Analyze the transcript for themes. Please help...

Develop a method to identify main themes (usually more than 3) and share how you decided on this method.

Define each theme using the interviewee's own words and then describe them fully.

What did you learn from the themes and the information shared with you?

How will you use this information in the futurefor example, in your own projects or overseeing other projects?

How did their sharing of their experiences impact you?

Background of Interviewee: Blake: I started in 1999 as a crew caller in Denver Colorado. Was a rather simple job. Two years later due to organizational changes I moved to Omaha and became a train dispatcher which I loved. 18 months later I was promoted to corridor manager where I supervised a territory and train dispatchers. In 2010 there was a position in Fort Worth for construction projects manager, my wife was from the area and our children were small so we decided to move. My current role is MTO which I have been at the same location for 10 years.

Cecilia: How long have you been working for this organization ?

Blake: 24 (years) Cecilia: Can you briefly describe your role in the organization?

Blake: I manage the safety of employees providing rail service to over thirty different customers on over two hundred fifty miles of rail lines. Coordinate with several departments to achieve successful execution of transportation plan

Cecilia: Please share specifically how the executive leadership measures the desired state. When did you place the metrics into the plan and who was responsible for planning this part?

Blake: The metrics were placed into the long before I took my current position. I was able to work with two other managers, one with marketing and sales, and one with the Dispatch center to identify six key metrics that would help us identify success in the new plan. By isolating many key measures into six key metrics we were able to easily identify where adjustments had to be made to ensure success.

Cecilia: What metrics were the best at measuring actual success?

Blake: We narrowed down over thirty measures . Union Pacific uses to six key metrics. 1. Industry Spot and Pull % - the rate at which customers receive the cars they have ordered in and released to be pulled. 2. Velocity These metric measures speed of our trains that carries our customers railcars. This allows to measure up against other railroads as well as trucks 3. Human Factor Derailments per 100,000-man hours. This is a failure rate that we have to be aware of to mitigate any risks to rail equipment 4. Car Terminal Dwell. We measure the amount of time each rail car spends at a serving yard or terminal before it departs. 5. Locomotive Dwell How long a locomotive, one of our greatest assets, sits idle 6. Problem Logs execution. Percentage of fulfilling a customers request when a car is mishandled

Cecilia: What other metrics would you add if you could do this over again? How would they have helped undercover effectiveness?

Blake: I would definitely add a customer satisfaction metric. In my experience many customers may not be happy even though according to our metrics we are giving them great service. In turn, customers may be very happy even though according to our metrics we are doing poorly.

Cecilia: Are there any improvements/changes you think that the organization could make to help boosting employee morale or help increase motivation, productivity etc.

Blake: We have made strides to improve morale. There is a new peer to peer recognition system for employees as well as managers to give points that can be used for company swag. There has always been an us against them attitude between the agreement and non-agreement employees. This relationship has gotten better but is still there. I believe there is a disconnect from the Headquarters down to the field level. Decisions are being made by people who are so far removed from the field, that they have no idea what their ideas and decisions do to the morale of the employees. C-Suite employees should spend more time out in the field in the trenches to see how difficult it can be to execute a plan that looks easy to do on paper.

Cecilia: How was the evaluation included in the change event? When did the team begin to plan the evaluation?

Blake: In July of 2021 we were tasked with how to measure success on a local level due to an emphasis on customer satisfaction performance that Union Pacific adopted.

Cecilia: How did the evaluation portion show the benefits of the project?

Blake: We were able to change the way success was measured so that through the use of the size key measures, every day we could easily see how we performed the day before or any other date range.

Cecilia: What KPIs and/or dashboard criteria were used? Who determined the KPIs?

Blake: The marketing and sales depart developed most of the KPIs These were developed over time using input from several of Union Pacifics Larger customers as well as a group of smaller local customers that may only get served at one or two locations on the system. An outside consulting firm was contracted to compile surveys and interviews to develop KPIs that would be indicators of customer satisfaction. The Harriman Dispatch Center included several of their KPIs that they have been using for decades that assist in local execution.

Cecilia: How were they monitored? Blake: Union Pacific has evolved over the years from a mainframe data based, to Oracle Business Intelligence, and now Tableau reports. The latest, Tableau, allows us to drill down metrics many different ways to identify both failures and success. Cecilia: What metrics were the best at measuring actual success?

Blake: Industry Spot and Pull% is the easiest way to measure success. It shows a % of cars spotted or pulled based on what the customer orders or releases. The one drawback is, that it only measures cars scheduled. It does not measure overall success. A customer may order in a car a week in advance that normally would be plenty of lead time, however due to crew shortages or service interruptions that car may not get to a serving yard to be ordered, therefore it would not measure as a miss if it made it to the customer with in the window prescribed, even though it may in actuality be days late

Cecilia: What other metrics would you add if you could do this over again?

Blake: I would definitely add a customer satisfaction metric. In my experience many customers may not be happy even though according to our metrics we are giving them great service. In turn, customers may be very happy even though according to our metrics we are doing poorly.

Cecilia: How would they have helped undercover effectiveness?

Blake: Because our metrics use only our data, they do not tell the whole story. As stated before, a car may show that it was spotted to a customer on time through are measurements, but the customer still did not receive it when they requested it. With a customer survey that would include cars requested received on time we would know how well our key metrics correlate to overall customer satisfaction. Also, a customer service metric that is data driven would allow us to use it as a check and balance to our six key measures. Adding this customer service metric is actually being piloted on another region currently.