HomeMy WebLinkAbout118550 R W BECK INC - CONTRACT - RFP - P689 UTILITIES STRATEGIC PLANNING INITIATIVE (3)i
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT made and entered into the day and year set forth below, by and
between THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COLORADO, a Municipal Corporation, hereinafter
referred to as the "City" and R. W. BECK, INC., a corporation, hereinafter referred to as
"Professional".
WITNESSETH:
In consideration of the mutual covenants and obligations herein expressed, it is agreed by
and between the parties hereto as follows:
1. Scope of Services. The Professional agrees to provide services in accordance with
the scope of services attached hereto as Exhibit A, consisting of eight (8) pages, and incorporated
herein by this reference.
2. Work Orders. The Professional also agrees to provide additional services in
accordance with any project Work Orders for any subsequent Strategic Planning projects, issued
by the City. A blank sample of a work order is attached hereto as Exhibit E, consisting of one (1)
page and is incorporated herein by this reference. The services to be performed pursuant to this
Agreement shall be performed in accordance with the Work Schedule stated on each Work Order.
Additional services to be performed pursuant to work orders shall be initiated as specified on each
Work Order. Terms and conditions of the agreement shall apply to all work orders. Time is of the
essence. Any extensions of any time limit must be agreed upon in writing by the parties hereto.
The City reserves the right to independently bid any project rather than issuing a Work Order to the
Professional for the same pursuant to this Agreement.
PSA 10/97
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TASK 2: CUSTOMER FOCUS GROUPS
To understand in detail FCU's customers' expectations, Beck suggests conducting four to six
customer focus groups. A minimum of four focus groups is recommended: three with residential
consumers and one with commercial accounts. All participants will be customers with recent FCU
contact. Beck's customer service specialist and market research manager will conduct the focus
groups.
The focus group research will further explore the following issues identified in FCU's quantitative
survey as areas to target for service performance strengthening:
■ Speed of repair service
■ Connecting phone calls quickly
■ Keeping commitments
■ Knowledgeable employees
■ Speed of answering billing questions
■ Understanding the needs of business
Additional areas of investigation can also be added.
The focus groups will be held in the evening to facilitate and encourage attendance. The sessions
will take place in a neutral location, such as a hotel or university meeting room, to motivate open
communication. The customers will be compensated for their participation.
Each participant will be asked to answer written surveys at the beginning and end of the focus
group. The initial survey serves to introduce the customer to the issues that will be discussed. The
ending survey asks the customer to rank certain aspects of service they have experienced as Fort
Collins Utilities' customers.
The sessions will be audio and/or video taped with the participants' approval. The original
recording will be provided to FCU once the data analysis is performed.
This task will require FCU involvement in the identification of potential focus group participants and
management of the administrative end of each session. This includes the issuing of invitations to
participate and sending notices to confirm attendance dates and times on official FCU stationery.
TASK 3: EMPLOYEE FOCUS GROUPS AND INTERVIEWS
Effective measurement systems are customer -focused because goals and key result areas are
determined by customer requirements. However, to define specific measures and design a
comprehensive measurement system the input of employees is necessary. Employees deliver the
service and their daily interactions with customers provide them with knowledge about the
processes involved in each critical area. To comprehend and identify the critical service areas from
the employees' perspective, we recommend conducting two employee focus groups and
interviewing eight employees from the electric, water, waste waster, and storm water areas. In
addition, the employees will complete a written survey to gather more detailed individual
information.
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This task will require FCU assistance in the identification of key personnel to participate in the focus
groups and be interviewed.
TASK 4: CURRENT ORGANIZATION DEFINITION
In this task Beck will review the organization structure of Fort Collins Utilities' customer service
area. At the initial meeting (Task 1) Beck will distribute the Position Information Questionnaire
(PIQ) which will be completed by employees working in Utility's service organization. The PIQ
identifies the common tasks that comprise the majority of each position's time and captures job -
related attributes including standard position responsibilities, additional "program" responsibilities,
individual practices and experience.
