Intralox. Ensuring world-class customer support through a culture of innovation, continuous improvement and self-management.

Transcription

1 inside view / feb 2012 Intralox Ensuring world-class customer support through a culture of innovation, continuous improvement and self-management. by Susan Hash, Contact Center Pipeline Pipeline Articles

2 Susan Hash Contact Center Pipeline Intralox s service organization is staffed by ordinary people who, on a daily basis, work with determination and passion to create economic value for their customers. And that makes them extraordinary in their customers eyes. Intralox is not a typical manufacturing environment. Its business philosophy stems from the creativity, drive and work ethic established by its founder, James Martial J.M. Lapeyre, inventor of the world s first automated shrimp-peeling machine. In 1946, Lapeyre established Laitram, LLC, a heavy industrial equipment manufacturing firm that took its name from the reverse spelling of Lapeyre s middle name. An inspired designer, Lapeyre went on to earn 191 U.S. patents and found four companies based on his industry-defining inventions. One of these companies was Intralox, which registered the first patent for modular plastic belting in Today, Intralox is the world leader in conveyance technology; yet, its culture, leadership and staff still uphold the principles passed down from its founder: an intense commitment to innovation, integrity and continuous improvement. A History of Strong Culture Intralox s commitment to these principles is evident in its global customer service operation, which delivers world-class customer support to more than 60,000 customers around the world. Through a direct customer service model, Intralox provides support in 15 languages with a 99.5% order accuracy rate, 24/7 availability and one-call resolution. Providing consistently high standards of support requires a knowledgeable, self-managed staff with a passion for service. That is one of the company s strengths. In fact, Intralox was recognized by the International Council of Customer Service Organizations (ICCSO) with their Award for Service Excellence in a Contact Center in 2010 based on the knowledge, training and commitment of the company s customer service organization. Wherever you find loyal, high-performing employees, you ll also find strong leaders. Intralox is no exception. Debbie Maniglia, Intralox s global customer service and commercial operations manager, is an award-winning service leader. During her 30 years with Intralox, Maniglia has built the customer service operation from two reps handling $4 million worth of business to 80-plus reps handling more than $300 million per year across three service centers located in New Orleans, Amsterdam and Shanghai. Maniglia was also honored by the ICCSO for her accomplishments with their Customer Service Manager of the Year Award in A large part of Intralox s world-class service model can be tied to its customer-centric culture. Ensuring that customers come first requires a well-trained, self-managed customer service staff. The company focuses heavily on the individual growth of its employees; their success depends upon in-depth training and a high level of empowerment, which encourage employees to act like company owners and work with their customers as partners. Finding the Right Fit: A Disciplined Approach to Hiring Investing in self-managed people is one of the tactics that the organization employs as part of its service culture. That, along with Intralox s mission to anticipate customers needs and improve their profits, drives the hiring process. Our focus on self-management sets the tone of the culture and the company, and our continuous improvement program is what sustains it, Maniglia says. Finding the right talented individuals who fit the culture is critical, she adds. We hire people who are passionate about customer service and being successful. 2

3 Maniglia attributes her team s success to a culture of self-management and continuous improvement. The hiring process consists of multiple stages that can take an individual from four to eight weeks to complete. It begins with resume reviews and phone screenings to ensure that applicants meet a detailed job profile. Once likely candidates are identified, they are invited to participate in a series of tests to determine math, writing and technical skills, and panel interviews with a team of customer service managers who ask behavioral questions designed to gauge an individual s future on-the-job performance and potential for success. The management team looks for three main traits in candidates: (1) their values, and how well those align with the organization s culture; (2) having a mission of service; and (3) whether the candidate is a good discerner (i.e., intuitive, can sort the critical from the superfluous). The team also seeks additional personality traits, such as: achiever (confident and self-assured, seeks independence); relater (outgoing, builds rapport, promotes harmony and positive relationships); proactive (initiates change and improvements, action- and solutionoriented); communicator (confident speaker, articulate); strategist (well organized, able to see the big picture); and empathy (sensitive listener, caring). Candidates who make it past the panel interview get a chance to sit with an experienced account rep, listen to calls and get the rep s view of the work. Both parties are making a decision, so it s important that candidates have a good understanding of what the position entails, Maniglia says. Once the customer service hiring team narrows the field to the final candidate(s), those individuals meet one-on-one with Maniglia. During this final interview, she assesses three key criteria: Culture fit How well the individual will fit into Intralox s culture. Our culture of continuous improvement obviously brings about a great deal of change which can be substantial at times, Maniglia says. In order to maintain our world-class customer service status, our performance 3

