Touchstone 4: Plan and Communicate a Time-Based Task
SCENARIO: On Monday morning, you arrive at work and discover you have an email from your manager, Sara, about a customer service issue. She is worried because one of the company’s most important clients did not receive their shipment. While she acknowledges it isn’t your fault, she needs you to work quickly to resolve the issue. Her email outlines some tasks that must be completed in order to address the problem and fast track the solution:
So last Friday, our client didn’t receive their shipment, and now it’s Monday, making it three days late. We need this problem fixed soon. I need you to email Renee Colon, the client’s executive assistant, right away. Apologize for the delay and let her know we’re fixing this issue, but don’t overdo it. Make sure they know we appreciate their business. Then, contact Accounts Receivable. Have them issue a full refund on the customer’s delivery costs and send confirmation of the refund to them as well. Make sure the client is not charged for the new delivery either. And have Shipping expedite the new shipment and send tracking info to the customer. If you contact both departments by the end of today, Accounts Receivable should be done by Tuesday at the latest, and Shipping should have the package out the door with tracking by Wednesday.
The table below lists the relevant tasks and deadlines that need to be done to accomplish the stated goals.
GoalTaskDue DateStatusInform customer Email Renee ColonMondayTo do Inform relevant departments Contact Accounts Receivable (AR)Monday (end of day)To do Contact Shipping Monday (end of day)To do Refund customer AR issues refund to customer Tuesday To do AR does not charge for replacement Tuesday To do AR sends confirmation to customer Tuesday To do Ship replacement Package is expedited Wednesday To do Tracking info sent to customer Wednesday To do
ASSIGNMENT: This assignment has two parts. The first part is to prepare a clear and concise email communication (no more than two paragraphs in the body of the email) to the customer that will inform them about the new delivery date and the refund to compensate for the inconvenience.
The second part is to communicate an internal plan regarding the refunding and redelivery of the shipment. You will draft a message to your colleagues in the Accounts Receivable and Shipping departments about the time frame of each task that clearly identifies who has which task and by what time it needs to be completed. You will need to select an appropriate tool to communicate this message to your colleagues and explain why this would be an effective tool for this purpose.
For this assignment, you will:
- Demonstrate your ability to craft messages for the appropriate purpose, tone, structure, and audience.
- Be sure to include all the important information you need to communicate.
- Select an appropriate tool for workplace communication.
- Edit your messages for organization and style, ensuring professionalism with respect to formatting, spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
Download the template below, which further breaks down the steps involved in this assignment. You will return the completed template as your Touchstone submission.