Based on the responses received, Beck will prepare a brief written profile for the main positions in
the customer service area. The profiles will be returned to Fort Collins Utilities for review and
validation.
TASK 5: CUSTOMER SERVICE BUSINESS PROCESSES EVALUATION
Based on the information gathered from tasks 3 and 4, Beck will define up to five major business
processes of the customer service organization. To identify the steps involved in each process we
suggest five meetings with managers and employees familiar with each key process. Written
documentation pertinent to the selected processes, such as policies and procedures, may be
requested if necessary. Beck will then create flow charts for the five business processes and
identify opportunities for improvement in process effectiveness and/or efficiency.
This task will require Fort Collins Utilities assistance in the identification of key personnel to
participate in the process improvement meetings.
TASK 6: BEST PRACTICES COMPARISON
Beck will prepare an information gathering protocol that will be used to obtain work practices,
activity level, performance level and staffing information from a representative sample of similar
utilities and other service organizations. Respondents will be asked to provide the preceding
information for the comparable work activities in their respective organizations. Beck will also make
follow-up contacts with each selected entity to enhance the validity of response content. Contact
from Fort Collins Utilities may also be necessary to verify the intended uses of the information.
TASK 7: ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION
Beck will analyze the information compiled from Fort Collins Utilities and from the sample of electric
utilities and other service entities to prepare an internal and external review of the results. The
internal review will focus on developing performance measures that will allow comparison of work
practices, activity level, service level and productivity. The external review will compare Fort Collins
Utilities' staffing and organizational structure to each of the utilities surveyed.
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TASK 8: ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN
Based on the data gathered from the customers and employees, and the results obtained from the
best practices comparison and process improvement efforts, Beck will develop recommendations
and tools for implementing a functional service organization that effectively integrates customer
needs and organizational resources.
Beck will also request and review supplemental information of the service organization's structure,
information systems, and staffing. Key managers and employees will be interviewed if additional
information is necessary.
Once the information is analyzed, Beck will prepare a report that addresses issues such as the
service organization's structure, job definitions, accurate staffing levels, training needs, delegation,
and accountability for results.
TASK 9: PROPOSED MEASUREMENTS AND TARGETS
The information gathered from the internal and external communication efforts would be organized
and categorized according to the five dimensions of service: reliability, responsiveness, employee
competency, empathy, and tangible aspects. Beck will develop and recommend up to 12
measures and performance targets for FCU service organization. The measures and targets will
be reviewed and discussed with FCU for approval.
Once the measures are defined and approved, a meeting with key employees will be held to
identify the best alternative source of information for each measurement.
TASK 10: REPORTING SYSTEM
Beck will design a spreadsheet -based reporting system that will graphically illustrate the measures
on a monthly basis. Beck will deliver a 12-month system tool so that annual performance
measures can be recorded and reviewed. A training session will be held to familiarize customer
service managers with this tool.
TASK 11: FOLLOW UP
Beck will be accessible to answer any questions employees or managers might have regarding the
design or implementation of the reporting tool, and to provide assistance in the interpretation of the
results. Ten hours of such assistance is included in this proposal and more can be provided on an
hourly basis.
TASK 12: FINAL REPORT AND PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
Beck will present to Fort Collins Utilities a final report with the results obtained from the tasks
described above.
