Wipro Rountable pdf
Customers
Customer Centricity: from Planning to Delivery Roundtable with Wipro, 4th December 2014 Where to benchmark? Rather than looking to their peers within the industry, utility companies need to compare their level of customer service with companies outside the sector such as retail. After all, this is what consumers do all the time.
Discussion at this roundtable gave numerous analogies and pieces of anecdotal evidence to show that industry segments and sector boundaries are not appreciated or acknowledged by consumers. Customers compare their experience of dealing with their distribution network operator with their experience of dealing with brands such as Amazon or Easyjet. In particular, they readily compare the effectiveness of communications functionality.
Exploring what seems to make retail brands better at customer service, four strategic elements were discussed: functionality; communication channels; process; and customer engagement. It was also pointed out that customers are clear about what they can expect from companies like Amazon and Easyjet. Utilities need to define their customer service characteristics more confidently. By varying the focus and balance with which they treat the four key elements, they can differentiate themselves, it was agreed. In so doing, they could move the market on from being predominantly price focused.
24 | 12th - 18th December 2015 2015 | UTILITY WEEK
Can you engage with customers who don’t want to know?
G
ood customer service is key to business success in a competitive market. Chief energy ombudsman Lewis Shand-Smith set the scene at a roundtable debate on customer centricity, hosted by Utility Week and Wipro in London late last year. He outlined the size of the challenge for utilities seeking more positive relationships with their customers by highlighting how difficult it is to truly understand their pain points. Only 5 per cent of customers go to Ombudsman Services when they are unhappy with services they have received, he said. Other customers simply leave their supplier. Of course, that theory does not apply to water companies and energy networks, which operate regional monopolies – leaving is not a choice for their customers. Competition does exist in the energy retail sector in most cases but there is a consistently poor level of customer satisfaction across the big six energy companies. All six received a score of less than 50 per cent in the 2014 Which? Switch Energy Customer Satisfaction Survey, thereby keeping the playing field fairly level. Nevertheless, moves towards more customer-focused regulation in both the energy and water sectors, and the recent referral of the energy market to the Competition and Markets Authority mean customer service should be a key topic in boardrooms. The results of research by Utility Week, in association with Wipro, published last spring demonstrate the rising importance of customer centricity, and promise significant improvement in the utility sector’s performance over the coming year (see p26). Most utility companies – an optimistic 62 per cent – responded to Utility Week’s research with a confident prediction that they would be able to rate their company 5 out of 5 for customer centricity in the next 12 months. Currently only 14 per cent do so. So what does a 5 out of 5 rating require? Discussion at Utility Week and Wipro’s roundtable quickly focused on how companies respond to emergencies. All those present agreed that the main connection their
companies have with their customers is in emergencies when the lights go off or the water stops flowing. The delegates felt that their companies’ customer systems perform best under these kinds of pressures, while it was much more challenging to achieve the same effectiveness on a business-as-usual basis. Andrew MacMillan, former head of customer service at John Lewis, flagged engagement with customers as one of the four key elements of a good customer service strategy, the others being functionality, product or service, and channels of communication. However, it was acknowledged that utilities have some unique challenges when trying to enhance engagement compared with high street retailers. Namely, they are limited by how much customers actually want to engage with them. Delegates from the water industry identified extensive opportunities to engage, such as when a customer moves house or requests a water meter to be fitted, but they also agreed that as long as there was no problem, water customers wanted little interaction with their provider. Matt Rudling, director of customer service at distributor UK Power Networks, was clear where his company stood. “Nobody knows who we are,” he said, and research undertaken by UKPN revealed that customers didn’t want to know either. Utilities looking to improve their customer service levels and refresh the sector’s image in the eyes of customers were collectively urged not to let regulation limit their ambition. They should seek to go above and beyond what is legally required of them. When the lights go off, for instance, suppliers are not obliged to engage the 70 per cent of customers who turn to them for help rather than to the networks, but that does not mean they could not or should not. Proactive service, where companies go beyond what they have to do, turns customers into brand advocates, it was agreed. Rudling summed it up well when he said: “It doesn’t matter if you’re right or wrong, it’s what the customer’s thinking [that matters].”
