Vendor Evaluation and Selection

Designed and led a vendor evaluation and selection process for a client seeking to start a new business leveraging a third party. Organized all client constituent groups, established quantitative and qualitative evaluation criteria, led post-presentation analysis, and recommended a best-fit selection to our client. Led the effort to migrate our client to the new vendor.

Quality Control Enhancement

Examined existing quality control metrics across a large call center business to identify satisfaction levels with the call handler as well as the underlying products and services. Identified new methods to support quality control measurement, including speech analytics technology, to uncover previously unknown concerns, and developed improved metrics for call satisfaction, product satisfaction, and timeliness of resolution. Defined a weekly metrics review process designed to directly impact departmental training.

Agile Software Development

Assisted a large corporate client to migrate from a waterfall to an agile software development approach. Established the new agile process framework, trained internal technology and user teams through new process, identified key milestones and decision points to span all development initiatives, and designed metrics to measure success and efficiency.

Compliance and Regulatory Notification Process

Analyzed a manual compliance and regulatory postal notification process, and proposed and implemented an automated process for a large financial services corporation. Notification generation depended on several, varying criteria and the potential notification formats numbered in the hundreds, depending on client’s legal address, the business vendor the client had chosen, and the relevant regulatory authority involved. Designed a controlled, online capability to design notification templates, and integrated it with the client’s legacy technology to populate client case information into a template. Developed automated rules to trigger appropriate notification creation and distribution at, or better than, required regulatory reporting timeframes and at reduced postage rates.

Business Continuity Planning (BCP)

Developed a disaster recovery and business continuity plan for the technology division of a financial services company, recommending changes to the physical DR site along with changes to data backups, server maintenance, source code backup, telephone calling trees, and escalation process.

Move/Add/Change (MAC) Optimization

Analyzed the corporate real estate Move/Add/Change process of a large, multi-national company and redesigned the way requests were submitted and acted upon. Ensured all information was captured in the request, streamlined request processing steps and internal technology hand-offs, and connected the relevant systems to engage each Facilities team to execute and confirm employee moves.

Quality Assurance Redesign

Redesigned a Quality Assurance (QA) process to repurpose a constrained QA team to act as subject matter experts and train all staff in a new QA self-assessment framework. Retrained employees to make QA a part of the organizational culture. Encouraged individual and team accountability with published scorecards. Self-assessment framework was supported by unannounced peer and management observation.

Technology Roadmap

Developed a technology roadmap for a large business, impacting more than 7,000 employees. Roadmap defined the replacement and retirement plans for many legacy technologies, along with the mandatory scope of functionality of new systems being built or purchased. Timelines, financials, and cost/benefit analyses were provided to support the roadmap.

Project Management

Led an employee directory reconciliation project for the COO of a large technology services company. Defined reconciliation process and templates, then identified and enlisted key constituents to run daily reporting comparing Outlook contact data and several disparate phone systems. Coordinated Chief of Staff and SVPs of every business unit and corporate location to remediate data inconsistencies until achieving zero exceptions. Provided regular status and detailed departmental reporting to executive management.

Training Strategy and Implementation

Defined an internal training strategy to accelerate training development and improve delivery options. Focused on video content creation, featuring internal subject matter experts and tying content to knowledge base articles. Recommended performance analytics and created engagement through social voting and a year-end video award ceremony.

Non-Profit Fundraising Strategy

Created a new strategy for an established non-profit to generate sustainable fundraising sources. Developed a teachable, repeatable process to cultivate future donors and implemented a new volunteer program. Reorganized existing committees to reach a broader demographic group, improve accountability, and leverage available professional skills and networks.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

Assisted a client to migrate from multiple legacy IVR (telephone menu) platforms onto a new, streamlined platform that supports all business lines. Redesigned the project management approach to deliver a four-fold increase in the number of simultaneous IVR projects that could be delivered in a year. Improved internal pricing and delivery mechanisms to correctly price and provide IVR support services to clients, achieving a faster, more predictable client experience.

Pricing Strategy

Developed an enhanced product pricing strategy for a FinTech client trying to improve client retention. Analyzed influence of competitors on client pricing, created pricing options based on client value and service usage. Created a program to offer discounts, exclusive offers, or free services as rewards for customer loyalty and user community engagement.

Corporate Succession Planning

Developed a succession plan for a senior executive responsible for a 500+ person corporate division. Identified internal talent and recommended selective hiring to create a better pool of potential successors for the top twenty organizational roles. Developed a scorecard to evaluate monthly progress towards plan implementation.

Business Unit Relocation

Led project to relocate a business unit of a Fortune 500 company 1500 miles across the United States, to consolidate it with another business unit. We generated efficiencies in processing and headcount, and simplified internal management structures and processes.

Systems Modeling

Developed a set of technology tools to model the desired behavior of a new invoicing platform for a mid-sized corporation. Our tools served as a working "specification" for a new system that was being implemented, allowing user teams to validate expected behavior, proving the business analysis documents were completely accurate.

