KPI Focus: AHT, FCR, CSAT, SLA
The Situation
A regulated services provider needed stronger control in day-to-day support delivery. The team was experienced, but policy handling and audit evidence quality varied too much across shifts.
What Wasn’t Working
The most critical gaps were:
- Policy handling was not consistent in edge cases.
- High-risk cases sat too long before escalation.
- Evidence for exception decisions was incomplete in audits.
What We Changed
We implemented a compliance-centered operating framework:
- Standardized handling flows with explicit decision checkpoints.
- Added approval-driven exception paths for sensitive actions.
- Focused QA calibration on policy adherence and documentation quality.
- Introduced weekly governance reviews tied to corrective-action owners.
What Happened
The operation became significantly more controlled.
- Policy-handling defects fell by 37%.
- Audit evidence completeness improved to 98%.
- High-risk escalation aging dropped by 42%.
The client now uses the same framework as a baseline for new program launches.
A Real Moment From the Engagement
A client stakeholder noted that policy adherence looked good in summary, but edge-case handling was inconsistent. That drove targeted governance on exception paths.
Before vs After (Operationally)
- Before: Exception decisions were made correctly but not always traceable.
- After: Sensitive actions followed approval paths with clear evidence trails.
What Changed for the Team
Supervisors had clearer confidence in compliance decisions because controls were explicit and easier to audit.
Constraints We Worked Within
- Limited time to redesign workflows without disrupting live service.
- Existing tools and reporting structures that could not be replaced immediately.
- Need to improve performance while maintaining day-to-day SLA commitments.
Tradeoffs We Made
- Prioritized highest-impact workflows first instead of trying to fix every queue at once.
- Chose repeatable process controls over one-off optimizations.
- Deferred lower-priority enhancements until baseline stability was proven.
If We Were Starting Again Today
We would still start with ownership clarity and a fast governance cadence, but we would add earlier frontline shadowing in the first two weeks to accelerate practical workflow adjustments.