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NQR 2008 CLIENT CONFERENCE

 

September 23-24, 2008
Service Excellence:   Focusing on the Customer
Location:	Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center 200 Seaport Boulevard Boston, MA 02210
The NQR Client Conference is an interactive, two-day meeting held in the World Trade Center Boston with NQR clients who manage customer service centers, processing operations divisions, and quality teams.  The conference provides senior, middle, and line managers with opportunities to discuss service issues, regulatory requirements, and industry trends; exchange practical solutions to industry-wide service challenges; network with peers; and discuss strategies for service quality management.

Conference Preview  

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

7:45-8:30 Continental Breakfast & Registration 

8:30-4:15 Conference Sessions

Keynote Address

The Quality Epiphany - Guiding Expectations

If the basic formula for quality is customer satisfaction, and  customer satisfaction is interpreted as meeting customer expectations, then you can either chase the customer’s perception of what quality is or lead the criteria by which customers choose your product.  Don Holly, Director of Corporate Quality and Materials for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR), will share GMCR’s approach to guiding customer expectations and their internal systems for driving and measuring their success in delivering product and service quality, and developing strong brand loyalty.

Don Holly, a Certified Quality Manager from ASQ, is focused on the establishment and management of standards and specifications for products and processes, as well as training customer-facing personnel on coffee knowledge.  GMCR is recognized as a leader in the specialty coffee industry for its award-winning coffees and successful business practices.  While the majority of the company's revenue is derived from its wholesale, direct mail, and e-commerce operations, it also owns Keurig, a pioneer of gourmet single-cup brewing systems.  GMCR has been ranked No. 1 on the list of "100 Best Corporate Citizens" for the past two years and has been recognized repeatedly by Forbes, Fortune Small Business, and the Society for Human Resource Management as an innovative, high-growth, socially responsible company.

Best Practices/Service Excellence Roundtables (concurrent session)

What are best practices for achieving service quality excellence?  This year’s conference will host two concurrent workshops for call center and processing managers.  In each workshop, clients can join roundtable discussions with other clients whose service model best fits their own.  Both a 5-Star manager and an NQR moderator/note taker will be available at each table for a free-form dialogue on best practices.  All clients can freely move from table to table and join other discussions.

Understanding Service Quality Metrics                 (general session)

Learn how to gain meaningful insight from data, graphs, and performance reports to achieve service excellence.

First Contact/Call Resolution and Its Critical Impact on Customer Satisfaction                              (concurrent session A)

As a customer, when you call a service provider, do you expect all of your questions to be answered on the first call, or do you expect to have to call back time and time again? 

Learn how First Contact/Call Resolution is becoming one of the leading metrics in determining whether the customer’s expectations of service quality have been met.  A panel of NQR clients will discuss their quality initiatives and processes for measuring First Contact/Call Resolution and how they are using this critical metric to improve customer satisfaction.

Processing Challenges:  Strategies for Minimizing Not-in-Good-Order Transactions                       (concurrent session B)

If you did not have to deal with the challenges created by transaction requests that are not-in-good-order (NIGO), how would you spend your days?  Throughout the service operation, managers and staff struggle with understanding why NIGOs occur, resolving NIGOs efficiently, and identifying ways to reduce their volume.

Join your peers in a brainstorming session and workshop focused on these questions:

• What are the biggest drivers for NIGOs in your organizations, and what strategies have you identified to address these issues?

• What are your workflows for resolving NIGOs?

• What future steps do you anticipate will help you eliminate NIGOs?

Through small group discussion, followed by facilitated sharing of ideas, participants will be able to identify current best practices and additional opportunities for continuing to reduce NIGO volumes.

Breakout Sessions 

Three open forums with clients discussing service quality successes and challenges within call center, processing operation, and correspondence divisions.

4:30- 6:30pm - NQR Cocktail Reception 

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

7:30-8:00 Continental Breakfast

8:00-3:30 Conference Sessions

Concierge Service Philosophy

(general session)

Deb Benjamin, Senior Manager, Member Service Delivery at Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts, will present their concierge service philosophy of focusing on the customer to deliver service quality excellence.

Forensic Testing:  What is your Data Trying to Tell You? (concurrent session A)

Certain recent activities within the financial services industry have resulted in increased scrutiny by government regulatory agencies.  Forensic testing is being used within organizations to quickly identify, track, and analyze potential fraudulent activities.  This session will provide the background on forensic testing relative to these events and explore how forensic testing has evolved within the financial services arena.  The panelists will discuss how forensic testing is being used within their organizations, and share their experiences regarding the challenges and successes of implementing forensic testing programs.

IRA Rollovers/Capturing Retirement Distributions (concurrent session B)

Seventy-six million Baby Boomers will soon be retiring, creating a rollover wave of $467 billion by 2010.  However, providers are able to retain only 21% of these distributable assets.  This panel will present these demographics and the public policy perspective regarding the billions of dollars in retirement accounts which will soon be eligible for distribution as Baby Boomers reach retirement age.  The panel participants will also discuss the challenges that custodians will face in providing advice to these millions of retirees and their efforts toward retaining the assets within existing accounts or Rollover IRAs.  The panelists will also share experiences with implementing strategic solutions.

Reporting Workshops

Join these concurrent workshops to learn how to effectively manage the use of NQR data for coaching, global process improvement, and meeting customer expectations.

Lifecycle Approach to Employee Development

(general session)

This session will explore the process of recruiting, training, and preparing employees for a career in financial services.  The panelists will share best practices of training methodologies, such as virtual training, on-the-job training, and instructor-led training.  This panel will focus on strategies for increasing tenure and improving job satisfaction, such as continuing education, career pathing, mentoring, lateral job promotions, and NASD licensing.

Attracting, Retaining, and Empowering the New Generation (general session)

Dianne M. Durkin, President and Founder of The Loyalty Factor, LLC, will explore the corporate cultures that will land the most desirable candidates.  She will discuss how to improve employee retention levels and how to motivate the younger generation through stimulation, rewards, and recognition.  Work-life balance is critical for the new generation; come to this session and learn what these work-life balance needs are and what can be done to meet them. 

3:15pm - Closing Comments

We welcome your suggestions for breakout session topics.