Rogers Communications Inc.

Moncton Customer Care Center

Company Description

Rogers Communications Inc. is a diversified Canadian communications and media company.

It is engaged in cable television, high-speed Internet access and video retailing through Canada's largest cable television provider, Rogers Cable Inc.; in wireless voice and data communications services through Canada's leading national GSM/GPRS wireless provider, Rogers Wireless Inc.; and in radio, television broadcasting, televised shopping and publishing businesses through Rogers Media Inc.

Contact Center Description

The Moncton Customer Care Centre is an integral part of the national service and sales delivery channel for the Rogers Group of Companies. One of eight in the Rogers Customer Care Centre network, the Moncton Centre supports the company's wireless (wireless phones and data devices) and cable (digital cable and high-speed Internet) divisions.

The Centre resides in a two-storey building near Moncton's downtown core utilizing 35,000 sq. ft. of office space. There is a main reception area on the first floor with elevators to the second floor atrium. Opening in 2002, the Moncton Centre handles calls from across Canada. All calls are inbound, except when a Customer Service Consultant (CSC) or Manager is required to call a customer back as a follow-up to a customer request.

All lines into the centre are open seven days per week and the hours of operation are:

• Rogers Wireless Support: 7a.m. – 1 a.m.
• Rogers Cable Support: 7 a.m. – 12:00 a.m.
• Rogers Hi-Speed Internet Support: 7 a.m. – 11:15 p.m.

The physical workplace in the Centre displays a variety of motivating and CCEOC qualities. Decorated in bright, motivating colours, the Centre is very clean and has a modern feel. There are windows all around the outside of the building providing plenty of natural light and front-line staff are positioned on the perimeter near the windows with management and support personnel located in the centre of the floor. Managers' offices have glass walls and sliding glass doors. Washrooms are also located in the middle of the work area for easy accessibility. Coat closets are divided – one for employees who smoke and one for employees who do not smoke. A large corridor leads to coaching rooms that are also used for interviewing or other small meetings. Employees decorated the Coaching Rooms in various themes and gave them fun names such as: The 1970's Room, Lagoon of Learning and The Mafia Room. This helps make the coaching experience more relaxed and enjoyable. There are three training rooms on the first floor. Two are larger rooms with dividing walls used to convert them into two smaller rooms. The boardroom can also be used as a training room, when necessary.

The lunch room is a beautiful facility that provides employees with an area in which to socialize and relax. Refrigerators, microwave ovens, vending machines (offering candy, chips, frozen food and fresh cooked French fries), comfortable seating, a jukebox and Internet ready computers are all readily available to employees in the lunch room. The Centre also has a Sick Room for employees to use when feeling ill.

Just outside the building, employees have regular access to a picnic area and designated areas for smokers and non-smokers.

Moncton has a hierarchical organizational structure, with some distributed management functions. The Vice President is responsible for all the operational, strategic and structural components. The Vice President reports to the Senior Vice President, Customer Care who is located in Toronto. There are four Directors reporting to the Centres' Vice President: two Directors of Rogers Wireless Customer Support, a Director of Rogers Cable support and Director of Operations support. Team Managers for each line of business report to the Directors. In the Wireless and Cable areas, there are 8 – 10 Team Managers reporting to a Director and 15 – 18 CSCs reporting to a Team Manager. Altogether, there are approximately 400 full-time and 60 non-management personnel at the Moncton site. Under Operations Support, there are a number of functional units including: Intensive Coaching Unit (ICU), Scheduling, Quality Assurance, Training, Project Management and Communications. Rogers Shared Services IT (RSSIT) provides technical support and reports to an on-site Manager and a Director, both located in Moncton. A dedicated facilities person reports to the Facilities Director. A Human Resources Advisor, a Human Resources Coordinator and two Recruiters manage Human Resources functions in Moncton. The Human Resources group reports to the National Director of Human Resources for Customer Care located in Toronto.

Rogers Communications Inc. has achieved the prestigious Contact Center Employer of Choice™ (CCEOC) Gold level award for its Customer Care Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. This is the first east coast call centre to achieve the designation. The award differentiates the Moncton site as one of the best contact center operations to work for in North America.

Rogers Communications Inc. participated in the CCEOC program to identify areas of opportunity to improve employee performance and satisfaction and elevate the status of their Customer Care operations.

Specific areas of focus included:

• Re-enforce and build on their position as an employer of choice
• Attract the best, right-fit candidates
• Motivate employees
• Improve performance
• Develop more effective communications between management and staff

Becoming certified through The Contact Centre Employer of Choice™ program allows the Moncton site to benefit from promoting the designation and helps to identify new opportunities for developing continuous improvement programs.

Key Performance Measures

The top five measures for performance include:

• Quality of Service
• Employee Satisfaction
• Productivity – Average Call Handle Time (AHT), Loading, Service Level, Occupancy, Wrap-up
• Employee Turnover
• First Call Resolution

Technology and Ergonomics

Moncton uses Avaya ACD, IVR and CTI (Screen pop for CSCs with Cx Information) technologies. TSC workforce management software (E-Workforce, Real-time Adherence, Employee Self-Service Products) is used along with, Skill Based Routing, E-Witness (quality system) and company web sites and Intranets. Various product and services (Power Play, Impromptu) software applications and Microsoft products are utilized in the centre.