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SCHEDULE
The Customer Service Measurement project can be completed in 12 weeks after the initial kick-off
meeting is held. The activities for each week include the following and are subject to change:
PRIOR TO KICK-OFF MEETING
■ Preparation of presentation introducing customer service measurement concepts to FCU
■ Development of customized survey and interview instruments, and focus group outlines for
FCU
■ Development of the Position Information Questionnaire (PIQ)
WEEK 1: DATA GATHERING
■ Presentation: "Introduction to Service Measures" to key managers and selected employees
related to Fort Collins Utilities' service organization
■ Employee interviews
■ Employee focus groups and surveys
■ Customer focus groups and surveys
■ Distribution of PIQs to customer service employees
WEEKS 2-4: ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION
■ Review and analysis of customer focus group audio or video tapes
■ Review and analysis of customer surveys
■ Review and analysis of employee focus groups
■ Review and analysis of employee surveys
■ Review and analysis of employee interviews
■ Review and analysis of PIQ results
WEEKS 5: DEVELOPMENT OF BASELINE DEFINITIONS
■ Identification of 12 critical measures for FCU based on internal and external customer input
■ Identification of common tasks and standard job responsibilities based on the PIQ instrument
WEEK 6: MEETINGS WITH FORT COLLINS UTILITIES KEY PERSONNEL
■ Fort Collins Utilities review and approval of the identified measures and PIQ findings
■ Identification of utilities and service companies to contact for best practices comparison
■ Identification of areas to be analyzed for best practices comparison
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■ Process improvement meetings
■ Meeting with key managers and selected employees to identify the best source of information
for each measure
WEEK 7-9: REPORTING SYSTEM AND BEST PRACTICES COMPARISON
■ Design of protocol gathering information tool for best practices comparison
■ Development of process flow charting tools
■ Design of measurement tool
■ Contact partnering organizations for best practices comparison
■ Analysis of organizational design
WEEK 10: INITIAL FINDINGS AND WORK PRODUCTS
■ Initial best practices comparison report
■ Initial draft of flow charts for the selected customer business processes
■ Initial draft of measurement tool
■ Initial draft of service organization design report
WEEKS 11-12: REVIEW AND APPROVAL
■ Fort Collins Utilities' review and approval of the draft work products.
WEEK 13: REVISIONS
■ Revisions to measurement tool
■ Revisions to flow charts
■ Revision to the best practice report
■ Revision of service organization design report
WEEK 14: TRAINING
■ Net -training session of the measurement tool. (Note: In -person participation by Project
Manager).
■ Week 15: Final Report
Final report of findings and recommendations
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FOLLOW UP
As required, Beck will be available to answer questions regarding the customer service
measurement system.
STAFFING
Beck will assign six professionals to this project. Their names and roles are listed below:
■ Lynn Adams: Coordination with Strategic Planning
■ Wendy Warner: Project Manager
■ Patty Cruz: Customer Service Measurement Development;
Organizational Design
■ Rebecca Shiflea: Research Coordination and Integration
■ Daryl Pullin: Customer Service Process Definition; Measurement Report
Development; Organizational Design
■ John Miner: Best Practices Benchmarking; Organizational Design
Wendy Warner and Rebecca Shiflea were the principals in the recently completed Fort Collins
Customer Survey. The resumes for Patty Cruz and Daryl Pullin are attached.
K
Exhibit B
FORT COLLINS UTILITIES
COMPENSATION: SERVICE MEASUREMENT PROJECT
The price of the proposed services is $80,000. This includes $73,300 for consulting labor and
$6,700 for estimated expenses. The expenses include rental of the facility for the customer focus
groups.
The above amount does not include payment to the customers as an incentive for participation in
the focus groups. This is anticipated to be $25 per residence participant and $50 per business
participant or approximately $1,500 total. This amount may vary depending on the number of actual
participants.
This price includes five (5) copies of the final report and one presentation of the final report in Fort
Collins.
EXHIBIT C
FORT COLLINS UTILITIES
YEAR 2000 READINESS DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
Section 1. To the best of the knowledge of the individual signing this
Agreement, Contractor hereby certifies that it has investigated and
evaluated those information resources or systems to be provided or
used in connection with the performance of this Agreement, and
based on the information currently available, Contractor to the best
of its knowledge has no reasonable basis to expect that the
performance of this Agreement will be impeded or prevented as a
result of a failure by Contractor to become "Year 2000 Compliant".
Section 2. Contractor agrees to notify the City as soon as reasonably practicable
of any information resources or systems that it determines may not
be Year 2000 Compliant and may, as a result, materially impair
Contractor's ability to perform the Services as set forth in the
Agreement.
