Alma and Siva would have various options in order to assess the situation which is leading to a steep decline in the level of customer satisfaction; however it is important to choose that which ones would be the best. The first option that they can consider is the de bono thinking system also known as six thinking hats, and as a part of the system the analysis will be based on six different tools of analysis and information, emotions, bad points judgment, good points judgment and creativity will be considered.
The information assessment would require, and assessment of the availability of information and the related facts which have resulted into the decline of customer satisfaction level. The emotional factors would also be considered, and without looking for a justification it would be checked whether the customers have given a reaction on the basis of their intuitive or instinctive gut. The bad points judgment is associated with the identification of flaws in the service which is provided which has led to an adverse impact on customer satisfaction. The good points judgment would see the favorable factors like to present following the rules which could have also been a reason behind the decline.
The creativity part of the six thinking hats technique is related to an investigation of the facts gathered in the previous assessments. Lastly, the sixth had or the blue hat symbolizes the Meta mode, in which the assessor are expected to go through all the results and find out the direction which is shown by the previous steps and proceed with further analysis to come up with a result.
The SWOT analysis is another method where strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to a particular incident are analyzed, however this method is used mostly in anticipation and it may not give very accurate results if used in situations like this. Run chart is basically a time-sequence graphical tool and it is a statistical method of finding out results however it is not applicable in this case considering the fact that the assessment and solutions are not based on the time sequence however are qualitative in nature. Brainstorming is a very effective technique in order to gather various schools of thought is coming from different analysts and thinkers are however it does not have a specific direction to proceed and therefore it is more helpful in open scenarios where new initiatives are supposed to be implemented. Hence, the six thinking hats seem to be the most adequate method of analysis in this case and should be used by Alma and Siva. Root cause analysis is another method which provides a five step process of conducting an analysis and coming to a conclusion. The first step is to define the problem, the second step is to collect the data and the third is to find the possible causes, the fourth step is to identify the root causes and finally implement the solution.
The problem-solving process should involve a seven step methodology and as a part of that firstly, it should be analyzed that what is the main problem, is the decrease in customer satisfaction or is there a decline in the quality of service provided by the employees which is taking place hence it is important to find the problem that needs to be resolved. The second step is to define the problem, and to find the unit in which the intensity of the same can be measured and defined.
The third step must be to find out more about the problem and analyze about its causes and effects; this can be done by asking the questions that were knows about the problem? Who cares about the problem?, And who can solve the problem? The next step would be to define and design the possibilities of solving the problem, and as a part of that, the team should place efforts in order to assess the options which can fix the problem. On the basis of, the predefined unit of calculation of the impact of the problem, in the fifth step the best possible solution must be identified. The sixth step would require the team to implement the best solution which is identified and lastly after the pilot is run, in the seven step it must be analysed and evaluated whether the problem has been completely solved and the learning must be adequately documented.
A as a team leader must take genuine interest to involve the team members in the overall process and by taking a problem-solving approach it is very important to ensure that the team members who are responsible for the actual implementation of the approach participate in all the phases. The first and most important factor is to provide a zero surprise environment to the team and to regularly communicate about the proceedings of the problem-solving activity. The participation of the team members must be encouraged and therefore there must be regular meetings to communicate the progress and invite inputs about the solutions which can be implemented as the team which is directly responsible to handle the operations is into a better position to provide inputs which can be highly beneficial. It is important to take the above mentioned steps as non-cooperation from the team members would result in no resolution of the problem despite all the efforts which have been discussed in the previous sections.
References
Appelbaum, S. H. (2005). The critical success factors in the client-consulting relationship. Journal of Management Development Vol.24 No.1 , 68-93.
De Bono, E. (1986). Six Thinkng Hats. Barcelona: Mica Management Inc. Resource.
Gano, D. L. (2011). Seven Steps To Effective Problem-Solving And Strategies. Washington: Apollonian Publications, LLC.
