Running head: PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

EDCI 528

Assignment 1: Performance Analysis

Reception Desk/Call Answering Inefficiency at SRB LLP

Danielle L. Moffat
Purdue University

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Assignment 1: Performance Analysis

Reception Desk/Call Answering Inefficiency at SRB LLP
Performance System
Organizational Overview
SRB LLP is a medium-sized high street law firm. The firm has an established reputation
for providing a personalized, bespoke service to its client base, which is comprised for the most
part of individuals, small traders and medium-sized businesses from the surrounding area. The
firm relies heavily on its local associations, continued loyalty of its clients and their personal
recommendations to ensure ongoing work and generate new client leads. Accordingly, a key aspect
of SRB LLPs marketing strategy revolves around building and maintaining the firms goodwill
with the boroughs local community.
SRB LLP is headed by 6 partners and is comprised of:

5 individual legal departments (Property, Family, Private Client, Company & Commercial
and Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence), employing between them approximately 25
solicitors and 35 members of support staff including secretaries, legal executives,
paralegals and trainee solicitors;

an accounts department employing 2 accountants who also undertake all HR functions;

a general administration department employing 2 administration assistants;

1 member of post room staff who also coordinates buildings and equipment maintenance;

4 part-time members of reception desk staff.

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Reception Desk Overview

This report deals largely with inefficiencies related to the performance of the reception desk
functions and therefore it is necessary to provide a brief overview of the same here. The reception
desk staff comprise 4 long-serving, part-time female members of staff ranging in age from 60 to
70 years old, 2 of whom cover the morning shift from 8am to 1pm and 2 of whom cover the
afternoon shift from 1pm to 6pm.
A paper diary containing details of the comings and goings of all the partners and solicitors,
including holidays, sick days and out of office appointments, is maintained by reception desk staff.
The partners and solicitors support staff are expected to provide regular updates to reception desk
staff in that regard and all approved holiday request forms are initially handed in to reception desk
staff who note the relevant dates in the diary before passing the forms to the accounts department
for processing.
The reception desk represents the first port of call to the firm for all clients, whether they walk
in to the main office or telephone in. Reception desk staff are expected to provide prospective
walk-in clients with information about the firm, answer any queries they may have and encourage
them to book an initial free-of-charge initial consultation with an appropriate partner or solicitor,
which they do so over the telephone with the partner or solicitors secretary then and there. On
arrival of existing clients or business contacts at the offices, reception desk staff are expected to
greet and seat them, or take details of any ad hoc query they may have if that is the purpose of their
visit, before telephoning the relevant partner or solicitors secretary to either advise them that the
clients were present for a scheduled face-to-face meeting or to take instructions how to deal with
the client such as inform then that an ad hoc meeting was possible, provide them with the
information they need or book them in for an appointment at a future date. Reception desk staff
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are responsible for preparing tea and coffee, and if necessary, arranging catering for in-office
meetings.
The reception desk staff are also responsible for manning the phones at the reception desk,
taking all initial calls to the firm and diverting them to the appropriate person. There is no particular
telephone call protocol or policy within the firm. Each partner and solicitor has their own
requirements for call forwarding of which reception desk staff are informally aware; some are
happy for telephone calls to be directly rooted to them while others prefer their secretary or other
support staff to filter the same in the first instance. Where the relevant person is away, engaged on
the phone or unable to take the call then reception desk staff are expected to advise the caller that
they cannot be reached and offer to put them through to the persons answerphone.
In terms of responding to ad hoc client queries, both in person and over the telephone, the
reception desk staff have access to the firms computerized case management system, Solcase,
with which they can look up a particular clients file details, including information relating to the
partner or solicitor dealing with the case, by searching for either the matter name or reference
number. Case reference numbers include the unique initials of the solicitor dealing with the case,
enabling reception desk staff to quickly and easily identify the correct case handler when they take
those details from the client.
The reception desk, accounts and administration staff are not directly supervised. In the event
that any operational issues arise then the matter and/or any complaints tend to be informally
reported to one of the partners. The issue will then be discussed between the partners in the course
of their regular monthly partnership meeting at which a solution or resolution strategy will be
decided and, thereafter, implemented by a nominated partner or senior solicitor to whom the task
has been delegated.
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Figure 1. SRB LLP Reception Desk Human Performance System.

