US economists predict that a key factor in our economy's health will be continuing increases in productivity.

From the largest corporations to the "solopreneur," productivity has long been seen as a function of the total hours worked.

Meet Marian, the manager of the customer service department at QuikCom, a telecommunications company.  The telecom market is highly competitive, the technology is complex and customers' expectations are high.

Marian is responsible for 75 customer service representatives who, collectively, are held responsible for QuikCom's customer satisfaction rating.

Three years ago, QuikCom faced unacceptably low customer satisfaction ratings. The customers marked "long wait times" as the #1 reason for their low ratings.

QuikCom leadership would not allow an increase in headcount.   Marian created a plan  - using the current staff levels - to improve the satisfaction rating. 

Her plan would:

• Decrease tardiness and absences
• Reduce time spent away from the telephone
• Implement mandatory overtime
• Increase employee monitoring
• Maintain consistent disciplinary action

Marian's plan made a difference.  She reduced lost time per employee by 30%.

But, after one year of improved attendance, the latest Customer Satisfaction survey showed their ratings had worsened! Their customer satisfaction rating suffered a dramatic decline.

Marian was stunned.

She knew that the rigid environment had increased the pressure on her representives, because she felt the added pressure herself. 

For the first time in all her years at QuikCom, she had begun to resent the time the company was taking away from her family.  Her children's important school events had to be skipped because she couldn't be away during the day. She felt guilty about not putting her kids first, and then angry at QuikCom for forcing her to make choices. She had very little empathy for QuikCom's customers, because their problems seemed minor, compared to her own. When she began to feel this way during the day, she would get up and take a short break - walking off the frustration.

Then Marian figured it out.

She had the freedom to step away from the stress -- but her determined plan to achieve higher productivity had eliminated that freedom for her staff.  They were tied to their telephones throughout their shifts.

Marian thought that having employees present more would make them more productive. 

But she learned that to really improve productivity, she was going to have to let her staff take a break.

A new plan was needed.

Marian started with an employee survey, to see what her staff was thinking.  She was dismayed, but not surprised, to find that employee morale was at an all time low.

She followed the survey with several focus group sessions - facilitated by an impartial outsider -  to discover what would improve working conditions and increase productivity.

She learned that communication between the members of the team was weak and that many of her reps were uncomfortable dealing with angry customers. She learned that her employees were extremely frustrated with the rigid scheduling.

Marian's new plan had a very different focus:

• Improve communications within the team (through team communication workshops)
• Provide good customer service skills (through advanced customer service training)
• Recognize and reward good attendance
• Recognize and reward exceptional customer service
• Offer flexible schedules to allow better work/life balance

After just six months, the Customer Satisfaction rating had improved. Wait times were still long, but customers didn't mind as much because of the high-quality service they received. Internally, the reps were actually handling more calls per hour,  and employee turnover was down by 10%.

Presenteeism:  Being present at the job but not being productive - is the new drain on companies. Instead of measuring productivity by counting hours and actions, measure it by progress toward the company's goals. Action doesn't necessarily guarantee progress.

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