4 Customer service representatives from Intralox s contact centers in Shanghai, New Orleans and Amsterdam accepted the 2010 ICCSO Contact Center of the Year Award on behalf of the company. standards are constantly evolving and elevating, and our people have to continue to meet those standards. Our account representatives have to be change agents great at executing and accepting change. Skills Maniglia assesses whether the candidate has the talent and skills to be successful in the position, to grow and to be self-managed. I look for someone who can learn what we have to teach, and then apply it effectively, she says. Enthusiasm Finally, Maniglia looks for candidates who demonstrate great enthusiasm for the work and who will embrace the account representative role as a career. It s not an entry-level position, she stresses. Many of our account reps have made this work their career for years. Comprehensive Training Provides a Foundation for Success With such a rigorous process in place to identify and hire the right candidates, the company also has a thorough onboarding process to ensure the new-hire s success. It starts with formal classroom training. Reps spend four to six weeks learning about the company s products, policies, procedures and how to use the CRM and order management systems. New account reps also go on field visits to learn more about conveyor belts and how they operate, and to see them in action. During the classroom training period, the management team is able to get a better view of the individual s skills. Once that part of the training is completed, reps are assigned to the specific business unit that covers the industry that they ll support Meat/Poultry/Seafood; Food; Packaging & Material Handling; Tire/Container; and Industrial. Reps are matched to the work that best fits with their skills and potential for success. Some teams have more techni- 4

5 cal needs, while others have higher service levels or proactive contact with the customer, Maniglia says. We want to make sure that we re matching the people to the right work to ensure their success. Account reps then attend another four to six weeks of industry-focused training to learn about the particular businesses that they ll be supporting, their assigned industry, as well as the ongoing work needed to become a specialist in their field. New account reps are assigned to mentors in their business units, with whom they will work closely for the balance of the first year. The learning partnerships are unique, and each mentor/new-hire team works at their own pace to ensure that new account reps are comfortable before they start taking calls on their own. Empowerment Gives Reps a Sense of Ownership According to Maniglia, Intralox s employee empowerment process consists of building levels of self-management so that people are comfortable with the decisions that they make. Rather than instructing account reps to adhere to strict policies and procedures, managers create guidelines and options that empower reps to make the decisions that they feel are right for their customers. Account reps go to extraordinary lengths to make sure that their customers have minimal downtime during emergencies. Maniglia points to one instance that took place a few years ago in which an account rep s customer urgently needed sprockets over the weekend. Because the customer s site was in Mexico, the only way that the rep could get the sprockets to them quickly was to get on a plane and deliver them herself. Which she did. Although this is exceptional, it demonstrates the account reps commitment in servicing their customers. That is the type of passion that people have for their work, Maniglia says. Continuous Improvement Is Key to High Performance At Intralox, the idea of continuous improvement is not something that is given lip service or pursued only occasionally. In 1987, the company developed its own program, the Laitram Continuous Improvement (LCI) Program, which is taught in new-hire training, and is also offered through refresher classes on a periodic basis. The LCI Program aligns the overall company mission with the contact center s vision and critical success factors for the year, as well as employee performance improvement plans. Each year, the company selects a global theme a particular critical success factor that the entire organization focuses on improving. Past themes have included Ownership and Intralox offers belting and conveying solutions for a wide variety of industries. 5

6 AT-A- GLANCE LocationS: New Orleans, La.; Amsterdam; Shanghai operating hours: 24/7/365, via a direct business model Sector: Manufacturing CUSTOMERS: 60,000 global customers (manufacturing, warehousing, distribution) Contact center size: 80-plus representatives in three sites covering 15 languages Operational Excellence. The current global theme is Embracing Change. In addition to ongoing continuous improvement efforts through the employee performance plans and the global theme, Intralox s customer service organization pulls individuals into LCI teams to tackle specific issues that have been identified by account reps as opportunities for improvement. Sometimes the solution is a relatively easy fix, and an LCI team can resolve it in a couple of meetings; other times, they may need assistance from an experienced facilitator. According to Maniglia, it s typically the people who are closest to the work solving the problems. Improvements and best practices are shared among the service sites to ensure that the company s high standards are consistent globally. Customer service managers within each business unit stay closely connected with their counterparts in the other regions. Once a month, all customer service managers meet via video conference to share best practices and information. We are one company to our global customers, says Maniglia. Staying closely connected helps us to continue to build and sustain our world-class service. Susan Hash is the Editor of Contact Center Pipeline. on Twitter susan@contactcenterpipeline.com (206) CHANNELS: Phone, Top challenge: Continuing to hire and train for multiple language needs; maintaining global consistency for service standards. Key strengths: Highly skilled, selfmanaged employees; a culture of continuous improvement focused on the customers, employees and company s success. 6

7 About Contact Center Pipeline Contact Center Pipeline is a monthly instructional journal focused on driving business success through effective contact center direction and decisions. Each issue contains informative articles, case studies, best practices, research and coverage of trends that impact the customer experience. Our writers and contributors are well-known industry experts with a unique understanding of how to optimize resources and maximize the value the organization provides to its customers. To learn more, visit: Online Resource This issue is available online at: February 2012, Contact Center Pipeline Pipeline Publishing Group, Inc. PO Box 3467, Annapolis, MD (443) info@contactcenterpipeline.com 7