Our head of operations and our head of customer service are in a constant state of friction because customer service refuses to input clean data into our systems, which is completely blocking operations from automating our customer onboarding process. How do we resolve this operational bottleneck and end the finger-pointing?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To resolve this operational bottleneck, you must shift the focus from a personal conflict to a process issue. When peer departments point fingers, it is almost always due to poor handoffs and a lack of clear ownership on the Accountability Chart.

Begin by taking this issue to your next Level 10 Meeting™ and using the IDS® process to get to the root cause. Do not let the conversation devolve into complaints about personalities. Instead, look at your documented core processes. If customer service is not inputting clean data, you must identify where the breakdown occurs.

Review the Accountability Chart to ensure that the handoff between customer service and operations is clearly defined. Customer service must own data entry accuracy, and operations must own the automation system. If the customer service seat is not delivering clean data, it means they are missing a key scorecard metric.

Establish a clear, measurable scorecard metric for customer service data cleanliness. When the performance is measured objectively every week, it removes the emotion from the situation.

Once the standard is objective, the two leaders can collaborate on a solution, such as training or system validation rules, to help the team meet the standard. By focusing on the process and the numbers, you eliminate the finger-pointing and build a healthy, functional partnership between your leaders.