Project-based Analysis Exercise (Presentation Format) - Candidate Brief

Transcription

1 John Lewis Partnership Assessment Centre Material HEAD OFFICE LEVEL 7 Project-based Analysis Exercise (Presentation Format) - Candidate Brief RES-RDEV-SEL-GUI-HEAD OFFICE LEVEL 7-PROJECT BASED EXERCISE-PRESENTATION FORMAT-CANDIDATE BRIEF-V1.0

2 Introduction This exercise is designed to assess your ability to analyse information and provide recommendations for the implementation of a project. The Partnership Behaviours this exercise is designed to measure are as follows: Makes Things Happen Takes Pride in Ownership Delivers Excellent Service Please be aware that the focus of the assessment will be on the Partnership Behaviours that you display, not your knowledge of the subject matter. Also, although intended to be realistic; this scenario has been created for the purpose of the assessment and is fictional. Background You are to assume the role of a Project Manager for the John Lewis Partnership. As the Project Manager you are responsible for managing the implementation of a Customer Service System (CSS) that the Partnership will use to get a better idea of what customers think about the service they have received on the phone from our Customer Service team. Your task On the following pages you are provided with background information about the Partnership, the project and the possible suppliers. You are required to analyse information and make recommendations as to which supplier should be chosen to undertake the project, whilst considering the impact on our customers and Partners. You have 1 hour in which to analyse this information and to prepare for a 10 minute presentation for the Programme Director. The presentation will be followed by a 5 minute question and answer session. The aim of the presentation is to provide the Programme Director with a clear recommendation for which supplier you believe should be chosen and supporting rationale. Within your presentation you should: Put forward a recommendation of which supplier should be selected Produce an activity plan for the project Highlight any risks and mitigating actions you can foresee with the project You may feel that to carry out this task you have to make additional assumptions. This is permissible provided that an adequate explanation of the reasons for such assumptions is given. 1

3 ITEM 1 To: From: Subject: Project Manager, CSS Project Programme Director, CSS Project Welcome! Hi, Welcome to the Partnership! I hope you are settling in well to your new role. I am looking forward to working with you on this project and although we are in the early stages, I would welcome any thoughts you have on how to make this project a success. So far we have managed to achieve the following: Set out our 'terms of reference' for the project, which outlines the background to the project, project objectives, scope, constraints, assumptions, reporting, dependencies and timescales: (see attachment 1A). Shortlisted three possible suppliers for the new customer service system I have attached information about these too (attachment 1B). The next step is to select which of these suppliers should be taken forward as our preferred choice. We are due to engage with the Procurement team next week to help us in our final selection but beforehand I would like you to put together your recommendation for which supplier you think we should go with. I would also appreciate you putting together an initial project plan for the project, outlining who should be responsible for the various activities. I was not sure how much chance you have had to get up to speed on the Partnership s overall purpose and mission so I have asked a colleague from the Personnel Team to send you this, along with recent customer data. I look forward to meeting you soon and hearing your thoughts on the issues. Kind regards, Amir Samara Partnership Services Amir Samara, Programme Director Business Service Centre of the John Lewis Partnership : : Spedan House, Bracknell RG12 8YA : amir.samara@johnlewis.co.uk 2

4 Attachment 1a Project Terms of Reference for the Customer Service System Background: Our customers highly value our Partners' dedication to service and this has been recognised in many customer satisfaction surveys and awards. For example, the John Lewis was named the UK's best retailer at the Verdict Customer Satisfaction Awards last year, coming first in three retail categories, while Waitrose took the top spot in the food and grocery sector. We want to consistently provide the best possible choice, value and service and the best way to do this is by knowing what our customers want. The Customer Services team at the Partnership s Head Office is responsible for ensuring we know what customers want by responding to calls to our Customer Service line from customers. Objectives: Scope: We do not currently collect real-time customer feedback about how well our Customer Service Advisors on the phones have responded to customer queries. The John Lewis Partnership needs a system that will collect and analyse this information so we can consistently deliver excellent service. Although the benefits of this system are likely to be numerous, the main objectives that we aim to achieve from this project are: 1. A reliable, easily accessible system 2. Real-time feedback from customers about how easy it was to get in contact with the Customer Services team and how good the service they received was 3. Analysis of customer feedback and easy-to-understand output of information to inform future decisions about how we treat our customers Selecting and implementing a Customer Service System that meets the needs of the John Lewis Partnership and its customers, whilst being aligned to the organisation s purpose, strategy and principles. Constraints: Time frames Project must be completed within 6 months due to the launch of new Personnel software Financial resource Budget of 1 million to cover set up (including training of customer service advisors) and usage fees for 3 years People 1 Programme Manager working part-time on the project; 1 Project Manager and 1 Project Coordinator working on the project full-time for 6 months Equipment The CSS software needs to be web-based and be able to run using the current IT, i.e. Windows 7 operating system Assumptions: Reporting: Dependencies: Overview of Timescales: Staff working hours are 9:00am-5:00pm and dedicated staff will remain in their current roles until the end of the project Availability of Partners and supplier staff as needed, e.g. Customer Service staff will be available when required for training on the new system Internal IT will be able to support us with the new software on an ongoing basis Weekly project calls and fortnightly face-to-face team meetings; weekly update report Customer Servicee team are currently going through a transformationn Month 1 Project planning and supplier selection Months 2-5 Project implementation Month 6 Contingency and review 3

