Prashanth,
In my opinion, a Plan of Action is very specific to the business or technology problem being addressed, and depends on the data collected in support of the problem. Would you mind sharing the data you collected (your analysis and what you have so far)? This could help the folks here to provide a high level P of A for your specific problem.
That said, a generic P of A would be something like this. Please note that this is a very high level sketch of what a P of A should contain (in particular to a call center).
1. Overview of the problem (what is it that you are dealing with) - no more than 5 single-sentence bullet points in one slide) – this is an executive level overview of the entire slide deck
2. Specific problems you are dealing with (see below) – list all the problems you are trying to address (problems ONLY, no solutions or plans of action)
3. Supporting data for each problem (matrix) – How did you arrive at identifying there was a problem? Show the audience your data. E.g.,
3.1. Number of Inbound calls in various shifts (I am assuming that it is a 24-hour call center with three shifts of eight hours each), Number of personnel attending the calls in a given shift (staffing spread),
3.2. Time taken per each call to resolve the issues (from call intake to closing the call after achieving customer satisfaction),
3.3. Spread of the inbound calls (peak number and lowest number in any given day), What are the peak and low times in a year (which months/season do you receive most calls, and which months/season do you receive least calls)
3.4. Number of calls attended by each call center employee in a given shift,.
These are some of the matrix that you can collect for a call center to give you a decent idea of what (if any) problem you are trying to address.
4. Plan of Action: (some sample problems given the above data) (one slide per problem, no more than 5 to 7 bullet points per slide, or one table with at most 4 columns and 6 rows)
4.1. Problem 1 - Insufficient staffing - Number of personnel is not sufficient to handle call volume (Plan to increase staffing in the problem shift)
4.2. Problem 2 - High call resolution time (several sub-problems) - Each call takes longer than the SLA from intake to close - Possible sub-problems - improper training for the call center personnel, improper call routing, lack of information from the customer or customer's inability to clearly articulate what the problem is, call center employees often repeating themselves to the customer or asking the customers to repeat themselves (communication/language issues), and so on. (Plans of Action in the sub-problems listed above: Technical training, call routing process tweaking, customer information gathering process tweaking, customer education at the onset of the call or framing different set of questions to gather information or running through specific list of questions, language training to the call center personnel).
4.3. Problem 3 - Is there required staffing to accommodate peak call volumes in a day/peak season/months? If not, increase staffing
4.4. Problem 4 – Are the employees handling too many calls? Indication of less than required staffing; increase staffing
5. RACI for the Plans of Action – One slide with a table containing
5.1. Problem Number
5.2. Responsible for dealing with the problem (implementing the Action Plan)
5.3. Accountable – Overall ownership to ensure the problem is resolved
5.4. Contribute – Who would contribute to implementing the Action Plan effectively
5.5. Inform – Who would be informed about the progress, needs, escalations, and success (once the plan is successfully implemented)
6. Closing – Seek commitments from the executive leadership (audience of the slide deck)
Hope the above information and sketch helps. If you could share the data you have already gathered and also provide specifics about the problems you are trying to address (items 1, 2 and 3 above), the P of A (item 4 above) would be much easier to articulate.
Regards,
-Som G