Performance Improvement in Customer Service Martin Jukes

Performance Improvement in Customer Service Agenda Introduction to Mpathy Plus What is best practice? How to identify and understand how to use it Areas of measurement How to learn and improve Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Performance Improvement in Customer Service Established in 2005 Niche Management Consultancy Initial focus on Public Sector and Housing Extensive background in the private and commercial sectors Bringing commercial experience to Public and 3rd sectors Strong values. Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Performance Improvement in Customer Service Who we have worked with Over 30 different social housing providers in the UK and Ireland including (most recently): Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Private Sector Clients (including) Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Performance Improvement in Customer Service What do we do? Strategy development Operational reviews Contact Centre Design and development Bespoke assignments Management Consultancy Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Performance Improvement in Customer Service What do we do? Supporting Resources Interim Management Mentoring Calling Programmes Recruitment Diversity data gathering Customer satisfaction Training Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Performance Improvement in Customer Service What do we do? Performance Improvement “We did continuous improvement last year” Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Why continuously improve? Customer expectations are increasing Improve the customer experience Value for money and cost saving efficiencies Make life ‘easier’ Increase effectiveness Reduce failure Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Contact centre performance management and improvement Some frequently asked questions: We have never seen a contact centre where there is no opportunity to improve! How do we know where to improve? How good is our contact centre? How can we tell? What are other organisations doing? How do we continuously improve? Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Performance Improvement in Customer Service What does ‘Continual Improvement’ mean in Customer Service environments? Improve customer service performance e.g. Contact Centre Provide feedback to organisation about service requests and failures Play an active role in service development ‘Finger on the pulse’ Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Performance Improvement in Customer Service What is best practice? A definition “commercial or professional procedures that are accepted or prescribed as being correct or most effective” Source: Oxford Dictionary We prefer the term “better practice” Performance Improvement in Customer Service

How to use best practice Every organisation is different - what is right for one may not be right for another Select suitable comparators – (housing does have some differences) Public vs Private vs Third sector comparisons Select what is relevant but be aware of implications Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Why the best is not always the best % Calls Answered Ranking Achieved 1 99.28% 2 99.22% 3 98.82% 4 96.60% 5 96.50% 6 96.21% 7 95.97% 8 95.60% 9 95.57% 10 95.51% 11 95.03% 12 94.27% Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Why the best is not always the best Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Why the best is not always the best % Calls Answered Ranking Achieved Revised 1 99.28% 12 2 99.22% 11 3 98.82% 10 4 96.60% 9 5 96.50% 8 6 96.21% 7 95.97% 95.60% 95.57% 95.51% 95.03% 94.27% Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Performance Improvement in Customer Service Another example Cost per contact - £4 vs £5 – which is best? Considerations What else do they do? Are the calls the same as we get? What is the scale? Do they answer or resolve calls? A high performing organisation may receive fewer calls, deal with other channels, resolve more issues than a ‘cheaper’ service Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Performance Improvement in Customer Service Areas for focus on for a balanced view Operational Standards Customer Experience Staff Attitude Value for Money Sharing Best Practice Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Closing the loop and continuously improving Continuous improvement Operational standards Customer Experience Staff attitude Sharing best practice Value for money Performance Improvement in Customer Service

What should be measured? What are your KPI’s? Two requirements for KPI’s Performance reporting Performance management These should not be confused or mixed. Performance Improvement in Customer Service

3. Improve Performance/Quality Which are the most popular KPI’s Sample = all measuring KPIs 2012 % 2011 2010 Speed of answering calls 71 65 67 Quality of service 69 62 Proportion of calls answered/ abandoned 63 75 Customer satisfaction 49 48 59 Number of calls answered (per hour/day) 43 40 42 Proportion of calls answered at first point of contact 32 35 Wrap time 37 34 Average length of call 41 Overall increase in the number of KPI’s used Performance Improvement in Customer Service

A view of balanced performance? Demand Performance No of calls offered No of emails No of visitors PCA Service level Resolved at first point of contact Resources Quality of service Absence Training Attrition levels Systems availability Staff satisfaction Customer satisfaction Empathy benchmark Performance Improvement in Customer Service

How to share, learn and improve Track PI’s Share thoughts/issues/questions/experiences Learn about systems from those using them Regular discussions Specialist inputs Network events Performance Improvement in Customer Service

Thank you for listening Any questions? Martin Jukes www.mpathyplus.co.uk 08450 569800 martin@mpathyplus.co.uk 07815 777017 Performance Improvement in Customer Service