best practice training & development welcome bestpractice.uk.com promoting best practice in...
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Best PracticeTraining & Development
Welcome bestpractice.uk.com
Promoting best practice in customer service
& service delivery
David AllensteinManaging Director
The Institute of Customer Service
SERVICE DIFFERENTIATION THROUGH PEOPLE
Paul Cooper
Business Development Director March 2002
Why is Customer Service Important?
• Customers now have a right to expect good service • The successful organisations of the future will be those whose
service levels are better than their competitors • The successful organisations of the future will be those whose
service levels exceed customer expectations• Organisations will increasingly rely on customer facing staff to
make the difference• Satisfying customers will become the difference between
success and failure
DO YOU, YOUR MANAGEMENT AND YOUR STAFF ALL KNOW AND ACCEPT THIS?
Why Bother With Customer Service?
Primary Reason for Customer Defection to Competitors
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
%age responding
Other
Involuntary
Ethical Issues
Competitor Attraction
Response to Complaint
Inconvenience
Pricing
Service Encounter Failure
Core Service Failure
Mai
n R
eas
on
Qu
ote
d
Source - Griffin Business Network
Potential Dangers of having a Customer Service Department
• All other departments, and managers, stop taking responsibility for customer service!
• CS department spends life making excuses for all other departments to customers
• CS department represents customer internally – clashes with all other departments!
• CS department only recognises the external customer, but may be too far away from them
• Wrong objectives – e.g. to reduce complaints• Seen as a cost, not an investment
Research Results – 1
• “Personally, it seems to be a brick wall - they don’t listen and are not flexible at all”
• “Lack of staff and completely lacking in Customer Care. They had no knowledge of the service that they offer ”
• “Once they’ve sold you something, they’re not interested”• “You are made to feel they are doing you a favour rather than
the other way round”• “They treat you as a number, not as an individual”
IN THE UK TODAY, VERY FEW PEOPLE RATE THEIR EXPERIENCE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AS EXCELLENT
- DUE TO POOR ATTITUDE AND TRAINING Source: MORI 1998
Research Results – 2
Customers today:• demand increased access time - 24 hours 7 days a week• are less willing to wait - average time callers will accept being
on hold has reduced dramatically• insist on more immediate response - expect the person to deal
with the request, with enough authority, NOW• demand more information - must be kept up to date • need effective recovery - if things do go wrong, speedy and
effective resolution is required• make more complaints - more willing and quicker to complain
THIS WILL CONTINUE, AND ACCELERATESource: Bain & Co/ICS report 1998 - The Future of Customer Service
People Conclusions• Much more rounded and trained professional individuals are required in front-line
customer service roles
• They all need excellent inter-personal skills, plus many or all of the following:– numerical skills, verbal reasoning, IT competency, commercial awareness, authority, status, self-worth
• They must be able to resolve customers’ problems as they arise
• Which means having the self-confidence, latitude and knowledge to do so
Emerging Skills for a Changing Economy – Colin Armistead ICS 2001
Source: Bain & Co/ICS report 1998 - The Future of Customer Service
Research Results 3• “One of the surest signs of a bad or declining relationship with
a customer is the absence of complaints”
• “Staff recognition - this is almost non-existent---A ‘thank you’ now and again wouldn’t go amiss.”
• “My organisation does not listen or respect any ideas of improving the service we provide.”
• “So what? It is worth bearing in mind that we only have to be as good as the competition and there are barriers to clients switching that make them loyal and dissatisfied. So why improve?”
A POSITIVE COMPLAINTS CULTURE IS NEEDED
TMI/ICS National Customer Complaints Culture Survey 2001
Research Results 4
Headline from Design Council Complaints Survey 2001:
“Most companies ‘aim to delight’ their customers, but their suppliers fall short of the mark!”
• 87% of companies said their goal was to “surprise and delight” their customers”
• 40% complained that what their customers were now demanding was unrealistic
• 85% said that their suppliers weren’t trying to “surprise and delight” them!
In other words – “It’s always someone else’s fault”
Research Issues 5
ICS latest research – “Service Excellence = Reputation = Profit” by Bob Johnston – Warwick Business School
Four characteristics of excellent service (by frequency of mention):• 13% - They go the extra mile• 14% - They make it personal• 25% - They deliver the promise• 48% - They deal with complaints and queries
brilliantly
Net Comparison Graph - changes 2000 to 2001
-80 -70 -60 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50
Danger Concern Positive
Worst Company (Leisure)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
1. Basic attitudes towardscomplaints
2. Encouragement & accessibility
3. Processing complaints
4. Training
5. Empowerment
6. Willingness to change
7. Staff recognition
8. Customer service policy &systems
9. Customer information
10. Internal customers
Concern Positive WorldClass
Best Company (Retail)
Best and Worst Organisations
Acting on the Same Stage
“Old borderlines are evaporating, old
categories are merging. The divisions between
commercial, public-sector and non-profit
organisations are becoming blurred. All
organisations now act on the same stage, and
need to justify their place on that stage.”
