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The UK’s Top 50 Call Centres Cold calling, long wait times, lost data and offshoring to India all give call centres a bad name. But what about the companies that are getting customer service right? Here’s your guide to the best brands giving the best service presented by This is an independent publication published by UBM Live in association with Lyonsdown

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Page 1: Uks Top50 Call CentresLRes

The UK’s Top 50Call Centres

Cold calling, long wait times, lost data and offshoring to Indiaall give call centres a bad name. But what about the

companies that are getting customer service right? Here’syour guide to the best brands giving the best service

presented by

This is an independent publication published by UBM Live in association with Lyonsdown

Page 2: Uks Top50 Call CentresLRes

RATED 2ND IN THE ‘TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE 2008’*

* Denplan was rated 2nd in the ‘Top 50 Call

Centres for Customer Service’ 2008 survey

missing the top spot by less than 0.5%

Terms and conditions apply

Providing great customer care is a top priority to Denplan.

As the UK’s leading provider of dental payment plans, we keep you smiling, thanks to excellent customer service matched by an exceptional range of payment plans.

With Denplan, you can budget for your routine dental care and treatment to remove the worry of costly and unexpected bills.

Our plans provide worldwide emergencycover, a 24 hour helpline and help finding a dentist from our network of over 6,500 dentists, plus family and group discounts. It’s no wonder then that more than 1.8 million people are helping to protect their teeth and gums with a Denplan dentist.

Join Denplan today and help improve the long term oral health of you and your family.

To find the location of your nearestpractice offering Denplan, call our Customer Service team on 0800 401 402 or visit www.denplan.co.uk

Jaw-dropping service...because how you feel is important to us

CA

M88

INGDIRECT.CO.UK/CAREERSWe aim to be an equal opportunities employer

WORKING ATING DIRECTFEELS GOOD

COMING 8TH IN THE TOP 50CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER

SERVICE FEELS EVEN BETTER.

Fancy joining us? We’re currently recruiting for extraCustomer Service Associates, full and part time at

both our Reading and Cardiff call centres. To find outmore visit ingdirect.co.uk/careers and enter reference

11630 for Reading and 11632 for Cardiff.

Thank you and congratulations to our call centre staff.

IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE IS KEYTO SUCCESS

United Utilities is bucking the national trend and taking on more staff at its call centres.In the last three months 40 temporary jobs have been made permanent and this is an ongoingprogramme of recruitment for quality customer focused staff.

Winning the award for the best call centre customer experience in the telecoms and utilitiescategory has also helped highlight the work of all our staff.

It is a welcome endorsement that the transformation programme that has been running for thelast 18months to improve customer satisfaction is really working and making a difference bothto our customers and to our business.

United Utilities is the largest listed UK water company, providing water and wastewaterservices to seven million customers in the North West of England.We also operate andmaintain water, wastewater, electricity and gas networks across the UK and internationally.Wherever we are,we deploy our vision,energy,engineering and operational experience to helpnew and existing communities to grow - providing them with the essential services they need.

By applying discipline to our processes, recruiting the best people and providing our peoplewith the best systems, training, working environment and customer focus, massiveimprovements have been made possible.

Of course it helps when you provide products that transform people’s lives everyday.

So whilst this award is celebrated, it’s a milestone, not the end game as we strive towardsoffering world class customer service.

To find out more about how United Utilities are providing life’s essentials in the UK and acrossthe world. Please visit www.unitedutilities.co.uk

2 TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE produced by United Business Media in association with The Times

TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE NOVEMBER 2008

Page 3: Uks Top50 Call CentresLRes

for you to call before doing anything —that’s the one you tell everyone about.

It only takes a few of these stories togive the impression that “all call centresare bad” and it’s all too easy to imaginethat customer contact workers sit likebrainless chickens in a coop, not giving a damn about your problem.

But there are organisations out there thatdo care and want to serve customers in thebest way possible.Call Centre Focusmagazine wanted to do something tocelebrate those companies, to give workersin this industry a bit of pride in the essentialwork they do, and to hopefully persuadesome of you reading this publication thatcall centres don’t deserve all this criticism.

So, yes, The Top 50 Call Centres forCustomer Service is a celebration. It’s asalute to a function that in a single daycollects all the insight a company wouldneed for a year-long business strategy. It’sa tribute to an industry that never stopstrying to improve. And it’s anappreciation of the people whosit on the end of the phone allday trying to help others.

I hope you’ll take the time toread on and find out a littlemore about the country’sbest centres and thepeople who work in them.Even if you don’t enjoy it,it’ll just be another thingto hate call centres for.

Claudia Hathway, editor,Call Centre Focus magazine

Call centres:a celebration

4 Introducing theTop 50 call centresWhat’s wrong with call centres?Revealing what customers thinkabout calling the UK’s top brands

6 Cheques and balancesDiscover how top performer �rstdirect consistently delivers forcustomers and sta�

7 Banking on brillianceWith the country in the grip of abanking crisis, these �rms areon a charm o�ensive

11 Leisurely service?Find out what entertainment,leisure and travel companies aredoing to beat the credit crunch

14 A very public faceGovernment call centres havemaybe the toughest job of all.So how do they cope?

16 Retail therapyWhen you fancy a bit of shoppingfrom the comfort of your ownarmchair, who can you gonna call?

18 Price warRead how these utility and telecomscompanies are campaigning onmore than a just a better price

19 A time for changeTim Bishop from technology giantSiemens re�ects on an industrythat’s badly misunderstood

Celebrating call centres? Are youmad? Everyone knows they’re terrible. It’sall “press one for this, press two for that,and press nine to go back to where youstarted.” Or you have to speak to a machinethat doesn’t seem to recognise English.

Then, if you are lucky enough to getthrough to an actual living person, theycan’t understand you either. And theydon’t know who you are, even though youonly phoned a few minutes before aboutthe same problem. Add to that the factthat all call centres have gone overseas,taking British jobs with them, and… well…it’s all going to the dogs, isn’t it?

Er, no, actually.I’m not disputing the fact that some

conversations with call centres are awful.I’ve experienced enough cock-ups,misunderstandings and even downrightrudeness to know that call centressometimes get it wrong.

But because I work in the call centre‘industry’, I also know that millions andmillions of customer interactions happenover the phone every year without incident.In fact, they happen with professionalism,politeness and even the occasional giggle.

I firmly believe that call centres have suchan awful reputation because they are avictim of human nature. You’d never dreamof telling your friends about a perfectlypleasant conversation with a friendlymember of staff who managed to sort outyour water bill query with no fuss at all. It’sthe time you rang your broadband providerbecause you couldn’t connect to theInternet, only for them to tell you theywere aware of the fault, but were waiting

Editor Claudia [email protected] 7921 8515Deputy editorNicolette [email protected] 7921 8529Art director Rob [email protected] 7234 8702Designer Nick [email protected] 7234 8734Commercial directorSimon [email protected] 7921 8507Director of partnershipsBradley [email protected] 7921 8511Publisher Mark [email protected] 7955 3976Marketing directorAmy [email protected] 826756Group directorMark [email protected] 7921 8510

www.top50callcentres.co.uk

Repro and contract publishingby Lyonsdown.www.lyonsdown.co.uk020 8349 7192

All rights reserved. No partof The Top 50 Call Centresfor Customer Service may bereproduced or transmittedin any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical,including photocopying andrecording on any informationstorage or retrieval systemwithout the written consentof the publisher. The contentof this publication is subject toreproduction in informationstorage and retrieval systems.The opinions expressed are notnecessarily those of the editor.

CCF is the UK’s No.1 customercontact title and is publishedby UBM Live, a division ofUnited Business Media plc.

opinion, breaking news andthe latest jobs through theprinted title and CCF Online:www.callcentre.co.uk. CCF isthe organiser of the Top 50 CallCentres for Customer Serviceprogramme.

organised by

supported by

Contents

TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE produced by United Business Media in association with The Times

NOVEMBER 2008 TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

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4 TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE produced by United Business Media in association with The Times

TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE NOVEMBER 2008

FOUR YEARS AGO, I got a job as the editor of a callcentre magazine. Brilliant, I thought, finally I getmy dream job of editing a high circulationpublication that I can really get my teeth into andmake a success. Shame it’s about call centres.

Because, like you, I thought call centres wereboring at best. And at worst, they actually upsetpeople. You’re forced to queue endlessly, beforepainfully extracting information, and repeatingdetails over and over — all whilst holding anuncomfortable piece of machinery to one ear. It’storture worthy of an episode of 24.

But when I started working onCall Centre Focus ,I began visiting call centre operations and talkingto the people who spend up to eight hours a daytrying to help customers, armed with nothing but aheadset and a computer. It was a real eye-opener.

Far from chicken coops filled with brainlessworkers reading from scripts and tyrannicalbosses screaming orders and timing loo breaks,the majority of staff are happy, motivatedindividuals who perform small miracles helpinghundreds of customers every day.

Managers are truly caring individuals and manycentres offer staff comfortable, relaxing break-out areas, concierge services, free fresh fruit, gymaccess and tonnes of motivational incentivesincluding trips abroad, iPods and vouchers. Soundsa darn sight better than my office, where the onlything you get for free is repetitive strain fromcontinually prodding the boss for a pay rise.

It’s no wonder we feel the way we do about callcentres though. If you think about it, you usually

Your call is important to usCall centres are

awful...aren’t they?Claudia Hathway

unveils a new reportthat’s challengingour terrible image

of this everydaybusiness function

only ring one because something is wrong. Eitheryou don’t have some information that you need oryou don’t understand something, or you want tocomplain. Little wonder that most call centreinteractions are uncomfortable. Add to thathaving to wait longer than a couple of key strokesor clicks of a mouse for information, or notunderstanding the person on the other end of thephone, and you’re left with the impression that“all call centres are bad.”

