The following article appears in the Summer 1995 edition of
_The_Public_Sector_Network_News_, pages 7 and 8.]

                        CALIFORNIA DMV: 
       IMPROVING THE SACRAMENTO TELEPHONE SERVICE CENTER

BACKGROUND

     Telephone service centers are becoming a primary service
delivery point for the Department of Motor Vehicles. Nearly 1
million people a month use the telephone for their initial
contact with the department.

     The Sacramento Telephone Service Center (STSC) provides
centralized telephone services for customers calling regarding
the processing of vehicle registration or driver's license
transactions, office hours and locations, and to schedule
appointments. The uniqueness of customer expectations in calling
"headquarters," the need to improve service levels, and the
desire to redirect additional telephone calls from surrounding
field offices made the STSC a good choice for a TQM project.

OBJECTIVES

     * Identify the specific circumstances and needs of a
     headquarters service center such as Sacramento's.
     
     * Develop guidelines for improving other phone centers in
     the DMV system.
     
     * Optimize the operations of the STSC.
     
     Specific target objectives were to identify the customer
base and their expectations, define a realistic talk time, reduce
customer hold time, increase the number of calls answered, and
provide accurate information to the customer.

THE PROCESS

     Extensive data gathering was done which resulted in creating
a description of the initial system, establishing initial
performance levels, identifying improvement opportunities,
developing proposals, analyzing options, testing initial
solutions, and implementing final recommendations. Members of the
team visited other telephone service centers to observe
operations and received consultation regarding phone center
management from AT&T. Brainstorming sessions were held to
identify areas that affected performance. Statistics in the areas
of log-on time, talk time, hold time, available time, and work
mix provided valuable information.

     The TQM team identified 28 potential areas for improvement
and classified them into four major groups:

     * Supplier Issues: Improvements that could be made to the
     incoming work to reduce corrective action activities
     
     * Environment: Improvements focused on general policies and
     procedures
     
     * Process: Specific procedural enhancements in the contact
     between technician and customer
     
     * Customer Issues: Improvements focused on the accuracy and
     completeness of assistance
     
RESULTS

     Significant results were attained in improving the
operations of the STSC. Performance improvements occurred in the
following areas:

     * Calls per technician increased by 47%.
     
     * Technician time without calls was reduced by 60%.
     
     * Technician non-productive time was reduced by 45%.
     
     * Customer wait times (time on hold) were reduced by an
     average of 40% during the seven worst time periods.
     
     As a result of these performance improvements, the STSC was
able to assume the telephone calls of four additional field
offices with no additions to staff. This has resulted in a
redirection of 11 field staff from phones to other duties.

     The project also identified the unique conditions of the
STSC and developed recommendations to meet Sacramento's
particular needs. Guidelines were also developed for improving
operations in other DMV telephone service centers.

For more information, contact: 
Candy Wohlford 
California Department of Motor Vehicles 
Field Operations Division 
2014 1st Avenue 
Sacramento, CA 95818 
(916) 657-7023 or Bob Triboli, (916) 657-7457