Macroergonomics Research Methodology: Determining Future Job Requirements of a Customer Service Representative (CSR) in a Bank

Author(s):  
Mark S. Hoffman ◽  
Cynthia K. Lowe ◽  
Karen S. Wilson

Macroergonomic research techniques were used to determine current and future organizational changes, information technology requirements, and personnel training and recruiting demands for Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) in a bank. This research demonstrated the power of suite of behavioral science methods that included: group interviews, task analysis, focus groups, and concept mapping. Concept mapping proved to be an effective method for illustrating differences in group perceptions; five clusters were mapped for both CSRs and managers. Responses differed significantly among four of the clusters. The sequence used in the application of these methods was critical to maximize the value and validity of the results. The results from this study are useful for identifying the challenges that the retail banking industry has to address in order to change the role of the CSR to meet anticipated future business demands.

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Poddar ◽  
Timucin Ozcan ◽  
Ramana Kumar Madupalli

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of customer service employees’ (CSEs) competence and service recovery outcomes on service evaluations of foreign and domestic CSEs. Design/methodology/approach – Three experiments were conducted to test and validate the proposed hypotheses. The participants were told a cover story that they were either listening to (Study 2) or reading (Studies 1 and 3) a real conversation between a customer service representative of a bank and a customer and the authors wanted their views about the service encounter. While country of origin (COO) and competency were common independent variables across three studies, Study 2 included service recovery with a full refund and Study 3 had both full and partial refund and apology offered or not. Findings – Results from three experiments show that while competent CSEs are evaluated the same, regardless of their COO, the domestic CSE is evaluated more negatively than the foreign CSE when both are incompetent. The authors also find that when competent CSEs deliver no service recovery, the foreign CSE evaluations are significantly lower than the domestic one. Study 3 results show that this effect is mediated by participants’ ethnocentric beliefs. Research limitations/implications – For implications, this study provides a deeper understanding of the role of COO in services contexts. Future researchers can utilize the findings to investigate the important role that expectations play in determining service excellence and how it affects the COO effect. Practical implications – The paper provides managers in both offshoring client and provider firms with an understanding of the effects of offshoring on employee evaluations. It discusses the relevance/irrelevance of COO on the customer evaluations of service employees. Originality/value – The study investigates an under researched phenomenon – offshoring of services. This paper is one of the few looking at the role of different interaction factors, such as competence, recovery on service evaluations.


1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-369
Author(s):  
Larry Mikulecky ◽  
Paul Lloyd ◽  
Jennifer M. Conner

This study examines the extent to which student groups working with the Chelsea Bank computer simulation were able to use school-to-work transition skills. Chelsea Bank is a workplace simulation for schools in which groups of students at a computer play the role of a bank teller or customer service representative, dealing with customers who appear on their screen. Data consists of videos of students working on the simulation scenarios. Results show that students using this simulation demonstrated substantial involvement with workplace skills as defined by SCANS (U.S. Department of Labor's Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills). Students were also considerably more actively engaged with learning than students in studies of traditional classrooms.


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslee G. Arididon ◽  
Yzabel Louise S. Bueser ◽  
Danielle Denise D. Pau ◽  
Raiza Elaine P. Ramirez ◽  
Krizia Jane V. Soriano ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
pp. 39-54
Author(s):  
Marco Ieva ◽  
Cristina Ziliani

Customer Experience develops through a journey of touchpoints. However, little is known on the role of touchpoints in contributing to customer loyalty, which is the final aim of Customer Experience Management. This study provides an examination of the relative and moderating role of frequency and positivity of exposure to more than twenty touchpoints and their interplay in contributing to customer loyalty. An online survey on more than three thousand consumers is run with reference to retail banking. Results show that only a small number of touchpoints is significantly related to customer loyalty. Findings point companies' attention to invest their efforts in managing both the frequency and positivity of specific touchpoints.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document