Transcript Document

Customer Service Overview
Corina Stretch
Debra Humphrey
March 2007
HISTORY

1873 Washington Natural Gas Introduced
to the NW
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1886 Puget Sound Power & Light
Introduced to the NW
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1997 PSE Arises From Puget
Power/Washington Natural Gas
Puget Sound Energy
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Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington
An investor owned gas & electric utility
(NYSE:PSD)
As Washington state's oldest and largest
energy utility, with a 6,000-square-mile
service territory stretching across 11
Washington counties, primarily in the Puget
Sound region, PSE serves more than 1
million electric customers and nearly
700,000 natural gas customers.
Strong residential base
Puget Sound Energy Service Area
65% suburban
20% metropolitan
15% rural
Bothell Facility
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325 employees
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75,000 square foot facility
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Activities
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Customer Access Center
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Exception/Special Billing
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Payment Processing
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Credit & Collection
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Customer Service Training
Bothell Facility
Bothell Facility
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7 X 24 Hours of
Operation
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Core Business
7:30AM – 6:30PM
Emergency Service
24x7
Products:
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Electric and Gas
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Merchandise
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Street Lights
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35% of calls handled
automatically
75% of calls handled
within 30 seconds
Less than 1% call
abandonment rate
Multiple languages
supported
Bothell Customer Access Center
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State of the Art
Facility
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Workout
Room/Showers
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Spacious
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Lunchroom/Kitchen
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Training & Meeting
Rooms
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Private Phone Booths
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Private Break Rooms
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Ergonomic
Workstations
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Advanced Technology
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Private “Mothers
Room”
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Free Parking
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Walking Trail
Bothell Access Center
Call Distribution
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Start/Stop Service
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Credit Arrangements
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Billing Inquires
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Other
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Gas Emergency
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Outage Restoration
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Appliance Repair
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Account Inquiry
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Pay Station Locations
Staffing
Customer Access Center
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Customer Service
Agents (220)
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At Home Agents (16)
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Spanish Speaking
Language Bank
Agents (2)
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In house Training
department
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In house Help desk
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Supervisors (6)
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Team Leaders (12)
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Business Analysts
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Forecasting &
Scheduling
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Communication
Administrative (2)
Staffing
Support Department Back Office
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Billing Department
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Credit Department
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Supervisors (2)
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Supervisor (1)
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Senior Business
Analysts (3)
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Lead (1)
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Agents (23)
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Program Manager (1)
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Senior Business
Analysts (1)
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Business Analysts (6)
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Agents (35)
Payment Processing
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Supervisor (1)
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Agents/Clerks (16)
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Analysts (1)
Technology Tools
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Updated Customer Information System
(ConsumerLinX)
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Quality Assurance Tools (E-talk; Qfinity)
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Updated Telephone System (Aspect;
Uniphi)
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Skills Based Routing Ability (Aspect ACD)
Technology Tools
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E-workforce management suite (Aspect)
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Real Time Adherence Performance Tools
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Empower – Agent schedules
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Agent Performance Optimization (APO)
Statistical performance reporting
e-notification server – Communicating schedule
changes to staff
Esp-IVR – Allows phone access to Empower
through the VRU
December 2006 Storm
Corina Stretch
Debra Humphrey
Overview
Storm forming
Major Storm Forming
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Communicated advanced warning of
possible outages from approaching storm
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Media, Customers ,Communities
&Governments
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Call Center
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Website
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Outreach
Once the storm hit, messages tied to PSE
Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
conference calls
The storm’s damage
Conditions led to extensive
damage caused by fallen trees
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December 2006 windstorm had winds
speeds that typically can occur every 10 +
years
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Two-month period preceding windstorm
was extraordinarily wet-breaking all-time
precipitation records
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People moving into traditional forested
lands
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Land use and “Boutique Trees”
Unprecedented Damage
Unprecedented Damage
Poles to replace
Boutique trees!!