An image makeoverBut it’s easy to forget just how much call centreshave done to empower us as consumers. Can youimagine queuing up at your bank branch just totransfer some money or pay a bill? I shudder tothink how many precious lunch hours were wastedbefore call centres existed. These days you canbuy a book or DVD without going to the shops, youcan get instant insurance cover, you can eventailor-make your own holiday in your living room —none of which would be possible without theevolution of customer contact in call centres.

And from working in the industry, I know that thevast majority of the 48billion minutes of callsreceived by call centres every year are perfectlyordinary, if not pleasant — certainly nothing to getupset about. And yet, the only stories we hear inthe mainstream press are about how dreadfulcustomer service is over the phone.

This is something that frustrated us atCall Centre Focus — particularly as this industry isso important to the UK economy, with three per

cent of the working population employed by callcentres. So we decided to do something tochange perceptions of call centres, to boost thepride of staff working in them, even improve thelevels of service. The Top 50 Call Centres forCustomer Service was born.

The initiative is a huge project that measures thelevel of service given by some of the biggest brandnames in the UK and scores each of them againsteach other. We consulted real-live consumers infocus groups to find out what they really want fromcall centres to give us a basis for our scoring system.Five key criteria were measured — timeliness,reliability, ease of use, knowledgeable staff andpersonalisation — and a series of scenarios wereconcocted to challenge the call centre staff.

Then we carefully selected 50 centres that weknew had a reputation for delivering excellentservice and, with the help of our mysteryshopping partner GfK NOP, called each of theorganisations 400 times over a three-monthperiod. That’s a massive 20,000 calls to test thecustomer service of the UK’s biggest brands.

The resultsIn this first year, we weren’t sure what to expect,but we were staggered by the results. The averageoverall performance score was a massive 83 percent, indicating that for these 50 companies atleast, call centres are doing a cracking job of helpingout customers. Perhaps surprisingly, 85 per cent ofcallers were satisfied with the service they wereoffered — and 42 per cent of those were extremely

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NOVEMBER 2008 TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE produced by United Business Media in association with The Times

satisfied. That’s nearly half who were, dare I say it,happy after speaking to a call centre.

So why have these centres done so well, whenwe know from painful experience that somecentres are patently rubbish? It could be down tothe fact that these companies realise theimportance of the call centre to their brand. In thisdigital age, the telephone is one of the fewpersonal interactions with customers left — and assuch is a key battleground with competitors. In fact,GfK NOP research recently revealed that almosthalf of 25-44 year-olds have changed supplierbecause of a negative call centre experience.Scary stuff — and a statistic that should makemarketing executives sit up and listen.

We hope that the 50 companies will wear theirparticipation in the programme as a badge ofhonour, in tribute to their bravery at exposing theircall centre performance in a very public way.

They may even display the logo on theiradvertising and marketing so consumers can seewhich companies care enough about theircustomers to invest in providing the best possibleservice over the phone.

I hope you will take the time to read about thesebusinesses over the following pages. The storiesthey have to tell are nothing short of inspirational,and you never know, you might find that callcentres aren’t as bad as you thought.

For information on the Top 50 Call Centres forCustomer Service 2009, please contact BradleyHoyland: [email protected], 020 79218511

Ten ofthe bestThe very topperforming centresof the Top 50 were:

1st�rst direct

2ndDenplan

3rdF&C Investments

4thLloyds TSB Insurance

5thLaithwaites

6thPrudential

7thCharles Tyrwhitt

8thING Direct

9thSpecsavers OpticalSuperstores

10thCambridgeshire CountyCouncil

Thegala evening toannouncethe topperformerswasastenseas theOscars (right) andEamonnHolmes (bottomright)wasverypopularwith theladies fromHolidayExtras,whocame top in their sector(bottom left)

The results from the Top 50mystery shopping surveywere so astounding, CallCentre Focus felt likecelebrating. So, along withthe organisers, we put on a glittering gala dinner inLondon to present each andevery one of the centres witha well-deserved trophy.

Daytime TV hero EamonnHolmes opened proceedingsand he developed quite afanclub (particularly the all-female team from Holiday

Extras) as he entertained the600-strong crowd with jokesand anecdotes. Invited on tothe stage were the ten bestoverall performers and thetop performer in eachsector to accept thisadditional accolade.

Having eaten and drunk, itwas definitely time to bemerry as the teams from all50 centres really let their hairdown to celebrate theiramazing achievements. Andat the end of the night, it was

time to reflect on what theTop 50 Call Centres forCustomer Service will do forthe industry. As one ecstaticmanager put it: “Thisrecognition of our success isgoing to fundamentallychange the way the callcentre is viewed withinour organisation.”

Measured against the top fivethings consumers look for in a call centre*, the performanceof the Top 50 is prettyimpressive:

Timeliness Unsurprisingly, wedon’t like to be kept waiting tospeak to someoneTop50 Nearly all (93%) of ourcallers got through on the firstattempt and only had to waitan average of 1.3 minutes tospeak to a humanEasyofuse It shouldn’t be

hard to get our enquiryansweredTop50 91% of the mysteryshoppers said the centresperformed well in this areaReliabilityCustomers want tobe sure their problem will behandled correctlyTop50 Almost all (98%) ofproblems/queries wereresolved in the first callKnowledgeablestaffNaturally, the centre shouldhave all the informationneeded to resolve an enquiry

Top50 The average score outof five for this area was anoutstanding 4.4Personalised We also wantthe call to be a pleasantexperience, with polite,helpful and friendly staffTop50 It could be arguedthat this is an area forimprovement, but the overallscore for this area was still a respectable 68%

* according to a series of consumerfocus groups

Celebrating call centres

Whatdo consumerswant?

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TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE NOVEMBER 2008

6 TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE produced by United Business Media in association with The Times

THINK OF AN EXAMPLE of great customerservice, and first direct is the example thatsprings to mind over and over again. And yet thebank is entirely call centre based. Given thatmost people hate call centres, how does thefinance company keep its customers so happy?

I put this question to a number of first directstaff — at both the Leeds and Hamilton (nearGlasgow) centres and the answer was alwaysthe same: it’s all about people. Each of theminsisted that customers and staff are at theheart of the organisation on every level.

“Customers really do come first — we mean it,”says call centre manager Leigh Windle. Whilstmany companies pay lip service to thissentiment, at first direct there is somethingfundamentally genuine about it. Stories aboundof call centre workers ‘going the extra mile’ forcallers, such as the example of a customer whoforgot her handbag and was therefore unable topay for a ticket when she boarded a train. On calling first direct, she was assured that arepresentative would be waiting at the trainstation with money to pay for her ticket whenshe arrived in Leeds. It’s that kind of mindsetthat turns customers into true advocates of thebrand. Staff hear all the time that callers are:“proud to be customers.”

Customer representative Sandra Pattersonexplains that how they treat customers is reallydown to common courtesy: “We put ourselvesin the customer’s shoes and treat them likehuman beings. I’m really proud to work herebecause we all genuinely want to hear fromour customers.”

Unusually for a financial services call centre,there are no scripts at first direct, allowing staffto truly develop one-to-one relationships withcustomers. And, far from being timed on eachcall, agents are actively encouraged to chat. Infact, some customers have been known to make

the agent a cup of tea whilst talking to thembecause they get so engrossed in theconversation. Staff are careful not to overstepthe mark though: “We are a bank after all,” saysWindle, “so we have to be professional. But I think we’ve hit the right balance of beingfriendly without being too personal.”

People powerSo how does first direct maintain this passionfor service among its staff? Well, for one thing,they offer an impressive list of employeebenefits, including: subsidised creche places, aconcierge service that will perform every daytasks such as visits to the dry cleaners orposting letters, a relaxation room completewith onsite masseur, free parking, and carvaleting and servicing.

But even more important than any perk is theseemingly genuine passion for people displayedby the business. “Make no mistake,” sayscustomer services manager Russell Fleet, “ourpeople are our business. And it’s important toinvest in them and show them that you careabout them as individuals. If you treat themwith respect, they will pass that on to thecustomer and repay your investment in spades.”

Call centre work is often repetitive anduninspiring, and many operations attachsignificant importance to incentive schemesdesigned to motivate employees and maintaininterest. But first direct staff hardly mentionincentives (though) there are schemes to winanything from vouchers to a holiday). Ratherthey talk about the atmosphere of the place,which is described as “fantastic”, “friendly”, “likefamily”, “supportive” and “brilliant”.

Managers nurture this environment byoffering regular one-to-one coaching,motivational ‘buzz’ sessions and recognition foreven small kindnesses towards customers or

colleagues. Andthe investmentin the individual istypified by the offerof Neuro-LinguisticProgramming (NLP) for team leaders to helpthem realise their goals both internally and intheir private lives. And the annual awardsceremony recognises amazing people, whetherthat be for help they have given to a colleagueor raising money for charity outside of work.

There is evidently a lot of playfulness amongcolleagues too, with internal competitions,dress-up days and awards for ‘service heroes’.“We want people to enjoy work and having funis important,” says Fleet. “But staff should alsofeel that they are valued as experts within thebusiness. We do not have any partitions in thecentre and staff know that they can approachme at any time with problems or suggestions —and lots of improvements have been made as aresult of that policy. If I could advise any callcentre manager on how to improve, it would belisten to your staff and act on what they say.”

