3C helps Surrey Police measure ROI on Call Centre Training Programme

3C Associates, the learning and communications company has helped Surrey Police put a value on their Customer Service Training programme. 3C used its HATS (Human AsseT Statements) programme to identify the measurements and metrics necessary to calculate the real value of training and the benefit that can be delivered back to the business.

Karen Morris, Customer Service Manager for Surrey Policeís Operational Communications department, explains: ìWe handle over a million and a half calls every year and are measured on how well we deal with those calls. We are always looking at ways of improving the service we offer and wanted to find a way of putting some objective measures in place so we could put a value on our work. This would then give us the ability to target specific areas for improvement and justify the investment. In researching how we could best achieve these objectives we discovered a seminar being run by 3C Associates on ëHow to measure the Return on Investment in Trainingí. The seminar focused on how intangible benefits of training can be quantified and presented at Board level.î

One of the key ingredients of 3Cís HATS programme is the ëLine of Sightí approach that takes Financial Performance as a primary objective and in turn examines Organisational Goals, Business Goals, Work Processes and finally identifies the Training Needs necessary to support the Business Plan.

Karen continues: ìSurrey Police, like all police forces, is subject to Home Office as well as Police Authority specific targets and measures. For example, Customer Service performance is measured against three major areas - Behavioural Attributes, Managing Expectation and Reassurance, and Knowledge and Data. Using HATS, and with 3Cís guidance, we identified the eight or nine underpinning elements that made up each of those major areas. Taking 1 as the notional share value of our entire Customer Service offering we then reviewed the underpinning elements and allocated a value to each of them thereby equating to the 1 of share value.î

This gave Surrey Police a baseline and a monetary value with which to measure the success, or otherwise, of their service improvement programme. After each ëimprovementí that specific element of the service was re-assessed and the ëvalueí recalculated. An improvement in service would see the share value increase and any deterioration reduce.

Hedda Bird, Managing Director of 3C: ìSurrey Police is now in a position to make investment decisions based on an agreed value and justify that expenditure. In due course they will be able to objectively measure the results and gain agreement as to whether the notional share value of 1 has increased or decreased.î

Hedda concludes, ìusing the HATS approach Surrey Police can now start to focus on the returns they will make from investing in improving customer satisfaction, increasing retention and adding genuine value.î