process as needed.

Evaluate CR Project Manager will review the CR and provide an estimated level of effort to process, and develop a proposed solution for the suggested change

Authorize Approval to move forward with incorporating the suggested change into the project/product will be made by the Project Manager and/or Project Sponsor

Implement If approved, make the necessary adjustments to carry out the re-quested change and communicate CR status to the submitter and other stakeholders

Information Description

Priority

A code that provides a recommended categorization of the urgency of the requested Change request (High, Medium, Low)

Decision Approved Yes/No/On HoldDecision reached by stakeholders to initiate, decline or continue further review of change request.

Status: In Progress/Completed/Canceled Current status of change request as of logged date.

Date Canceled/ImplementedRecorded date for cancelation or im-plementation of initiated change re-quest.

Additional Comments Any additional comments or relevant information.

Responsibilities

The following individuals have reviewed the Change Management Plan and agree with the procedures as they have been presented. Any changes to this Management Plan will be coordinated with and approved by the following stakeholders.

Person Responsible Responsibilities

Gred Odachowski, Project Manager, ID Gurus

Reviews change requests and determines the required modifications to the project plan. Co-ordinates proposed solution for requested change.

Sarah Commons/Maria Gomez; TO Supervisors and SME, Pamela Wirth, Instruc-tional Designer

Reviews any suggested changes to the training plan for the telephone operators, provides input to the project sponsor.

Ray Johnson, Assistant Mer-chandising Manager

Reviews any suggested changes to the Product Reference Guide content or format, consults with PJ IT team as needed, provides input to the project sponsor.

Jane MacKenzie-Smith, Project Sponsor, PJ Enter-prises

Initiates and submits CR Form to Project Man-ager Approves suggested changes to move for-ward with modifications.

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Project Plan Approvals

Approvals

Approved by:

Name Role Signature Date

Jane MacKenzie-Smith PJE Sponsor

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Design Document forProduct Reference Guide Training

Document DescriptionThis design document outlines the course the ID Gurus will deliver and includes details about the skills the participants will acquire, the technology used, and how the participants will be assessed.

Purpose of the CourseThe purpose of this course is to provide training to the telephone operators (TO) on how to use the Product Reference Guide, which the ID Gurus are in the process of developing (see Appendix F for initial design samples). This guide will reduce the number of order-related customer complaints by 25% by the end of 2015. The Product Reference Guide will increase productivity of the TOs by providing all product information in a searchable format during phone orders. This guide will also help the TOs upsell and cross-sell during phone orders.

Audience DescriptionThe telephone operators are currently all women and range in age from 18 to 60. For many, this is their first job. All operators have graduated from high school or earned a GED. Some of the TOs have completed college courses, but none have college degrees.

Course DescriptionThis course will help the TOs learn how to navigate through the Product Refer-ence Guide. During the training session, the tool’s functionality will be explained and demonstrated. Participants will be given an opportunity to practice searching for product information. This training is primarily for the TOs, but can be used to train the supervisors, as well.

Course Seat TimeThis course is 4.5 hours 80 minutes in length.

Instructional Architecture/Strategy for CourseThe architecture of this course consists mainly of directives given in a procedural style. This instructor-led course will include demonstrations, exercises, and role-plays.

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Major Course ObjectivesAt the end of the training, TOs will be able to:

Locate product information in the PRG to answer customer questions

Make recommendations to customers using the PRG categories Use the “related items” function in the PRG as a tool for cross-selling

and upselling during a call. Identify which key sections of the PRG should be used to efficiently answer customer questions

Use the Customer FAQ drop down to answer common customer ques-tions.

Use the Category drop down to guide customers to purchase general or seasonal catalog items.

Successfully locate and answer questions about a product using the prod-uct item number feature within the electronic PRG.

Successfully locate and answer questions about a product using the key-word feature within the electronic PRG.

Learn how to use PRG to access items that are more expensive, and may be of interest to the customer to up sell.

Learn how to access products using the PRG to find items that are simi-lar to cross sell

Learning Assessment for CourseThere will be no formal assessments for this course. Exercises and role plays are included in the training session to ensure that the TOs have an opportunity to practice and get immediate feedback from the trainer.

Course OutlineThe detailed outline below represents the entire training for the telephone opera-tors in using the Product Reference Guide. This training could be used as-is or modified for other company employees, such as supervisors.