P:\COMMON\JBE\Ft. Collins exb. C.doc
EXHIBIT D
FORT COLLINS UTILITIES CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
This Agreement is entered into, effective with the signing of the contract to which it is
appended, between the City of Fort Collins, Colorado ("City") and R.W. Beck, Inc., a
Washington corporation ("Beck") with respect to the following facts:
■ Beck has been retained by City to provide consulting services in connection with a
Customer Survey for Fort Collins Utilities.
■ It is anticipated that the City will furnish Beck certain information which is either non-
public, confidential or proprietary in nature and the parties desire to protect the
confidentiality of this information as appropriate.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of permitting the disclosure of certain information and
the promises contained herein, the parties agree as follows:
1. Beck will keep confidential all information marked as confidential by the City
(the "Information"), and, except as otherwise permitted herein, will not disclose the
Information in whole or in part other than in connection with the Customer Survey. Beck
agrees to reveal the Information only to its agents, representatives, attorneys or employees
who need to know the Information for the purpose of completing the Customer Survey who
are informed of the confidential nature of the Information and who agree to act in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
2. Beck will not be prohibited from disclosing or using any information which;
a. is or becomes generally available to the public other than as a result of a disclosure by
the City;
b. was already in Beck's possession before any disclosure of the Information by the City;
c. has been or is obtained by Beck from a third party (other than one acting on behalf of
the City) who Beck has no reason to believe is not lawfully in possession of the
Information and who Beck has no reason to believe is in violation of any contractual,
legal or fiduciary obligation to the City with respect to the Information;
d. is required to be disclosed by a subpoena or other directive of a court, administrative
agency, quasi-judicial body or arbitration panel; or
e. is independently developed by Beck.
3. All drawing, programs, software, data, financial information and other written Information
submitted by the City to Beck or its representatives shall be promptly returned to the City
upon its request. Beck may retain one copy of the Information for its legal records.
4. The Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the
State of Colorado.
5. This Agreement will terminate five years from the date hereof or on such earlier date as may
be mutually agreed by the parties.
6. This Agreement is binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the City and Beck and their
respective successors and assigns.
P:\COMMON\JBE\Ft. Collins exb. D.doc
EXHIBIT "E"
WORK ORDER FORM
PURSUANT TO AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN
THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AND
DATED:
Work Order Number:
Purchase Order Number:
Project Title:
Commencement Date:
Completion Date:
Maximum Fee: (time and reimbursable direct costs):
Project Description:
Scope of Services:
Professional agrees to perform the services
identified above and on the attached forms
in accordance with the terms and
conditions contained herein and in the
Professional Services Agreement between
the parties. In the event of a conflict
between or ambiguity in the terms of the
Professional Services Agreement and this
work order (including the attached forms)
the Professional Services Agreement shall
control.
�- - Mqw/ I1
Date: April 6, 2000
CC: Purchasing
The attached forms consisting of _ ( ►
pages are hereby accepted and
incorporated herein, by this reference, and
Notice to Proceed is hereby given.
City of Fort Collins:
By:
Date:
By:
Date:
By:
Date:
3. Time of Commencement and Completion of Services. The services to be performed
pursuant to this Agreement shall be initiated within five (5) days following execution of this
Agreement. Services shall be completed no later than July 31, 2000. Time is of the essence. Any
extensions of the time limit set forth above must be agreed upon in writing by the parties hereto.
4. Earl Termination by City. Notwithstanding the time periods contained herein, the
City may terminate this Agreement at any time without cause by providing written notice of
termination to the Professional. Such notice shall be delivered at least fifteen (15) days prior to the
termination date contained in said notice unless otherwise agreed in writing by the parties.
All notices provided under this Agreement shall be effective when mailed, postage prepaid and sent
to the following addresses:
Professional:
City:
With Copy to:
Wendy T. Warner, Senior Dir.
