Best Practices in Implementing a Responsive Training Program

April, 7 2004

Speakers Laura Anne Plummer

Course Developer

Bill Vaughan

Customer Support Supervisor 2

Agenda Topic Return on Investment Skill Assessment and Career Path Response to Staff Development Plans Responsive Product Training Program Course Assessment 5 Minutes 5 Minutes 10 Minutes 15 Minutes 5 Minutes Case Study: New Product Release 5 Minutes Time

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Objectives Understand Training ‘Return on Investment’:

Vertex vs. Industry Standards

Review the Vertex Career Path model Realize how Vertex responds to Individual Staff Development plans in real time Appreciate how the Training Department responds to Product Support Training needs Comprehend the methodology involved in creating responsive training Understand the application of development and delivery methods in the real world

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Return On Investment

What is the investment? Benchmarking standards

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What is the investment? Vertex vs. Industry Training Costs Industry Standard: ASTD Cost per Employee $761 Cost of Training HR Department Training Department * Total 2001 2002 $399.00

$435.11

$834.11

Vertex Costs $ 834.11

*Total does not include tuition costs 7

What is the return?

Vertex

PSA is comprehensively trained in tax, product, and support tool knowledge Customer satisfaction rating is increasingly higher Call metrics are equal to or greater than the call center average 8

Decreasing the costs of training Cost of Training Training Department 2001 2002 $ 435.11

Cost of Training Training Department

Implementation of new training methods including: • On your own exercises • Coaching program * • WebCasts/CBT’s • Attending external customer classes *

*

61% reduction in instructor-led training time

2002 2003 $ 116.11

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Increasing the value of training

At the company level, the implementation of new training methods results in the following: • Reduction of training time for PSA • Reduction of need for training resources

At the product support level, streamlined training courses decrease… …ramp-up time to phone (Vertex 6-10 days) …facilitation time (Vertex 1-2 days) while increasing internal customer satisfaction.

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Skills Assessment And Career Path

The Vertex Career Path model

Career Path perspectives

Corporate Employee Support Department

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Career Path model General Characteristics Career Paths Assessment Tool Competencies Learning Maps

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General characteristics General Characteristics Individuals serving in the Customer Support job family … Individuals in this job family must have a solid understanding of …

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Career Path

Title Dimension

PROJECT COMPLEXITY TYPICAL RESPONSIBILITIES Business Process Analyst Typically, performs …

Serves as a … 

Assesses near-term …

  Researches …

Typically requires … TYPICAL EDUCATION/ EXPERIENCE Account Executive Performs work across …

Serves as a liaison …

Account Manager

Performs work across multiple business units … Serves as a liaison across all business units, …   

Assesses short-term business needs, …

Researches moderately …

Typically requires …

   Defines short and long-term business needs, … Researches complex, enterprise wide … Typically requires …  May require supervisory experience. 15

Competencies Competencies Project

Leader

BEHAVIORAL:

Customer Service Orientation: Works with Account & Business Process Management to ensure client’s needs (internal and/or external) are met/exceeded. Following through on client inquiries, requests and issues. Taking action to ensure client satisfaction. Thoroughness: Reflects an underlying drive to reduce uncertainty in the surrounding environment. It suggests a detail orientation directed at minimizing efforts and keeping tasks and responsibilities clear and on schedule. Being Developed Intermediate

Project

Manager Intermediate Advanced

Program

Manager Advanced Expert

Program

Director Advanced Advanced 16

Assessment tool Assessment Tool

Thoroughness: Reflects an underlying drive to reduce uncertainty in the surrounding environment. It suggests a detail orientation directed at minimizing efforts and keeping tasks and responsibilities clear and on schedule.

Example(s) Of How You Have Demonstrated This Behavior Manager's Comments Development / Action Plan Expected Proficiency Rating Employee View Manager View Client View Consensus View

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Learning maps Learning Maps COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITIES OTHER SOURCES OF DEVELOPMENT RECOMMENDED TRAINING IT Tools/Utilities:

Knowledge of IT technology tools and utilities. Able to research new products, determine which tools and utilities are most applicable to the design, administration and management of applications.

Meet with a Web operations support manager. Ask what tools and utilities they use to support, monitor and tune their web applications. At a detailed level, find out what problems they have had and what were the causes.

Books:

Web Performance Tuning by Killelea, Patrick (1998) Web Performance Tuning hits the ground running and gives concrete advice for improving crippled Web performance right away. For anyone who has waited too long for a Web page to display or watched servers slow to a crawl, this book includes tips on tuning the server software, operating system, network, and the Web browser itself.

Courses:

A course for those who want to learn more about space management, user management, data security, and backup and recovery. The course should include understanding the potential for failures and how to recover and restore databases for maximum performance; archiving; managing users, assignment of privileges and database security. These courses will be, for the most part, mainframe vendor specific. Check their websites for classes.