5 Attachment 1B Supplier A Voice of the Customer Ltd Voice of the Customer (VoC) Ltd is a long-established business based in the UK. Founded 15 years ago by 2 industry experts, the business has grown into a 200 strong workforce of technical specialists. Key clients include well-known brands from the travel & leisure and retail industries who recommend VoC s round the clock telephone support. Their software, VoC Gold, is an easy to use web-based system that s an electronic survey to customers immediately after the call has ended and the Customer Service Advisor has entered into the system that the call is finished. The benefit of this software is that it will collect the data from surveys submitted and aggregate themes from the data to produce charts, graphs and tables that represent the data in a simple way on a weekly basis. Supplier B Customer Horizon Ltd Although Customer Horizon has only been in business for 5 years and is a relatively small company it has quickly established itself as a leading brand in the Customer Service System arena, particularly with well-renownelimited, clients report having had very few issues that they have needed support with. telecoms and media clients. Althoughh the live support offered is This company has looked to the future with its Horizon View software, ensuring it can be used on smart phones and other handheld devices via an app. Alternatively it can also be accessed via the standard web-based platform. The customer is automatically contacted after the call via the app or and dataa is analysed instantaneously. Supplier C Interactive Ltd Interactive are a medium-sized international business made of software design specialists who develop software for a range of uses, including Personnel, Finance, Customer Service and Procurement. Clients from a range of industries have adopted their software. In the Customer Service field, Interactive s web-based Responder software uses state of the art interactive voice response technology to record callers answers to satisfaction questions asked of the caller whilst on the phone, immediately after the Customer Service Advisor has dealt with their issues. Their responses to these questions are then analysed and uploaded to a dashboard for staff to see within minutes of the feedback having been given. 4

6 ITEM 2 To: From: Subject: Project Manager, CSS Project MI Assistant Customer Data Hi, Amir asked me to send you some up to date customer insight data please find attached. Also, I have attached he Partnership s purpose, strategy and principles for your information. Kind regards, Ben Partnership Services Ben James, Management Information Assistant Business Service Centre of the John Lewis Partnership : : Spedan House, Bracknell RG12 8YA : ben.james@johnlewis.co.uk Attachment 2a Figure 1. Percentage of adults who use

7 Figure 2. Percentage of adults who use smart phones and/or tablets Percentage Age Figure 3a and 3b. Demographic of the Partnership s customers by gender and age Male Female 6

8 Attachment 2B. Extract from The Partnership s Constitution Our purpose Our purpose is 'the happiness of all our members, through their worthwhile, satisfying employment in a successful business', with success measured on our ability to sustain and enhance our position both as an outstanding retailer and as a thriving example of employee ownership. Our strategy Our strategy is based on three interdependent objectives Partners, customers, profit which together will make us a successful business: Partners should gain personal satisfaction by being members of a co-owned enterprise in which they have worthwhile, secure and fulfilling employment and confidence in the way the Partnership conducts its business. The Partnership should recruit and retain loyal customers through their continued trust and confidence in our reputation for value, choice, service and honesty and for behaving as good citizens. The Partnership should make sufficient profit to sustain our commercial vitality and distinctive character, allow continued development and distribute a share of profits each year. Our principles The John Lewis Partnership's seven principles define how we run our business: 1. Purpose The Partnership's ultimate purpose is the happiness of all its members, through their worthwhile and satisfying employment in a successful business. 2. Power - Power in the Partnership is shared between three governing authorities: the Partnership Council, the Partnership Board and the Chairman. 3. Profit The Partnership aims to make sufficient profit from its trading operations to sustain its commercial vitality, to finance its continued development and to distribute a share of those profits each year to its members, and to enable it to undertake other activities consistent with its ultimate purpose. 4. Members The Partnership aims to employ people of ability and integrity who are committed to working together and to supporting its Principles. Relationships are based on mutual respect and courtesy, with as much equality between its members as differences of responsibility permit. 5. Customers The Partnership aims to deal honestly with its customers and secure their loyalty and trust by providing outstanding choice, value and service. 6. Business relationships The Partnership aims to conduct all its business relationships with integrity and courtesy and to honour scrupulously every business agreement. 7. The community The Partnership aims to obey the spirit as well as the letter of the law and to contribute to the wellbeing of the communities where it operates. 7

9 ITEM 3 To: From: Subject: Project Manager, CSS Project Financial Analyst Financial Analysis of the CSS Supplier Costs Hi, As requested, I have had a look at the top-line costs associated with the CSS software for each of the 3 shortlisted suppliers. Please find the figures below: Supplier Set up fees Ongoing annual license costs Customer Horizon Ltd 790,000 52,000 Voice of the Customer Ltd 535,000 28,000 Interactive Ltd 516,000 75,000 Please note that the set up fees above cover the implementation but do not include training of our Partners on the tools, which I estimate to be around the same for each supplier, i.e. 50,000. Kind regards, Anna Partnership Services Anna Lewis, Financial Analyst Business Service Centre of the John Lewis Partnership : : Spedan House, Bracknell RG12 8YA : 8