A measure of delight: The pursuit of

quality at AT&T universal card

services
By the late 1980s, AT&T had produced a favorable reputation for itself. By
focusing on customer satisfaction and quality, AT&T became a leader in its
respective industry. This, however, was not sufficient enough. There was
more to be achieved and the leaders of AT&T, at the time, knew what
industry upon where to focus: the credit card industry. With any new
process, the goals and vision s of the organization needed to be re-evaluated.

AT&T executives ventured into the credit card industry with the formation of
the AT&T Universal Card Services (UCS) in 1989 (Rosegrant 18). This
subsidiary was headed by Paul Kahn (Rosegrant 18). The two main goals of
AT&T UCS were the following: “To offer a combined credit card and calling
card that would bolster its long- distance- calling revenues…and to regain the
direct link to the customer” (Rosegrant 18). An undying focus was placed on
the latter. UCS officials believed that “quality processes – with the end result
of superior customer service and efficiency – would give UCS a key
competitive advantage in the crowded credit card marketplace” (Rosegrant
18). With this belief in mind, UCS upper- level management stopped at no
end to ensure unmatched customer service.

In order to provide unmatched customer service, UCS managers needed

top- notch employees. This process began with an extremely selective
screening. Monitoring of employees by managers was a huge step in
achieving superior quality. “To begin with, the information technology
system tracked the average speed of answer, the number of calls each
associate handled, and how long each associate spent on the phone”
(Rosegrant 22). Benchmarking was believed to be a useful approach to
surpassing any previous level of quality (Rosegrant).

Critical Issue

As the level of desired quality continued to increase, many employees began

to feel the pressure of being monitored. In this case, many UCS employees
began to fail. The new level of quality seemed to be too unattainable;
therefore, some individuals began to lose their desire to surpass it. The
critical issue is how AT&T UCS can supply superior quality in order to
continue to provide top- notch customer service .

Analysis Tool

Within the Learning Organization, there are five major disciplines. These five
disciplines are as follows: Systems Thinking, Personal Mastery, Mental
Models, Building Shared Vision, and Team Learning. Each of these
disciplines connects to a specific example within the AT&T case.

One of the main aspects of Systems Thinking is “discovering underlying

patters and communicating the patterns and their effects to the people in
the organization” (Lecture 1). At UCS, this was exemplified. Every morning,
“Fred Winkler, in charge of operations, presided over a one- hour meeting of
about a dozen senior managers to discuss the latest measures, identifying
possible problems and proposing solutions” (Rosegrant 20). If an
organization is able to break down its daily measures, it will present itself
with a chance to solve any problems that hindered them in the previous
day’s work. This is crucial if an organization wants to succeed.

Personal Mastery was very relevant in this case as well. Included in this
discipline is “encouraging and supporting personal mastery in everyone”
(Lecture 1). The link between superior quality and customer service included
motivated employees. With the amount of supervision these employees
underwent daily, it would have been no surprise if they became flustered or
frustrated. This, however, did not usually occur. UCS monitored its
employees in order to teach them (Rosegrant). “Managers in Customer
Relationships continued to coach team leaders, one- third of whom had been
promoted from the associate level, to make sure they were comfortable and
skilled at giving feedback” (Rosegrant 25). If a team leader is able to
present his thoughts in a positive manner, each team member will feel more
comfortable, and the team will have the opportunity to work better as a
whole.

Mental Models is the most difficult discipline to apply to this case. This
includes “ingrained assumptions, generalizations, and pictures about how
things work” (Lecture 1). UCS officials assumed that, in order to be a leader
in the credit card industry, the quality of the organization’s work must be
second to none. With that in mind, the focus on quality and customer
service was one of the most important aspects of the daily processes. This
was exemplified through the thorough monitoring of all employees, customer
replies, and statistics.

Building Shared Vision is the fourth discipline in the Learning Organization.

This discipline includes a “common identity and a common sense of destiny”
(Lecture 1). At UCS, everyone was well aware of the destiny the company
sought to achieve. UCS wanted to be the leader in the credit card industry.
The identity they constructed was one of superior quality and customer
service. This was instilled into the employees everyday. When the whole
team shares one identity and one sense of destiny, the roadblocks may seem
insignificant when trying to reach the ultimate goal.

Finally, Team Learning is a major aspect of the Learning Organization. This

is where everything comes together. In order for a team to achieve its goal,
it must “think together while recognizing destructive patterns” (Lecture 1).
When UCS hit a standstill with motivating employees, it realized a new
measurement system must be instilled (Rosegrant 26). According to the
case, “Continuous improvement – finding ways to motivate associates
beyond what they had already accomplished – was not an easy task. For one
thing, with the company’s growth slowing, it would no longer be possible for
as many associates to quickly ascend the corporate ladder to team leader
and other managerial positions” (Rosegrant 26). This was a huge concern
for the organization. If an individual feels as if there is no more room for
improvement or if he feels that whatever he does will not yield the desired
results, this individual will no longer have the desire to surpass the level at
which he is currently residing. This, in turn, is where team thinking is so
crucial. If all members share their thoughts about possible solutions, the
probability that one of their solutions will work will be higher than if just one
person is calling the shots.

Recommendation :

As stated previously, the critical issue in this case is how AT&T UCS can
supply superior quality in order to continue to provide top- notch customer
service. A possible recommendation is to create a “voice” for all the
employees. This could be done by having office meetings or by having
one- on-one meetings with managers once a month. If employees are given
the opportunity to express their feelings and concerns, they will feel more
connected to their organization. This, in turn, may create an increased
desire to help the organization succeed.

The second recommendation focuses on employee incentives. AT&T

Universal Card Services should build upon the success of the “Triple Quality
Team Challenge”. The “Triple Quality Team Challenge” was a “special
incentive program which allowed associates and managers to earn triple
bonuses a month for each quality day they achieved beyond a base of
twenty quality days” (Rosegrant 24). If you are able to place an incentive,
such as bonuses, in front of your employees, the results will be favorable.
While analyzing this case, it was clear that despite all the monitoring and the
added pressure on day- to- day processes, these employees responded well
when given the chance to obtain a bonus or other benefits. From the
beginning, this was very apparent. Paul Kahn stated it best. In regard to
bonuses, he stated, “We wanted quality, and we ought to pay for it”
(Rosegrant 20). If AT&T Universal Card Services can continue to motivate its
employees through different incentives, this organization will observe a
strengthened link between quality and customer service and will continue to
succeed.

References
Rosegrant, Susan. A Measure of Delight: The Pursuit of Quality at AT&T
Universal Card Services . Boston, MA: President and Fellows of
Harvard College, 1993. Print.