• The Big Idea – Robert Jones
It’s Different in the Public Sector
• OK, it is! A bit.
• Not a profit motive, but surely still a cost control motive, and an attitude to get it right
• Reputation = great place to work = lower turnover = government recognition = job satisfaction = public recognition = target achievement = honours list……
The ICS Vision of a Great Organisation
• The organisation is honest, gives good value for money, has a high reputation, meets deadlines, has quality products and services, has easy to understand processes, responds to criticism, encourages complaints and handles them well, and demonstrates that it is passionate about customers
• At all levels the people are respected,well trained, friendly, contactable, flexible, knowledgeable, honest, empowered (trusted), stable, involved and consistent
• The perceived culture is one of professionalism, efficiency, teamwork, caring, respect, seriousness, but with a touch of fun and character
What Gets You There?
• A Corner Shop approach
• A People Recognition approach
• An Accreditation approach
• A “Technology in its place” approach
• A Complaints is a Gift approach
IT’S GOT TO BE IN THE CULTURE!
Seven Things to Think About• The key always has been, and always will be, the people
• Employees are probably more important than customers
• People turnover in most organisations is the biggest single drain on resource, knowledge and finances
• Last year, large organisations spent around ten times more investment money on their technology than on their people
• Nearly 70% of all CRM programmes today aren’t working to the customers’ satisfaction
• Staff Training was the poorest rated factor in the TMI/ICS 2000 NCC Survey
• In 2001, it was the only factor to get worse
Some Misconceptions I
• There is no such thing as a “Call Centre Industry”, a “CRM industry”, or an “eService Industry”
• They are just means of delivery – the process
• The “Industry” is Customer Service, and this must be paramount in the operation of the company
DON’T LET THE PROCESS RUN THEBUSINESS!
II The Call Centre Choice
• The WRONG reason for setting up these is to save money, or cut headcount
• The RIGHT reason for setting them up is to provide much improved customer service
THEREFORE…..
III It’s Clear…
• Good Companies set up good Contact Centres
• Bad Companies set up bad Contact Centres
Inside vs Outside Help
Listening to staff is critical because…
• They care
• They are involved and concerned
• They use same processes – test track
• One needs beacons not lighthouses
The Service Profit Chain Simplified
Higher Employee Satisfaction:
- leads to improved Customer Satisfaction
- leads to improved Customer Loyalty
- leads to improved PROFIT
SO……...
• You can fail if you haven’t got it right within your company - staff & processes!
• Therefore you can’t just edict that you are now a customer focused company! You need your people!
What Gets in the Way?
• Not enough priority, or enough time• Middle Management - not good coaches• “Cost control” v “investment in future” clash• A fear culture in the company• Suits, closed doors, segregation, status• Forms, procedures, petty rules • Hiring the wrong people; not treating them
right; not developing their skills
So How DO You Do It?Make it CLEAR what you want. Then...
• Leave them alone more - Give them more freedom, authority, and praise
• Walk the talk - keep being consistent• Talk to them - ask opinions - act • Review structures - how many layers? • Check out ALL your processes• Create culture of recognition/ accreditation
Getting the people right
• At interviews, RIGHT questions• Hire for attitude, train for skills• Proper Induction - how do they feel when
they go home?• When they join they are keen, bright, alert,
happy. How long to lose this?• Lifetime Learning programme for all –
Qualifications/Awards/ICS membership.
And keeping them!
• Headcount turnover is major problem in US and UK today
• Cost of advertising/hiring/training/ loss of skill MUCH more than you think!
• Best leave - most go to competition• A positive alternative to redundancy? • ACTIVE programme to help them stay
What REALLY gets the results in Customer Service ?
• Long term commitment from the top +• Leadership by a champion +• Best recruitment practices +• Professional induction +• Formal recognition/accreditation +• Fair competition/incentives for staff +• Measure right things/feedback +• Empowerment +• Enhancement of status +• Welcoming complaints +
• Good rewards EQUALS
The real reason for doing all this!!!
= MOTIVATION
= PROFIT (REPUTATION)
Benefits to All Organisations• Improved customer satisfaction• Improved customer retention• Increased business with happier customers• Increased word-of mouth recommendations• Improvement in organisation’s prestige• Universally recognised for high quality service • Life-long Learning for all staff• Better quality, happier workforce• Lower staff turnover/higher retention• Support to quality programmes• Better basis for recognition/appraisal systems• Increased reputation/lower costs
The Answer to Life the Universe and Everything
• So why, as customers, are we still treated so badly, so often, by so many?
• So why do employees rate so many of the organisations they work for as so poor?
• So why are complaints rising through the roof, and happiness with responses dropping like a stone?
• So why are so few organisations doing it right?
The Institute of Customer Service
“Our role is to make you more successful in your job”
Best PracticeTraining & Development
Thank you bestpractice.uk.com
Promoting best practice in customer service
& service delivery
David AllensteinManaging Director
bestpractice.uk.comPerformance Model
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