This curriculum spans the design and governance of customer experience improvements across complex, multi-location operations, comparable to a multi-workshop operational transformation program that integrates journey mapping, process standardization, and change management across global teams.
Module 1: Mapping and Redesigning Customer Journey Touchpoints
- Select which cross-functional customer touchpoints to prioritize based on complaint volume, resolution time, and operational cost impact.
- Decide whether to standardize or customize journey maps for different customer segments when resource constraints limit full personalization.
- Integrate frontline employee feedback into journey mapping to capture unrecorded pain points not visible in CRM data.
- Implement digital logging of customer interactions across channels to create an auditable timeline for root cause analysis.
- Balance legal compliance requirements (e.g., data retention) against the need for real-time journey visibility in shared systems.
- Determine ownership of journey stages across departments to resolve accountability gaps in handoff processes.
Module 2: Streamlining Service Delivery with Value Stream Analysis
- Identify non-value-added steps in service workflows, such as redundant approvals or duplicate data entry across systems.
- Decide whether to automate low-variability processes or retain human judgment in high-compliance or high-empathy interactions.
- Conduct time-motion studies on service tasks to quantify wait times and rework loops in customer-facing operations.
- Redesign handoffs between departments by co-locating teams or implementing shared performance metrics.
- Address resistance from middle management when value stream mapping reveals inefficiencies in their operational control.
- Validate process improvements using before-and-after cycle time and error rate data from live operations.
Module 3: Implementing Continuous Improvement in Frontline Operations
- Structure daily huddles to focus on customer experience metrics rather than just productivity or attendance.
- Design a lightweight problem escalation path that enables frontline staff to initiate process changes without managerial bottlenecks.
- Select which improvement ideas from employees to pilot based on feasibility, customer impact, and alignment with strategic goals.
- Measure the adoption rate of new practices across locations to identify training gaps or local resistance.
- Manage the risk of overloading staff with improvement initiatives by sequencing changes and monitoring workload indicators.
- Document and version control revised work instructions to ensure consistency during audits or staff turnover.
Module 4: Balancing Efficiency and Personalization in Customer Interactions
- Determine the threshold for routing customers to self-service based on issue complexity and historical resolution success rates.
- Configure CRM systems to surface relevant customer history without overwhelming agents with excessive data.
- Set service level agreements (SLAs) that account for both speed and quality in personalized service delivery.
- Train agents to use standardized scripts while allowing discretion to deviate when empathy or unique circumstances require it.
- Monitor automation usage to prevent customer frustration from repeated transfers between bots and live agents.
- Adjust staffing models to maintain personalization during peak demand without incurring unsustainable labor costs.
Module 5: Measuring and Governing Customer Experience Outcomes
- Select leading indicators (e.g., first contact resolution) over lagging metrics (e.g., NPS) for operational decision-making.
- Align departmental KPIs with end-to-end customer outcomes to reduce siloed performance incentives.
- Implement real-time dashboards that highlight deviations from target service levels across locations or teams.
- Decide whether to use automated sentiment analysis or human-reviewed feedback for quality assurance.
- Address data discrepancies between operational systems (e.g., call logs) and customer-reported experience data.
- Conduct quarterly service quality audits to verify that documented processes match actual frontline execution.
Module 6: Scaling Lean Practices Across Multi-Location and Global Operations
- Adapt lean tools to local regulatory, cultural, and labor practices without diluting core process standards.
- Establish regional improvement hubs to localize problem-solving while maintaining central methodology governance.
- Roll out standardized training modules with localized examples to ensure relevance across diverse markets.
- Coordinate time-zone challenges in cross-regional improvement teams to maintain engagement and momentum.
- Use benchmarking to identify high-performing locations and replicate their practices with contextual adjustments.
- Manage IT system fragmentation by defining a minimum viable data set for global performance tracking.
Module 7: Sustaining Operational Improvements Through Change Management
- Define clear roles for process owners and improvement coaches in maintaining revised workflows post-implementation.
- Integrate lean practices into onboarding to ensure new hires adopt updated standards from day one.
- Revisit improvement projects annually to assess whether gains have eroded due to workarounds or system changes.
- Address leadership turnover by documenting decision rationales and embedding accountability into performance reviews.
- Use structured problem-solving templates to maintain consistency in root cause analysis across teams.
- Balance continuous improvement demands with business-as-usual priorities to prevent initiative fatigue.