When a DialAmerica representative takes a call, that representative is expected to track the call properly. �Call tracking� is the act of noting the correct DNIS and the correct outcome in a computer (or on hard copy in some instances) for every call that is received. A DNIS number is a four-digit number that shows on the representative�s phone display when a call is received. The DNIS number corresponds to a particular 1 (800) number. That phone number may identify a certain region of the country, an advertisement and its medium (TV, radio, etc.), or one of the client�s offers. When a call is tracked properly, DialAmerica�s clients gain vital marketing information
. They can use t his information to better target their advertising and to �fine tune� the offers they have. By looking at the DNIS data and the outcomes of the calls, the client can see which areas, which advertisements, which mediums, and which offers attract callers an d result in sales or applications.Due to various reasons, representatives do not always track all of their calls. This affects the data DialAmerica presents its clients and prevents DialAmerica from fulfilling their professional obligation to their clients. Many metho ds have been tried in the past to increase overall call tracking percentages. Some of these attempts have included having the supervisors walk around the sales floor and �coach� the staff, tying conversion bonuses to tracking percentages, notes with the paychecks of people with low tracking percentages, and direct talks between management and representatives with low tracking percentages.
One of our team members is a supervisor at DialAmerica and has been interested in improving call tracking for some time. To learn more about the problem, our team visited the workplace to become familiar with the equipment and the proc edures phone representatives use. We also met with the sales floor manager so she could explain the importance of proper call-tracking and what had been tried in the past. After meeting with her we surveyed the representatives, supervisors and shift man agers and we gathered call-tracking data for a three-week period to gain further insight. The data included the number of calls received, the number of calls tracked, and the call-tracking percentages for each representative and for the sales floor as a whole for each week.
In studying the data we collected, we discovered that the work force had been consistently tracking at approximately ninety percent. The data also suggested that attacking the problem on an individual representative basis was not the b est approach, because the numbers were not always accurate representations of an individual�s performance. When a representative experiences computer problems or when the computer system as a whole is down, calls are tracked on paper. These calls are th en entered into the system later. Sometimes, a representative other than the one that took the call must enter them. This causes the call to be credited to the person entering the information rather than the person who actually received and answered the call. Therefore, an employee may have artificially low percentages due to system crashes or artificially high percentages due to entering calls tracked on paper. Because of these reasons, we decided to work on the system rather than the individuals wor king within the system.
Using the information we had collected from the surveys and from our meetings, we constructed an Ishikawa diagram. We learned that there were several root causes for the problem we were facing:
Our next step was to decide what could be done to most effectively remedy the most significant root problem.
The lack of information and the inadequate information seemed to be closely related and, furthermore, those two root causes seemed to lead to the highest number of problems. Therefore, our next task was to devise a means for giving the representatives the information they needed and to improve their training. We developed a packet of information to give the current employees and to be used in training new employees. It explained the importance of call-tracking to DialAmerica, its clients, and its representatives, because the surveys indicated that many of the employees felt that it was important for ancillary reasons such as keeping tabs on the workers. The packet also contained tips for the representative to use when tracking ca lls. The final page of the packet was a flowchart of actions to be taken when a call is received. One of the problems with previous training methods was that the representatives had never been shown exactly which steps to follow when tracking a call. This led to many different methods of handling calls, some of which failed to use the phone equipment properly and led to poor call-tracking. By having the employees use the same flowchart, we could ensure that they used the equipment fully and we ensure d that DialAmerica would have a single model from which to work when looking for further improvement in the future.
We first tested the information packet and flowchart in a training session for new employees. They responded well and the sales floor manager gave us the �go-ahead� to distribute the packet to all of the representatives. We did th is by giving them copies with their paychecks.
Next, we gathered call-tracking data that reflected the use of the packet and the flowchart. The new data showed that, as a whole, the workers had improved their call-tracking percentage to 96.68%. We were very pleased with that i mprovement, but perhaps the most encouraging numbers were those of the �new-starts� who had been trained using the information packet and who had been using the flowchart from day one. As a group the �new-starts� had tracked at a phenomenal rate of 98.57 %. The information packet and flowchart are being used in all �new-start� trainings now.
Our final step was to submit a list of suggestions for further improvement in the future. These suggestions were ideas that we were unable to implement due to various reasons such as time constraints or they were means of improveme nt that we felt were secondary. These suggestions included:
In the spirit of continuous improvement, we feel that although the numbers were greatly improved, DialAmerica can further enhance their call-tracking percentages by using these ideas as time allows.