Consumer concerns over ‘Albert’ and ‘conformance’ – but good news on bonuses!

Telecoms & Financial Services

CWU worries that the ‘Albert’ support tool intended to provide consistency in BT Consumer contact centre conversations may not always be providing the seamless end-to-end guidance to advisors management promised have been brought to the fore by a ratcheting up of company pressure for rigorous adherence to the protocol.

Following a number of instances where local managers have imposed targets on the use of Albert – prompting worries amongst members over potential disciplinary action being taken against anyone who deviates from the pre-ordained script – the CWU has been in urgent discussions with senior managers and the team in charge of developing the system.

“The upshot is that we’re now advising those members who are already required to use the Albert system to set  their reservations aside and closely follow the Albert  guidance through to the end of every single call,” explains acting national officer for Consumer, Stephen Albon.

“Management are adamant that this will allow advisors to give the best customer service possible, and allow them to identify any gaps or flaws in the Albert system that members find and report them.

“Our advice to members is therefore simple: If Albert fails to address the customer issue in question, you must seek assistance from your Team Leader.”

Stephen continues: “The National Team cannot overstate the importance of any members wanting to either highlight problems with the system – or get the support they need to properly service customers – to deal directly with their Team Leader rather than seeking the support of co-workers.

“That’s because providing support for co-workers is not built into targets because non-management grades are not classed as ‘Subject Matters Experts’ in the ‘New Operating Model’ design. As such, seeking support from colleagues could actually result in those individuals being penalised.

“In seeking support from your Team Leader, however, it’s absolutely vital that you keep a record of your escalation – bearing in mind the hard-line stance some managers are taking on the need for the Albert system to be followed slavishly and associated concerns over the potential for disciplinary action being applied.” (See Bulletin 158/2020)

 

Conformance woes resurface

Meanwhile the CWU has moved swiftly to address resurgence in the number of complaints from members and branches over individuals being targeted on ‘conformance’ – a productivity measure which tracks how much time is spent dealing with calls against company expectations.

Late last year the unagreed rollout of the measure created a furore at many BT Consumer contact centres after compliance targets of 98 and even 99 per cent were suddenly announced – with some advisors even being warned that anything less could affect their bonus payments or lead to the application of the performance management policy.

After emergency meetings with the company just before Christmas, management accepted that the target did not take account of  agreed break arrangements or the agreed log-on/log-off process, nor  allow for coding problems, which resulted in inaccurate results.

The upshot was a senior management commitment that conformance would only be used as a background measure; that there would be no individual targets for members and that the target would be reviewed in its entirety.

As such, a line appeared to have been drawn under the debacle…until the sudden re-emergence of widespread inappropriate usage of the measure in recent weeks at some sites.

“Following a torrent of complaints from members, the CWU has moved swiftly to remind senior management of their previous commitments,” stresses acting assistant secretary Stephen Albon.

“We’ve been assured that all of the examples raised by the union have been addressed and that the offending managers have been spoken to. Disappointingly the company has not agreed to our request for the previous commitments on conformance to be jointly re-briefed – but we’ve been assured that all branches that flagged up concerns will be written to by Consumer Employee Relations to confirm that their cases have been addressed.

“”Going forwards, it’s vitally important that ant member who is challenged about individual targets in relation to conformance contacts their local CWU rep immediately.” (See Bulletin No.156/2020)

 

Backdated bonuses for the clinically vulnerable

For some time the CWU has been pressing BT Consumer to address the loss of earnings suffered by clinically vulnerable members who have been shielding and unable to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following protracted discussions in which the union has argued that the loss of bonus and Sunday payment has had a severe detrimental impact on those affected through no fault of their own, the company has announced a partial rethink.

“All those impacted have now been briefed that contingency payments will be made to those affected, backdated to the time when the individual started shielding,” explains acting assistant secretary Stephen Albon.

“Significantly, management has also agreed to make the payments to individuals who were shielding, but who are now working from home –with them now in line to be compensated for loss of bonus for the days they were shielding.

“Unfortunate the company has refused to agree to CWU calls for lost Sunday allowances during this period to be treated in the same way – but nonetheless this is a significant step forward and one that would not have happened without the CCWU pressure that has been brought to bear.

“Rest assured the union will be continuing to push the company on the Sunday allowance issue – because the principle is essentially the same.”