The coffee urn was nearly empty and the team was still knee-deep in problems. Mr. Singh was trying to export data from his CRM solution and other systems into an excel spreadsheet to create a report that would offer analytical insight into the performance of his team and its members. Mr. Singh was the leader of the largest team working on an all-important business process outsourcing (BPO) project, and he was in desperate need of concise, clear information. The reports he needed would, in all likelihood, determine the success of the project (and whether he got the promotion he wanted) and dictate whether his team, and the organization for whom they worked, would be granted another project by the same, lucrative, client.
Mr. Singh’s team had performed admirably on their first BPO outing for this client but in order to seal the deal and get the repeat business, they had to illustrate that the team met the project deadlines and worked within the budget. The team had to produce a report that illustrated that the project outcomes were delivered within the quality standards guaranteed by the Service Level Agreement (SLA). In addition, Mr. Singh had to demonstrate that each team member abides by quality standards and performed within established guidelines, and that there was an improvement in the client’s sales performance.
The team had spent the past two days trying to compile and analyze the information they needed to create reports and design a client presentation. It was already Wednesday, and Mr. Singh was no closer to producing a cogent project report that would win over the client and ensure that the new contract and project would go forward. The critical deadline loomed large on the horizon, while, at the same time, Mr. Singh and his team had other important work to complete and were faced with mounting pressure from the Project Manager and Director of Operations.
Mr. Singh left the conference room and went outside to get some fresh air. While he was clearing his head, he ran into his friend Raghav who worked at an IT firm in the same building. Mr. Singh told his story to Raghav and Raghav took his tablet out of his briefcase and showed his friend a business intelligence solution he had been using to gather and analyze information to address one of his own upcoming projects. Mr. Singh was surprised at the sophisticated features and the ease of use of the solution. His friend explained to him that the problems of data export and integration and the issue of creating simple, intuitive reports was simply a matter of drag and drop and easy, personalized design.
Mr. Singh returned to his meeting with a clear head and a clear direction. He spoke with the Project Manager and Director of Operations and arranged for a demonstration of the business intelligence solution. There is a happy ending to Mr. Singh’s story! His team helped the company close the new contract, and Mr. Singh is now a project manager for the company and his career is flourishing. He can concentrate on revenue, quality, and competitive advantages and put aside those cumbersome spreadsheets to successfully manage his team and contribute to the bottom line of his business process outsourcing (BPO) service organization.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of Mr. Singh’s story!