If the performance of first direct in the Top 50survey is anything to go by, it’s good advice.The bank’s people-centric approach seems tobe turning the traditional view of the contactcentre on its head and presenting the publicwith an image of a professional, yet friendlyoperation that is also a fun place to work.

“When people hear what I do for a living, theyask me how I can bear it,’ says Patterson. “Theyare imagining a sweatshop environment withtyrannical managers and over-worked staff —but it’s just not like that. The positive attitudetowards staff and customers and the greatimprovements in call centres in recent years hasbeen proven by the fantastic performance of allthe centres in the Top 50 — and I hope itcontinues for a long time.”

1.2millionfirst direct customers

200,000calls are handled bystaff at first direct’scentres in Hamilton

and Leeds every week

13,000calls each day are

received outsideworking hours

80%of contact is made

by electronic means

1 in 3new customers joinbecause of personal

recommendation

Renowned for having excellent service, first direct has proved onceand for all that it knows how to keep customers happy. But how does thetelephony bank achieve such fantastic results time after time?

Top performer: first direct

Overall performance scorefirst direct scored over 90% for allfive key service areas: timeliness,

ease of use, reliability,knowledgeable staff and

personalisation

92%

TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

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NOVEMBER 2008 TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE produced by United Business Media in association with The Times

ING DIRECTTEAM LEADER KatieHalls describes how shefeels about working forING Direct: “I am proud to bepart of a company with greatcommitment to their staff andcustomers. I have never workedin an organisation that’s sovibrant. Everyone isapproachable, with allmanagers accessible andsitting amongst their teams.

“There is a really open,family atmosphere at

ING, and there are regularbriefings with seniormanagers. I’ve been working aspart of a team who meet withthe ceo and directors to discussideas and exchange feedback.

“Customer service is a realfocus for us and we arerewarded with bi-monthlyOscars, recognising role model

behaviour and instant prizessuch as chocolates when weget a customer compliment, orwhere an agent gives “wow”customer service.

“Recently, I received globalrecognition as the UK TeamLeader of the Year and wasgiven the fabulous opportunityto visit ING Direct Italy — anamazing experience and one Iwill never forget.”

NationwideENSURING THAT NATIONWIDE’S call centreoffers great service is vital to the way we dobusiness. In fact, we recently revamped ouremployee bonus scheme to place an evengreater focus on customer satisfaction.

Under the new scheme, managers willreview the way advisors handle customers’calls and give them a score that will form akey measure for their employee rewards.We also make sure we follow up withcustomers to check how satisfied they are —each month 1,200 customers are surveyedabout the service they received from the

call centre. Some recent commentsincluded: “A very helpful chap

resolved all my issues,” and“you gave the best service.”

But what really sets usapart is Nationwide’s

PRIDE philosophy. PRIDEstands for Puttingmembers first, Rising tothe challenge, Inspiringconfidence, Delivering

best value andExceeding

expectations. In short,PRIDE helps remind our staff

of the need to put themselvesin the customer’s shoes to really

excel in the servicethey provide.

Financial ServicesTough economic times are putting

increasing pressure on call centres in thebanking sector. Luckily, though, financialservices firms have always grasped theimportance of customer service and werethe early adopters of call centres, whichmeans they are more advanced than most.

While an overall trend in the Top 50revealed that many centres could do betterin terms of personalising service, the banksand insurance companies excelled in thisarea. The report from GfK NOP states that:“Financial services consistently received thehighest excellence ratings on the moresubjective service elements, such asfriendliness, politeness and willingness tohelp.” What’s more, 90 per cent of mysterycallers to the Top 50 financial firms weresatisfied or extremely satisfied with theirexperience. Little wonder, then, that no lessthan six out of the ten top performers in theprogramme are from this sector.

BUPA MAKES a realdifference to somany people,helping them livelonger, healthier,happier lives.

The people in our callcentres offer the personalencouragement andsupport our customersneed at important andoften difficult times. Theirefforts really can’t beunder-estimated, as onecustomer explained in anemotional and heartfeltletter to the team:

“I went through a mostdifficult period of treatmentfor lung cancer and the shockof having the disease wasvery difficult to come to termswith. Your staff gave mepersonal words of kindness, careand encouragement to get well. Thiswas so special and I felt that Bupareally cared. I was not just anothernumber on an insurance file.”

“From my past experience of runninga large public company, the good points

were never

highlighted — we only everreceived words of criticism. The

care I received from Bupa helpedme come to terms with my illness andkept my mind focused on beating it.

“I am one of your most gratefulcustomers and have probably got theword ‘Bupa’ running through my bodylike a stick of Brighton rock! Thank you.”

Nearly half of consumers say they would be more loyalto a company after a positive call centre experience49%

Bupa

Coventry BuildingSociety

“TALKING TO THE COVENTRY? It’s likecoming home.” What makes a customer saythat about our call centre? Mrs Woods couldtell you. A long-standing member of theCoventry, she had an appointment at a medical centre on the same business park asthe Society’s call centre.

Frail, anxious, tired, and now lost, she wason the point of collapse. That was when PhilBlount found her. An advisor with theCoventry, he was on his way in for an eveningshift. He didn’t know where the medicalcentre was either. He didn’t know Mrs Woodswas a member of the Society. He just knewhe had to do something. In Mrs Woods’words, Phil rescued her. He calmed her,helped her to the clinic and reunited herwith her husband. Then he went to work.

Quite simply, talking to theCoventry is “like coming home”because of the people whowork here. Everyone knowstheir job is to help customersand they love delivering onthat responsibility.

Overall performance scorefor financial services

call centres

86%

Call centres havebeen around in theform of service andtelemarketing ‘hubs’for more than20 years, but itwas only in themid-nineties, whencompanies were ableto link calls to theircomputer systems,that the notion ofcustomer contactas an ‘industry’really took hold

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8 TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE produced by United Business Media in association with The Times

WE’RE A COMPANY with soul — and it’s reflected in our contactcentres, where trainingfocuses new colleagues on the

core Co-operativeprinciples of value,

fairness and socialresponsibility.

We don’t targetadvisors on call

handling times, butrather on how well

they build rapport withcustomers.

“During these uncertaintimes, customers want to dealwith people who are friendly,helpful and most importantlywhom they can trust,” saysAnn-Marie Stagg, who headsthe contact centre.

Where else can customersinfluence business practicesthrough customer-led

mandates? What othercompanies plough profits backinto the community throughpromoting responsible drivingand recycling?

The Co-operative’s vibrant,dynamic contact centreenvironment is right at theheart of the company and is a credit to the passion,commitment and dedication ofthose working within it.

BollywoodcallingA new �lm based onthe most successfulEnglish language bookin Indian history, OneNight In The CallCentre, is currentlyscreening in India.

Tesco Personal FinanceLVTESCO PERSONAL FINANCE isthe UK’s most successfulsupermarket bank. Since itslaunch in 1997, we have grownto have over five millioncustomer accounts.

Tesco Personal Financemarkets its products throughTesco’s 1898 stores, with a permanent presence at over15,700 checkouts.

Since 1997, Tesco PersonalFinance has launched 28

products and services,from pet insurance tocredit cards. With 55 percent of sales noworiginating from the Internetand 45 per cent of businesscoming through the stores, wehave to make sure our productsare available where and whencustomers want them.

Tesco Personal Finance aimsto always be innovative in itsapproach to delivering

financial services. Agreat example of this

is the Tesco InstantTravel Insurance product,

which was an industry first.This product lets customersbuy their travel insuranceliterally off-the-shelf. Anothergood example is in the in-storecheque deposit facility. Thismeans customers can also paycheques into their savingsaccount as they shop.

JOHN O’ROARKE, managingdirector of LV= GeneralInsurance, says: “Excellentcustomer service is central to theculture in LV= and as our call centres are thefirst point of contact for many of our customers,their success is of paramount importance. As adirect insurer, ensuring we provide an efficient,informative and friendly service is extremelyimportant to us.

“We believe in investing in the people whowork for us and creating an excellent workingenvironment. We handle an average of 35,000calls a week, so it’s vital that sta� re�ect ourfriendly and open culture.

“Throughout our business we activelyencourage a good work-life balance, and offerflexible working patterns to attract differentpeople to reflect our customer base.

“LV= is a mutual organisation, meaning weexist wholly for the benefit of our members andcustomers. We aim to reflect this through ourcustomer services team and make ourcustomers feel valued.”

Co-operative Financial Services

DenplanJULIA DAWSON, director of customer servicesat Denplan, is sure that motivated, happyemployees are essential for a successfulbusiness and keeping customers happy.“Senior management make sure they arealways available for sta� in the open-plancentre and a great deal of e�ort goes intocreating a sense of team work.

“Our advisors recently took part ina charity “It’s a Knockout”, raisingmoney for Dentaid, and also acommunity action day, wherethey gave a church garden anda scout hut a makeover.”

And this spirit doesn’t gounnoticed by customers. A recentletter pays tribute to the culture of serviceexcellence that we continue to nurture: “Thetelephone conversations I just had are withoutdoubt the finest example of customer service Ihave ever experienced. It’s a credit to Denplan.”

F&C InvestmentsAT F&C, WE TAKE time choosing our staff and

make no apologies for it. You can’t trainsomeone to naturally empathise with

the widow who’s never dealt withfinances, or the new parent whodesperately wants to make the rightchoices for their baby’s Child Trust

Fund. We use training to developfinancial knowledge, so we focus on

recruiting individuals who display an inherentability and desire to help our customers.

Our customers are individuals, so we create anenvironment where our staff can be individualstoo. We don’t provide scripts, or target calllength, we just look for solutions. At F&Cexcellent customer service is a career choice,not just a job, and there’s a real buzz in a teamwho know they are making a difference. As onecustomer put it, they are: “brilliant...absolutelywonderful, very kind and very helpful.”