Unprecedented Damage
Dec. 15: >700,000 Customers Out
Dec. 18: ~ 500,000 Customers Restored
Storm Damage and Restoration Metrics
700,000
160
159 Substations Out
140
85 Transmission Lines Out
600,000
Customers
180
700,000 Customers Out
120
500,000
100
400,000
80
300,000
60
200,000
40
100,000
20
0
0
15
16
17
18
19 20 21 22
December 2006
23
24
25
Transmission Lines and Substations
800,000
Response personnel and crews
800
Service Teams
700
Teams and Crews
600
Assessment and
Coordination Teams
500
400
300
200
Crews (Line, Tree and
Substation)
100
0
15
16
17
18
19 20 21 22
December 2006
23
24
25
Crews from various areas here to help
Multiple crews on each major line
More damage
Assessing the damage
Dangerous conditions
Transformer and Line damage
Pole, tree and lines down
More line damage
Line and Tree damage
Call Center Metrics
120,000
VRU Option 1 Outage Info
Offered to Agent
VRU Option 2 Regular Calls
Service Level
100%
80,000
80%
60,000
60%
40,000
40%
20,000
20%
0
0%
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
December 2006
22
23
24
25
Service Level
Number of Calls
100,000
Sharing Information
Operations, Corporate Affairs, and Customer Services
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Media, Customer (Major Accounts/Access Center),
Community, and Government
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Message Development tied to PSE Emergency
Operations Center (EOC) conference calls every
four hours (4 a.m. to 8 p.m)
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Media Outreach
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News Releases
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In advance of drive-time and scheduled news casts
and immediate response (more than 100 calls daily)
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CEO ads and news conference
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Web site updates (four+ times daily)
Sharing Information – pse.com
Sharing Information
Web Hits on Service Alert Pages
Number of hits combined
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
14
15
16
17
18 19 20 21
December 2006
22
23
24
25
Sharing Information
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Community Outreach
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EOCs – King County and State
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CRMs – Counties and Cities
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Shelters
Government Outreach
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State – WUTC, Governor, Legislature
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Federal – Delegation
Employee Support
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Hotel Accommodations
Shuttle from hotel for those requiring assistance
Meals provided during the entire storm duration
Other departments volunteered to assist the call center
with customer and escalated calls
Security was provided for all essential and critical areas
in the company
Chair massages, toiletries for hotel including some
clothing. A coach and a counselor volunteered to help
support our employees during this difficult time. (Access
Center)
Gift wrap stations set up for holiday wrapping
Accommodated Holiday pre-planned activities
Community Support
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Many pictures and Thank you notes have been
received by our departments
Communications
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State
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Counties and Cities
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EOC
WUTC
Governor’s Office
Legislators
EOCs
Elected Officials
Shelters
Federal-Delegation
Next Steps
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Operational
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Permanent repairs
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Evaluation (restoration/response,
internal/external communication, future system,
etc.)
Communications
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Information sharing
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Stakeholder outreach and input
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Ongoing stakeholder dialogue
Regulatory
At Home Agent Program
Access Center
1996-2007
At-Home-Agent Program
Pilot Program
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1996 – March; Pilot program launched
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3 agents began pilot program
1998 – November; Additional 16 agents
added in two more phases sporadically
since 1996. Total of 19 agents in pilot
program
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Approximate cost p/agent $6,600 (one time)
$150 p/month for telephone
Regular 8/10 hour shifts
Through attrition, currently 6 agents still
working from home since 1996/98
At-Home-Agent Program
Official
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2006 December; Program became official
with an additional 10 agents
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Approximate cost p/agent $2000 (one time)
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Equipment (Computer, fax/printer, telephone)
$1500 p/year general operating expenses
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$40-60 p/month for telephone (Verizon, Vonage, etc.)
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$50 p/month for Internet (Comcast, Verizon, etc.)
Split shifts during core hours (7:30AM-6:30PM)
2007 2nd quarter; plans for an additional
10-15 agents
At-Home-Agent Program
Benefits/Advantages
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Improves Outage Response
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Improves Schedule Flexibility
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Reduces Absenteeism
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Reduction in Turnover
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Agent Morale
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Lower Commuting Costs and Time for
employees
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Lowers companies needs for office space
and parking
At-Home-Agent Program
Disadvantages
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Isolation
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Burn out with too much overtime
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Training and/or meetings may be limited to
“day-in” the office
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Decreased mentoring to less skilled agent
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Less likely to advance in company due to
comfort at home
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Skills may decrease due to less exposure
to policies and procedures
Union Agreements
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1996 – Pilot Program
2006 – Official
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At Home Agents (AHA) contracted prior to this
agreement will continue to work their current schedule
unless the employee and the Company agree to a
change in their current scheduled shift.
