Project Charter for

East West Consultants

November 20, 2016

Project Information
Project Name and Description
In October 2016 East West Consultants completed investigations into conditions at
PJ Enterprises in order to determine customer training needs. The Project Gap
Analysis Strategy and Performance Analysis Report have been delivered to PJ
Enterprises.
On November 11, 2016 representatives of East West Consultants met with PJ
Enterprises representative Jane Mackenzie to discuss EWCs recommendations
related to reducing customer complaints. PJ Enterprises has requested that EWC

develop a digital version of their Product Guide

and design and deliver training programs in:

soft skills (Telephone Etiquette, Customer Service and Dealing with

Difficult Customers) for telephone operators and customer service
supervisors

how to use the new Product Reference Guides

The Product Reference Guide and training packages must be delivered by January
14, 2017.

Project Manager
The Project Manager for this project is Cheri MacLeod. She has been in contact
with Jane Mackenzie on a regular basis throughout the analysis and report of
findings in order to reach an agreement on the nature of the project.

Project Sponsor
The Project Sponsor for PJ Enterprises is Jane Mackenzie.

Project Charter

Stakeholders and Impact

Stakeholder
Jane Mackenzie, Project
Sponsor

Responsibilities and Impact on the

Project
Sign off on Product Reference Guide and
Training.
Oversee the project from the client
perspective to ensure that it meets his
needs; provides input and signoff on all
stages of the project; pays invoices.

Project Impact on Them

When this project is a success, Jane and PJ
Enterprises will have a more successful
business operation, both from a service and
a financial standpoint.

She has the power to give go and no-go

decisions. She signs off on everything from
content to strategic decisions.
Jane Mackenzie, Tie-breaker
(person who will make
decisions, both strategic and
content, should SMEs
disagree)

She makes the final decisions on all content,

policies and procedures. She makes
decisions when SMEs or reviewers
disagree.

Sheena Perez, Sarah

Commons, Maria Gomez,
Paula Moore, Rosalind
Sanchez,

Will act as SMEs for TO and Supervisor

training experts.

Reviewers and Subject

Matter Experts

Project Charter

Will devote time working with East West

Consulting firms IDs to develop training
materials.

Will be responsible for the elimination of

current problems and be the leader of
successful changes in company practices in
this project; in addition, she will have a
more successful and satisfied staff, reduced
turnover and higher revenue.
Will have more satisfied employees and
more efficient and smoother running Call
Center.
Will have additional training and resources
available for personal use and for their
teams.

Stakeholder

Responsibilities and Impact on the

Project

Project Impact on Them

Will have a redesigned electronic Product
Reference Guide (and template for future
guides) that will improve Call Center staff
ability to answer customer questions in a
timely way, reduce customer complaints
and increase sales.
Will be able to reduce the time needed for
product knowledge training and to modify
future training to suit their better prepared
Call Center staff.

Sheena Perez, Merchandise

Manager

Reviewer of all information for Product

Reference Guide

Will have digital product reference guide

that clearly describes and illustrates all
products, increasing efficiency of selling
products.
Will have a digital Product Reference
Guide that can be quickly updated,
modified and distributed to Call Center staff
immediately.
Will be able to use the new digital Product
Reference Guide to produce paper guides as
needed. This will reduce time needed for
guide production and increase usability.

Ray Johnson, Assistant

Merchandising Manager

Provide items for Product Reference Guide

Reviewer of Product Reference Guide

Will understand the process of creating the

product reference guide, so as to later
supervise this duty.
Will have a template to use for future

Project Charter

Stakeholder

Responsibilities and Impact on the

Project

Project Impact on Them

guides.
Will be able to quickly comment on, edit or
update a digital Product Reference Guide
with additional information, correct errors
or address omissions.
Will be able to easily modify the guide style
if needs change in the future.
Will be able to use the digital guide in the
planned upgrade to an integrated calling
and ordering system.

Project Charter

Sam Fisher, IT

Partner for loading product guide on

telephone operators workstations as well as
training room

Will understand the technical requirements

for the product reference guide for future
needs.

Bruce Bennett, VP
Information Systems and
Lucy Fieldman, Intranet
Manager

Collaborate and confirm digital product

guide format and accessibility

Will be responsible for the ease of

installation of delivered guide as well as
future guides.

