Case study: UK RNT Escalation

A study collaboration of GBS Clark IE and CQG
UPS Global Business Services - Clark
Case Study: EU ENG Escalation (RNT)

GBS Clark Industrial Engineering Department | Clark Quality Group
EU & CA RNT
A dedicated team in GBS Clark that handles email customer service
support for 8 Europe countries (Austria, Belgium, Switzerland,
Denmark, France, Great Britain/United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands)
and Canada.
The team uses Oracle RightNow Tool (RNT), a customer relationship
management (CRM) software for enterprise organizations.
Overview

1 supervisor 2 coaches 1 senior agent
27 Agents (Handling Europe Emails)
4 Agents
(Handling Canada Emails)
They serve 2
shifts:
 6:00AM to 3 PM
 3PM to 12MN
Current Team Staffing

 236 Email Escalation are overdue (not resolved on or before their due)
 Emails received between 12:01am and 3:00 PM are due to be answered by
12MN on the same day, otherwise they become overdue
 Escalations received from 3PM to 11:59PM are due to be answered within 24
hours, otherwise they become overdue.
 Of the overdue emails, 90% have not been assigned (212), while only 10%
(24) are assigned to a senior agent, coach or supervisor.
Current Challenge: Escalation
As of 6:00 PM - April 19, 2017 (Manila):

Corporate Audits that have not been reviewed (Release Status)
 45 Corporate CA Email audits and 5 Forms audit
 9 Corporate EU Email audits and 1 Forms audit
 2 CA IIP
Current Challenge: Untimely Quality/Performance Review

Coach/SR Productivity on Escalation
Coach/Senior Rep. Rachelle Cham Lawrence
Total Handled Escalation (Mar-April) 268 110 835
Daily Average 12.33 12.22 24.56
Estimated dedicated hours on
escalation
4.11 2.99 6.02
Data from individual escalation tracker:
Rachelle spends 4.11 hours a day while Cham allocates 3 hours per day in handling email escalations. Their daily tasks include:
 Creating and updating trackers, hourly and daily reports
 Facilitation of team meetings together with the supervisor
 Facilitation of Service Briefings
 Review and attendance in Corporate calibration
 Quality Review (Corporate audit, IIP)
 Assignment of emails to agents
Lawrence spends 6.02 hours on escalation because it is her primary task, second only is floor support.

Time Study
Procedure: The coach was observed as she handled escalated emails at random times during the day.
The steps taken were categorized into:
 Reads – involves opening the email from the queue and understanding what the email is about.
 Researches – involves navigating through the systems to find a solution to the issue
 Replies – involves selecting the appropriate template and/or free-typing the response
composition
 Logs – involves copying the RNT Reference number, opening the escalation tracker and saving it
there for documentation
In addition, escalations are classified into:
 Follow-up (F/U) – Email escalations worked previously but are still pending. These are handled
first and are part of tasks in at the start of the coaches’ shift.
 New Escalation – Escalation emails that are handled for the first time.

Time Study: Summary
Type
Reads
(in seconds)
Researches
(in seconds)
Replies
(in seconds)
Logs
(in seconds)
Total
(in seconds)
Total
(in minutes)
Average 83 223 248 44 597 10.0
% of total time 14% 37% 41% 7%
Follow-up
Type
Reads
(in seconds)
Researches
(in seconds)
Replies
(in seconds)
Logs
(in seconds)
Total
(in seconds)
Total
(in minutes)
Average 129.1 384.3 333.2 38.3 884.9 14.7
% of total time 15% 43% 38% 4%
New Escalations
Average Handle Time:
 Follow-up – 10 minutes
 New Escalation – 14.7 minutes
Most time-consuming task:
 Follow-up – Replies: 41% of the total average handle time
 New Escalation – Research: 43% of the total average handle time
See Appendix A for complete data
See Appendix B for complete data

Findings and Recommendations

First Finding:
 Current Support cannot accommodate the escalation volume
Using a two-
month average,
19 emails are
escalated daily
These escalations
add up to the 200+
overdue emails, about
90% of which
remained unassigned The current three supports
have a combined handle
rate of 49.11 emails per
day
On average, coaches and SR resolve
67% of the emails, or about 33, while 17
needs follow-up and adds up to the queue
on the following day
All emails for follow-up adds up to the
escalation queue on the following day
Resolved
Resolved
Resolved
Resolved
For Follow-up

Recommendation on first finding:
1. Add additional escalation support to clear up the escalation backlogs
based on the time study data where an the Average Escalation Handle Time is 0.245 hours (14.7 minutes):
 236 emails can be resolved in 57.82 hours
 Theoretically, This equates to 7.5 days that is an a 8-hour shift (without personal allowances, quality reviews, etc.)
 Realistically, it is between 8.5-9 days that is an 8-hour shift
Add one (1) employee to
help with the escalation:
Escalation overdue will
greatly improve in 8.5 to 9
days
Add one (2) employees to
greatly improve in 4-4.5
days
Add one (3) employees to
greatly improve in 2-3 days Figures are
estimate

Second Finding:
2. No comprehensive hand-off of escalation from agent to coach/SR
When an agent reassigns an email to the escalation queue (EU ENG Redirect), only a private note is attached that tells who
approved the reassignment to that queue. Majority do not indicate what the coach or SR must do or why exactly the email
was escalated.
Agent asks permission to
escalate the email from a
coach or SR, once
approved, he/she
reassigns it to the
escalation queue.
The coach or SR takes the
escalated email from the
queue and assigns it to
herself
Researches and
responds to the
escalation
The coach/SR reads the
entire email thread to
identify why it is escalated

Recommendation on Second Finding:
2. Make it an SOP to indicate what the coach/SR must act on in the Private Note
This will allow a faster hand-off and will reduce the time on reading the entire email thread as well as in researching on the
problem.
Agent asks permission to
escalate the email from a
coach or SR, once
approved, he/she
reassigns it to the
escalation queue.
The coach or SR takes the
escalated email from the
queue and assigns it to
herself
Researches and
responds to the
escalation
Make it an SOP to indicate a
detailed explanation in the
Private Note.
Currently, 43% of the total
handle time is for “research”
which can be reduced by this
step.

