Make the coffee, feed the dogs, get the kids to school. Travel to work, exchange morning pleasantries, head off to your designated work space. 

In no time at all you have been a barista, a pet lover, a parent, a driver, a friend, and an employee. And your day has just begun! 

We require a moment in time to transition (twenty-three minutes on average, according to a study done by the University of California Irvine), whether it be going from work life to home life, or from wrenching to scheduling. Constant task switching can cause a loss of productivity, cognitive overload, and frustration. 

Prior to 2019 our Sales and Service ran as three separate departments; Sales, Product Support, and Core Recovery. Each person’s role was defined and while their attention could switch from a phone call to an instant message or email, their tasks were rather homogeneous. The management team had a strong desire to streamline our customers’ experience. We strove to reduce hand-offs, provide a one-call resolution (in any instance that didn’t require technical support) , and eliminate the “not my job” syndrome.

Our transition to “Pod Life” created groups of customer service reps that were expected to be able to complete any necessary job function. They would jump from processing an order, to following up on a warranty claim, and then proceed to arranging core pickups. They were consistently taking time to remove one hat, only to replace it with another, and then swiftly repeating this over and over, day in and day out. 

Many were overwhelmed with the requirement to be skilled at everything, but master nothing. Time was wasted with correcting errors, referring to training materials, asking questions, and simply just switching duties.  

A little over a year into pod life a strong post work day epiphany hit that led to a lengthy phone call, discussing the idea of focus based reps within the pod structure. The fundamental obligation to know all aspects of the job was not going away, but people were given the opportunity to really hone in on their assigned skills. 

The team of technicians mimicked the pod layout. They had been split up to work with a specific pod and their customers. Everything was running smoothly and our customer needs were taken care of. 

Or so we thought. 

It became apparent that we were not as efficient as I once thought. While their focus was to “tech and tech only”, while still providing outstanding service, they were bouncing back and forth trying to help a variety of different customers. Talking to a vehicle owner in their driveway is a completely different conversation than performing diagnostics with a certified shop that is well versed in the tools needed to test transmission functions.

With this discovery, I moved the technicians out of the pods and into channel based groups. 

They are now focused on one specific type of customer. Our call back time has been significantly reduced. Errors related to coverage specifics and customer profile processes are nearly a thing of the past.

Our customer service team will be transitioning to this format this week. While change is scary, we expect greater accountability, a streamlined workflow, less headaches, and happier team members and customers! 

Think about how many times a day you start, stop, start. We use more gas in stop and go traffic than when we are cruising along. Conserve your energy. 

What can you do to put that wasted transitional time back to work?