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Frequently Asked Questions
Consulting
What type of consulting services does 1QC provide?
We provide a full range of consulting services from incremental and continuous improvement projects to strategy, transformational change and change management. We generally consult with Customer Service and both Transmission & Distribution organizations, and we also provide Regulatory Support in the form of audit preparation, rate case defense, development of service standards and measures, and market evaluations.
What experience level do you have for consulting with utilities?
Our team has successfully executed utility consulting projects with utilities for the last 15-20 years. The team brings both national and international experience to our clients, with several of our team having had multi-year overseas postings during their careers and worked in countries such as Canada, England, Germany, Sweden and South Africa.
Do you bring experience from other industries to your consulting and benchmarking work?
Yes. Beyond our utility consulting experience members of our team have consulted in numerous industries including Financial Services, Telecom, Manufacturing, Health Care, Defense, Process Manufacturing, and Oil & Gas E&P.
How can I get more information about consulting support from 1QC?
You can contact us directly at 310-922-0783 (Ken Buckstaff in California) or 301-535-0590 (Gene Dimitrov in Maryland)
Benchmarking
When do the 2012 Annual Benchmarking Programs start?
The questionnaire for Customer Service will be issued in February 21, 2012. The questionnaires for T&D will be issued in April 8, 2012. Many companies are signing up now for these programs.
What is the 2012 Schedule of Events for the Benchmarking Programs?
What do you do to ensure integrity and completeness of the data provided?
1QC has implemented several processes and practices to ensure that benchmark data has integrity, quality and completeness:
o We provide a data start-up meeting to those companies requesting support/guidance in organizing and managing their data collection process
o Each survey has a set of data definitions and guidelines that is updated annually with our Community and used as a reference by our member companies
o On a weekly basis during the data collection period, 1QC facilitates Data Collection Webinars that are targeted to specific functional areas to allow company subject-matter experts to participate and ask clarifying questions
o At the midpoint of each survey, 1QC facilitates a Data Review Meeting to address date outliers and exceptions. Through our on-line reporting software, we assess each companies data and work with them to accurately compete the survey
o 1QC consultants are assigned and dedicated to act as “data stewards” for each specific member company. We work with you closely to address issues and reporting needs on an individual basis
o Our member companies are trained to use our on-line reporting tools to create your own statistical reports allowing real-time access to the comparative reports they need or would like to design
o 1QC reviews qualitative responses to practice-related questions to identify trends, changes and new applications for the industry
How is data entered and reported?
1QC uses an on-line data entry process and developed a secure, on-line, enhanced reporting process that allows each company to produce both standard and customized reports. There is no software to download or emailing/mailing of forms. For the 2011 Programs, we will be further enhancing on-line data entry tools for our Community.
What do the outputs/reports look like?
Is the data and reporting kept confidential?
Yes. Our member companies each sign confidentiality agreements protecting them and 1QC against the external sharing of data and company names. We do not disclose the data shared with us publicly nor do we sell this company information. Our reports also do not designate company names, although participating companies having signed confidentiality agreements are aware of the identity of other participants’ benchmarks.
What companies are currently benchmarking with 1QC?
What is the cost of the studies?
We provide simple, 2-tiered annual pricing per operating company benchmarked. In 2011, our pricing for the Customer Service Benchmarking is $ 17,500 for Membership and $ 25,500 for Leadership. For Transmission & Distribution it is $19,500 for Membership and $27,500. An additional, but nominal, fee may be charged for additional operating companies.
How can I get more information or sign-up?
What capabilities are available if I want to customize or refine my benchmarking reports?
First Quartile Consulting released proprietary new reporting software in December 2009 to benefit our Community in using and better meeting their reporting needs. Members of our Benchmarking Community now have access to control the contents of the benchmarking reports using our on-line software!
Key benefits that our members receive include:
o Access to the most current reports without waiting for the official release
o Pick a “panel” of companies to compare against either by picking your peers or using a set of criteria like customer count or other distinguishing demographic features
o Pick a subset of the 1QC report that just includes the pages you want to share with management or other groups
o Create new graphs to match your own internal metrics
o Export the data to MS Excel for your own further analysis
We're happy to be able to offer these unique benefits available in no other utility benchmarking program to members in our Benchmarking Community!
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