Managing Innovation and Continuous Improvement at ABC Contact Centre

This report analyzes the continuous improvement strategies of ABC Contact Centre Services Pty Limited, an Australian contact center. It begins with a business review, outlining the company's scope, strategic and operational goals, and monitoring practices. The report includes a supply chain overview, PESTLE and SWOT analyses to assess the internal and external business environments. Variances between organizational plans and performance are identified, and recommendations for technological improvements and areas needing improvement are provided. The second part of the report focuses on the implementation of continuous improvement, detailing the scope, objectives, stakeholders, communication strategies, operational activities, risk management, and cost-benefit analysis of a proposed plan using the PDCA approach. The report also includes a project management policy and major initiative approval process.

Table of Contents
I. Purpose of the Report.................................................................................................
Purpose of the Report
II. Business Review........................................................................................................
Scope
Strategic and operational goals
Monitoring and Evaluation practices
Supply Chain
Operations
PESTLE - Overview
SWOT Analysis
Variances
III. Recommendations......................................................................................................
Technology
Opportunities for improvement

Purpose of the Report
Purpose of the Report
Business organisations in order to sustain in the market adopt continuous improvement strategies. The
concept of continuous improvement has gained great importance in the business operations of business
companies to maintain their respective market positions. The purpose of the report is to explore the
continuous improvement strategies of business organisations. The business organisation taken into
consideration for the study is ABC Contact Centre Services Pty Limited which provided contact services to
small and medium sized enterprises in Australia.
Business Review
Scope
The scope of evaluation process in to evaluate the current operations of ABC to point out an area which can
be improved. The analysis of the case study shows that the company needs to improve its technological
structure to be able to be capable of handling more numbers of calls.
Strategic and operational goals
The current strategic and operational goals of ABC is to offer improved contact management solutions to
companies at affordable rates. The company aimed to ensure achievement of higher levels of customer
satisfaction by providing services which would surpass client expectations. The company aims to gain market

leadership in contact services providing industry.
Monitoring and Evaluation practices
ABC has a very strong quality monitoring and evaluation practices. The departmental
heads were responsible for conducting quality audit and present the same before the
management. The management of the company monitored every customer feedback and
took steps on the same.
Supply Chain
The supply chain of ABC expands both upstream and downstream. Upstream the supply chain consisted of
firms which provide the company with the hardware and software required to install the contact set ups. The
downstream supply chain of the company consisted of its business partners which enabled it to provide
services to the medium and small scale firms.

ABC Contact Centre Services
Pty Limited
Medium and small scale companies
Third party
firms Third party
firms
Third party
firms
Suppliers of
software
Suppliers of
hardware
Suppliers of video
conferencing
systems tec
Operations
An analysis of the operations of the organisation (high level, focusing on key departments- for example,
delivery system, manufacturing, current technology in use or customer service). Think broadly, for example,
include an analysis of the organisational structure, professional development and leadership as key factors
impacting operations in the company.
Min. 100 words.
The operations of ABC commences under the leadership of the chief executive officer who
is advised by the board of directors. The key department of the company consists of sales
and marketing, HR, contact centre and finance. Each of these department functions under
the leadership of its manager. The managers in turn in turn report to the directors and CEO.

The systems and IT manager supervised the installations. The company is not a
manufacturing company but a service providing firm so does not have a manufacturing
department. The company is strong in terms of technology but its technology is not strong
enough to support its growing business. The organisational structure of the company
operates under the strong leadership of the CEO The company provides professional
development to its employees.
PESTLE - Overview
Include the summary of a PESTLE analysis with a focus on trends, innovation, technology constraints, and
competitive landscape. Include at least two points of analysis for each PESTLE category. Be specific (for
example, do not just mention tax policy under economic, specify what tax policy you refer to).
PESTLE Analysis
Political Australia is politically strong.
The country has strong relationship with most of the countries in the world.
Economic Highly GDP which means that companies in the country are experiencing high
productivity. This means more demand for contract centres and hence, business for
contact centre service providing companies like ABC.
Social Highly dynamic society with people of both Australian and foreign origin.
Technology Technologically advanced with global IT companies having presence in the market.