Wendy Williams, Deputy
Opal F. Dick, CPPO
R. W. Beck, Inc.
General Manager
Senior buyer
1125 Seventeenth St.
City of Fort Collins Utilities
City of Fort Collins Utilities
Suite 1900
P. O. Box 580
P. O Box 580
Denver, CO 80202
Fort Collins, CO 80522
Fort Collins, CO 80522
In the event of any such early termination by the City, the Professional shall be paid for services
rendered prior to the date of termination, subject only to the satisfactory performance of the
Professional's obligations under this Agreement. Such payment shall be the Professional's sole
right and remedy for such termination.
5. Design. Project Indemnity and Insurance Responsibility. The Professional shall
maintain insurance with the following required coverages and minimum limits and, upon request,
will provide insurance certificates to the City:
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EXHIBIT "E"
WORK ORDER FORM
PURSUANT TO AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN
THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AND
DATED:
Work Order Number:
Purchase Order Number:
Project Title: _
Commencement Date:
Completion Date:
Maximum Fee: (time and reimbursable direct costs):
Project Description:
Scope of Services:
Professional agrees to perform the services
identified above and on the attached forms
in accordance with the terms and
conditions contained herein and in the
Professional Services Agreement between
the parties. In the event of a conflict
between or ambiguity in the terms of the
Professional Services Agreement and this
work order (including the attached forms)
the Professional Services Agreement shall
control.
Profesajonal
Date: April 6, 2000
CC: Purchasing
1
The attached forms consisting of
pages are hereby accepted and
incorporated herein, by this reference, and
Notice to Proceed is hereby given.
City of Fort Collins:
By:
Date:
By:
Date:
By:
Date:
Workers' Compensation
Employer's Liability
Comprehensive General Liability
Comprehensive General Automobile
Professional Liability
Statutory
$1,000,000
$1,000,000 per occurrence
$1,000,000 aggregate
$1,000,000 combined single limit
$1,000,000 per claim and in the aggregate
6. Reuse of Work. All documents, analyses, and other data provided by the
Professional for its use in providing services under this Agreement ("Professional's Work Items")
are instruments of service and are and shall remain the property of the Professional. The
Professional shall be entitled to use all documents, analyses, and other data provided by the City
or by others at the City's direction, for the purpose of performing the services hereunder, however,
the City shall retain ownership to any such information. Those items designated in the Scope of
Services as Work Products ("Work Products") shall be jointly owned by the Professional and the
City. The City shall have the right to retain, copy, modify, or otherwise use all Work Products for
its information, reference, or any other purpose in connection with this or other City projects or
undertakings. The Professional may, at its sole discretion, copyright any of the Work Products that
do not contain confidential or proprietary information of or provided by the City; provided that no
action by the Professional shall restrict the City's right to retain, copy, modify, or otherwise use the
Work Products for its information, reference, or any other purpose in connection with this or other
City projects or undertakings.
7. Standard of Care. The professional will perform services under this Agreement with
the degree of skill and diligence normally practiced by professional engineers or consultants
performing the same or similar services. No other warranty or guarantee, expressed or implied,
PSA 10/97
M
is made with respect to the services furnished under this Agreement and all implied warranties are
disclaimed.
8. Consequential Damages. In no event and under no circumstances shall the
Professional be liable to the City for any interest, loss of anticipated revenues, earnings, profits,
increased expense of operations, loss by reason of shutdown or non -operation due to late
completion, or for any consequential, indirect or special damages
9. Information Provided by Others. The City agrees to make reasonable efforts to
provide to the Professional in a timely manner information the Professional determines, in its
reasonable discretion, to be necessary for its performance of the services hereunder. It shall be
Professional's obligation to identify any such information and notify the City of the same in a
manner consistent with the overall schedule for the performance of the services hereunder. The
Professional may rely on the accuracy of information provided by the City and its representatives,
except to the extent it is unreasonable for Professional to do so based on the information otherwise
available to the Professional.
