Human Relation Consultant Role

Scenario: You are a group of Human Relation Consultants and have recently received a request by a consumer retailer with call centers in the Northeast to examine the relationship between workstation features in those facilities and the comfort and performance of its customer service representatives (CSRs) . This is your first meeting with the client.

The Challenge: Customer service representatives spend virtually all of their work time within their workstations. They have high workload demands that require accuracy and speed, but they also have limited control over their work process. These job characteristics put them at risk for various health problems and can limit their performance. Since the health and performance of these employees has a direct impact on customer satisfaction, retention and company profits, even a small improvement in their effectiveness can have a significant influence on business success. The retailer viewed this project as an opportunity to understand how workstation design features affect CSR performance and determine how best to optimize its spaces.

Your Role: You have never had any interaction with this client before. Your knowledge of this organization comes from the information provided by the client. You believe that your research can help understand the client how workstation design features affect CSR performance and determine how best to optimize its spaces. Your primary objectives of the entry meeting are to determine which units of the organization will participate in the research and to determine whether you and the client can reach agreement about their respective roles during data collection and feedback.

First Meeting: Begin the meeting by collecting information on the company’s set up and challenges. Ask all necessary questions that will help you to propose research strategy to address the clients concerns.

Second Meeting: You will have to propose and explain a data collection strategy. Do you propose an inductive or deductive approach? Will you collect qualitative or quantitative data? Explain your choices to your client. Tell your client why you think your strategy will be beneficial to their organization. Offer to answer any questions. Respond to their concerns, but remember, your goal is to convince them to reach an agreement.

Assignment: Short role play questions/answers related to consultant role:
Client Role

Scenario: You are a group of board members of the consumer retail company. Sales have been going down in the past two years, and you want to examine the relationship between workstation features in your call center facilities and the comfort and performance of its customer service representatives (CSRs).

Setting: Your company owns 10 call center across the North East. The work processes, technology system and size and demographics of the employee populations are similar at all of these 10 locations. The primary function of the CSR jobs at these call centers is to take merchandise orders over the phone and process the orders at a computer. Workstations at both sites use a 48 square foot layout with panel-based systems furniture. However, at five of the locations the workstations have 84″ panel heights and the other five location use a 62” panel height. The original intention of the sites with the higher panel heights was to provide greater acoustic privacy for CSRs. At all sites, the workstations use a variety of task chairs and work tools: monitor height supports, keyboard and mouse trays, paper racks with movable shelves and trays, and adjustable task lights. But there was no set standard for the seating or work tools, and use of them varied widely at all locations. This is your first meeting with the consultant.

Your role: As board members you want to understand how workstation design features affect CSR performance and, thus, profit. You also have an interest in decreasing high turn-around among your employees and are, thus, interested in the overall comfort and satisfaction with workstation features of your employees.

First Meeting: Explain the setting and your company’s interest in hiring a consultant. What problem do you expect the consultant to address? Respond to their questions to the best of your ability.
Second Meeting: Listen to what the consultants say. Ask them how their proposed research strategy is going to help solve the challenge the company faces. Ask them why you should hire them. Ask them if they have a working hypothesis they can share. Ask any other questions that seems relevant..

Assignment: Short role play questions and answers to client role:
Worksheet

Discuss each of the questions listed below and write in your responses. When you have finished answering the questions, be sure to sign the bottom.

1) Based on the interaction you just had, do you think you will hire the consultant(s)? Why or why not?

2) How did the Human Relation Consultants feel about the board members concerns? Were you able to gather all information necessary to come up with a research strategy? Are there other questions you think you should have asked?

3) How did the organizational members feel about the Human Relation Consultants proposal? Was it convincing? Is the proposed plan going to answer the entire question or only parts? If only parts, what part is answered? What part is left unanswered? Did they propose to ask right people to collect data?

4) What would have made this interaction go smoother? How could the two groups reach an agreement?