Challenge & Selection  My company provides around the clock technical support. To ensure we meet our service level target  we need to have a minimum number of employees available to answer calls throughout the day. The  number of employees we need varies depending on the time of day and the anticipated call volume. The  biggest obstacle preventing us from achieving our service level target is absenteeism. Our weekday  absenteeism averages 7%.     On weekends, our call volume forecast is lower than the weekdays. Therefore, fewer employees are  scheduled to work. Weekend absenteeism has increased since the beginning of the year and currently  averages 10%. The lower attendance results in customers having to hold before they can speak to a  representative. We have been instructed we need to reduce weekend absenteeism. The easy solution  would be to overstaff, however, just like production environments, we are expected to run lean and  maximize efficiencies.     Senior Leadership reframed absenteeism and other causes of lost time, i.e. tardiness, long  breaks/lunches, not being logged in when scheduled, as “dependability.” “Dependability” has become a  catch-all term that has muddled the distinct drivers of absenteeism into a singular noun. This has  produced a perception there is a single solution, either more incentives or more corrective action to fix  weekend "dependability." I believe this approach is an oversimplification. I am going to attempt to break  this train of thought by using the visualization tool to identify and diagram the different root causes of  weekend absenteeism.     Application  I reviewed absenteeism data for the past four weekends and identified outliers, employees who missed  multiple weekend shifts and those with good overall attendance who missed a weekend shift. I  interviewed the employees and detailed their reasons for calling out.

This exercise demonstrated the work/life challenges employees face. Although the reasons were more  granular, the visualization broadened my understanding and will allow the organization to make "small  bets" to target the segments within the span of our control. An incentive of a dress down day or threat  of corrective action means little to a parent who has not been able to attend their child's soccer game  for the first time all season or the millennial who would miss yet another gathering with their friends.      Employees who rely on public transportation have a logistical issue. Employees have start times  throughout the day between 6 am to 11 pm. On Saturday and Sunday, the bus makes 2 stops directly in  front of our office. One at noon the other at 6 pm. The next closest bus line has more service but  requires a 20-minute walk to/from the bus stop. "Use a ride-share service" is a common  recommendation. This solution assumes every employee has a debit card, credit card, or PayPal... which  they do not. Creating this visualization allowed me to see "What is" from perspectives I had not known  or considered.      I would use the visualization tool again for this project. As Dan Roam said in his book Draw to Win, "Lead  people's eyes and their minds will follow." I feel the visualization is a good icebreaker to broaden the  discussion about "dependability." Based on the examples detailed previously, I would also consider the  storytelling tool. I believe you cannot avoid feeling empathy for these employees. I would leverage this  empathy to increase buy-in for the need to consider other options we could offer to address the  weekend "dependability" issue and move forward to the “What if" phase.


Challenge & Selection My company provides around the clock technical support . To ensure we meet our service level target we need to have a minimum number of employees available to answer calls throughout the day . The number of employees we need varies depending on the time of day and the anticipated call volume . The biggest obstacle preventing us from achieving our service level target is absenteeism . Our weekday absenteeism averages 7 % . On weekends , our call volume forecast is lower than the weekdays . Therefore , fewer employees are scheduled to work . Weekend absenteeism has increased since the beginning of the year and currently averages 10 % . The lower attendance results in customers having to hold before they can speak to a representative . We have been instructed we need to reduce weekend absenteeism . The easy solution would be to overstaff , however , just like production environments , we are expected to run lean and maximize efficiencies . Senior Leadership reframed absenteeism and other causes of lost time , i.e. tardiness , long breaks / lunches , not being logged in when scheduled , as “ dependability . ” “ Dependability ” has become a catch - all term that has muddled the distinct drivers of absenteeism into a singular noun . This has produced a perception there is a single solution , either more incentives or more corrective action to fix weekend " dependability . " I believe this approach is an oversimplification . I am going to attempt to break this train of thought by using the visualization tool to identify and diagram the different root causes of weekend absenteeism . Application I reviewed absenteeism data for the past four weekends and identified outliers , employees who missed multiple weekend shifts and those with good overall attendance who missed a weekend shift . I interviewed the employees and detailed their reasons for calling out . This exercise demonstrated the work / life challenges employees face . Although the reasons were more granular , the visualization broadened my understanding and will allow the organization to make " small bets " to target the segments within the span of our control . An incentive of a dress down day or threat of corrective action means little to a parent who has not been able to attend their child 's soccer game for the first time all season or the millennial who would miss yet another gathering with their friends . Employees who rely on public transportation have a logistical issue . Employees have start times throughout the day between 6 am to 11 pm . On Saturday and Sunday , the bus makes 2 stops directly in front of our office . One at noon the other at 6 pm . The next closest bus line has more service but requires a 20 - minute walk to / from the bus stop . " Use a ride - share service " is a common recommendation . This solution assumes every employee has a debit card , credit card , or PayPal ... which they do not . Creating this visualization allowed me to see " What is " from perspectives I had not known or considered . I would use the visualization tool again for this project . As Dan Roam said in his book Draw to Win , " Lead people 's eyes and their minds will follow . " I feel the visualization is a good icebreaker to broaden the discussion about " dependability . " Based on the examples detailed previously , I would also consider the storytelling tool . I believe you can not avoid feeling empathy for these employees . I would leverage this empathy to increase buy - in for the need to consider other options we could offer to address the weekend " dependability " issue and move forward to the “ What if " phase .