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Customer Story - Call Center

The Xerox Story

This is a story about the development of a TQM partnership between Xerox, The Document Company, Fellows Staffing and 20-30 temporary workers. The outcome of the partnership was the achievement temporary worker performance which fulfilled Xerox’s business plan for the center and contributed significantly to the company’s bottom line, saving over $100,000 annually.

Fellows staffed 20-30 of the customer service reps in a center employing 70 reps. These reps respond to inquiries from Xerox’s copier customers who are on service contracts with Xerox. The goals of the partnership included delivering world class customer service while achieving a 5% “solve rate” over the phone (eliminating the expensive necessity of dispatching a service technician), as well as achieving a balanced workforce which mirrored the community in which Xerox did business.

The Supplemental Staffing Strategy
Through the use of non-core staff to supplement the full-timers, Xerox could stay flexible to the changing volume of the customer calls. By altering the numbers of staff in accordance with demand, Xerox saved over $100,000 annually. Avoiding the costs of expensive benefits, payroll taxes, unemployment and workers’ compensation represented significant savings.

Facts:
The town in which the Center is located had 2% unemployment.
The recruitment challenge was to find quality temps who could work 9 months to 1 year and who understood that continued employment was not guaranteed. Their assignment could end at a moment’s notice.
The temps must be computer literate, bright, strong communicators and team players.

History of Xerox and Agencies:
Xerox had previous relationships with two national agencies, but was not satisfied with the service to its customers.

The Plan:
A Total Quality Management Program, customized to Xerox, was put in place. This is how it worked:

A meeting determined the 4 partnership goals;

Fellows Work:

• Fellows observed a model employee.
• Fellows analyzed the job and its core competencies.
• Fellows developed a customized question set for selection of temps.
• Fellows developed two performance appraisal forms to evaluate temps - one for post-training and one for after 3 months in the job.
• Fellows developed an orientation packet and held a 1 hour training/orientation session with overheads, refreshments and a stand-up trainer.
• Fellows developed quarterly management reports to analyze its performance with respect to productivity, recruitment and selection, retention and cost comparison to Xerox’s Full-Time Equivalents (FTE’s).
• Fellows and Xerox agreed on quarterly and annual executive review meetings to discuss overall performance and make course corrections.
• Fellows has on-going special and unique recruiting efforts which ensure a reliable supply of temps who met the Xerox profile.

Results:
Xerox was very pleased. The Center management achieved its business plan. Morale was great amongst the Fellows’ temporaries. They loved the name plates, the recognition and the extra cash. They referred tons of their friends, in fact, Fellows paid out over $300 in temp referrals bonuses in one September week alone! The service delivered by our temps to Xerox customers was great. We received a letter from a Xerox Atlanta-based manager praising our temp resolving a "sticky" problem with a customer. This customer is now interested in buying more Xerox equipment due to the good effort of our temporary! Fellows and its temps are delivering results to Xerox’s bottom-line.

Xerox paid Fellows the highest compliment:

"Fellows is an agency representing The BEST commercial practices for the Temporary Labor Industry"