CSR Bonus at Captech

Abstract

This case follows Anisha Anderson, who has had three of her customer service representatives (CSRs) quit. Her job is to think about how she can adjust the CSR training and bonus program to promote retention in the department, which has been a cause of concern for a while. Excerpt UVA-QA-0918 Oct. 12, 2020 CSR Bonus at CapTech From the comfort of her air-conditioned SUV on a scorching August morning outside of Dallas, Anisha Anderson waved goodbye to her daughters as she drove away from their elementary school drop-off zone. After stopping at a red light, she glanced down at her phone to see a text message from a customer service analyst on her team that read, “Heads up, we had three CSRs put in their two-week notice this morning.” Frustrated by the thought of losing more customer service representatives (CSRs), Anderson passed through the intersection, and for the rest of her drive to the office, she reflected on the series of CSR resignations she had witnessed since being hired as senior director of customer experience at CapTech over a year ago. In her role, Anderson was in charge of ensuring customers received the absolute best customer service experience, part of which entailed delivering a robust training program and retaining an elite force of CSRs. She parked her car, wondering aloud, “What can I do to keep CSRs engaged and increase retention?” CapTech and the CSR Role CapTech was a financial technology and lending institution based in Dallas that provided a mobile app for small business owners across the United States wanting to quickly and easily take out capital loans at a lower financing cost than what traditional banks offered. To attend to the increasing volume of small business owners that relied on CapTech, the company employed a large CSR workforce, who were tasked with responding to customer concerns over the phone and through email for such routine issues as account maintenance and repayment options; however, CSRs at CapTech also provided small business owners with technical loan product knowledge without having to transfer a customer to a specialist. Other than refinancing or taking out a new loan, which the sales department handled, a CSR at CapTech was expected to handle virtually any issue a customer had; this was by design so small business owners could focus more on their actual business than waiting on hold or being passed around when contacting CapTech. This added responsibility gave CSRs a sense of autonomy and ownership in their role. . . .