PESTLE Analysis
However data security issues are increasing.
Legal Australian legal system is extremely strict and companies have to comply.
Breach of laws are dealt with very strictly by the government.
Environmental The government has formed central environmental laws which business
organisations have to comply with.
SWOT Analysis
Include the detailed summary of a SWOT analysis with a focus on factors and issues related to innovation and
continuous improvement (for example obsolete processes or technology in use in the company). The SWOT
builds on the analysis undertaken for the internal and external business environment in this document. Identify
at least 4 factors/section.
You can include a VoC review in this analysis.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths 1. Strong leadership.
2. Well established organisational structure
3. Organisational structure aligned business requirement.

SWOT Analysis
4. Organisation is inclined towards improvement process.
Weaknesses 1. Not listed on stock exchanges.
2. Limited financial strength
3. Technology not strong enough to support entire business needs.
4. Weaker compared to rivals.
Opportunities 1. Company should get listed.
2. Market its products
3. Foreign expansion
4. Innovation
Threats 1. Strict competition
2. Data theft issues increasing
Variances
Identify and evaluate any variance between organisational strategies/plans/objectives and current

organisational performance. (Minimum 2 variances should be identified)
The two variances are:
1. Variance between required and actual level of technology.
2. Variance between target and actual revenue earned.
Recommendations
Once you have gathered a clear understanding of the business operations, you are ready to identify
opportunities for innovation and continuous improvement in the company.
Complete the sections below.
Technology
Recommend technology and e-commerce opportunities (if e-commerce opportunities are relevant to the
organisation) to support improvements in the company.
Mention any specialist advice that you may have sought in evaluating those opportunities.
1. The company should install technology owned by multinational companies like Microsoft.

2. The company should offer online services.
Opportunities for improvement
Based on your analysis, provide recommendations on what areas of the organisation need to be improved
and why (at least 5).
Include a recommendation on more effective strategies that could be established to monitor and evaluate
performance and sustainability of company’s key operational systems and processes.
The areas of improvement are staffing, technology, marketing, HRM and CSAT.

Table of Contents
IV. Purpose......................................................................................................................
V. Implementation...........................................................................................................
Objectives
Consultation with pertinent stakeholders
Operational Activities
Risk Management Strategy
Legal and Regulatory requirements
Staff engagement and resistance to change

Monitoring and Control
Integration
Evaluation
Purpose and background
Address the following:
 Brief statement on the purpose of implementation document.
 An outline of the reasons why the CI intervention is undertaken.
 The CI approach that has been chosen (example: DMAIC or PDCA) and reason for choosing that
approach
Min. 100 words
Statement of purpose:
The purpose of the project would be continuous improvement. The case study already reveals that ABC
requires upgrading its technology to serve its business needs. The continuous improvement plan would aim to
bring about up gradation of the technology to integrate the technology used by various departments.
The reasons for taking up of CI intervention at ABC are:
1. Meet the future business needs of the company.
2. Meet requirements of clients.
3. Maximise customer satisfaction.
4. Maximise revenue generation.
The chosen approach would be PDCA. The approach would be able the company to channelize its resources

towards CI without bearing immense expenses.
Implementation
Scope and objectives
Address the following:
 Scope of the CI initiative (what is included and what is excluded from scope.
The scope of CI would include technological integration but exclude other operations like marketing
 Objectives of the implementation of the CI initiative. Outline at least 3 SMART objectives.
1. Meet the future business needs of the company.
2. Meet requirements of clients.
3. Maximise customer satisfaction.
4. Maximise revenue generation.
Stakeholders
Register of stakeholders that will be involved in the CI intervention, including their role and responsibilities.
Use the table below and add additional rows if needed.
Min. 5 stakeholders must be identified.

Stakeholder Group or individual Role and Responsibility in the CI intervention
Management Form decisions and strategies on CI
Employees Execution of strategies
Government Forming laws
Customers Offering feedback to encourage innovation
Banks Provide loans
Communication and engagement
Address the following:
 Describe how stakeholders will be engaged in the delivery of the plan
Stakeholders would be engaged by meeting.
 Outline a high-level communication strategy to promote the CI initiative, to inform all parts involved of
progress towards achievement of set objectives and to support the successful implementation of the
plan
Min. 150 words.
Continuous Improvement plan at
ABC and implementation
KPIs (at
least
2/activity)
Roles and
Responsibilities
(who performs
the activity and
who is
accountable)
Estimated
cost and
Resource
Requirements
Timeline
for
completion
Activity
Nos
Implementation activities
particulars Months
Step 1
Managers
and
employes
To be
estimated 3

