A Large Gas Company Call Centre Obtains a Positive Customer Experience Using Our Customer Centric Process

The scenario.

A large gas company appointed Gobeyond Partners to undertake a rapid review of contact centre performance in the UK.

Uncovering hidden opportunities for a gas company.

On the face of it, results seemed ok, but the senior management felt there may be room for improvement.

We audited the sites, listened to 307 calls, analysed 3,481 customer issues, and conducted interviews at all levels.

Incorrect skills. Incorrect measures

We quickly identified that whilst the organisation was customer aware, it was far from customer centric. There were significant improvements to be made.

Firstly, agent performance varied hugely, and they were not being recruited with the correct focus on key ‘customer liaison’ skills.

They were also not being given the correct coaching or management attention to improve their skills – further compounding the issue.

These factors were leading to a wild disparity in call times and quality.

It was also clear that this was leading to customer queries going unresolved. This meant more repeat calls, and more rework – known as failure demand.

Analysis showed that failure demand was at 58%. But why wasn’t the management information reflecting this?

Examination of the key performance indicators (KPIs), quickly told us. Call ‘quality’ was based on a series of internal measures – instead of the real customer experience.

This combination of incorrect agent profiles, low training, and dissatisfied customers meant sales we being missed.

Delivering the right results, all round

With our expertise in providing a positive customer experience we were able to provide a series of recommendations to transform performance.

By adjusting agent scorecards and KPIs we ensured that true customer experience was measured. The leadership team now had a transparent view of customer satisfaction.

Root cause analysis around management time showed a huge focus on admin work. By reducing this, and increasing coaching skills we reduced both failure demand and call duration. In turn, this led to increased sales.

A positive customer experience is better for the business and the customer. Better all round.