Course Introduction

A. Introduction

B. Overview

C. Answering a telephone call using a script

D. Exercise

E. Process of up selling or cross selling and finalizing an order

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Lesson 1: Answering a Phone Call

A. Introduction

B. Answering a phone call using the script

C. Role Play

D. Assessment

Lesson 2: Answering product question using the product reference guide

A. Introduction to Product Reference Guide

B. Finding objects using the Product Reference Guide

C. Role play

D. Assessment

Lesson 3: Up sell and cross selling of goods

A. Introduction

B. Demonstrate skills involved in up selling and cross selling goods

C. Role Play

D. Assessment

Lesson 4: Closing the order, using computer system

A. Introduction

B. Using the computer system

C. Closing order using the computer system

D. Role Play

E. Assessment

Review and Summary

Summary of Answering a Phone Call

Summary of Product Reference Guide

Summary of Up Selling and Cross Selling

Summary of Computer System and Closing the Order

MediaSlides will be used to display information during the training session. Partici-pants will be supplied with a spiral-bound learner guide that they can reference during the training.

Development ToolsProduct Reference Guide (PRG) will be built using HTML coding or advanced Microsoft Sharepoint functionality on PJ Enterprises intranet site.

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Training materials will be developed using a MS Word template and PPT.

The Product Reference Guide training will be developed using software such as PowerPoint, Excel and/or Word.

Development TimeThe development of this training course will require 150 hours of work. This does not take into account any previous work handled for task analysis, job anal-ysis or document preparation.

Support requirementsIn order to complete the course, PJ Enterprises management will help the Gurus in the following ways via SMEs or written sources:

Obtain detailed steps and guidelines for tasks

Provide any needed documents electronically

Adhere to additional training schedule

Manage printing of training materials

Review all documents in a timely manner, giving feedback on accuracy and completeness of materials, including steps, guidelines, scenarios, ac-curate product information and other product knowledge

Work with ID Gurus to ensure training is scheduled and trainees are present

ID Gurus will ask for assistance from management in role playing sce-narios.

OwnershipThe Instructional Design Gurus will maintain all materials for one year after completion of the training, after which PJ Enterprises will maintain the materials. If PJ Enterprises would like the ID Gurus to continue maintenance of the docu-ments, the ID Gurus will provide a proposal as to the scope and costs of the ser-vices provided.

Project Sign-offPlease sign below indicating agreement with the proposed course plan and ap-proving start-up of the development phases.

Instructional Designer Date

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Project Manager/Sponsor Date

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Appendix A : WBS for Product Reference Guide Training

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Appendix B: Gantt Chart

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Appendix C: Job Task Analysis

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Appendix D: Detailed Course Outline A discussion of learning theories used in the construction of the course outline is described below (see Application of Learning Theories to Course Outline).

Mins. Task / Topic / Key Concept Method Objective Assessment Visuals / Media Support

1A

&

1B

5 Course Introduction

Course Overview

Course Objectives

Presentation of Facts

(Learners will be recog-nizing basic course in-formation)

N/A N/A Slides will be presented by instructor with appro-priate visuals and overall course objectives.

2A 15 Introduction to the Main Menu of the PRG:

Keyword Search

Quick Link

Category Drop Down

Demonstration & Pre-sentation of Facts

(Learners will be recog-nizing basic facts about the PRG)

Identify which key sections of the PRG should be used to effi-ciently answer cus-tomer questions

N/A: Assessment of this objective will occur at the end of the course, after TO’s have had hands on practice with each section.

Demonstration of the PRG and projected PPT slides with key points ref-erenced.

Activity: Instructor Hot Seat

(Learners will ask the instructor customer questions and the in-structor will point out which part of the PRG should be used to an-swer the question.)

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2B 20 Navigation of the Quick Link drop down and sub-drop downs. Navigation of informa-tion on landing pages.

Demonstration fol-lowed by applica-tion.

Use the Customer FAQ drop down to an-swer common cus-tomer questions.

Learners will partici-pate in 2 activities that require them to navigate and use the PRG to an-swer questions.

Demonstration of the PRG and PPT slides.

10 Activity #1: Answer a question about holiday shipping & discuss as a group.

15 Activity #2: Pair and share. Work with a part-ner to answer two dif-ferent Customer FAQs.

2C 10 Navigation of the category drop down. Locating items in the General and Seasonal product catalog features of the PRG

Demonstration followed by application.