Telephone Operators and

Customer Service
Supervisors

Will use the Product Reference Guide, will

receive training in how to use the guide and
in soft skills (Telephone Etiquette,
Customer Service and Dealing with
Difficult Customers)

Will be better able to perform their jobs and

have better interactions with customers,
will have a better product guide they will be
able to use on the job to find information
efficiently, will have higher job satisfaction,
lower frustration, and will be less likely to
leave the company.

Stakeholder

Responsibilities and Impact on the

Project

Project Impact on Them

Will be better able to satisfy customers and
will receive fewer customer complaints and
more orders from returning customers.

Cheri MacLeod, Joseph

Yang, Maureen Boylan,
Jennifer Johnson-Corless,
Shauna Edson, EWC Project
Team Members

Project Charter

Will perform the majority of the work on

the project for EWC.

Will be successful and deliver products and

training as required by client and be
available to consult on future projects.

Description of Work
Project Purpose
The purpose of this project for PJ Enterprises is to reduce customer complaints,
and improve customer service performance by Telephone Operators and Customer
Service Supervisors in the Call Center.

Business Objectives
The reduction in customer complaints and improvement in customer service will
result in increased staff retention and additional revenue for PJ Enterprises.
EWC did a project analysis gap which determined needs. The findings showed:

Project Charter

48% of customer complaints were related to telephone etiquette, 30% to

product knowledge and 22% to waiting times
15% of telephone operators lost their patience with the customers and 10% of
calls were escalated to a customer service supervisor
Only 41% of Telephone Operators were able to complete an order with
minimal customer satisfaction
67% of calls required 20-15 minutes to complete
33% of calls were able to meet company goal of time on task

Project Deliverables
Solution
Telephone Etiquette Training
for Call Centre Staff

Delivery Method
ILT

Seat Time or Pages

2 hours instructor led

Active learning

Description
Core competencies for telephone etiquette
included in the training:
Review company greeting script

Modeling and
demonstration

Identify yourself at the beginning of all

calls.

Role play

Be sensitive to the tone of voice.

Practice

Use phrases such as "thank you" and

"please".

In Context

Listen actively and listen to others

without interrupting.
Do not allow interruptions to occur.
Speak clearly and slowly.
Always speak directly into the telephone
receiver with an even and low tone of voice.
Post-assessment will determine the
effectiveness of the training and gauge trainee
skills and knowledge acquired.
Customer Service Training
for Call Centre Staff

Project Charter

ILT
Active learning

2 hours instructor led

Core competencies for customer service included

in the training:

Solution

Delivery Method

Seat Time or Pages

Description

Modeling and
demonstration

Active listening
Persuasive speaking/selling

Role play

Ability to use positive language

In Context

Confidence
Patience
Self-Control
Post-assessment will determine the
effectiveness of the training and gauge trainee
skills and knowledge acquired.

Dealing with Difficult

Customers Training for Call
Centre Staff

ILT

2 hours instructor led

Included in the training, how to:

Active learning

Adjust into a customer service mindset

(connect to Customer Service training)

Modelling and
demonstration

Listen actively to the client

Role play

Repeat client concerns

In Context

Be empathetic and apologize

Present a solution
Take action and follow-up
Learn from each interaction
Post-assessment will determine the

Project Charter

Solution

Delivery Method

Seat Time or Pages

Description
effectiveness of the training and gauge trainee
skills and knowledge acquired.

Product Reference Guide in

new digital format

Digital document
framework

~140 pages

Digital Product Reference Guide with:

Multiple searchable indexes
Additional product information
Product photographs
Bulleted descriptions
FAQs
Cross selling opportunities.
The template for the guide will also be delivered.

Product Reference Guide

Use Training for Call Centre
Staff

ILT

1.5 hours instructor led

Training will include:

Demonstrations

Brief introduction to the WORD

searchable product document.

Game-based
learning activities
such as Kahoot

Various ways of searching for product

information (e.g., by means of internal
hypertext links and indexing)

Hands-on practice

Post-assessment will determine the

effectiveness of the training and gauge trainee
skills and knowledge acquired.