10. Compensation. In consideration of the services to be performed pursuant to this
Agreement, the City agrees to pay Professional a fixed fee in the amount of Seventy-three
Thousand Three Hundred Dollars ($73,300.00) plus reimbursable direct costs. All such fees and
costs shall not exceed Eighty Thousand Dollars ($80,000.00) as set forth in Exhibit B, consisting
of one (1) page, and incorporated herein by this reference. Monthly partial payments based upon
the Professional's billings and itemized statements are permissible. The amounts of all such partial
payments shall be based upon the Professional's City -verified progress in completing the services
to be performed pursuant hereto and upon the City's approval of the Professional's actual
reimbursable expenses. Final payment shall be made following acceptance of the work by City.
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11. City Representative. The City will designate, prior to commencement of work, its
project representative who shall make, within the scope of his or her authority, all necessary and
proper decisions with reference to the project. All requests for contract interpretations, change
orders, and other clarification or instruction shall be directed to the City Representative.
12. Monthly Report. Commencing thirty (30) days after the date of execution of this
Agreement and every thirty (30) days thereafter, Professional is required to provide the City
Representative with a written report of the status of the work with respect to the Scope of Services,
Work Schedule, and other material information. Failure to provide any required monthly report
may, at the option of the City, suspend the processing of any partial payment request.
13. Independent Contractor. The services to be performed by Professional are those
of an independent contractor and not of an employee of the City of Fort Collins. The City shall not
be responsible for withholding any portion of Professional's compensation hereunder for the
payment of FICA, Workers' Compensation, other taxes or benefits or for any other purpose.
14. Personal Services. It is understood that the City enters into this Agreement based
on the special abilities of the Professional and that this Agreement shall be considered as an
agreement for personal services. Accordingly, the Professional shall neither assign any
responsibilities nor delegate any duties arising under this Agreement without the prior written
consent of the City.
15. Acceptance Not Waiver. The City's approval of drawings, designs, plans,
specifications, reports, and incidental work or materials furnished hereunder shall not in any way
relieve the Professional of responsibility for the quality or technical accuracy of the work. The City's
approval or acceptance of, or payment for, any of the services shall not be construed to operate
as a waiver of any rights or benefits provided to the City under this Agreement.
PSA 10/97
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16. Default. Each and every term and condition hereof shall be deemed to be a material
element of this Agreement. In the event either party should fail or refuse to perform according to
the terms of this agreement, such party may be declared in default.
17. Remedies. In the event a party has been declared in default, such defaulting party
shall be allowed a period of ten (10) days within which to cure said default. In the event the default
remains uncorrected, the party declaring default may elect to (a) terminate the Agreement and seek
damages; (b) treat the Agreement as continuing and require specific performance; or (c) avail
himself of any other remedy at law or equity. If the non -defaulting party commences legal or
equitable actions against the defaulting party, the defaulting party shall be liable to the
non -defaulting party for the non -defaulting party's reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred
because of the default.
18. Binding Effect. This writing, together with the exhibits hereto, constitutes the entire
agreement between the parties and shall be binding upon said parties, their officers, employees,
agents and assigns and shall inure to the benefit of the respective survivors, heirs, personal
representatives, successors and assigns of said parties.
19. Law/Severability. The laws of the State of Colorado shall govern the construction,
interpretation, execution and enforcement of this Agreement. In the event any provision of this
Agreement shall be held invalid or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, such
holding shall not invalidate or render unenforceable any other provision of this Agreement.
PSA 10/97
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20. Special Provisions. Special provisions or conditions relating to the services to be
performed pursuant to this Agreement are set forth in Exhibit C, consisting of one (1) page,
attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference and Exhibit D, Confidentiality, consisting
of one (1) page attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference.
THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COLORADO
By: (DO- 4 .
