We want to roll out individual measurables to our customer service reps so they can self-manage, but they do repetitive tickets all day and struggle to see how their work impacts the company's high-level numbers. How do we run the Great Day or Lousy Day exercise to connect repetitive frontline tasks to our primary leadership scorecard?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To connect frontline customer service reps to your high-level goals, you must run the Great Day or Lousy Day exercise. Gather your customer service team and divide a blank legal pad into two columns. Ask them to describe what happens on a great day in their department. They will likely say things like clients are happy, tickets are resolved quickly, and our email inbox is empty by five o'clock. Then, ask them what happens on a lousy day. They will describe unresolved tickets piling up, angry follow-up emails, and long wait times. Once you have both lists, look for the items that you can measure on a weekly basis. For a customer service rep, a great day translates to specific, actionable metrics. This might include the average ticket resolution time, the percentage of tickets resolved on the first contact, or the weekly customer satisfaction rating. Choose one to three of these metrics as their individual measurables. When you assign these numbers to your frontline employees, they can easily self-manage. They will know by the end of each week whether they had a great day or a lousy day based on their numbers. These frontline metrics roll up directly to support your leadership scorecard, such as your overall client retention rate. This gives your team clear direction and shows them exactly how their daily tasks drive the company's success.