A short job-aid for

the Product
Reference Guide
will be provided to

Project Charter

Solution

Delivery Method

Seat Time or Pages

Description

trainees.

Project Charter

10

Deliverables in Scope
Digital Product Reference Guide
Training in how to use the new Digital Product Reference Guide for Telephone
Operators and Customer Service Supervisors
Soft Skills (Telephone Etiquette, Customer Service and Dealing with Difficult
Customers) Training for Telephone Operators and Customer Service Supervisors

Out of Scope
Creation of future Product Reference Guides are beyond the scope of this project
although a framework and template will be provided to allow easy development
and to make transition to a future integrated guide (integrated with call and order
systems) as smooth as possible.
Any future changes or additions to Product Reference Guide contents or
organization are beyond the scope of this project.
Any technical issues related to the Product Reference Guide or the order system
will be out of scope upon completion of this project.
Any need to update or change the training guides/training curriculum will be out of
scope upon completion of this project.
Training not included in this Charter is beyond the scope of this project.
Issues related to HR policies and procedures are beyond the scope of this project.
This includes attendance at training, attendance at meetings, and customer service
supervisor feedback.

Project Completion Criteria

Product Reference Guide is complete and installed.
Curriculum/Training Guides and training sessions are delivered.
Training assessment results and evaluation are delivered.
Sign off of all specified personnel.

Project Charter

11

Project Parameters
Budget
Deliverable /
Solution

Delivery Method

Seat
Time or
Scope
Figure

Cost

Telephone
Etiquette
Training for
Call Centre
Staff

ILT

2 hours

86 hours

$16,000

Customer
Service
Training for
Call Centre
Staff

ILT

2 hours

86 hours

$16,000

Dealing with
Difficult
Customers
Training for
Call Centre
Staff

ILT

2 hours

86 hours

$16,000

Product
Reference
Guide in new
digital format

Digital document
framework

Estimate:
140 pages

300 hours

$36,600

Product
Reference
Guide Use
Training for
Call Centre
Staff

ILT

1.5 hours

64.5 hours

$11,360

622.5 hours

$95,960

Total

Project Charter

Total Hours
Estimated

12

Project Team Members & Roles

Name

Role

Responsibilities

Cheri MacLeod

Project Manager

Oversee all projects ;

provide tracking and
reporting of all tasks and
budgets to client ;
maintain communications

86 hours

Joseph Yang

Instructional
Designer and
Trainer

Create all instructional

materials and deliver all
training

64.5 hours

Maureen Boylan

Technical Writer

Create framework, format

and update of Product
Reference Guide

300 hours

Jennifer

Instructional
Designer

Create all instructional

materials and deliver all
training

86 hours

Instructional
Designer

Create all instructional

materials and deliver all
training

86 hours

Johnson-Corless
Shauna Edson

Est. Hours
Needed

Total

Project Charter

622.50 hours

13

Project Milestones
The final delivery date is January 14, 2017 for the Product Reference Guide and
training.
Milestone

Project Charter

Date

Telephone Etiquette Training Design Document,

prototype

December 15, 2016

Telephone Etiquette Training Materials and Facilitator

Guide (FG)

December 20, 2016

Telephone Etiquette Training Design Document,

Materials and FG, Final sign off

December 29, 2016

Customer Service Training Design Document, prototype

December 15, 2016

Customer Service Training Materials and Facilitator

Guide (FG)

December 20, 2016

Customer Service Training Design Document, Materials

and FG, Final sign off

December 29, 2016

Dealing with Difficult Customers Training Design

Document, prototype

December 15, 2016

Dealing with Difficult Customers Training Materials and

Facilitator Guide (FG)

December 20, 2016

Dealing with Difficult Customers Training Design

Document, Materials and FG, Final sign off

December 29, 2016

Product Reference Guide Design and Layout,

prototype

December 15, 2016

Product Reference Guide Design and Layout,

alpha

January 2, 2016

Product Reference Guide Design and Layout,

Final sign off

January 10, 2015

Training evaluation

January 30, 2017

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Vendor Assistance Required

Project Charter

Firms contracted by PJ Enterprises to design and produce the catalog, including

photography. PJ Enterprises will provide the data and images that are used in the catalog.
EWC will use the same photographs in the guides. This will create no additional cost.

