Attributes of a good Operator.

In order to be a good operator, you have to excel at all of the following:

1) You must be customer obsessed, and be a customer advocate at all times.

1.1) Operators have to be focused on the output metrics that impact the final customer, and on the input metrics that enable customer success.??

1.2) Operators must listen for anecdotes, and question when anecdotes differ from metrics. Be aware that all metrics have blind spots, so inspect anecdotes to identify missed signals.

2) You must have a deep understanding of financial metrics, including rate metrics.

2.1) Operational metrics are often best described as rates - for example: # of defects per 1K units of work, over time. This requires understanding numerators and denominators.

2.2) Operators should be precise with numbers. For example understanding the difference between percentages versus percentage points versus basis points. Apply contextual judgment as to the how to round numbers - eg.?to how many decimal places, or when to round to thousands or millions.

3) Be intimately familiar with your most important processes.? You cannot innovate unless you understand your business in detail.

3.1) The best way to learn your business is through Gemba or some hands-on equivalent, such as side-by-sides.? You need to walk in the shoes of your customer, and in the shoes of your employees, in order to understand the processes.?

3.2) Gemba walks and side-by-sides are also where you will find anecdotes that disagree with your metrics. Escalations are another good source of anecdotes.??

4) Understand how to define, measure and eradicate defects in your workflow.

4.1) Be a Zombie killer! (Defects are like zombies - as soon as you kill them, you turn around and they pop right back up when you least expect it :)

5) Know how to inspect and ask probing questions, at the right time.

5.1) Good questioning is an opportunity to teach, and should get to the heart of the matter.? Don’t ask questions frivolously, or to test the knowledge of the respondent.

5.2) Be aware of the timing - only ask questions if there is sufficient time for the respondent to answer completely.

6) Know when to act decisively and with urgency.

6.1) If you understand your business in detail, and you are customer focused, you know what’s important, and what is urgent.? Act accordingly.? Operators are expected to be able to balance good judgment with high bias for action.?

7) Develop a strong bench of leaders.

7.1) This is true for all organizations, but particularly true for operators because we have to operate at scale.? You cannot scale with the growth of the business if you aren’t developing a strong bench of leaders throughout all levels of the organization.

7.2) Be proud to export talent to other teams in your company.? That means you now have an operator and an ally that you have seeded in the company, and you can be confident they will help the company grow - because operators rock!

8) Stay close to the front line, provide them a sense of purpose, and always recognize the value they provide.

8.1) The front line is where the real value is created.? This is where the moments of truth happen that define the experience your customers have.

8.2) It is your responsibility to ensure the front line understands the value they add, because it’s not always self-evident for agents who are in a transactional role.

9) Create a culture of innovation, and continuous improvement.??

9.1) Reward risk taking, even when it fails.??

9.2) Provide Tenets/Values/Principles that act as guardrails within which people can experiment.?

9.3) Encourage innovation beyond your ability to execute.

10) Care for your people and ensure their wellness.

10.1) Operators tend to lead large numbers of people. The wellbeing of all the people in our organization and anyone with whom we interact is our responsibility (including partners/vendors).

10.2) This requires having lead-to-agent ratios that allow leads to establish a personal rapport with each person on their team.

11) You must be passionate about your work, and calm about how you do your work.

11.1) Without passion at best you will achieve mediocre results.??

11.2) You must be 100% invested in your work, while remaining calm and steady at the helm - an Operator provides a sense of balance and steady assurance to those that are looking to you for direction and solutions, especially during times of urgency.

Finally, Think of Operations as a three legged stool, consisting of:

• Quality - includes everything the customers experience, plus internal processes,
• Wellness - caring for your people (and all people with whom you interact),
• Operational excellence - operating efficiently and effectively. Know the plan, deliver on the plan.

All three legs of the stool need to be equally sturdy in order to provide the foundation on which the business can grow.