Mobile Company Benchmarks Performance

Claudia Thorpe reveals how mobile company 3 got the best from benchmarking their customer service operation.

Claudia Thorpe interviewed Stuart Saw and Chris Coyle at 3, who have shared a step-by-step guide to getting the most from benchmarking your customer service operation.

1. Take the opinion out of decision-making

Previously, management were making tactical and strategic decisions based on opinions – which usually resulted in decisions that were good from one particular perspective.

However, thanks to the benchmarking reports, we can now clearly demonstrate what is acceptable for customers.

This has really helped our relationship with the contact centre management teams, as it has taken the emotion out of setting targets. Plus, it has helped improve efficiency and customer satisfaction because we’re focused on what the customer expects.

2. Get management to think differently

A key factor for us was to re-educate management about what good looks like. For example, our speed of answer was very low, which was seen as a positive.

But the benchmarking report showed that we weren’t seeing an uplift in customer experience as a result. We were able to demonstrate that it costs money to answer the phone very quickly, but we weren’t seeing any value because it was not driving the customer experience.

As another example, with the external benchmarking data from Bright, we can now have conversations with our CEO based on facts, rather than just opinions. That is the power of benchmarking – it educates people as to what good looks like.

3. Act on the insight

As a direct result of the benchmarking we undertook, we discovered that our self-service IVR average journey time was double the industry norm, so we have focused on reducing that.

Now, the journey time is one of the best in the country, resulting in a big improvement in self-service rates and a reduction in incoming calls.

Plus, thanks to stringent speed of answer targets, call transfer rates were unacceptably high.

The data we get from the Bright Index has allowed us to move targets in line with customer expectations, restructure siloed teams, and address agent behaviour through training. These changes have improved the customer experience – all at a reduced cost to the business.

For more information about Bright, visit their website.