CSC workstations are large and arranged in double sided, angled rows. Team Manager workstations are at the end of the row. Lots of rounded edges give an organic feel to the office. Workstation partitions are low – 1.6 metres – for CSCs and slightly higher for Team Managers. Each workstation is equipped with a state-of-the-art computer and telephone with headset. Computer keyboard height is adjustable for people that prefer to stand or have other special requirements. Ergonomic chairs, gel mouse pads and wrist supports are provided to help alleviate physical stress and repetitive strain injuries. Each representative has access to a lockable file cabinet on wheels. CSCs are allowed to decorate and personalize their workstations to help add a personal touch to the office landscape.

Growth Prospects

The Moncton Customer Care Centre has continually grown its operations over the past two years and is not planning to outsource. Decisions to grow the centre were based largely on salary considerations, location, infrastructure and volume of calls.

CCEOC Attributes

Balancing work with the pressures of everyday life is always a challenge. But the Rogers Moncton Customer Care Centre offers a number of options to assist employees. Employees have both flexible scheduling and shift bids that are based on seniority. Flex shifts are governed by business needs with premiums paid for off-hour shifts. A CSC needs to provide two weeks notice to change a shift. However, shifts can be adjusted with less notice for personal requirements. Schedules are rotated every three months. CSCs can work 10 hours for four days and have three days off. The scheduling team tries to accommodate two consecutive days off. There is an option for employees to call in and take that day off as vacation. Employees also have two "floater days" per year. These are great perks for CSCs if they have an unforeseen emergency. Employees also have a five-minute grace period for being late. CSCs have the ability to switch shifts with each other provided they have equal or higher qualifications and have notified their Team Manager and the scheduling department. Premiums are provided for working evening shifts. The Moncton Centre allows Managers to work from home when necessary and is very flexible in modifying schedules to accommodate people who are going to school. The Centre offers part-time hours to CSCs who return to school so they can keep their seniority and receive pro-rated benefits.

The corporate Intranet has a section with suggestions on how to balance work/life challenges, reduce stress, hormone therapy and other health and wellness issues. Management educates employees on the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and how to access services. A registered nurse is available to provide company financed vaccinations.

The entire network of Rogers Customer Care Centres follows a prescribed Storm Policy to determine if and when to close a centre due to inclement weather or an emergency situation. For instance, the Centre will pay for hotel rooms and taxi-cabs for employees who are not comfortable driving in a snow storm.

The Moncton Customer Care Centre feels strongly about giving back to the community. Money is raised for the United Way and the CIBC Run for a Cure through book sales, bake sales, car washes, penny fountains, flea markets, cookie dough sales and payroll deductions. Each employee who participates in the Run for a Cure raised approximately $100 in donations. Back-to-school supplies are donated to local schools and local food banks are supported through various food drives. Rogers' service vans are used for a number of community activities including delivering food boxes to needy people and something called Pumpkin Patrol. The Pumpkin Patrol offers a chance for Rogers employees to volunteer on Halloween to drive around neighbourhoods and help children that may need assistance. Children and parents know that they can approach a Rogers van to get help.

Other charitable activities include golf tournaments, Bring Your Kid to Work Day, community college student co-op program, SPCA Dog Jog, short term disability training for employees re-entering the workforce, free cable for the YMCA restrooms and a partnership with the provincial government for employing those with disabilities.

Rewards and Recognition are important components of the overall compensation plan for the Moncton Customer Care centre. Rewards for perfect attendance are presented on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis. Awards include small gifts from the "Goodie Box", $50 quarterly gift certificates, $100 annual gift certificates and a $1000 annual draw prize. Managers can achieve bonuses based on team and company attendance numbers. The Platinum Perch is another award handed out quarterly to employees who achieve perfect scoring in relation to various objectives including: quality, customer commendations and attendance. All eligible employees receive a certificate and a prize. At the end of the year, names are entered into a draw to win a trip. A new, points-based initiative has recently been introduced and is available to all customer contact staff. It is awarded to employees who go above and beyond their regular duties. Points are accumulated and can be redeemed for merchandise from an on-line catalogue. This is the most accessible and far reaching incentive plan introduced to date.

Social Center Culture and Social Environment

The culture in Moncton is very open, fun and friendly. They subscribe to the FISH philosophy of playing and having fun, making people's days brighter, being present and choosing their attitudes. There is a great deal of trust and respect amongst employees. A strong and supportive team environment helps employees bond and really get to know each other. There is a relaxed but professional atmosphere. Dress code is casual. On the first day for new employees, there is an activity called:

"Have you met someone new today?"

This helps new people get to know their fellow workers in a fun way. There is also a Meet & Greet for new employees to be introduced to the Vice President and Directors.

The social committee is called The Funatics. They work hard to create fun activities for staff such as: BBQs, dress up days, Holiday dinner and more. Employees get together for different activities such as needle point or playing cards. There are also yearly baseball and golf tournaments. Team outings are common and always lots of fun.

Above and Beyond Factors

Above all of the official policies, procedures and structures that make the Moncton Customer Care Centre a great place to work, employees work well together as a team and treat each other with respect. Above and Beyond refers to the little (or big) extras that differentiates the Rogers Moncton Customer Care Centre from the rest.

Here is a list of some of those extras:

• Employee-centric
• Customer-focused
• Bend over backwards to help each other
• Every employee works hard
• Shifts and scheduling are unique and flexible
• People who have left the organization always have good things to say