Designing Your Severance Procedures
The following matrix will help you design your severance procedures. When the matrix is complete, you're ready to set up the severance process control tables.
Notice that the matrix has two dimensions: one is dependent on severance criteria algorithms; the other is dependent on the SA type of the service agreement being severed. The number and type of SA types is dependent on how your organization sets up the SA type table (the SA types shown below are characteristic of those used by a simple utility).
SA Type |
Severance Criteria Algorithm: Default |
Severance Criteria Algorithm: Customer On Life Support |
Electric Residential |
||
Electric Commercial |
||
Gas Residential |
||
Gas Commercial |
||
Charitable Contribution |
Once you know the values of each dimension, you fill in each cell with its respective severance events. We've completed the sample matrix with some characteristic events.
SA Type |
Severance Criteria Algorithm: Default |
Severance Criteria Algorithm: Customer On Life Support |
Electric Residential |
Create a 48-hour warning field activity. 2 days after completion, create a disconnect service field activity. Immediately after completion of the disconnect field activity, send a letter to the customer. 10 days after completion of disconnection, expire the service agreement. |
Create a To Do entry asking a collection rep to call the customer. 5 days later, create a 72-hour warning field activity. 2 days after completion, create a To Do entry telling collection rep of impending life support cutoff. 3 days after completion of warning, create a disconnect service field activity AND generate a To Do entry informing a collection agent of such. Immediately after completion of the disconnect field activity, send a letter to the customer. 10 days after completion of disconnection expire the service agreement. |
Electric Commercial |
Create a 48-hour warning field activity. 2 days after completion, create a disconnect service field activity. Immediately after completion of the disconnect field activity, send a letter to the customer. 10 days after completion of disconnection, expire the service agreement. |
N/A |
Gas Residential |
Create a 48-hour warning field activity. 2 days after completion, create a disconnect service field activity. Immediately after completion of the disconnect field activity, send a letter to the customer. 10 days after completion of disconnection, expire the service agreement. |
Create a 48-hour warning field activity. 2 days after completion, create a disconnect service field activity. Immediately after completion of the disconnect field activity, send a letter to the customer. 10 days after completion of disconnection, expire the service agreement. |
Gas Commercial |
Create a 48-hour warning field activity. 2 days after completion, create a disconnect service field activity. Immediately after completion of the disconnect field activity, send a letter to the customer. 10 days after completion of disconnection, expire the service agreement. |
N/A |
Charitable Contribution |
Expire service agreement |
Expire service agreement |
Once the matrix is complete, you determine the severance process templates needed to implement your severance procedures. The following table shows the severance process templates referenced in the previous section's matrix. Adjacent to each process are its events and an indication of when they are triggered.
Severance Process Template |
Event Number |
Severance Event Template |
Dependent On Event(s) |
Trigger Date Set To X Days After Completion Of Dependent Events |
Utility severance - default |
10 |
Field activity - 48 hour disconnect for non-payment warning |
N/A - first event |
0 |
20 |
Field activity - disconnect for non-payment |
10 |
2 |
|
30 |
'Service has been disconnected' letter |
20 |
0 |
|
40 |
Expire service agreement |
20 |
10 |
|
Electric life support residential severance |
10 |
Generate delinquent life support customer To Do entry |
N/A - first event |
0 |
20 |
Field activity - 72 hour disconnect for non-payment warning |
10 |
5 |
|
30 |
Generate impending life support cutoff To Do entry to C&C rep |
20 |
2 |
|
40 |
Field activity - cut for non-payment |
20 |
3 |
|
50 |
Service has been disconnected letter |
40 |
0 |
|
60 |
Expire service agreement |
40 |
10 |
|
Just expire severance |
10 |
Expire service agreement |
N/A - first event |
If we extract each unique severance event type from the above table, we end up with the following:
Severance Event Template |
Event Type |
48-hour warning |
Generate Field Activity - Disconnect Warning |
72-hour warning |
Generate Field Activity - Disconnect Warning |
Disconnect for non payment |
Generate Field Activity - Cut For Non-Payment |
Delinquent life support customer |
Create To Do Entry - C&C Rep Role |
Impending life support cutoff |
Create To Do Entry - C&C Rep Role |
Service has been disconnected letter |
Send Letter - Customer Contact Type is Disconnect Letter |
Expire service agreement |
Expire Service Agreement |
The field activity types are NOT specified directly on the severance event type. Why? Because each service point linked to the service agreement being severed could necessitate a different type of field activity. Therefore, the system uses the type of service point, its state (e.g., connected, meter is off.) and the desired customer event (e.g., Disconnect Warning, Cut For Non-Payment) to determine which field activity type(s) to generate. Refer to Setting Up Field Activity Type Profiles for how to set up the specific disconnect field activity types for your various types of service points.
Now you're (almost) ready to set up your severance procedures.