FTS - working on behalf of F&C Investments - is delighted to have achieved 3rdplace in the National Top 50 Call Centres for Customer Service, organised byCall Centre Focus Magazine.

Winning this award is living testament to our continued dedication in providingour partners with telemarketing solutions that really work.

It proves that appreciation for our partners’ hard-won brand values is centralto what we practice.

It shows beyond doubt the true value of the Treating Customers Fairly culturethat is embedded throughout our organisation.

Call Andrea Peskett or Nathalie Moreau on: 020 8324 3300 www.fts-ltd.com

At last. Something to really shout about inthe financial services sector!

FTS is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas SA, a European leader in global financial services with a Standard and Poors rating of AA+Authorised and Regulated by The Financial Services Authority. Financial Telemarketing Services Ltd, Company No 02794024.Registered Office: New Horizons, Studio Way, Borehamwood, Herts. WD6 5XX

• Inbound & outboundtelemarketingprogrammes

• Customer acquisition

• Customer retention

• Customer service

• Revenue generation

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NOVEMBER 2008 TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE produced by United Business Media in association with The Times

“DIRECT LINE’S ETHOS hasalways been to provide thevery best in customer service,”says Frances Browning, headof newsroom at Direct LineInsurance. “In an increasinglycompetitive market such asinsurance, we know that ourservice delivery will be animportant differentiator.”

Direct Line began life in April

1985 with 63 employees and a call centre in Croydon. It wasthe first insurance company touse the telephone as its mainchannel of communication.

This was revolutionary at thetime, as out went themiddleman, commissions,forms and jargon — and in camespeed, simplicity and a common-sense human touch.

It is this relationship with thecustomer that Direct Line isnow synonymous with. Thesimple, straightforward ethosthat customers can get a better deal by going direct — either on the phone or via thewebsite — is still very relevantfor customers today.

Direct Line now has five callcentres across the UK.

Lloyds TSB InsuranceROBERT REGAN, HEAD OF sales andoperations at Lloyds TSB describes his work:“When I’m asked outside of work what I do, assoon as I mention the three words insurance,call, and centre, I get one of two responses:1. a glazed look appears across their face,followed by a swift change of subject2. a tirade of how much call centres angerthem, with their absurd wait times, etc,So why is it that I am really proud of the placeI work? Because I‘m responsible for makingaround 3,500 promises to customers everyweek that when something reallybad happens in their life,someone from my businesswill make things better.

Have you ever been burgled?Or flooded? Lost somethingprecious? Or accidentally spiltred wine on your brand new creamcarpet? It’s not usually until something goeswrong that you then think about yourinsurance company in a different light.

Yes, we are a business and are fully awarethat we’re here to make money, but we neverlose sight of the fact that we are here toprotect our customers.

Churchill“CHURCHILL INSURANCE is delighted to be aninaugural member of the Top 50 Call Centresfor Customer service programme,” says PeterJohnson, head of service at Churchill Insurance.“The company’s core vision has always beenabout delivering outstanding customerservice. From running a dedicated 24-hourclaims line to handling customer enquiriesand concerns, the call centre staff are gearedup to listen to and action customers’ needs.They are also essential for realising Churchill’sgoal of not having any tricky claims forms to fillin should the worst happen, or laboriouspaperwork for policy amendments.”

Churchill is synonymous with its iconicbulldog, which burst onto TVscreens in 1996. Hiscatchphrase ‘Oh yes!’ sums upthe firm’s attitude and ismimicked up and down theUK. Churchill nodding dogs canbe seen in many cars, as 1,000are sold each month.

Direct Line

PrudentialTHE CUSTOMER IS pivotal to everythingwe do in the sales centre. Our advisorsregularly suggest ways to improve ourservice based on their conversationswith customers. Many ideas are simple toimplement, which means they areempowered to really make a difference.

Matt Hogan, head of direct marketingat PruHealth says: “PruHealth’s aim is tomake people healthier and we activelyencourage our policyholders to engagein a healthy lifestyle. This positiveattitude to health and wellbeing isreflected in the manner of our salescentre staff who make sure that acustomer’s interaction with us is of thehighest possible standard.”

Neil Bowyer, telephony director(direct distribution), added: “The Top 50initiative was a fantastic opportunity tolearn how real consumers benchmark usagainst other great companies across avariety of different industries. I’mextremely proud of the team for gettingus into a top ten position, and we’ll usethe results to further improve ourcustomer experience.”

Five things youshould never put upwith from a call centre:1. Interminableandconfusingmenus—especiallyones thatarenotspecificenoughandenduptakingyoubackto thebeginning2.Promises todothings thatare thennotdone

3.NETMA(NobodyEverTellsMeAnything): lackofknowledgeaboutacompany’sproductsorservices4.Havingto redial other

departments, rather than

beingput through

5. Lackof courtesyIfanyof thesedohappen,makesureyoucomplain toamanager—companiesneedtoknowwhentheirstaffarenotperformingwell.Simon Roncoroni, SR Consulting

ABBEY UNDERSTANDS that the realsecret to giving great service is down toemploying great people.

Our call centres create an environmentthat encourages staff to take ownershipof the service that they deliver for everysingle customer — and that approach isreflected in some of the comments thatAbbey is starting to receive. Onecustomer recently left a comment to saythat the adviser they spoke to was “verypolite and helped me with exactly whatwas needed — thanks a lot Abbey, you’verestored my faith in the banking system”.

Employing friendly people thatcustomers can depend on in this way iscritical — but it’s also the hardest thing toget right. Luckily for Abbey, havingenjoyed success at the National SalesAwards and also scooping a prestigiousAgent of the Month award earlier thisyear, it looks as though our staff reallyare committed to making sure that thecustomer continues to come first.

Abbey

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10 TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE produced by United Business Media in association with The Times

TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE NOVEMBER 2008

The UK Market Leader forairport parking and hotels

We remember what the others forget

Call 0871 360 2203 or visit holidayextras.com/times2

Incompetent.Annoying. Sweatshops.

www.slough.gov.uk

Why is it that these words are so often used about callcentres more than any other type of service?

Yes, there are some bad ones, but the majority provide anexcellent, cost effective means of communication. It’s thatsimple.Local government has in recent years recognised the positivesfor both staff and customers alike.

InSlough,we launchedamulti channel centre,MyCouncil,in 2005. Over 300,000 customer enquiries come in annually now. More importantly, wefixed first time, over 85% of those enquiries. Hardly ‘incompetent’?!

Independent Borough surveys indicate a 14% increase in customer satisfaction with SloughBorough Council since MyCouncil opened.A staggering 81% of customers were satisfied with theservice they received when using MyCouncil direct.Not so annoying then.

As for the team, many of whom have been here since day one; say they take pride intheir role. Stressful days are shared and so is light-hearted ‘banter’. And the newestmembers, well some of them were customers. Would you actively seek to join a‘sweatshop’? Didn’t think so.

So before you go down that well trodden road of negative opinion, why not first try out some ofthe great service centres. Pop into ours if you are in Slough.

We think you’ll be surprised.

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Haven Holidays“THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE is a core ethos throughout ourbusiness,” says Haven Holidays’call centre manager Sean Power,who has been with the companyfor 17 years. “The customer’sfirst impression of their holiday is set by the callcentre, so it’s incredibly important.”

The success of the call centre can be seen notjust in the sales figures, but in the positiveresponse from customers:“If there were more Kims in this world it wouldbe a better place, she has restored my faith inhuman nature’, wrote one customer afterbooking a break in Blackpool. “I wish everycompany had a team like yours, then maybecustomers would not get so irritated,” saidanother. “I’d like to congratulateyou on an excellent service.”wrote Mr Smart.

But the centre has to be goodfor the team as well. RobO’Brien sums it up by saying:“I’ve tried other call centres but Ilove it here. The training isbrilliant and the whole workingexperience is really fun and enjoyable.”

Virgin Atlantic

Neilson Active Holidays

CUST TRIC is a key word in theVirgin Atlantic contact centre. VirginAtlantic customers have very highexpectations and the staff are recruitedand trained to deliver these ‘brilliantbasics’ to meet expectations and add‘magic touches’ to exceed them. Whichmight explain why they get at least tenthank you letters each week. “One of theperks of the job is reading the wonderfulletters that our customers have taken thetrouble to write,” says John Giddings,general manager of the contact centre.The monthly call quality programme isdesigned to truly measure the customerexperience, as opposed to ‘tick box’exercise. As Giddings says,”Does it reallymatter whether or not the agent used thecustomer’s name three times? What reallymatters is how good the experience reallywas” And the monthly customersatisfaction survey supports the callquality programme. “It’s pointless havinga yearly measure,” says Giddings. “Ifsomething is wrong, we need to knowabout it as soon as possible.” There’s nodoubt that customer service is takenvery seriously at Virgin Atlantic andwe believe the personal touch givesus a competitive advantage.

THE STAFF IN OUR reservations team are notthe monotone type that put you off going onyour holiday. In fact, they are the opposite andpositively bubble over with excitement whentalking about Neilson holidays. The reason?They love what they do. Most members ofthe contact centre team are ex-seasonstaff who have tried and tested Neilsonholidays first-hand. We make a valid point torecruit reservations staff who share ourpassion for active fun – whether it’s on theslopes or the sea. We activelyencourage staff to visit ourresorts througheducational, company-funded trips or concessionsthat can be enjoyed withfamily and friends. Thanks tothis first-hand experience, we’reable to give our customers best tips, advisingthem on anything from best-suited resort,through room layout, to available equipment.We feel this makes our customer servicestand head and shoulders above the rest andensures we give our customers the bestexperience when booking a Neilson holiday.