1.1
Apex managers of ABC
holds meeting with middle
level managers on the CI to
be implemented informing
them about the urgency to
be created among the
lower level employees
Profits Managers
and
employes
1
1.2
Finance department places
the budget for approval of
the apex management to
create
Profits Managers
and
employes
To be
estimated 1
1.3
Apex management
approves change
management
implementation budget
Profits Managers
and
employes 1
Step 2 Profits Managers
and
employes
To be
estimated 7
2.1
Management sets up
continuous improvement
teams
Profits Managers
and
employes
2
2.2
Apex management holds
meeting with the
shareholders
Profits Managers
and
employes
To be
estimated 1
2.3
Apex management holds
meeting with bank officials
to apply for loan to support
technological
advancements
Profits Managers
and
employes 2
2.4
Bank approves loan
amount
Profits Managers
and
employes
To be
estimated 2
Step 3 Profits Managers
and
employes
2
3.1
Management of ABC sets
up vision
Profits Managers
and
employes
To be
estimated 2
Step 4 Profits Managers
and
employes
1
4.1
Departmental heads hold
meetings with their
individual reporting
employees to communicate
the vision
Profits Managers
and
employes
To be
estimated
1
Step 5 Profits Managers
and
employes
4
5.1
Training of managers,
assisstant managers
Profits Managers
and
To be
estimated 2

employes
5.2
Training of sub-ordinate
employees
Profits Managers
and
employes
2
Step 6 Profits Managers
and
employes
To be
estimated 6
6.1
Creation of short term
goals
Profits Managers
and
employes
6
Step 7 Profits Managers
and
employes
To be
estimated 6
7.1
Achieving continuous
goals
Profits Managers
and
employes
6
Step 8
Profits Managers
and
employes
To be
estimated 30
8.1
New CI become parts of
ABC operations
Profits Managers
and
employes
12
8.2
Monitoring of the
implementation outcomes
Profits Managers
and
employes
To be
estimated 12
8.3
Further actions Profits Managers
and
employes
6
Operational Activities
Key operational activities needed to implement the CI initiative. Identify at least 5 key activities.
Mentioned above.
Shown above

Key Activity KPIs (at least
2/activity)
Roles and
Responsibilities
(who performs the
activity and who is
accountable)
Estimated cost
and Resource
Requirements
Timeline for
completion
Budget and cost benefits analysis
Address the following:
 Based on the estimated costs and resources identified in the operational activities section, provide an
overall estimate of the budget needed to implement the CI initiative.
 Include any contingency budget that has been planned to manage unforeseen circumstances.
 Include the summary of the cost-benefit analysis that you have performed for the CI initiative. The
summary should include:
o List of key costs with a total $ estimate –Material costs, HRM costs-$100000
o List of key benefits with a total $ benefits-Sales of services-$1000000
o Formula: Total $Benefits- Total $ Costs-$900000

o A qualitative evaluation of the analysis (a short paragraph)
ABC would experience higher profits due to higher level of customer satisfaction. The company
should embrace continuous CI to maximise profits.
Risk Management Strategy
Identify high and medium level risks of the CI intervention and plan for risk response. Please note that the risk
response should be detailed (for example, just saying: mitigation of risk, is not satisfactory).
Identify min. 5 risks.
Risk description
Risk Probability
Risk
Impact
Risk rating
Strategy to manage risk - overview
Political risks High High High Changing policies as per political factors
Economic risks High High High Adaptation
Social risks High High High Adaptation
Technological risks High High High Adaptation
Legal risks High High High Adaptation
Environmental risks High High High Adaptation
Support
Develop a strategy to support employees during the implementation of the CI initiative. The strategy must

include:
 A training strategy to support staff in the implementation of the CI intervention and in achieving the
planned objectives
 A transition plan that focuses on managing barriers to change and on mitigating the impact of
resistance to change
Min. 150 words.
Employed should be provided training during the CI plan.
Evaluation
Develop a strategy to evaluate the CI initiative during its implementation and after. The strategy must include:
 A plan to regularly monitor the implementation of the CI initiative
 Evaluation methods to assess the effectiveness of the initiative post-implementation
 A strategy to capture learning from activities to inform future work
Min. 150 words.
The CI strategy should be regularly monitored.
Contingency planning
Develop a contingency plan in the event of non-performance of the CI initiative (post-implementation)
A contingency plan should be made.