Customers
The delegates
Brought to you in association with
customer centric it should just happen for the customer.”
Andrew McMillan, former head of customer service, John Lewis
“I don’t see much differentiation between businesses in utilities, it is quite magnoliaish around the middle, so could an energy supplier be saying actually we don’t want to speak to you, we are not going to have a call centre?”
Matt Rudling, director of customer service, UK Power Networks
“Between 80 and 90 per cent of our customers still don’t understand the differentiation between supplier and distributor, but they shouldn’t need to. That bit we should make seamless so whatever they want they can just go and get it. If we are truly
capabilities of the people involved. We’ve got lots of people who love a crisis, they really come to life in the middle of a drought and in the middle of a flood… We are looking very closely with the HR team to see if we recruit the right kind of people.”
Lewis Shand-Smith, chief ombudsman, Ombudsman Services
“We did some research in January and found that people seem to be complaining more and being much more assertive when they complain, much more aware of their rights. People are 30 per cent more likely to complain than they had been in the same period last year. “
Sarah McMath, head of strategic business planning, Thames Water
“We’ve been looking at the skills and
Myron Hrycyk, global chief information officer, Severn Trent
“With digital technology it isn’t just about pushing a mobile app out there and hoping people will download it. You have to look at how digital transforms your interaction with the customer. You need to use digital to re-engineer the way your customers engage with you. For instance, if all you do is replicate your bill on a digital device you’re missing the opportunity. Digital enables you to do something completely different with that bill.”
Five key points: Systems will enable customer focus, but staff behavior is key. It shouldn’t be a case of who you talk to, engagement must be consistent. Engagement with customers varies across the sector but is largely dictated by customers’ appetite for interaction with the supplier of particular products or services. The relationship between energy companies and customers is changing to become two way. Smart meters and digitalisation open up far more scope for interaction and engagement with customers on their energy and water consumption. Customer insight is important but can stifle innovation and, taken in isolation, will only be able to make a company the same as everyone else.
UTILITY WEEK | 12th - 18th December 2014 | 25
Customer Centricity: from Planning to Delivery Roundtable with Wipro, 4th December 2014 Where to benchmark? Rather than looking to their peers within the industry, utility companies need to compare their level of customer service with companies outside the sector such as retail. After all, this is what consumers do all the time.
Discussion at this roundtable gave numerous analogies and pieces of anecdotal evidence to show that industry segments and sector boundaries are not appreciated or acknowledged by consumers. Customers compare their experience of dealing with their distribution network operator with their experience of dealing with brands such as Amazon or Easyjet. In particular, they readily compare the effectiveness of communications functionality.
Exploring what seems to make retail brands better at customer service, four strategic elements were discussed: functionality; communication channels; process; and customer engagement. It was also pointed out that customers are clear about what they can expect from companies like Amazon and Easyjet. Utilities need to define their customer service characteristics more confidently. By varying the focus and balance with which they treat the four key elements, they can differentiate themselves, it was agreed. In so doing, they could move the market on from being predominantly price focused.
24 | 12th - 18th December 2015 2015 | UTILITY WEEK
Can you engage with customers who don’t want to know?