Entertainment,travel and leisureAn interesting observation about travel

centres is that they make very little effort togive extra information to callers. We’vebasically made them a bit lazy by doingtonnes of research on the Internet beforeringing to book with all the exact details.Holiaymakers can expect that to change,though, as travel and leisure companiesrealise that offering details of other servicesis not only good customer service, but alsooffers additional sales opportunities.

The good news is that nearly all (96 percent) enquiries were resolved first time —a major tick in the box for any call centreinteraction. What’s more, the overridingmeasure of success for these centres is howsatisfied their customers are because theywant you to feel happy about their brand. Justas well, then, that 92 per cent of our mysteryshoppers found these centres easy to use.

“WE AIM TO CREATE aunique environmentfor our team whichreflects how they dealwith our customers,” saysPeter Mooney, head ofoperations at market leadingtravel add-on company,Holiday Extras. An open,relaxed working atmospherecombined with an award-winningoffice building set in the Kentcountryside provide thefoundations for the excellentcustomer service that HolidayExtras consistently delivers.

The centre handles one million callsannually and quality of communicationwith customers is one of the keymeasures of staff performance.Everyone of the 120 team membersreceives a two-week induction,a quarterly morale meetingwith Mooney, a monthlycoaching session and regular

training courses to keep knowledgeand skills up to date.

A performance-related bonussystem, prize giveaways, transparentcareer progression and a lively socialscene keep morale high. The teammake regular use of a variety ofinternal communication channelswhere issues are resolved quickly.

“I personally think it’sabsolutely critical to keep your

team happy,” concludesMooney. “If they’re happy,the customer is happy.”

Nearly all of the mystery shoppers got through toentertainment, travel and leisure centres �rst time95%

TOP PERFORMER

Holiday Extras

P&O FerriesOUR CALL CENTRE HAS beenpainted in yellow, thought tobe the most powerful ofearth colours, symbolisingwisdom, tolerance andpatience — qualities we encourage in ouragents. Giant murals, specially chosen to evokehappy thoughts, adorn the walls and large picturewindows offering a panoramic view of the EnglishChannel create a bright and positive environment.

Our teams become tribes — each onerecognisable by its Totem Pole. At the head ofeach of these is a bear, a creature believed inNative American folklore to possess the power toassume the form of any being it meets. Thisreminds our agents that through empathy withour customers, we create a service they’ll want touse again.

Each individual’s efforts determine thecustomer’s perception of our service quality and asense of pride in our company’s achievements inturn encourages the development of an inclusiveteam culture. It’s this concept of cross-functionalteam-work that drives our business success.

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TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE OCTOBER 2008

12 TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE produced by United Business Media in association with The Times

Lego

Emirates

National Rail Enquiries“REMEMBER, IT IS AN ACTUAL person on theother end of the phone” became more than justa saying when an advisor for National RailEnquiries (NRE) was seriously injured in a motorbike accident.

Gordon D’souza, a key member of the NREcontact centre team in Mumbai, India was leftin a coma and on a ventilator fighting for hislife. Determined to help, the entire NRE teamsprang into action. The same passion thatdrives the outstanding performance levels of

300 advisors in Rotherham, South Yorkshireand 300 advisors in Mumbai, India was

employed to raise thousands of poundsto assist in paying for his critical care.Tejpal Singh, head of contact centres

for NRE, says: “I am very proud of theway the team came together and

really put themselves out.” Gordon’scondition has improved and although heremains in hospital, he is in a stable condition.Singh concludes: “It’s not so much what we do,as it is who is doing it that makes the NREcontact centres so special.”

CHRISTMAS IS COMING and if youwork for one of the world’s biggest toycompanies it’s the best time of the year. Overthe next few months 100 multi-lingual,multi-skilled advisors from all over Europewill be sitting in Slough waiting to talk to consumers from over 15 countries about theLEGO sets they want for Christmas 2008.Here’s what the LEGO Group’s experienceand innovation director has to say about theimpact contact centre advisors have on theway LEGO develops new toys: “In the productdevelopment area, we are very fortunateto have committed creative individualswhose passion for the products, proactiveapproach to problem-solving and deepconcern for consumers make for a highly-focused dialogue during our productdevelopment process. Input from ourproduct specialists in the contact centre is anessential component in developing new andbetter products.”

“CUSTOMERS’ FIRSTIMPRESSIONS of us are likely tooriginate with a phone call toour European contact centrelocated in Wilmslow,Manchester,” says PaulHenderson-Spoors, contactcentre manager at theEuropean centre. “We handleup to approximately 130,000calls per month fromcustomers based in the UK,Ireland, France, Germany,

Austria, Italy and Switzerland,365 days a year. It’s thereforevitally important we deliver anend-to-end customerexperience and our goalsinclude: getting through to anagent quickly, empathy withcustomers, and resolvingenquiries in a single call.

“We’re always looking atways of improving our servicelevels and our involvementwith the Top 50 programme

will help provide a professionalassessment of how the airlinetalks with its customers.”

Regarded as one of theworld’s most dynamic andfastest growing carriers,Emirates flies more than17.5million passengers a year.Since its launch in 1985, it hasreceived more than 400awards in recognition of itsefforts to provide unsurpassedlevels of customer service.

NationalExpress

WHETHER IT’S bytrain, coach or bus,customers are at the heart ofeverything we do atNational Express, and forthose with disabilities, wewant to pay them a littleextra attention.

To achieve our aim of ‘MakingTravel Simpler’, our award-winning AssistedTravel Team gives an extra helping hand tothousands of people travelling the countryevery month. What’s more, the NationalExpress Disability Group, which involvesvarious focus groups nationwide, debatestravel issues to find the best solutions andensure we are providing the right level ofsupport.

National Express also has a strongcommitment to employee engagement andrecognising outstanding performance.“Working for National Express is a reallyenjoyable experience,” says Umar Imtiaz at ourBirmingham contact centre. His team wererewarded recently for being part of a winningteam that achieved ambitious customersatisfaction targets. “This incentive was a brilliant bonus and a great way for the companyto show us that our hard work has not goneunnoticed and that my involvement doesmatter,” concludes Imtiaz.

£14,611averagesalary foranewagent in thetravelsector.Agentswho leavecallcentres in thetravelsectormost frequentlycite lowpayas thereason.

58,000numberof call centreagents in the industry

11averagenumberofsecondstakentopickupacall inthissector (seems longer,doesn’t it?)

95percentageofcallerswhogot throughfirst timetocentres in thissector

12.3%theproportionofemailinteractions is (more thanalmostanyothersector)Statistics taken from ContactBabel UK ContactCentre Operational Review, 5th edition

Emirates serves a rapidly expanding network,stretching across 100 destinations in 62 countriesPeoplewhocall Legogive

great feedbackbecausetheyspeakto fun,reliableandengagingadvisorswhoembodythebrandvalues

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EurostarAT THE EUROSTAR contactcentre we provide a personalcontact point for ourcustomers, whether by phone,e-mail or the good old-fashioned written word.

Why are we different? Because weencourage all our highly motivated staff to usethe personal touch, scripts are a no-no,personality is a big YES! We pride ourselves inthe fact that our people have the tools andpersonalities to deliver great service; givingour travellers a personalised experience everytime they contact us, whether they arebooking a ticket, claiming points or raising anissue – the mantra “Think Customer” is at theheart of everything we do.As a result, typical customer feedbackincludes comments like these:“The whole conversation left me lovingEurostar even more.”“She was excellent; very helpful, polite,cheerful and courteous-an excellentambassador for Eurostar.”

“I just wanted to drop you a short line to givethe highest commendation to a member ofyour team.”

“I cannot remember the last time Iencountered such a friendly and helpfulperson at the end of a telephone.”

“I cannot praise your services enough... Iwalked around with a smile on my face for therest of the day. Thank you so much for yourwonderful customer care!”

Premier Inn

THE UK’S BIGGEST andfastest growing hotelchain, Premier Inn hasmore than 500 hotelsand 37,000 rooms in theUK and Ireland. At theheart of the organisation isthe contact centre team whodeal with three million calls andemails a year and who, in 2007/08,contributed more than £1million to thesuccess of Premier Inn.

Thanks to our diverse team and their abilityto meet the needs of our similarly diverseguests, we ensure customers know what toexpect and that we will deliver what we saywe will —every time.

Communication is ongoing and varied to keepthe team up-to-date with the many changesand challenges affecting the company — thisincludes urestricted access to the Internet,weekly huddles, team briefings, brandknowledge and days out, as well as Keep InTouch senior management briefings andconferences. The employee survey alwaysreturns a score of more than 90 percent and the ad-hoc feedbackwe receive is great too:“Always a good atmosphere”,“fantastic flexibility”, “I feelappreciated and part of a teamthat’s making a contribution”.

Sky“Sky warmly welcomes the opportunityto benchmark our performance withother leading organisations,” says salesdirector Dave Rumble. “Our goal is todeliver a simple, reliable and personal serviceto all our customers and we plan to use theTop 50 initiative to support the continuousdevelopment of our leading customermanagement capabilities.”

Customer service is at the heart of ourbusiness and we are one of Scotland’s biggestprivate sector employers with more than6,000 people in our contact centres inLivingston, Dunfermline and Uddingston. Weplace considerable investment in training andcoaching our people and we are also veryproud of our award-winning accessibilityservice, which offers a one-stop-shop fordisabled customers.

