2. Table of Contents
Introduction
Problem Statement
Objectives
Measure of Success
Proposed Approach
Project Results
Budget
Conclusion
Service Improvement Proposal | Dec. 2016
3. Introduction
Forward Service Corporation (FSC) is a non-profit employment and training
organization. It was founded in 1979 with the goal to help low-income Wisconsin
adults and youth begin their careers and become self-sufficient. FSC provides
training, education, career guidance, and supportive services in 46 counties across
the state of Wisconsin.
With the goal of supporting FSC to improve the service delivery, a BBA student
from UW-Madison initiated this project at the Dane County office. Through
interviews with FSET's and W2's clients and case managers, the key area for
improvement was identified. This proposal outlines the proposed actions, project
results, and the budget.
The main area for improvement is customers' engagement. It is proposed
that strengthening the current support system, and segmenting the market will
lead to 100% customer satisfaction rate, increase clients' success rate and
government funding by 35%, and increase case managers' retention rate by 30%.
Service Improvement Proposal | Dec. 2016
4. Problem Statement
Engagement with clients is the key area for improvements. According to the root
cause analysis, disengagement with clients leads to lower success rate, which will
reduce the amount of funding received from the government. Case managers will
be demotivated to stay in the company because of the lack of funding. When case
managers are not focusing on providing quality services to clients, clients are likely
to get disengaged. Eventually, the positive feedback loop is generated.
Objectives
Completion of this project will further the overarching objectives, including:
Increase engagement with clients
The project will also accomplish these additional goals:
Increase motivation of case managers
Improve the quality of customer service
Measure of Success
The following measurements indicate the success of the objectives
Increase annual clients' success rate by 35%
Increase government funding by 35%
Increase retention rate by 30%
Customer satisfaction rate reaches 100%
Service Improvement Proposal | Dec. 2016
5. Proposed Approach
Forward Service Corporation will include the following strategies:
► Strengthen Clients' Support System
According to the analysis, there are two issues that FSC will need to address to
strengthen the support system.
First, there is a high variability of the customer satisfaction; which is likely because
the majority of case managers consider their Key Performance Indicator (KPI) as
clients' success rather than customer satisfaction. Setting the KPI as customers'
success can be demotivating because it is a long term process, and it depends a lot
more on clients rather than case managers. In order to motivate case managers,
FSC needs to separate the quality of the service they provide and clients' success.
Second, there is lack of "community" support for clients. Case managers are the
only people clients interact with. And the main topic of each meeting is about the
fulfillment of the requirements and some career advice, which is similar to parents'
checking if their children have done their homework and asking them to work
harder on studying. Such meetings are not enough to support out clients. FSC
needs to build the support system from previous successful clients and employers
to motivate them to become self-sustain.
1) Case Managers
Focus more on the service to create positive customer experience
Understand the difference between Key Performance Indicators (clients'
satisfaction) & Measure of Success (clients start a career)
Create feedback forms to collect service improvement suggestions and to
measure KPIs of case managers
Engage the clients by first creating the engaging office environment; by
organizing regular social events in the office can help build the positive,
collaborative, and learning culture
2) Previous Successful Clients
Recruit previous successful clients to be case managers or peer advisers
Clients are more motivated to listen to people who share the same background
and who had been through the same struggles.
Organize required-attendance Seminar (successful story sharing & networking)
3) Employers
Organize networking events with employers at least twice a year
Have employees attend the Seminar to present recruitment information
Service Improvement Proposal | Dec. 2016
6. ► Segment the Market
Currently, case managers spend approximately the same amount of time for each
client, which reduces the efficiency because each case manager has around 50-80
clients in a period of time. In order to engage our clients, it is recommended to
speed the process for the group who are ready to find jobs and provide more
attention for the other group who have a lot of barriers to fulfill the requirements.
The second group of the market is the one that FSC should pay more attention to
because their success determines the quality of the service, which directly affect
the amount of the government's funding.
For clients who are ready for the job market: provide service more
towards networking, and job search
For clients that need more help with life skills: provide more attention (case
managers shall contact clients at least once a week to check in with life), and
provide service more towards confidence building and training
The timeline for executing each activity is outlined in the Gantt chart below.
Service Improvement Proposal | Dec. 2016
7. Project Results
The impact of Forward Service Corporation will be felt in the short, medium, and
long term. The following are the project results which will be realized upon
completion:
► Short-Term (Completion - 6 months)
Customer satisfaction rate reaches 90%
► Medium-Term (6 months - 2 years)
Increase retention rate by 20%
Increase annual clients' success rate by 25%
Increase government funding by 25%
► Long-Term (2 years & Onward)
Customer satisfaction rate reaches 100%
Increase retention rate by 30%
Increase annual clients' success rate by 35%
Increase government funding by 35%
Service Improvement Proposal | Dec. 2016
8. Budget
Forward Service Corporation requires the support of your generous benefactors in
order to move forward. The table below outlines the costs associated with the
project.
Category Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total
Seminar $4,000 $4,000 $4,000 $12,000
Training ($2,500) ($3,000) ($5,500)
Networking Stipend $2,700 $2,700 $2,700 $8,100
Phone Bills $500 $500 $500 $1,500
Net Cost $7,200 $4,700 $4,200 $16,100
Funding Summary
The table below details Team Forward's current plan to procure funding for
Forward Service Corporation.
Source Total Funding
Team Forward Self-Funding $1,100
Local Government Support $12,000
Additional Financiers/ Co-Financiers $3,000
Conclusion
Forward Service Corporation is creating life changing transition for low-income
Wisconsin adults and youth. I am excited to partner with you to make this project a
reality, leading to substantial benefits in the short, medium, and long term. Should
you have any questions, or wish to discuss this project further, please reach out to:
Gladys Lai (gladyslai089@gmail.com; 608-770-2005)
Service Improvement Proposal | Dec. 2016