John . Fischbach
City Manager
By:
Ja es B. O'Neill II, CPPO
• Direc r Purchasing & Risk Management
DATE:
An
City C' 'rk
APF�ROVED AS TO FAOR*.---,
Assistant City Attorney
ATTEST:
Corporate Secretary
PSA 10/97
�]l%tl l 2-c--x7j C3
R. W. BECK, INC
Paul J. Harmon
Print Name
Title: Client Services Director
On behalf of Keith J. Platte, Director of Operations
Date: April 6, 2000
Il
(Corporate Sea[)
Exhibit A
FORT COLLINS UTILITIES
SERVICE MEASUREMENT SCOPE OF SERVICES AND SCHEDULE
Organizations that provide excellent customer service have two characteristics in common — they
have strong back -office systems and they consistently set, measure, and reward the attainment
of specific objectives that their customers value. Measurement and achievement of customer
service objectives depends on an in-depth knowledge of customer needs, efficient and effective
work processes, and employee ownership and participation in determining how customer needs
will be met.
Fort Collins Utilities ("FCU") already provides excellent overall customer service to its customers
as indicated by the recently completed Customer Survey. However, there are specific service
measures that can be improved and there is a desire by FCU to more fully integrate the Customer
Service organization into the mainstream of utility operations and culture. R. W. Beck ("Beck")
proposes to assist FCU in its efforts to continue to.improve the quality of service it provides to
customers through redefinition of processes, responsibilities and interdependencies and by the
establishment of service objectives and measurements for the Customer Service organization.
PROJECT APPROACH
Beck's approach to this project is holistic. We propose to examine the totality of the Customer
Service function and organization (current job content, processes, hand-offs, and culture) and,
using both customer requirements and "best practices" of customer service organizations,
recommend changes and measurements for FCU's Customer Service function. The deliverable
for this project will be a final report and presentation which will detail:
■ Recommendations for the service organization's structure, job definitions, staffing levels,
training needs, delegation and accountability for results.
■ Recommendations for service objectives and measurements to address the customer
requirements most needing improvement.
■ A reporting system for measuring progress on service objectives.
This project is two -pronged. The service objectives and measurement portion of the project begins
with information -gathering from both employees and customers to further define the customer
requirements for those dimensions for which improvement need was identified in the Customer
Survey. Customer expectations will be translated into specific service objectives that support the
delivery of outstanding customer service. This will be done with the participation of the employees
providing the service so that objectives are meaningful and achievable. The result will be initial
customer service objectives which are simple, understandable, and easily measured.
1
The second focus of the project is the Customer Service organization itself. FCU employees
interact daily with customers by performing various processes. Beck will gather employees'
knowledge on identified critical processes to determine the main aspects of each process. Based
on this data Beck will prepare process maps and recommendations to improve the analyzed
processes.
As a part of the organization analysis, Beck proposes conducting an external survey of selected
utilities and service organizations to identify best customer service practices and organizations and
then compare these with the ones present at FCU. Additional input will come from customer
service employees. Beck recommends asking the employees to identify the common tasks that
comprise the main positions in this area and participate in process definition meetings. This data
would then be used to define profiles for the positions and determine the most efficient and
effective organization for the customer service area.
Key to Beck's approach is the involvement of the customer service employees in all phases of this
project. We believe that employees themselves are an excellent source of information and
suggestions on how to better serve customers. The proposed project is designed to empower
employees by using and valuing their input to structural and process decisions and by involving
them in the definition and ongoing measurement of customer service objectives.
The following work plan examines in detail the proposed tasks
DETAILED WORK PLAN
TASK 1: EMPLOYEE SESSIONS
The first step is a meeting with key staff managers to introduce service performance measurement
concepts as a non -threatening way to achieve a strong competitive position. This presentation
would then be followed by one or more facilitated group sessions with selected employees. These
meetings would last approximately 60-90 minutes and would take place in a meeting room located
at any Fort Collins Utilities installations. The objectives of these sessions are:
■ To help employees understand that the key component to developing a customer -focused utility
is the improvement of service rating drivers and the establishment of a basic service
measurement system.
■ To gather employee input regarding the main functions performed in the customer service
organization and define an estimate of time each activity requires. This information will then
be compared with the selected best practices from other service organizations and
recommendations for improvement will be developed. This part of the session will familiarize
the employees with the. Position Information Questionnaire (PIQ) that they will be asked to
complete during the week (see Task 3).
2