New agents will be scheduled to work a shift based on
operational needs, which will include an extended lunch
break.
Selected agents will report on-site at their residence and
are otherwise covered by all terms and conditions of the
Collective Bargaining Agreement and the signed AHA
agreement.
The Company and the Union agree to review the
progress of this project within 90 days and as often as
necessary thereafter to ensure that issues are addressed
in a timely manner.
IT Requirements
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Internet Preferences in priority order for
deployment should be:
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High Speed Internet
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DSL
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Dial up is the last option and will not be
considered for AHA roll out.
There is no preferred cable company
Agent requirements
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IT requirements met
Meet expectations
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Attendance
Quality/Quantity of performance
Independent worker
Advanced agent (at least 3 years) – This is still
in the review process.
Other
Willing to work split shifts (non-traditional)
Must pass a technical and procedural
questionnaire
AHA Equipment
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PSE provides computer, battery back
up/surge protector, headsets, adapter,
printer, fax and telephone.
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The PSE provided equipment specified cannot
be used for personal use by any member of the
household.
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Employee must provide desk, and PSE will
provide chairs. An ergonomic assessment
will be provided.
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PSE is not responsible for support of any
non-PSE equipment.
Security
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Home must have a smoke detector and a
fire extinguisher.
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Employee must have a locked room or
office for non-disruptive work environment
from others in the household.
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Employees must provide Proof of
Homeowners/Rental Insurance for fire and
theft, when requested.
AHA Expectations
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Availability
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Be available for call outs to work from home,
and/or hours outside your shift to assist with
call volume and outage calls.
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If on scheduled PTO, (Paid time off) or if
unavailable for the weekend AHA is to notify
the Outage Manager
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Call outs are paid at double time. (minimum of
two hours)
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Call outs/message: Respond to voice message
as soon as possible to see if still needed.
AHA Expectations
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Reporting to the office
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If employee elects to bid a traditional or part-time shift,
they are electing off the split shift opportunity. They are
no longer eligible for an at-home-agent position and must
return to the office.
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Scheduled overtime for weekend shifts, will be required
to come in to the office as staff is limited. (Major holidays
can be the exception if mutually agreed upon by the
supervisor)
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Committed to 90 calendar days from the date started
working at home. If returning to the Access Center agent
will be re-assigned to a shift based on operational need.
AHA Expectations
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Reporting to the office
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Equipment Failures (ETA of more than 1 hour)
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Meetings/training
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One day a week (Scheduled in advance)
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Department mail pick-up
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Coaching/meeting with team or Leadership
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Power failure (ETA of more than 1 hour)
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Equipment upgrade
General AHA Housekeeping
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Lunch/Breaks/Split Shift. Split shifts will reflect
three hours “off schedule” in the middle of the
shift.
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Childcare: The AHA will provide a professional,
safe and noise free environment during work
hours. Being an at-home-agent is not a substitute
for child-care.
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Random site visits during working hours,
scheduled or unannounced.
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If the AHA is not meeting expectation standards,
they will no longer be eligible for this program and
will be required to report to the office.
Leadership & Support
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Direct telephone numbers to leadership
(Same as in-house agents)
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Supervisor direct Cell telephones
(Nextel-Blackberry)
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Direct telephone numbers to In-house
help desk technician
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Designated help desk technician for At
home Agent
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TBD- Instant messaging
Process Improvement
Action Items
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Solicit on-going feedback from AHA
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Web Chat-Instant messaging capabilities
for prompt communication between
leadership and AHA team
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Develop a more defined escalation process
for technical problems
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Review/grant access to in-house computer
programs – Firewall issues
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Formalize off-site visit process – quarterly