Management Alan

Management Alan

Alan Ram - Dealership Management Training

Does Joe Kinnear deserve a permanent position at Newcastle?

When Joe got the job originally I was a little disappointed with all negative comments coming from the media, and football supporters all over the uk. When I first heard the news I was delighted !! Being Irish i'm obviously a little biased, but I did genuinely think he would steady the ship. Several games later and Newcastle look to be playing decent football again and more importantly they are winning games. Should Joe be kept on permantly or perhaps kept on in a management 'dream team' with alan shearer?? Any thoughts???

Too soon for 'permanent' but it would be a shame if having made an impact he isn't allowed to continue until end of this season so as to consolidate. All managers can be sacked at any time so it's no big risk if recent improvements are short-lived and Newcastle terminate a short-term spell. They'll be looking for a long-term replacement (probably Shearer) but that gives Kinnear time to stake a claim.

The Failure of CRM Systems in the Management of Domestic and Commercial Kerbside Collection/waste Management Operations

The Problem

I have met many refuse collection managers over the last twelve months whom are dissatisfied and quietly fuming into their RCVs about the overselling of CRM into local authorities.

Many of them have been told that the corporate CRM will provide not only all the ‘front end’ citizen facing functionality required – logging a missed bin call, providing rounds information - but also the ‘back end’ operational management functionality – rectification jobs, bin maintenance schedule, Duty of Care Certificates, cesspool emptying rounds, split billing, etc. But after the initial implementation in the call centre many refuse managers are left waiting, and waiting, and waiting for back end functionality that never arrives!!!

Councils face significant challenges to improve efficiency, handling an increasing number and variety of transactions at first point of contact. A CRM system sounds like the perfect answer – on the face of it.

Just one example of how CRM is failing refuse managers is in the area of Special/Bulky Collections. Simply taking a call and emailing a service request for a special/bulky collection to the depot can be fraught with problems. What if:

• the bulky items consist of an oversize fridge and a sofa which requires different vehicles

• the vehicle has capacity for just one ‘normal’ size item on the allotted day

Another example relates to the age old ‘missed bin’ complaint. When a citizen calls the contact centre at 10am saying that the morning kerbside collection round missed the bin most call centre operatives log it without question then send the information to the depot. In reality, the bin “was not presented” or was “contaminated with garden waste) which had been logged on the paper round sheet but still with the driver on the round at 10am!

The Answers

So what is the answer? An interface between the CRM system and a specialist waste management solution with a mobile (PDA or similar) module (see diagram below) will enable a ‘joined-up’ service ensuring that, at first point of contact, the citizen and CRM operative can agree an appointed service, with the appropriate vehicle as well as having the very latest details of how the kerbside round is progressing in ‘real time’ – so no more missed bins (unless they are genuine)!

But how do heads of service resist the pressure to rely solely on a ‘corporate call centre’? I think the answer is to learn from the experience of others perhaps through APSE or PSNet, obtain evidence of the failings of CRM, and develop a business case for a specialist waste management system to operate in tandem with the CRM.

Only through integration between a specialist waste management system and CRM can waste management departments provide a true ‘joined-up’ service providing the citizen with ‘closure’ at first point of contact.

About the Author

Alan Paget is the Uniclass Waste Management Business Manager at Brighton
based ROCC Computers. The Uniclass Division of ROCC Computers provide
repairs and maintenance systems,
waste management software and
sales order processing software to SME’s, local authorities and housing
associations. For more details visits the company website at
www.rocc.com/solutions

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