Identification of Drivers of Performance Gaps

The Performance Issue
At the most recent partnership meeting, a number of concerns were raised regarding
reception desk functions as follows:

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EDCI 528

The firms designated complaints officer, one of the partners, has received a growing
number of formal complaints over recent months from disgruntled clients regarding
telephone calls made to the firms reception desk. In particular, the complaining clients
have reported having to wait an unreasonable amount of time for their calls to be initially
answered, with the phone sometimes ringing off the hook; waiting up to ten minutes on
hold after their call is initially answered; poor handling of their calls such as being directed
to the wrong person or department; being put immediately through to an answerphone
service without explanation and insufficient details on the answerphone message to discern
whether they are leaving the message on the correct persons phone, and calls not being
returned within a reasonable amount of time after an answerphone message is left.

Many of the partners have received informal internal complaints from solicitors and
support staff within their departments regarding reception desk functions. It has been
reported that reception desk staff are failing to take basic details from incoming callers,
such as their case reference number and brief details of their query, and instead tend only
to note the callers name, often repeating the same incorrectly when transferring the call,
and the case handler or department the client wishes to be put through to. This has led to
unnecessary time being wasted by solicitors and their support staff in ascertaining the
clients correct details. New clients are not always aware of the name of the solicitor that
is acting on their behalf and client surnames does not always relate to the name the case is
filed under, particularly in relation to businesses clients where cases are filed under the
company or deal name. As a result, on numerous occasions client have been transferred to
the incorrect department and then sent around the houses as various support staff and

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solicitors transfer the call to different individuals in the firm in an attempt to identify the
correct person to put them in touch with.

Solicitors and support staff report that the reception desk staff have responded defensively
and curtly to requests to take more detailed information, and one member of the reception
desk team has been observed arguing loudly with and hanging up on a client on more than
one occasion while walk-in clients are seated in the reception area.

A number of solicitors have reported having received informal complaints from clients
regarding being given conflicting information over the phone from reception desk staff and
solicitors support staff about their solicitors whereabouts, such as being told by reception
desk staff that they are out of the office at Court while being informed by support staff that
they are engaged in a meeting at the office.

Reception desk staff have informally complained on a number of occasions that solicitors
and their support staff are failing to regularly provide them with updated information as to
their whereabouts for logging in the paper diary meaning that they are unable to convey
the correct details in that regard to clients.

The partners are concerned about the potentially deleterious impact the above issues are having
on the firms reputation, particularly in the local community, for friendly, efficient and
professional service. Two of the firms best repeat local business clients are amongst those that
have raised formal complaints referred to in the first bullet point above and, while the designated
complaints officer has managed in this instance to placate the complaining clients in this instance,
it is felt by the partners that the reception desk performance issues must be investigated and
addressed immediately in order to avoid the inevitable financial consequences, including losing
key clients and damage to the firms goodwill, should the problems continue.
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Table 1.
Identified Performance Gaps
Performanc
e Gap:
Description

Desired State

Actual State

Probable root
cause(s)

Delayed call
answering at
reception
desk

Incoming calls
answered within
1 minute and, if
the client is put
on hold, dealt
with within 5
minutes of the
initial call.

Incoming
calls failing to
be answered
within 2
minutes, with
a number of
remaining
unanswered.
Clients on
hold waiting
up to 10
minutes for
calls to be
dealt with.

Lack of clear
expectations/standard
s in relation to call
waiting times. Lack
of supervision and
feedback in that
regard.

Reception
desk staff
taking
inadequate
information
from clients
over the
phone

Reception desk
take brief details
of incoming
caller query and,
in relation to
existing clients,
case reference
number, clients
name and, if
known, case
handlers name.
Reception desk
to use Solcase to
look up
appropriate
handler where

Reception
desk staff are
simply taking
details of
clients
surnames and
the case
handler or
department
the client
wishes to be
transferred to.
This results in
calls often
being
transferred to
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Type (Gilberts
Behavioral
Engineering
Model)
Environmental:

Information
Inadequate tools and
resources: call
forwarding service
presently utilized
may be deficient,
inadequate staff to
deal with high call
volume in a timely
fashion.
Lack of clear call
answering
policies/procedures.
Lack of clear
expectations/standard
s in relation to details
to be taken. Lack of
supervision and
feedback in relation
to expectations.
Inadequate tools and
resources: scripts,
lists of information to
be taken, job aids,
standard information
forms.
Lack of skills and
knowledge relating to

Resources

Resources
Environmental:

Information

Resources
Individual:

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EDCI 528

not known to
the wrong
transfer clients to person.
the right person.
Reception
desk staff
taking
inaccurate
information
from clients
over the
phone

Reception desk
staff ensure that
the information,
particularly the
clients name, is
correct by asking
them to spell the
same out if they
are unsure.

