Telesellers were monitored and given targets for:
• number of outgoing calls
• number of incoming calls
• number of internal calls
• time on the telephone
• percentage time on outgoing calls
With what purpose? The manager thought she could improve performance. How? By identifying low performers and spending time with them.
How does she know two performances are different? How does she know they are not caused by common-cause variation – variation that is in the system?
Why does she not measure revenue? Isn’t that the purpose of telesales? Improving performance can only come from action on the system. The current measures will only maintain the status quo (and worsen morale).