Third Finding:
3. Dual shifts set-up puts pressure on the PM shift to close all emails due by 12MN
There are only two shifts per day: AM and PM shifts.
 Emails received in the queue between 12:01 AM and 3PM (15 hours) must be closed by 12MN
 Emails received between 3:01 PM to 11:59 AM (9 hours) may be closed within 24 hours.
 PM Shift tend to prioritize emails that are due by 12MN, causing them to rush on their work.
3:00 PM to 12:00 MN6:00 AM to 3:00 PM
6:00 AM 12:00 MN3:00 PM
All unfinished email in the
queue received before
3:00PM
Emails received from 3PM
– 12AM
Volume that the PM
shift needs to clear,
prioritizing those due
by 12MN

Recommendation on Third Finding:
3. Split the team into three shifts
This will result to more floor coverage because between 10am and 7pm, the coaches will meet and can work
together in addressing the pending quality and performance reviews with their agents. Also, the supervisor will
meet all employees within the overlapping times.
For example:
3:00 PM to 12:00 MN6:00 AM to 3:00 PM
6:00 AM 12:00 AM
Additional staffing within this
overlap will help clear emails
due by 3PM, while also
reducing emails passed on to
the 3PM – 12MN shift
10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Additional staffing within this
overlap will help clear emails
due by 12MN

Thank you.
Succeeding slides contain the following appendices:
Prepared by:
APPENDIX A: Time Study on Follow-up Escalations
APPENDIX B: Time Study on New Escalations
APPENDIX C: Inbound Queues (escalation queue)
APPENDIX D: Escalation Breakdown

APPENDIX A: Time Study on Follow-up Escalations
Escalation Time Study conducted for a week.
Type Reads Researches Replies Logs Total Minutes
F/U 45 97 337 22 501 8.4
F/U 33 82 367 32 514 8.6
F/U 70 155 35 15 275 4.6
F/U 25 306 368 27 726 12.1
F/U 70 276 125 55 526 8.8
F/U 58 107 270 67 502 8.4
F/U 95 120 140 102 457 7.6
F/U 50 331 296 37 714 11.9
F/U 95 301 545 44 985 16.4
F/U 83 132 212 63 490 8.2
F/U 120 205 112 45 482 8.0
F/U 75 356 230 41 702 11.7
F/U 156 326 501 27 1010 16.8
F/U 108 157 180 33 478 8.0
F/U 145 230 65 67 507 8.5
F/U 100 381 182 27 690 11.5
Total 1328 3562 3965 704 9559 159
Average 83 223 248 44 597 10.0
% 14% 37% 41% 7%

APPENDIX B: Time Study on New Escalations
Escalation Time Study conducted for a week.
Type Reads Researches Replies Logs Total (Seconds) Total (Minutes)
New Esc 115.0 452.9 307.1 19.1 894.1 14.9
New Esc 127.0 288.3 343.9 27.8 787.0 13.1
New Esc 86.0 383.0 229.6 13.1 711.6 11.9
New Esc 136.0 308.7 257.1 23.5 725.4 12.1
New Esc 125.0 492.8 333.8 47.9 999.4 16.7
New Esc 115.0 261.1 373.8 58.3 808.1 13.5
New Esc 98.0 422.9 261.7 88.7 871.3 14.5
New Esc 148.0 336.0 293.0 32.2 809.2 13.5
New Esc 137.0 532.8 365.8 38.3 1073.9 17.9
New Esc 127.0 288.3 409.6 54.8 879.7 14.7
New Esc 110.0 462.9 293.7 39.2 905.7 15.1
New Esc 160.0 363.2 328.9 35.7 887.8 14.8
New Esc 149.0 572.8 397.8 23.5 1143.1 19.1
New Esc 139.0 315.5 445.5 28.7 928.8 15.5
New Esc 122.0 276.9 325.7 58.3 783.0 13.0
New Esc 172.0 390.4 364.8 23.5 950.7 15.8
Total 2066.0 6148.4 5331.7 612.5 14158.6 236.0
Average 129.1 384.3 333.2 38.3 884.9 14.7
% 15% 43% 38% 4%

APPENDIX C: Inbound Queues (escalation queue)
Date Escalation Queue Number of Escalated Emails
04/04/17 EU Eng Redirects 18

Challenges Encountered
Label Count Escalation Type
New 46 Past 15-days GSR and callback requests
Re-Assigned 140 Newly escalated emails from Email agents
Updated by Customer 33 Already addressed but the customer replied back
Working 17 Pending status from other UPS department
Grand Total 236
APPENDIX D: Escalation Breakdown

Case study: UK RNT Escalation

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