Sky is the UK’s leading entertainmentcompany and operates the mostcomprehensive multi-channel, multi-

platform television service in the UK andIreland, and our aim is tooffer unparalleled choicein content, deliveredthrough innovative andtechnological advancedplatforms that best servethe growing demands oftoday’s viewers.

Thomas CookTHE VICTORIAN pioneer whofounded Thomas Cook andgave it his name describedhimself as “the willing anddevoted servant of thetravelling public”.

Today, more than 160 yearslater, those words remain a fitting foundation for thecompany he created. The goalof the Thomas Cook salescentre is to be number one inthe travel industry and is

completely focusedon improvingcustomer service andcreating a workplaceculture committed tolearning and development.

Our fantastic staff arecelebrated every quarter whenour Customer Heroes areannounced. Typical of these isValerie Lickerish. Onecustomer said: “My father is78-years-young and Valerie

helped to arrangewheelchair assistance

at the airport. Thejourney went well and the

next day, when I answeredthe phone, I was very surprisedto hear it was Valerie asking if Dad had arrived safely in theUK. We have been travellingfor years and until now, I havenever received a follow up call.I can’t stop telling my friendsabout how kind Valerie was.”

Only around 3-5% of UK call centre functions wentoverseas during the o�shoring boom. Government-commissioned research in 2005 suggested that anytrade gap created would be more than �lled by thegeneral growth trend for business services

Overall performance scorefor entertainment, travel

and leisure call centres

82%21million viewersand 8.9millionhouseholds enjoy a vast choice ofchannels on Skyand 3.4million useSky+ to record andstore programmes

NOVEMBER 2008 TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

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Kent County Council

Liverpool Direct

Driving Standards Agency

Derek Smith, of Contact Kent, the call centrefor Kent County Council, says: “I have workedin contact centres, for many years, but this isthe most complicated, diverse and lifechanging environment of them all.“The commitment we have to our customersis seen through the variety of calls wehandle and our customer focus. We don’ttarget how long a call should last, but focuson what is right for that caller. The service isoffered all day every day and with no IVR orspeech recognition — it’s a service for peopledelivered by people. A typical day in the lifeof a customer service representative mayinvolve starting at 12pm and finishing at8pm, taking 162 calls of all different kinds,including: enrolling 22 people on eveningcourses; helping one person to apply for a disabled Blue Badge and chasing up anapplication made three weeks ago; loggingtwo requests for a pot hole to be filled in andreporting a faulty streetlight; makingappointments to register five deaths andseven births ; explaining the rights whenbuying a second hand car to three people;and renewing 20 library books.

Staff from every level of theorganisation describe thework of the call centre:

“I’m delighted that the staffin our call centre have receivedsuch recognition for theircommitment to our customers.The work they do is vital toDSA and their place in the Top50 is testament to their hardwork and dedication. I am veryproud of their achievement.”Rosemary Thew, chief

executive.“We balance daily the needs ofour business customers andthe public — we’re more thanaware that we have to be thebest.” Jason Falk, customeroperations manager.“There’s never a dull momentworking here – it’s a fast pacedenvironment where no twodays are the same. It’s good tosee through the Top 50programme that companies

are keen to change the poorimage of call centres.” VictoriaWright, supervisor.“I enjoy working at the DSA, asthere is a friendly, family typeof atmosphere, which helpsmorale and productivity.

Managers are alwayssupportive and understandingtowards staff and help guideand assist with careerprogression.” Dave Shell, callcentre agent.

Surrey County CouncilAT SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL, we are awarethat “having to phone the council” may fill somepeople with dread, because the perception isoften one of an impersonal service andbureaucracy. But we treat all our customers asindividuals, recognising that different peoplechoose to contact us in a variety of ways atdifferent times of day. With customersatisfaction scores consistently over 95 percent every month, our success is due to thehard work and professionalism of our teamof 100 dedicated customer service agentswho handle around 50,000 calls a month, thevast majority of which are answered in lessthan 20 seconds.

Nick Skellett, leader of the county council,says: “Focusing on the needs of our 1.1millionresidents is key to the way that we conductour business across the whole of the council.The fantastic work carried out by our contactcentre is truly representative of our ethos ofplacing the customer at the heartof everything we do.”

And it’s a great place towork too, as agent RashmiDave concludes: “It’s somotivating to work in a teamenvironment like this.”

Public sectorYou remember those days when

the first two pages of your Thomson Local weretaken up with separate numbers for each of thedifferent departments of your local council?

Well, in 2006 Tony Blair decided this wasn’tgood enough and asked chairman of HerMajesty’s Revenue and Customs David Varneyto come up with a blueprint for creating callcentres for local and central government thatpeople could contact by simply phoning onenumber. The result? The public sector is catchingup to the private sector in terms of customer (orcitizen) satisfaction.

This is quite something when you considerthat agents working in public sector call centreshave to cope with an unimaginable variety ofqueries and requests — anything from whattime the bin man comes to questions aboutclaiming child benefit or talking to someone whohas recently suffered bereavement. In spite ofthis, the survey showed that 93 per cent ofqueries are resolved on the first call and centrescame in for particular praise for being easy touse and reliable.

BALANCING THE CONCEPT of the calleron the line being your next best friendand delivering cost effective andefficient customer service is not thateasy, but it’s what Cambridgeshire Directstrives to deliver. Chief executive MarkLloyd recently praised staff for thesupport they give to the residents ofCambridgeshire and for “makingcustomer service the norm.”

Testament to the staff’s dedication isthe recognition that a routine libraryservice call was in fact a desperate pleafor help. A caller rang the call centreasking for them to contact her friends

and signed off with the words: “Just tellthem I love them and that I’m sorry.”Realising the caller was distressed, thecall handler contacted the council’sEmergency Duty Team who respondedto find the caller had taken a cocktail ofalcohol and drugs and had fallen. Theappropriate emergency services weresoon on the scene.

The whole team‘s customer serviceethos is simply summed up by one of thededicated employee: “Providingcustomer service is my passion, it’s apart of who I am. If I went a day withouthelping people, I wouldn’t be me!”

LIVERPOOL DIRECT LIMITED (LDL) providespublic access services to more than onemillion customers and is proud to be able toshatter the false perception many peoplehave of ‘battery hen’ contact centres. Highlytrained staff use state of the art technologyto provide services to some of the mostvulnerable sections of society.We’re particularly proud of our life-savingTelecare service, which helps the elderlymaintain independent living at home. TheTelecare system ensures that anyone withthe system installed at home will beresponded to quickly, potentially saving a life.

For example, when the gas sensor wastriggered in the home of a 78-year-old manwith dementia, it alerted staff at the LDL callcentre, who rang Transco. They found a leakand the cooker pipe wasmade safe. Or the exampleof the 76-year-old who felland pressed the button onhis fall pendant, alertingthe LDL call centre, whichthen sent an ambulance.

Founded in 2001,LDL provides a range of services,including debtcollection, payrollservices and anemergency centrefor Defra

TOP PERFORMER

Cambridgeshire County Council

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London Boroughof Lambeth

LAMBETH, IN SOUTH WEST London has highlevels of unemployment and residentsclaiming benefits. But the council, togetherwith JobCentre Plus, has come up with a scheme to encourage residents who havebeen unemployed for long periods of timeback into work and to improve performancein our contact centres.

Residents who had not worked for longperiods of time or had low skill levels weregiven an opportunity to train and work incustomer care on a part-time basis.

Merlin Newell is a shining example of howsuccessful the scheme has been. Sheexplains: “Being out of an officeenvironment for such a long time made it difficult for me to find work. Since I joinedthe council, I have been trained in a numberof service areas, including parking, streetcare, registry, and generally to informresidents about the range of servicesoffered by the council. I’d definitelyrecommend this training scheme to others.”

DVLADVLA’S AWARD WINNINGcontact centre answers callsand emails on vehicle anddriver-related enquiries fromthe public, commercial customersand public bodies — but that doesn’t evenbegin to convey the complex and in-depthenquiries our contact centre advisors handleon a daily basis.

We know that the initial contact from amember of the public is DVLA’s firstopportunity to make a good impression anddemonstrate the professionalism of theorganisation. Therefore, our customer serviceagents are highly-trained and have a deserved reputation for delivering a quick andquality service that’s bespoke to thecustomer’s needs.

The ‘buzz’ created by the contact centre’svibrant working conditions and theenthusiastic approach of our sta� is always asource of comment by visitors to the centre.

The ongoing focus is firmly on performanceand continuous improvement, with customersatisfaction and multiple channel self-services at the forefront of all we do.

Her Majesty’s Revenueand Customs (HMRC)

HMRC’S AWARD WINNING contact centresdeal with 60million calls every year, across a wide-range of different subjects. Our aim issimple: to make it as easy as possible for ourcustomers to get it right.

We’ve come a long way — as several awardwins and an overall customer satisfactionscore of 90 per cent show — but there’s stilllots to do and we welcome the feedbackfrom the Top 50 survey.

We can’t afford to stand still. We’reopening a new call centre at Lillyhall,Cumbria in early 2009, which will be HMRC’s20th UK contact centre, and will take us upto a total headcount of around 10,000 staff.

Head of HMRC contact centres LindaMaslen says: “Our staff receive extensivetraining and support to deliver a highlevel of customer service that reflectsour commitment to providingexceptional service throughexceptional people.

“The new Lillyhall contactcentre will bring continuedimprovement to ourcustomers’ experienceand support HMRC’sbusiness plans.”

SLOUGH IS OFTEN regarded asa true microcosm of the UK interms of its diverse make-up.

