Tying Performance to Customer Satisfaction Results
by Greg Coleman, Vice President Certification, Service Strategies

The Support Center Practices (SCP) Certification program, the worlds leading quality standard for technology support operations measures the effectiveness of support based upon a stringent set of performance standards. A key part of the SCP standard lies in the Customer Feedback area. The program includes specific measures for customer satisfaction and also measures the effectiveness of associated practices such as linking satisfaction to both employee performance and to management compensation.

When looking at how companies measure the performance of their employees it is clear that there is a wide variation of practices in the industry. In past years, the practices associated with linking customer satisfaction to employee performance were observed to be poorly defined and inconsistently executed in the industry. While improvements in this area have been observed over the past few years, many companies are still working to enhance their processes for linking performance to customer satisfaction.

One of the key issues in linking customer satisfaction to employee performance lies in the methods used to collect the satisfaction data. Companies that have poor processes for measuring customer satisfaction cannot effectively link the results to performance since there is either not enough data or the data is suspect. Without a reliable foundation of results, the process of determining if the support staff delivers quality support becomes difficult. Those companies that are successfully tying satisfaction to employee performance are doing so for several reasons.

First, they collect enough survey data to support evaluating individuals or teams. These companies are performing an adequate number of surveys to allow for segmentation of results down to the team or individual level. If there is not enough data to measure the individual, then setting goals and measuring performance at the team level is a viable alternative. By setting team goals, you get people working together and focusing on delivering a high level of service. Another reason team goals can be effective is that there may be a broad distribution of responsibilities in the team, with some team members having more customer interaction and others providing technical mentoring or escalation support. By targeting performance at the team level, you can ensure that everyone will contribute to driving higher level of satisfaction. The key is to ensure that enough data is collected so that all teams can be adequately evaluated.

Second, they set measurable targets and evaluate employees based on the results. This eliminates any “soft” evaluation derived purely from the perception of a manager or supervisor. While most companies attempt to focus employees on delivering excellent service by referencing satisfaction in their performance evaluations, some do not include hard metrics in the evaluation. Having weak references to customer satisfaction in a performance review does not focus employees on delivering higher levels of service. Having specific targeted objectives for satisfaction ratings that affect the compensation of the individual will focus them on delivering better results.

Lastly, the successful companies are ensuring that customer satisfaction is highly weighted in performance evaluations. The weighting should have a direct impact on compensation for the employees. If possible a bonus program should be put in place to reward the staff for achievement of customer satisfaction results. The bonus program could be administered quarterly or semi-annually to ensure that there is a constant focus and that the staff is invested in the process of achieving the desired results.

If you are interested in improving customer satisfaction, target employee performance objectives directly to your satisfaction results.

Following are three simple principles to improve your satisfaction program:

1. Collect adequate data in order to segment results by individual, workgroup or teams. Get a reasonable sample size for each team in the organization.
   
2. Set specific measurable targets for individuals or teams. An example would be a target of 90% of customers rating support as satisfactory or better. The targets should be specifically stated on performance objectives.
   
3. Target results on employee controllable satisfaction elements as well as overall satisfaction. These would include knowledge and expertise, professionalism, quality of solution, timeliness of status updates and other factors directly controllable by the employee.
   
4. Ensure that the customer satisfaction component of employee performance evaluations is highly weighted and has an impact on their compensation. This will motivate the staff to deliver results. If possible, implement a quarterly bonus program based on satisfaction results.
   
5. Regularly review satisfaction results with the staff, including them on performance scorecards or other staff productivity reports. Doing so will ensure they are aware of the current performance levels and will enable them to focus their efforts on areas that need improving.

Following these simple suggestions will have a positive impact on your overall customer satisfaction program and drive the staff towards delivering improved results on a consistent basis.

For more information about the Support Center Practices Certification program, contact Service Strategies at 858.674.4864, email us at info@servicestrategies.com or visit our website at www.scpcertification.com.