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Possible Problems and Risks

Problem Area

Project Charter

Likelihood
15

Problem Owner

Possible Impact to
Project

Product
photographs,
copy, or
information
unavailable in
timely manner

Sheena Perez and

Ray Johnson

Delay, incomplete, or
inaccurate information

Collaborate to develop a
spreadsheet of all
products for this guide
with deadlines for
required information.
Confirm dates with
vendors.

Customer Service
SMEs are not able
to provide the
necessary
information to
develop training
and training
guides

Training is unsuitable
or ineffective.

Find a good amount of

time to spend with SMEs
to gather quality
information in order to
develop a quality training
product.

Technical
problems with
calling system,
order system,
computers or
installed digital
Product Reference
Guide

Training is ineffective
or cannot take place.

Provide training details to

problem owner in
advance to allow testing.
Do a check the week
before and on the day of
each training session.

Merchandising

Sheena Perez,
Sarah Commons,
Maria Gomez,
Paula Moore,
Rosalind Sanchez
Customer Service

Sam Fisher, IT
Bruce Bennett ,
VP Information
Systems
Lucy Fieldman
Intranet Manager

Mitigation Plan

If problems are identified

or expected have IT staff
present during training

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Problem Area

Likelihood
15

Problem Owner

Possible Impact to
Project

Mitigation Plan

session.
Provide facilitator with IT
staff contact information
and ask IT staff to be on
call during training.

Project Charter

Equip the
classroom with
computers and
with proper
network
connections.

Trainee
motivation

Sam Fisher, IT

Tom Jones, HR

Training cannot take

place if there are not
computers in the
classroom

Acquire the necessary

computers for the
classroom.

Lack of trainee
motivation will lessen
the effectiveness and
attendance of the
training

Recognition for training

to boast trainee
motivation and staff
morale.

Get IT to set up the

computers with network
connection and make sure
they function properly
one week before the
training day.

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Assumptions
EWC will

Deliver the primary training session

Develop all deliverables
Conduct all work and interviews via telephone
Provide weekly status reports to PJ Enterprises Owner and Jane

Mackenzie
Keep PJ Enterprises Owner and Jane Mackenzie informed of any
issues that may impact the timely and successful completion of the project
Track time against budget and report any issues to Jane Mackenzie
PJ Enterprises will
PJ Enterprises will select two employees to become trainers.
These employees will be students in the first training session. This employs a train
the trainer model so that PJ Enterprises staff will build facilitator/training skills.
This will allow PJ Enterprises to build internal training capacity for the delivery of
future training sessions.
Help to manage the scope of the project
Provide accurate, complete and appropriate content and images for
the Product Reference Guide and for training development
Provide SMEs and content interviews in timely manner
Be available to answer additional questions EWC may have
Provide staff with training during their paid and regular working
hours.
Provide training facilities at Call Centre work stations or that have
the same capacity and set-up (for Call Centre related training).
Supply the product photographs and copy from their contracted
vendors for use in the Product Reference Guides.
Furnish additional information to include in the guides including
shipping, product dimensions, and other information frequently requested from
customers.
Review all materials, in a timely manner, to be sure that they are
accurate and complete.
Equip the current classroom with adequate networked computers
for both the trainees and the trainer. Technical (IT) will be provided by PJ
Enterprises.

Constraints

Project Charter

Availability of Ray Johnson, Assistant Merchandising Manager, to provide product

information and guidance with developing the Product Reference Guides.
The date that new catalog products are identified will impact development of the
Product Reference Guide. Catalog products identified after December 15, 2016 will
not be included in the PRG delivered to PJ Enterprises and used in the training session.
Catalog products that are identified after December 15, 2016 will be added to the PRG
by PJ Enterprises.
Vendors who are contracted for product photography and copy must provide these
items in a timely manner.

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External Influences/Dependencies

Product vendors, photographers, and copywriters that already work with PJ Enterprises
on their catalog production.

Approvals
Role

Signature

Date

___________________________________

_____________________

___________________________________

_____________________

Project Team:
Project MacLeod,
Charter
Cheri
Maureen Boylan, Joseph Yang, Jennifer Johnson-Corless, Shauna Borger

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