G
ood customer service is key to business success in a competitive market. Chief energy ombudsman Lewis Shand-Smith set the scene at a roundtable debate on customer centricity, hosted by Utility Week and Wipro in London late last year. He outlined the size of the challenge for utilities seeking more positive relationships with their customers by highlighting how difficult it is to truly understand their pain points. Only 5 per cent of customers go to Ombudsman Services when they are unhappy with services they have received, he said. Other customers simply leave their supplier. Of course, that theory does not apply to water companies and energy networks, which operate regional monopolies – leaving is not a choice for their customers. Competition does exist in the energy retail sector in most cases but there is a consistently poor level of customer satisfaction across the big six energy companies. All six received a score of less than 50 per cent in the 2014 Which? Switch Energy Customer Satisfaction Survey, thereby keeping the playing field fairly level. Nevertheless, moves towards more customer-focused regulation in both the energy and water sectors, and the recent referral of the energy market to the Competition and Markets Authority mean customer service should be a key topic in boardrooms. The results of research by Utility Week, in association with Wipro, published last spring demonstrate the rising importance of customer centricity, and promise significant improvement in the utility sector’s performance over the coming year (see p26). Most utility companies – an optimistic 62 per cent – responded to Utility Week’s research with a confident prediction that they would be able to rate their company 5 out of 5 for customer centricity in the next 12 months. Currently only 14 per cent do so. So what does a 5 out of 5 rating require? Discussion at Utility Week and Wipro’s roundtable quickly focused on how companies respond to emergencies. All those present agreed that the main connection their
companies have with their customers is in emergencies when the lights go off or the water stops flowing. The delegates felt that their companies’ customer systems perform best under these kinds of pressures, while it was much more challenging to achieve the same effectiveness on a business-as-usual basis. Andrew MacMillan, former head of customer service at John Lewis, flagged engagement with customers as one of the four key elements of a good customer service strategy, the others being functionality, product or service, and channels of communication. However, it was acknowledged that utilities have some unique challenges when trying to enhance engagement compared with high street retailers. Namely, they are limited by how much customers actually want to engage with them. Delegates from the water industry identified extensive opportunities to engage, such as when a customer moves house or requests a water meter to be fitted, but they also agreed that as long as there was no problem, water customers wanted little interaction with their provider. Matt Rudling, director of customer service at distributor UK Power Networks, was clear where his company stood. “Nobody knows who we are,” he said, and research undertaken by UKPN revealed that customers didn’t want to know either. Utilities looking to improve their customer service levels and refresh the sector’s image in the eyes of customers were collectively urged not to let regulation limit their ambition. They should seek to go above and beyond what is legally required of them. When the lights go off, for instance, suppliers are not obliged to engage the 70 per cent of customers who turn to them for help rather than to the networks, but that does not mean they could not or should not. Proactive service, where companies go beyond what they have to do, turns customers into brand advocates, it was agreed. Rudling summed it up well when he said: “It doesn’t matter if you’re right or wrong, it’s what the customer’s thinking [that matters].”
Customers
The delegates
Brought to you in association with
customer centric it should just happen for the customer.”
Andrew McMillan, former head of customer service, John Lewis
“I don’t see much differentiation between businesses in utilities, it is quite magnoliaish around the middle, so could an energy supplier be saying actually we don’t want to speak to you, we are not going to have a call centre?”
Matt Rudling, director of customer service, UK Power Networks
“Between 80 and 90 per cent of our customers still don’t understand the differentiation between supplier and distributor, but they shouldn’t need to. That bit we should make seamless so whatever they want they can just go and get it. If we are truly
capabilities of the people involved. We’ve got lots of people who love a crisis, they really come to life in the middle of a drought and in the middle of a flood… We are looking very closely with the HR team to see if we recruit the right kind of people.”
Lewis Shand-Smith, chief ombudsman, Ombudsman Services
“We did some research in January and found that people seem to be complaining more and being much more assertive when they complain, much more aware of their rights. People are 30 per cent more likely to complain than they had been in the same period last year. “
Sarah McMath, head of strategic business planning, Thames Water
“We’ve been looking at the skills and
Myron Hrycyk, global chief information officer, Severn Trent
“With digital technology it isn’t just about pushing a mobile app out there and hoping people will download it. You have to look at how digital transforms your interaction with the customer. You need to use digital to re-engineer the way your customers engage with you. For instance, if all you do is replicate your bill on a digital device you’re missing the opportunity. Digital enables you to do something completely different with that bill.”
Five key points: Systems will enable customer focus, but staff behavior is key. It shouldn’t be a case of who you talk to, engagement must be consistent. Engagement with customers varies across the sector but is largely dictated by customers’ appetite for interaction with the supplier of particular products or services. The relationship between energy companies and customers is changing to become two way. Smart meters and digitalisation open up far more scope for interaction and engagement with customers on their energy and water consumption. Customer insight is important but can stifle innovation and, taken in isolation, will only be able to make a company the same as everyone else.
UTILITY WEEK | 12th - 18th December 2014 | 25