Outsourcing Back Office Operations

Defined and managed a project to outsource a division of a Fortune 1000 company. Evaluated multiple outsourcing alternatives, led the vendor selection process, and managed the effort, ultimately transitioning it to an internal team. Reduced geographic concentration risk and operational costs, and allowed for redundant processing across disparate locations.

Client Retention Improvement

Analyzed customer attrition data to identify opportunities to improve customer satisfaction, product pricing strategies, client service levels, product offerings, and customer service. Implemented a formal process to measure the impact of each improvement on client retention rates. Developed a business case to demonstrate the long-term client retention benefits driven by relatively small improvement-related investments.

Speech Analytics for Customer Service

Audited actual customer service calls to identify deficiencies in agent performance, products, and services. Initiated a process to analyze calls with Verint Speech Analytics technology to grade and rate each call on several quantitative and qualitative factors. Identified root causes and designed projects to address each deficiency.

Strategy Workshops

Designed and led multi-day strategy workshops on behalf of several clients. Workshops were dedicated to: corporate goal setting, project evaluation and approval, developing plans to address specific complex business challenges, new product launches, technology roadmaps, and organizational restructuring.

Order To Cash Process Transformation

Redesigned the Order To Cash workflow for a multi-billion dollar financial services company. Led process analysis across eleven business teams, recommended changes to improve up-front risk analysis and compliance reviews, simplified handoffs and communication, and integrated technology systems to eliminate redundant work. Reduced the Order to Cash timeline by several weeks.

Mission, Vision, and Values

Led a process to redesign the Mission, Vision, and Values of an insurance group. Conducted a SWOT analysis among senior management and used results to create a new set of corporate values intended to create a culture dedicated to customer satisfaction, adherence to regulations, employee empowerment, and the new corporate mission. Drove consensus among survey participants and created a roll-out plan for the organization.

Program Management

Developed and ran a program management process for a multi-national client’s Compliance division, to assess and resolve security and compliance gaps in their contingent workforce processes. Defined major projects, workstreams, and the program schedule, and led weekly steering committee meetings. Managed resource assignments, scheduling, issues, risks, and baseline variance approvals. Defined mitigation plans for all identified exceptions and turned over program to internal resources once routine was established.

Executive Dashboards

Identified set of consistent and discrete milestones across a complex client delivery process to provide uniform metrics across thousands of client-facing implementations. Designed and developed manual and automated dashboards, delivered to various levels of management, to inform decision making on financial, resource, and time investments.

Business Case Development and Approval

Designed a re-usable business case template and wrote a business case with an accompanying formal presentation, to justify a multimillion dollar technology investment. Conducted an internal due diligence process to collect supporting financial and operational data, constructed a detailed budget including CAPEX and OPEX, and presented to executive management – and won approval.

Physical and Process Controls Review

Reviewed existing check processing procedures in a large corporate environment to identify control weakness, segregation of duties issues, reconciliation and technology issues, physical plant deficiencies, and regulatory reporting compliance gaps. Designed new streamlined process, recommended physical plant and vendor selection changes, and advised management in implementing new procedures and controls to the organization.

Metrics Development

Identified critical performance metrics for an Operations department to measure progress of processes, people, and initiatives. Defined qualitative and quantitative measurement criteria, agreed performance thresholds, and created the procedures and tools for metrics data collection, regular report production, metrics review and analysis, and follow-up action planning.

Workflow Engineering

Designed new workflow management process, and recommended implementation of new production workflow technology to track hundreds of projects in an advertising agency. Improved measurement and control of resource investment, time-to-delivery, client satisfaction, and profit margins.

New Client Onboarding

Reduced the client delivery and go-live time of newly purchased technology products from several days to a few hours. Significantly reduced buyer and seller time commitments, fulfillment costs, and the need for post-purchase support inquiries - while improving the client experience.

New Technology Introduction

Assisted seven different clients in implementing new technology to their organizations. Developed gap analyses between legacy and new technology platforms, and developed mitigation plans to address each gap. Managed new technology rollout including data conversion and migration to new platforms, trained users on new platforms, managed post-implementation issues, and retired legacy platforms.

Fulfillment Process Design and Implementation

Redesigned product fulfillment process for a large domestic client to reduce time to service new sales orders for complex product and service purchases. Reduced the number of sales and operational steps as well as the number of hands required to deliver the product. Reduced the time-to-fulfillment by 30%. Redesigned the customer service process to improve external vendor and internal employee accountability and client satisfaction.

Billing Audit

Audited the automated billing system of a large company to determine evidence of overbilling or underbilling of clients. We built our own custom technology to mimic the large scale mainframe-based billing system of our client in just five weeks, allowing us to analyze hundreds of thousands of billing cases in a very limited timeframe. Recommended improvements and efficiencies to the billing system and process, improving accuracy while reducing costs of production.