A booming ‘mini’ economyand the first and biggestbusiness park in Europe,creates a uniquely challengingenvironment for the council.But we are committed todelivering excellent value formoney services to all ourresidents and to improvingaccessibility to all.

The customer servicedepartment, MyCouncil, leadsthe way in that commitment byproviding help and advice toour residents. Based in a stateof the art facility in SloughHigh Street, MyCouncil is ableto engage with residentsthrough email, telephone andin person.

In the past year alone, thecentre has dealt with 500,000customer enquiries and strives

to handle each one withcourtesy and professionalism.

“We want to demonstratethat we are committed toservice excellence, “ insistshead of customer service ZenaMiller. “To be able to measureourselves against the bestacross a broad spectrum in theTop 50 will hopefully dispel themyth that the Public sectorsomehow don’t care abouttheir customers.”

£14,759salaryofanewcall centreagent in thepublicsector

22%proportionof callsmetwithan IVRsystem

28theaveragenumberofseconds toansweracall toapublicsector centre

58%theproportionof timeagentsspendonthephoneasopposedtocompletingadmintasks

7%ofcallsaredealtwith throughself-service (comparedtoanindustryaverageof17%)Statistics taken from ContactBabel UK Contact CentreOperational Review, 5th edition

Overall performance scorefor public sector

call centres

78%

Slough Borough Council

Worriedaboutstaffbeingexposedtoangrycallers,thereareexamplesofpublicsector centreslaunchingtrainingtohelpagents recogniseandeffectivelyhandleanddiffuse ‘phonerage’

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M&S DirectWE AIM TO CONSISTENTLYdelight our customers withservice that is personalisedand appropriate to ensurethey keep shopping with us.What our customers say about usis vital to our continued development, as it’sonly through listening to their feedback thatwe can drive positive change. One customertold us recently: “Elaine took the time to fullyunderstand my issues, she made enquiries ofother areas of M&S, returned my calls and hasfully resolved my issue, all the while beingsensitive and sympathetic to my needs.”

Our four contact centres have to beenormously flexible to meet demand, rangingfrom 500 to over 1,000 staff at any one time.Despite the scale of our operations, the key togetting the customer experience right is thequality of individuals working for us. Weproactively seek out positive, respectful anddetermined people who take ownership forrecovering any issues that arise.

It’s important to make everyone feel part ofone virtual M&S team so that we can projectthe brand consistently. After all, it’s not just a contact centre, it’s an M&S contact centre.

CharlesTyrwhitt

NICK WHEELER, founder offine shirt-maker CharlesTyrwhitt, has two drivingpassions: great quality products andoutstanding customer service. He spends a couple of hours every month listening tocalls, he replies personally to his customercorrespondence and every day finds himavidly reading feedback left on the website.With that sort of direction it is hardlysurprising that the call centre is committedto understanding what the customer wantsand then trying to go one better.

There is a strong belief that the success ofthe brand is down to the commitment of itspeople. The Charles Tyrwhitt team focuseson giving individual service rather than justtaking orders and every call is seen as anopportunity to gather valuable information,or solve a problem and put a smile on thecustomer’s face. After all, it could be the onlychance we have to make sure that customerbuys from us again.

Retail anddistributionThanks to the Internet, home shopping

has never been easier, but when you have amore complex order or a query, you might needto call the retailer. So how does the shoppingexperience stack up on the phone? Pretty well,actually, as this sector was revealed to be thestrongest performer of the five, with the topaverage score and three retail companiesmaking it into the top ten performers.

This could be because the best retail anddistribution companies are realising that a time of economic uncertainty means holdingon to existing customers is more importantthan ever. And that means spending moretime and money making sure that everycustomer contact is a good one.

GfK’s mystery shoppers found that in 74per cent of cases they got through in lessthan a minute, compared to an overallaverage of 58 per cent.

69%Boots

“WE’RE PROUD OF our heritage and value the trustthat people put in the brand,” says Graham Hardy,head of customer care at Boots. “And the call

centre is a key part of maintaining that trust.”Based at the central support offices in

Nottingham, the centre has 250 seats witha seasonally fluctuating population — andwe even have some agents working from

home. Everyone is expert at their role andhas a desire to give the best customer care,

reflecting the quality of service and expertisedelivered in our stores. As the primary support forthe Advantage loyalty card, boots.com and BootsOpticians, our call centre employees are keen tolook after customers with helpful advice and to putthings right when they go wrong.

We truly value our staffand offer them a safe,supportive environment,where they’re keptinformed, where we seektheir views, and where theyare offered opportunitiesfor personal development.

Boots UK Ltd is theretail business ofAlliance Boots,formed from a merger withAlliance UniChem in2006, and has 2,550healthcare outletsall over the country

SUPERB CUSTOMER service is somethingwe pride ourselves on at Laithwaites.Everyone at the company on all levels workshard to develop the personal relationshipswe establish with customers. This issomething that has been the essence of thecompany since it was started by Tonyand Barbara Laithwaite 40 years ago.

Almost everyone who works forLaithwaites starts, or gainsexperience of, working in our callcentre before moving into the widerbusiness. The experience of directcontact with our customers, dealingwith wine enquires and helping iron out anyproblems gives our talented employees akey understanding of excellent service. Thiscommitment is then taken with themwherever they end up within the company.

We never rest on our laurels and are alwaysstriving to go the extra mile. Call centres inthe UK do not have the best of reputations,but we are proud to challenge that with apassion and attention to detail to ensure thecustomer experience is the best it can be.

TOP PERFORMER

Laithwaites

of UK consumers would be less likely to purchase froma company after a negative contact centre experience

TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE NOVEMBER 2008

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John Lewis DirectBEING PART OF THE JohnLewis partnership meanscustomer service is atthe forefront of what wedo. Perhaps this is whywww.johnlewis.com isconsistently ranked oneof the UK’s top onlineshopping destinations.

Johnlewis.com aims tobe the best of the storeonline and has grownincredibly fast, with fullyear sales of £268millionin 2007. That growth hasbeen supported by anin-house team at headoffice in Chelsea, as wellas two contact centres inScotland.

Richard King, customerservice developmentmanager for John Lewis

Direct says: “It’s veryexciting to work in such a fast-paced environmentfor such a well-knownbrand. We have beenworking on moving frombeing a fantastice-commerce website tobecome a great shoppingexperience, which quiterightly drives a highexpectation of excellentservice over the phoneand via email.

“It’s really importantthat we exceed thoseexpectations, and my jobis to work with thecontact centres to helpdeliver that. Customerservice will be crucial inthe run-up to Christmasthis year and we areworking to ensure thatwe’ll be on top of ourgame to support the saleof great value andinspiring products.”

CometCOMET CELEBRATES its 75th birthday this yearand the business has grown to become one ofthe largest electrical specialists — with customercare at its core.

Click & Chat, an award-winning innovativeonline chat service, which is run from Comet’scustomer information centre in Hull, is a greatexample of Comet’s commitment to remainingat the cutting edge of customer care. This chatservice offers online customers immediateaccess to expert product knowledge andadvice through a Click & Chat button on thescreen that connects directly in real time to aproduct expert within the Cometcustomer information centre.

Initially launched to supportPlasma and LCD TVs, theservice has proved so popular(90 per cent of customers rateit as “extremely useful”), it nowcovers most product areas. Click &Chat allows us to replicate online the excellentpersonal service that’s available in our stores.

Dealing with customerscan sometimes be hard… Tech support: I need you to right click on the desktop

Customer: Ok Tech support: Did you get a pop-up menu?

Customer: No Tech support: Ok, sir. Can you tell me what you’ve done up until this point?

Customer: Yes — you told me to write click, so I wrote click

SPECSAVERS WAS BUILT uponthe premise of value for money,quality eye care and strongcustomer service. Therefore, itwas only natural to create a callcentre to further improvecustomer service. MaryPerkins, founder of Specsavers,says: “The call centre is vital inmaintaining high standards ofcustomer service and I’mdelighted that all their hardwork is being recognised.”

An essential part of

establishing the callcentre was recruitingindividuals with a personality and whoenjoy helping people. Thisfocus has not only created a centre for customer serviceexcellence, but also a greatplace to work.

Staff are rewarded forachieving high standards andcan even aspire to becomingking or queen of call quality.Laura Kellow-Web, the current

queen, says: “It’s niceto be recognised and

to work in a companywith such a huge focus on

exceeding expectations.”Jonathan George, head of callcentre services says: “Thecustomer is at the core of thecentre and staff are alwaysencouraged to do whateverthey can to assist.” Our placein the Top 50 will ensure wecontinue to develop ways to todeliver world-class service.

Specsavers

Overall performance scorefor retail and distribution

call centres

87%

TOP 50 CALL CENTRES FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE produced by United Business Media in association with The Times

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EDF EnergyEFFECTIVE CUSTOMERservice is about building atwo-way relationship. Quiterightly, our customers demandmore and more from their energysupplier. It might at first seem an odd thing forus to say, but we want our customers to use lessenergy. That’s because, as a company, we are inthis for the long-term and we believe thatclimate change is the biggest challenge we allface. Our advisors are trained to give energyefficiency advice to customers, helping themcut their carbon footprint and save money.

We aim to reduce the intensity of our ownCO2 emissions from our electricity productionby 60 per cent by 2020. We have had a long-term commitment to keeping our call centres inthe UK and we are also continuing to lead theindustry with our special help for our mostvulnerable customers.

It might seem ambitious, but as an energycompany, we recognise we are part of theproblem — so we must be part of the solution:save today, save tomorrow.