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Career Path process Identify Requirements of Existing Role Identify Short and Long-Term Goals Create a Certification Task List Determine Review Criteria Progress Checkpoints

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How do we practice the Career Path?

Monthly One-on-One Meetings

–

Items Discussed

–

Path Forward

–

Achievements

–

Future Objectives Performance Reviews Promotions

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Response To Staff Development Plans

“Real World” example

Level 1

Product Support analyst to Product Support specialist Product Team Membership Escalation Resource Provide Workgroup Leadership Transition from Operational to Strategic Advanced Product Knowledge

Level 2 22

Product Team membership skills Negotiation Skills Additional Technical Skills Team Training Effective Business Writing

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Escalation resource Social Styles Communication Skills Conflict Resolution Listening Skills

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Provide workgroup leadership

Presentation Skills Leadership Training Mentoring Skills

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Transition – operational to strategic

Strategic Orientation Project Management Effective Business Writing

Operational Strategic 26

Responsive Product Training Program

Development and delivery from the Training group

Vertex’s education program Vertex’s education program includes: Dedicated product course development and delivery HR employee development training Additional course training Tuition reimbursement

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Vertex product release cycle

Product Specifications Beta Release General (Major) Release Product Data Collection Minor Releases 29

Dedicated Product Training group Product Training Components

Product Team Membership Material Development

Training

Self-Directed Instruction Training Delivery 30

Product team involvement Training Developers are members of software product teams from the time of initiation.

Responsibilities Meeting Attendance Training Design Specification Project Plan Support Training Liaison Training Group SME Team Member 31

Self-directed instruction The course designer’s primary responsibility is to know the product’s functionality.

Product Design Specs Meet with BSA Documentation Practice Application Designer 32

Training material development During the development process, design specifications are converted into training deliverables.

Review Templates Create Training Guides Create Case Studies Create Job Aides Create Presentation Required Instructor Notes Optional Create Self Study Guide 33

Training delivery for product support

•

Beta Release (X.X)

Product Support Training

• • •

General Release (1.X)

Forum Product support training Train the trainer sessions

•

Minor Release (1.1.X)

Web Cast

• •

Major Release: (2.X)

Same as above Web Cast

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Course Assessment

Does training work?

Course Assessment process

Exercises Pre/Post Tests Final Course Exam Training Course Assessment Training Filter Course Effectiveness Knowledge Transfer Student Survey 30/90 Day Review Ride Along Sessions

Non-training Related Barriers

Call Quality Assessment Peer to Peer Monitoring Event Driven Survey 36

Course effectiveness Exercises

• • • Guided practice On-Your-Own practice Case Studies

Pre/Post Tests

• Pre-test results • Post-test results

Final Exam

• Must obtain at least 93%

Student Survey

• Instructor assessment • • Material assessment Topic assessment 37

Knowledge Transfer assessment Ride Along Sessions Event Driven Survey Survey Peer-to-Peer Call Quality

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Training filter A 30 and 90 day Product Support Analyst review is used to evaluate the analyst’s ability to perform specific job tasks and filter out non-related training barriers including :

• • • •

Ineffective work tools Poor management Time constraints Personal motivation

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Case Study: New Product Release

Troubleshooting training

Case study scenario New Tax Product O Series

Advances in the fields of tax and technology created a demand for Web services products, which can be integrated with existing financial systems and properly calculate a variety of business taxes. The product release is scheduled for the end of the 4 th quarter. Product support must be trained on troubleshooting techniques before the beta release.

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Training needs analysis Training must include the addition or improvement of the following troubleshooting skills:

• • • • •

Programming Languages – Platform Requirements – Database Requirements – XML, JAVA Web Services Relational DB Product Functionality – O Series Tax Specifics – Value Added Tax, Consumer Use Tax

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Training response

New O Series Skills Product Training Department Human Resources Department Product Functionality Tax Field Specifics External Courses In-house courses O Series VAT CUT WS DBA XML JAVA 43

Product training deliverables Courses for O Series

Human Resources – Pre-product offerings

– In-house programming language courses – – – Advanced programming courses External Oracle DBA certification External course – Web Services

Training Department – Modularized Product Offerings

– Overview – – – – – System Administration Sales Tax Consumer Use Value Added Tax Integration Specifics 44

Streamlined Training - reduction of cost Courses for O Series

Human Resources – Pre-product offerings

– In-house programming language courses – – – – Advanced product training – 2 day company-wide offering product development supplement External Oracle DBA certification – External course – Web Services – 2 individuals/group 2 individuals/group

Training Department – Modularized Product Offerings -

– Overview – ½ day instructor-led – – – – – System Administration Sales Tax – 1 day instructor-led Consumer Use – 1 day instructor-led Value Added Tax – ½ day Instructor-led 1 day instructor-led Integration/Platform/Architecture Specifics – 4 day instructor-led/SME adjuncts 45

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