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Company: Time Warner Cable, New York, NY
Entry Submitted By: Weber Associates
Company Description: Today, Time Warner Cable Inc. is among the largest providers of video, high-speed data and phone services in the United States, connecting more than 15 million customers to entertainment, information and each other. Time Warner Cable offers cutting edge digital technology, a rich range of home entertainment and information choices for the whole family to enjoy.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Team Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Back-Office Customer Service Team of the Year

Nomination Title:  Turning Quality Assurance into the "Guardian of Best-in-Class Behaviors" with the COMPASS Program

Tell the story about what this nominated team achieved since the beginning of July 2011 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

For Time Warner Cable West Region Customer Care, the Quality Assurance Department re-invented its mission, and in the process, innovated a new approach to QA. They moved from being adversarial with the frontline, to being a “guardian of best-in-class behaviors”, whom the frontline values for their deep insights. This shift has become the cornerstone for building a culture of empowerment and performance management.

Business Problem

The QA Department was monitoring hundreds of thousands of calls per year… but it was unclear if all that effort was leading to a more positive customer experience, because:

•QA had a check-list mentality that rewarded reps for saying specific phrases… regardless of the impact on positive customer experience.
•The Reps were fearful of QA, making them robotic. “I used to go home in tears, worried that I wasn’t helping my customers as well as I could.” -- Rep
•QA behaviors did not correlate to metrics, making it difficult to manage the business. “I never even read the QA reports. There was no value.” – Executive

Approach

Time Warner Cable partnered with Weber Associates, an expert in front line performance improvement, to develop a truly innovative approach. Together, they:

•Started from scratch and identified the 9 most critical behaviors to driving customer experience.

•Focused those behaviors on the intent, vs. creating a checklist of phrases a rep must say.
- This approach to defining call expectations from the customer’s perspective was a new concept; most organizations try to define their call expectations in black-and-white procedural terms.

•Piloted in 3 sites, refining the program until correlations emerged that proved that this approach was improving customer experience.

•Coached the QA department on how to share their feedback with the frontline in a way that drives results.

Results

The Pilot measured success in 3 primary ways:

•Performance: Pilot sites improved in all metrics:
- Sales: +7.5% vs. Control
- First Call Resolution: +1.1% vs. Control
- Customer Satisfaction: +1.0% vs. Control

•Quantifiable Insights: The Pilot correlated the behaviors to metrics, to finally arrive at a quantifiable answer for “which behaviors truly matter?”
This innovative “Predictiveness Index” allows Time Warner to predict which behaviors will drive results, and has revolutionized how Time Warner trains and coaches.

•Employee Morale: The front line went from 33% having a favorable opinion of QA (pre-pilot), to 93% having a favorable opinion (post-pilot)… an increase of +178%.
-“I’m not scared to walk into the break room anymore. Agents actually come up to me and thank me for giving them feedback.” —TWC Quality Advisor
- “It’s a breath of fresh air for my agents—even their body language. I’ve never seen a team so excited to come to work.”—Supervisor

This program succeeded because it used a truly innovative approach to re-orient a back office function into a valuable group that drives customer experience. Time Warner has named the program “COMPASS”, and is rolling it out all remaining sites in the West Region.

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated team:

Eric Burton, Regional Vice President, Customer Care – West Region, plays a large role in developing Care strategy for Time Warner Cable, focused heavily on making operations simpler and easier for employees and customers. Eric holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix, is a graduate Tuck School of Business Executive Program, and completed CTAM Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

Joanne Wolf, Director of Quality and Customer Perspective, leads West Region Quality and Customer Satisfaction programs. Joanne has more than 20 years of experience in cable and telecommunications.