O2WE BELIEVE THAT happyemployees lead to happycustomers, so we always tryto give our people the samegreat experience we give ourcustomers. In fact, employeeinvolvement is becoming part of our DNA,with a number of new initiatives, including a group of frontline workers playing a key rolein decision-making and a full scale inquiry tofind out from retail customers what greatservice feels like.

So it’s more than an inspiring workingenvironment, great benefits and fantasticcareer opportunities that make O2 a greatplace to work. It may sound like a cliché, butit’s our people that make the difference. Ayear ago, O2 people all made a promise toeach other — a sharedvision of the O2 we wantedto be. We called it The O2People Promise and it isthese seven simpleprinciples that underpineverything we stand for asa company and everythingwe do for each other.

“I BELIEVE THAT THE Top 50 programme willhelp the UK contact centre marketplacedemonstrate that in recent years atremendous amount of great workhas been achieved in helpingorganisations truly put thecustomer back at the heart ofdecisions and processes theyimplement,” says NigelPearson, director customerservice and online sales atCarphone Warehouse (CPW).Founded in 1989 by Charles Dunstone,CPW was built on the premise of greatcustomer service and the ability to deliver‘simple, impartial advice’ in the ever-complex world of mobile phone purchasing.With the same principle the company hasexpanded into nine further countries acrossEurope — and even in North America.

And to further build the company’s market-leading position, CPW is taking steps to evolveits customer proposition and offer a broaderretail experience. By applying the samecustomer principles it brought to mobilephones to the laptop and broadband market,the company is democratising a wider worldof technology for customers.

Telecomsand UtilitiesWith an increasing number of

price comparison websites springing up, it’snever been easier to switch suppliers — andmost telecoms and utilities businesses arerealising that in order to hold on to theirexisting customers they are going to haveto compete on more than just price.

This means that a great deal of investmentis being made to ensure that each and everycustomer that contacts a telecoms or utilitycompany feels good about doing businesswith that supplier.

Indeed, for a sector that tends to performbadly in industry benchmarking surveys,the centres in the Top 50 are proving onceand for all that ringing your water companyor mobile company is not always the arduoustask you might expect. In fact, a whopping97 per cent of queries posed by our mysteryshoppers were resolved efficiently.

The relatively low proportion of outbound calls madeby utility suppliers may surprise many consumers21%

OrangeVodafoneWE HAVE OVER a million conversations withcustomers every week, but the real challengeis that customers today are now more product-savvy and demanding of top-quality servicethan ever before.

At Orange we understand that goodcustomer service means feeling valued andunderstood, knowing someone owns yourproblem and will help, and being delighted

with the service. We are evolvingour business to help us achievethis, including the launch of ourBrilliant Service strategy. Frontline staff will be managed andrewarded based on deliveringbrilliant customer service, ratherthan working towards sales orefficiency targets.

This marks a fundamental shiftaway from traditionalcall centre models,but we believethis new focus isneeded to makeour customersfeel valued andcared for.

VODAFONE IS ON a missionto allow people to see thecentre as a learning anddevelopment environmentand as somewhere that iscreating strong foundations for the future ofthe industry as a whole. For example, the “Takea Chance” initiative, where school children arebrought into the call centre in orderto dispel any misconceptions of theenvironment. This raises our profileand demonstrates to the localcommunity our commitment tothem, our company, and the mobileand call centre industry.One of these pupils was HannahWilkinson, who joined us last yearand was a finalist in the NationalCustomer Service Awards 2008.She says: “I was so taken with thepeople at Vodafone. It’s a greatplace to work and such anopportunity to make a differenceto our customers. I love it!”

“We are number onein our market forcustomer numbersand satisfaction andhave out-performedthe rest of themarket in terms ofprofit growth overthe last few years.”

TOP PERFORMER

United Utilities

WHEN IT COMES to professionalcustomer service, Vicky Bigrigg

is a shining light. Thededication of this UnitedUtilities customer serviceadvisor, and her 400

colleagues, has helped theNorth West water company

perform best of the telecomsand utilities companies in the Top 50.

The 29-year-old from Cleaton Moordeals with billing issues affectingwater and wastewater — and doesn’trest until a customer query isresolved to everyone’s satisfaction.

Vicky’s team manager, Barbara

Powe, is full of praise: “Vicky is a compassionate individual. She is 100per cent committed to her job, andalways goes that extra step toguarantee customer satisfaction.”

Customer services director BrianHurd adds: “Our team is the mainpoint of contact for more than sevenmillion people across the North West.It’s a fast moving and complexindustry, and employees need to beextremely knowledgeable, and full ofinitiative. Vicky is a great example ofthis philosophy in action. We are allthrilled to be recognised as amongthe best in the country.”

Overall performance scorefor telecoms and utilities

call centres

82%

Carphone Warehouse

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What are the main challenges for call centres?To really get a handle on what was challenging call centres, we commissioneda research programme earlier this year, which reached more than 500customer service agents from both public and private sectors. Three day-to-day challenges stood out — and they all have a technology component:

Challenge one: Agents actually spend relatively little time in focusedcommunication with the caller, about 29 per cent of their available time. Therest they spend entering data onto systems, reading information fromscreens, making notes and querying with colleagues. This is a real problem,since the whole benefit of speaking to another person is to get that human-to-human interaction.

Challenge two: Call centre staff have to wrestle with a complex and ever-changing IT environment. Half of the respondents had experienced asignificant technology upgrade within the last six months, and yet are stillhaving to manage an average of five different software applications whilst ona call. Indeed, five per cent of agents are regularly dealing with over 15applications! Just managing the IT places a major demand on the agent — andso saps time and intellect away from engaging with the caller. Of all potentialproductivity improvement initiatives, agents voted for better IT systems asthe number one choice, with a majority of 61 per cent.

Challenge three: Worryingly, 46 per cent of the employees surveyedagreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “I believe there are obviouschanges that could be made to the IT systems and processes we currently usein the contact centre that would improve the customer experience.” In manycases, it’s obvious to the agents what needs to be done, but somehow theirvoice is not being heard.

How do you think they can be solved?Clearly, involving the agents themselves in designing their work experience andthe desired caller experience would be a huge and positive step. They

understand that complexity is damaging the experience, and where theirbrainpower is being directed toward internal systems and processes and notcustomer engagement. From a technology point of view, there are newapproaches to integrating systems that could provide call centre workers withone application. This hides the complexity of back-office systems and can bedesigned to exactly mirror the desired customer experience, allowing theagents to focus their energy on the customer.

Why do you think call centres have such a badreputation in the eyes of the UK public?Frankly, some of them deserve a bad reputation because, in an effort to driveout cost and improve internal performance metrics, they have lost sight of thebasics: providing a positive, effective interaction between the caller and theagent. Equally, many very good call centres never hit the headlines becausethey achieve this goal of easy interaction.

The experience should be as unobtrusive as possible, with the caller barelyregistering that they are talking to a call centre. And that’s why the Top 50initiative is so important, because it brings excellent practice into the spotlight.Given the ideal of being entirely unobtrusive — good practice really does needexposing.

The industry has changed a lot in 20 years:what does the future hold for call centres?I see call centres penetrating much deeper into organisations. If, for instanceyou are calling your local authority planning department and the expert whocan answer your query is not in the call centre but in the planning office, whyshouldn’t you be able to talk to them anyway? The technology now exists toreach sources of expertise around an organisation wherever it is, and to makemore visible what level of service is being offered. I can see a future where thecall centre and the organisation actually become one and the same.

Tim Bishop is chief strategy officer at Siemens Enterprise Communications020 75264861, www.siemens.co.uk/enterprise

A desire for change

What can be done toimprove the servicegiven to customers

over the phone?Tim Bishop, chief

strategy o�cer fortechnology giant

Siemens, sharessthguohtsih

Speech analyticsWE’VE ALL HEARD the phrase: “Your call maybe recorded for training purposes,” butthere’s another reason for these recordings.By scanning calls with sophisticated voicerecognition software, computers can pickout phrases such as “very disappointed” oreven a word like “wow”, to find out whatcustomers think about a product or service.

Emotion detectionFEELING PRETTY frustrated talking to anagent? Well, the company could soon knowjust how you’re feeling through an emotiondetection system. The technology tracks thevolume and pitch of your voice to create anidea of how you feel — and can even warn theagent if they’re about to get an ear-bashing!

Visual IVRTHIS COMBINES traditional voiced-basedservices — you know, ‘say yes if your detailsare correct’ — with a video applicationallowing you to interact with a live videostream on a mobile handset or any mediathat can carry voice.

PresenceANYONE FAMILIAR with Instant Messengerwill probably know how to set themselves asonline, away, busy, lunching etc. Similarsoftware running in companies will allowpeople who aren’t actually in the contactcentre to show if they’re available for a call.So if your call needs some expert help, theagent or IVR may connect you with someoneoutside the call centre but with exactly theexpertise to solve your problem.

My poorears!From a poll conducted by Siemens

SHOCKING THINGS agents have heard fromcallers who thought they were on hold:■ One in ten have been forced to listen to

someone using the bathroom■ A quarter have overheard couples having

an argument — and one agent heard one inwhich the woman described her partner’sbedroom performance as “rubbish”

■ One in 20 have been serenaded byunsuspecting customers

■ One agent in the poll caught a fraudsterwho, thinking he was on hold to claim he was unemployed was overheard servingcustomers in the shop he was working in

On a more serious note, though…■ Almost half of agents have been sworn at

and 35 per cent have been called stupid■ Three quarters have overheard people

moaning about them or the company■ Each agent has to put up with seven angry

outbursts every single day

Touch-tone menus havegiven call centre technologya bad name, but recentadvances could improveyour customer experience

The wackyscience bit

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