Reception
desk staff are
frequently
noting down
clients names
incorrectly
leading to
confusion and
wasted time.

how to use Solcase

case management
system to locate
relevant details.
Lack of clear
expectations/standard
s in relation to client
details noting. Lack
of supervision and
feedback in that
regard.
Lack of clear client
details noting
policies/procedures.
Inadequate tools and
resources: telephone
equipment may be
outdated, volume
may not be
adjustable.

Skills and
knowledge
Environmental:

Information

Resources

Resources
Individual:

Confusing
generic/
outdated
answerphone
greetings on
solicitors and
support staff
telephones

Solicitors and
support staff
update
personalized
answerphone
messages when
they are out of
the office for a
period of longer
than one day,
providing details
of when they will
be available to
return messages.

Several
solicitors and
support staff
have not
recorded
personalized
answerphone
messages
stating their
name. A
number of
those with
personalized
answerphone
messages are
failing to
regularly
9

Given the age some

of the reception desk
staff, they may have
physical limitations
in the form of hearing Capacity
problems.
Lack of clear
Environmental:
expectations/standard
s in relation to
answerphone
message format. Lack
of supervision and
feedback in that
regard.
Information

Lack of clear
answerphone
message updating
policies/ procedures.

Resources

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update the
answerphone
messages.

Delays/
failures to
respond to
answerphone
messages left
by clients by
solicitors and
support staff

Solicitors and
support staff to
respond to
answerphone
messages within
24 hours.

A number of
solicitors and
support staff
are failing to
check and
respond to
their
answerphone
messages at
least 2 times
per day.

Inadequate tools and

resources: scripts, job
aids, prompts.

Resources

Lack of consequences
for failing to adhere
to answerphone
Consequences
message updating
procedures.
Lack of clear
Environmental:
expectations/standard
s in relation to
checking and
responding to
answerphone
messages. Lack of
supervision and
feedback in that
Information
regard.
Lack of answerphone
message checking
and response
procedures setting out Resources
standard timeframes.
Inadequate time to
deal with
answerphone
messages due to high
workload.

Resources

Lack of consequences
for failing to adhere
Consequences
to answerphone
message updating
Individual:
procedures.
Large workloads
could be resulting in
solicitors affording
answerphone
message answering
being a low priority
as the task does not
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Motivation

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Failure to
provide
reception
desk staff
with timely
updates

Poor/abrupt
telephone
manner:
reception
desk staff

Solicitors and
support staff to
provide regular
updates to
reception desk
staff regarding
times out of the
office.

Members of
reception desk
staff to deal with
incoming callers
in a friendly
manner. Where
callers are
contentious or
difficult, they are
to be dealt with
politely and
transferred to
either their
solicitor or the
designated
complaints

EDCI 528

Many
solicitors and
support staff
are failing to
provide
regular
updates
resulting in
the reception
desk diary
being out of
date. Thus,
clients are
being
provided with
conflicting
information
regarding
solicitors
whereabouts.

require immediate
attention.
Lack of clear
expectations/standard
s in relation to
updating reception
desk staff with diary
information. Lack of
supervision and
feedback in that
regard.
Lack of reception
desk diary updating
procedures.

Environmental:

Information

Resources

Lack of consequences
for failing to adhere
to reception desk
Consequences
diary updating
procedures.
Individual:

Large workloads
could be resulting in
solicitors, support
staff and reception
desk staff affording
reception desk diary
updating a low
priority.
Reception
Lack of clear
desk staff are expectations/standard
arguing with
s in relation to
difficult
dealing with difficult
clients and, on clients. Lack of
a number of
supervision and
occasions,
feedback in that
have hung up regard.
on them midcall.
Lack of difficult
client call handling
procedures.