Use the Category drop down to guide cus-tomers to purchase general or seasonal catalog items

Learners will select a customer question at random and teach back to the group.


20 Activity: Draw a ques-tion out of a bowl and individually research the answer. Present findings to the group.

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3A 10 Deep dive of keyword word search and product reference page.

Presentation of facts about the PRG.

N/AN/A Demonstration of the

PRG and PPT slides.

3B 10 Search by item number Demonstration followed by hands on practice.

Successfully locate and answer questions about a product using the product item num-ber feature within the electronic PRG.

Learners will partici-pate in an activity that requires them to search by item number and share the correct an-swer.


10 Activity #1: Customer has the item number but no computer access. Answer her questions using the PRG.

3C 10 Search by keyword Demonstration, explo-ration and practice.

Successfully locate and answer questions about a product using the keyword feature within the electronic PRG.


10 Exploration: Learners will explore using the keyword search for 10 minutes.

3D 10 Section Summary Summary and followed by Q&A

PPT Slides

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3C (cont) 10 Activity #2: Customer

would like to order something similar to what he ordered last week. Use the PRG to answer his questions.


PPT Slides

4A 15 Use various features in the PRG to upsell items to cus-tomers.

Presentation of facts followed by application.

Learn how to use PRG to access items that are more ex-pensive, and may be of interest to the customer to up sell.

Learners will complete a scored role play activ-ity where they upsell a customer w/out being pushy.


15 Role Play Activity:

Customer orders a basic duvet cover but men-tions he’s not sure his wife will like it. OR

Customer orders Christ-mas pajamas for her granddaughter and there’s an option to up-grade to include a teddy bear in the same PJs

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4B 15 Use various features in the PRG to cross-sell items to cus-tomers.

Presentation of facts followed by application.

Learn how to access products using the PRG to find items that are similar to cross sell

Learners will complete a scored role play activ-ity where they cross-sell to a customer and rec-ommend relevant items.

15 Role play exercise: Customer mentions she’s buying a duvet for her daughter’s bedroom makeover, what else might you suggest? OR Customer is buying a nice robe for his wife’s birthday to give her the “spa” treatment.


PPT Slides

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Application of Learning Theories to Course Outline (Malcom Knowles & David Merrill)

The target audience for this course will be entirely adult learners currently employed as telephone operators in the workplace; therefore, content must have a clearly defined goal. When presenting information to the adult student, it will be important to integrate this knowledge with information they already know from working at PJ Enterprises.

Knowles also acknowledged the need for flexibility in learning styles and backgrounds of diverse audiences, especially with computers. The following objectives were designed to provide hands-on activities and task-oriented instruction to facilitate understanding. This also supports the data gathered by the ID Gurus, indicating a desire by the telephone operators for visual and interactive training presented in shorter segments.

Because the target audience consists of currently employed telephone operators, some of whom have al-ready been through previous training courses, several may have preconceived notions in regards to answer-ing customer inquiries. In this case, learning can be delayed or obstructed. Knowles emphasized that adults benefit from instruction that allows them to discover things for themselves. In this situation, learners may benefit from not having a designated script, but rather guided instruction that allows flexibility in working with customers.

David Merrill further provided a basis for effective lesson design with his context-performance matrix (CPM). The CPM matrix consists of two areas devoted to informational and knowledge content. The learner can either acquire the knowledge through two levels of performance: memorization or application. Within the informational domain are five main elements: facts, procedures, concepts, processes and princi-ples. In order to construct an optimal learning experience, Merrill believed it was important to address both information elements and levels of performance. This course emphasizes instruction on each knowledge level for procedures and processes.

Culatta, R. (2011). Andragogy (Malcom Knowles). Retrieved http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/andragogy.html.

Tyner, K. Types of Information. Retrieved from http://www.etc.edu.cn/eet/articles/Infotypes/start.htm.

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http://www.etc.edu.cn/eet/articles/Infotypes/start.htm

http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/andragogy.html

http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/andragogy.html

Appendix E: Final AssessmentThere will be no formal assessments for this course. Exercises and role-plays are included in the training session to ensure that the TOs have an opportunity to practice and get immediate feedback from the trainer.

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Appendix F: Product Reference Guide Mock-upsThese are examples of screens from the Product Reference Guide, including the main screen accessed after login, a product page, and a category page.

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