Recruiting Process Transformation

Led a recruiting process transformation for a client who planned a significant hiring initiative, needing to fill several hundred positions per month. Defined new hiring channels and accompanying recruiting strategies. Identified opportunities to remediate legacy technology and defined a roadmap to introduce new technology into the recruitment process, including: candidate tracking, selection, interviewing, and offer and acceptance processing. Optimized recruitment travel schedule, and designed a high-volume candidate evaluation process. Re-organized the recruiting team to improve performance and created recruiter career paths and opportunities for advancement.

Reconciliation Automation

Analyzed a client’s financial reconciliation processes, recommended preparatory actions to reduce manual data manipulation effort and prepare the Operations and Technology departments for an enterprise reconciliation software tool. Performed tool vendor evaluation, and defined a roadmap outlining the timing of process changes, headcount repurposing, and readiness for enterprise tool implementation.

Client Self Service

Identified customer self-service opportunities, enabling our client to reduce time-to-resolution and internal cost, while improving customer satisfaction. Designed and implemented numerous self-service enhancements including: an automated password reset process for the customer portal, monthly statement retrieval, supply reorder capability, and status inquiries on debit and credit transactions or refunds.

Business Turnaround: Resource Management and Optimization

Conducted a resource utilization study and developed processes and tools to assist a corporate client to turn around a struggling business unit. Observed and interviewed staff to document current work processes and identify improvement opportunities. Implemented departmental policies and procedures. Developed and implemented a resource capacity model, metrics, and a management process to efficiently utilize resources across products and service delivery channels. Trained staff to fill skills gaps and provided senior management with accurate resource reporting.

Corporate Culture Transformation

Led our client through a culture change towards a more client-service focused culture. Developed mock-training sessions to practice new behaviors to turn them into habits. Tested new methods on client samples, measured results, and developed a performance assessment process based on embracing the new culture.

New Hire Onboarding Experience

Revamped the employee onboarding process for a multinational corporation, to reduce the time between candidate acceptance and a fully effective employee. New process included: assignment of desk via Corporate Real Estate division, delivery of desktop equipment (pc, phone, data security tools), setup in corporate phone and email directory, issuance of role-based login credentials, and new employee training, including regulatory and federal compliance requirements.

Test Plan Development

Developed a comprehensive set of test plans to validate the behavior of a new system for a division of a large public company. Test plans included unit tests for the developers and user test cases to support QA and UAT. Each test case was given a severity rating to ensure that the test results could be graded by criticality.

Project Portfolio Management

Developed a process for evaluating an organization’s project portfolio and making individual project Go/No-Go decisions. Weighed all projects against a set of benchmark criteria, financial and time considerations, and resource availability. Trained management to use the new process and implemented it within the organization.

Employee Retention Improvement

Addressed high turnover of newly hired salespeople at a global financial services client. Analyzed recruiting and onboarding processes and initiated an improvement program to eliminate offer letter inaccuracies, improve payroll set-up processes, streamline the onboarding process, ensure all user technology and systems access was ready upon the employee’s arrival, and complete new hire training quickly and effectively.

Employee Satisfaction Survey

Designed and managed an employee satisfaction survey for a health insurance company. Assisted executive management in evaluating results, then redesigned corporate values, departmental objectives, and the performance appraisal process.

Custom Desktop Applications

Developed numerous custom desktop applications to automate data flow and improve efficiency in Sales, Operations, Finance, and Treasury. Improved business reporting, automated data reconciliation, and data control and reliability.

Financial Reporting Process

Analyzed existing financial reporting for a large service company to identify reporting gaps and reduce report production time from monthly to daily. Designed new online reporting and dashboards across Finance and Business units. Changed internal control processes and metrics to meet new daily benchmarks.

Launch a New Sales Division

Managed the launch of a new sales channel in a large, multi-billion-dollar corporation. Engaged by our client at the project’s inception, we set the direction and organized the internal stakeholders, then led an intensive and rapid process to agree sales strategy, sales technology platform, resourcing, marketing, pricing, and fulfillment. We then led the project and opened the new sales channel within 6 weeks of our engagement.

Product Costing Variance Reporting

Evaluated existing revenue, expense, and inventory control reporting for a company loyalty card business. Designed better integrated and more consistent reporting to identify reconciliation errors and financial period reporting discrepancies, and strengthened general controls in operational areas.

Executive Coaching

Provided one-on-one coaching for senior executives and managers at various clients. Advised on consensus building techniques, people management skills, managing through use of metrics in critical decision-making, staff effectiveness and performance evaluation, executive presentation skills, and inter-personal and group communication skills.

Mainframe Batch Processing Improvement

Analyzed a large collection of jobs in a mainframe batch stream to identify opportunities to reduce overnight processing time, provide earlier up-time for front-end systems, and reduce incident requests. Saved the client nearly 2 hours in nightly process time, allowing morning systems availability by 5:00am.

Knowledge Management Strategy

Created a knowledge management strategy for a new product launch. Designed a knowledge acquisition approach and implemented tools to shorten training times for new support agents. Reduced support inquiries and time-to-resolution and improved productivity and engagement by using agent down-time to grow the knowledge base content.

How we've helped our clients