Motivation
Environmental:

Information

Resources

Inadequate reception
desk staff to deal with
high call volume
Resources
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EDCI 528

officer for help

with their issue.

resulting in
frustration.
Lack of consequences
for inappropriate
Consequences
telephone handling
behavior.
Individual:
Lack of knowledge
and skills in relation
to dealing with
difficult clients over
the telephone.
Intolerant/impatient/
argumentative
personality types

Skills and
knowledge

Capacity

Table 2.

Performance Gaps Investigation

Performance gap:
Technique/tool for further
Description
investigation
Delayed call answering at Analysis of existing equipment
reception desk

What you hope to learn

Is there a call waiting system
in place and how does it
operate? Is the system
adequate to deal with the call
volume?

Analysis of existing data

Review of existing complaints
will reveal the major issues
clients are experiencing with
call waiting times.
Analysis of existing
documentation

Review of standard telephone

answering polices/procedures
will reveal whether
expectations are clearly stated.
What supervision and support
is provided to reception desk
staff?

Structured interviews
Interviews with reception desk
staff will clarify whether they
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PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

Reception desk staff

taking inadequate
information from clients
over the phone

EDCI 528

Analysis of existing
documentation and resources

are experiencing issues with

keeping up with high call
volume, staffing level issues,
their understanding of
expectations, knowledge gaps
and equipment issues.
Review of standard telephone
answering policies/procedures
will reveal whether
expectations in relation to
adequate information are
clearly stated. Are standard
information forms, job aids or
prompts available to assist
reception desk staff?

Structured interviews

Reception desk staff

taking inaccurate
information from clients
over the phone

Review of existing equipment

Review of existing
documentation and resources

Confusing
generic/outdated
answerphone greetings
on solicitors and support
staff telephones

Analysis of existing
documentation

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Interviews with reception desk

staff will clarify whether they
are aware of the information
they are supposed to be taking
(knowledge gaps) and will
reveal other reasons for failure
adequate information.
Review of telephone
equipment will assist to
ascertain whether the
performance gap is due to
problems in that regard.
Review of standard telephone
answering policies/procedures
will reveal whether
expectations in relation to
gathering correct information
over the phone are clearly
stated. Are standard
information forms, job aids or
prompts available to assist
reception desk staff?
Review of the answerphone
messages of solicitors and
support staff as they are will
help to reveal the scope of the
problem.

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EDCI 528

Review of existing
documentation and resources

Delays/failures to
respond to answerphone
messages left by clients
by solicitors and support
staff

Analysis of existing
documentation

Structured interviews

Interviews with solicitors and

support staff will clarify the
reasons behind late responses
to answerphone messages
when they occur such as low
prioritization of the task due to
high workload.
Interviews with clients will
reveal additional useful
information relating to the
scope of the issues such as
answerphone response wait
times, impact and frequency.

Client survey

Out of date reception

desk diary

Review of standard
answerphone
policies/procedures will reveal
whether expectations in
relation to information to be
provided in answerphone
messages are clearly stated. If
procedures and policies are in
place, how are they enforced?
What are the consequences for
non-compliance?
Review of standard
answerphone
policies/procedures will reveal
whether expectations in
relation to answerphone
message response times are
clearly stated. If procedures
and policies are in place, how
are they enforced? What are
the consequences for noncompliance?

Analysis of existing
documentation and resources

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Review of the office diary and

comparison with solicitors
diaries will reveal the scope of
the issue, particularly which
solicitors are failing to provide
regular updates. How do
solicitors keep their diaries
presently (paper/electronic?)

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

Poor/abrupt telephone
manner: reception desk
staff

EDCI 528

Analysis of existing
documentation

Observation

is there a standardized
procedure in place across the
firm? Is there a more efficient
system or automated updating
system available such as
linking solicitors electronic
diaries to a central reception
desk diary?
Review of standard
policies/procedures related to
dealing with difficult clients
will reveal whether
expectations in that regard are
clearly stated. If procedures
and policies are in place, how
are they enforced? What are
the consequences for noncompliance? What call
handling training has been
received by reception desk
staff, and when?
Observing reception desk staff
handling calls will reveal the
scope of the problem by
helping to identify which
reception desk staff are
causing the problem as well as
any knowledge gaps that may
lead to the development of
some training to address the
same.

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