Improving CSR Efficiency in the Utilities Contact Center

Transcription

1 Improving CSR Efficiency in the Utilities Contact Center UtiliPoint International, Inc. with Jacada Ltd. June 4, 2008

2 Ethan L. Cohen Mr. Cohen is Sr. Director of Utility & Energy Technology at UtiliPoint International, Inc. Mr. Cohen leads the Utility & Energy Technologies Practice and provides management consulting and energy and utilities industry analysis. He is a widely recognized strategist consulting professional with more than 11 years of direct experience in solving various issues at investor owned utilities, municipal utilities, energy companies, technology vendors and government agencies. Mr. Cohen's current research focuses on the nexus between IT and business process improvement and optimization. Mr. Cohen has recently been engaged information technology and business prudence audits, technology selection projects, and is working with a select number of companies on business process outsourcing projects. Prior to joining UtiliPoint International, Mr. Cohen was a manager at Blue Ridge Partners, Research Director of Energy and Communications at Aberdeen Group, and a Senior Analyst with The Yankee Group, where he built the first energy technology focused market research and advisory practice. Mr. Cohen holds an AB with subject honors from Vassar College and an MA from Brandeis University. 2

3 Overview The heart of any utility s customer care operations is the call center, and at most the technology interface customer service representatives use to serve customers is too complex, impairing the ability to serve companies well and costing utilities time, money and efficiency. 3

4 % of Utilities With CRM Solution Does Your Utility Have a CRM Solution Yes 15% No 85% Few utilities have solutions Those that do have not leveraged them effectively 4

5 CRM Is Most Often Found At IOUs 30% Utilities with a CRM Solution by Utility Type 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% IOUs Co-Operatives Municipals Higher rates at retailers 5

6 CRM Is Most Widely Adopted In Natural Gas 25% 20% Utilitie s with a CRM Solution by Commodity Type % 10% 5% 0% Water Natural Gas Electicity 6

7 Larger Utilities Use CRM 25% Utilities with a CRM Solution by Number of Customers 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Less than 10,000 10,000-50,000 Over 50,000 7

8 Call Center Efficiency Drives Customer Service Efficacy The call center is often the largest component of the utility cost to serve Credit related calls can be up to 40% of inbound calls Industry best practice dictates optimizing call handling capability for cost savings with better customer service 8

9 Key Utility Operational CRM Challenges Consolidation of multiple customer applications; Flexible system architecture Standardization of business processes Ensuring data integrity / consistency / accuracy / accessibility Reduce customer care costs - Channel optimization Mobile service delivery Selective Outsourcing 9

10 Customer Centricity Understand customer needs segmentation, targeted marketing, offer management, lifecycle management Consistent customer facing experience / Single view of the customer Empower front office staff, e.g. sales, call center Bundle new products and applications (home services, energy efficiency) Enable distribution channels (direct sales, call centers, self service, retailers etc.) Multiple service customer care (gas, water, power) Achieve operational efficiencies lower cost of service / rethink channel strategy 10

11 Most CIS Systems Are Inflexible The typical line is: If your existing CIS system is out of date and unable to cope with your customer service requirements, you may want to consider replacing it. HOWEVER 11

12 Other Technologies Provide Capability and ROI Unified service desktop and process optimization solutions are enabling utilities to optimize critical call center processes for customer management Customer Inquiry Person Management Account Management Move In/Move Out Deposits Bankruptcy Collection Inquiry and Pay Arrangements 12

13 Most Important Features of CRM Average Score (on a Scale of 1 to 5) of the Most Important Features of a CRM System Analytical capabilities Call scripting Contact management Customer profiling Customer segmentation Delivery channel selection Loyalty programs Message broadcasting Reporting tools Sales campaign management Sales lead management

14 Successful Customer Service Successful customer service organizations provide their agents with tools to handle inbound or outbound transactions, in a way that brings the power of the back office to every customer service interaction. 14

15 312 Stuart Street Boston, MA Cell: Ethan L. Cohen Sr. Director, Utility & Energy Technology Putting Knowledge Into Action. Consulting. Research. Analysis. Risk Management. Benchmarking. 15

16 Improving CSR Efficiency in the Utilities Contact Center David Holmes Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Jacada Ltd. 16

17 CRM and Customer Satisfaction 3,900 CRM Spending Customer Service Solutions Revenue (in millions) 3,800 3,700 3,600 3,500 3,400 3,300 3,200 3,100 Customer Satisfaction Source: Gartner The The level level of of service service last last year year saw saw its its largest largest decline decline since since The American Customer Satisfaction Index The American Customer Satisfaction Index "Any "Any way way we we look look at at it it we we see see customer customer satisfaction satisfaction going going down. down. J.D. Power & Associates J.D. Power & Associates

18 Customer Service Chaos 18

19 The Cost of Chaos - Business Impact CSR Efficiency CSR Effectiveness Corporate Governance Average Handle Time First Call Resolution Fraud Detection Cost per Call CSAT Scores Compliance A A 2% 2% improvement improvement in in agent agent satisfaction satisfaction results results in in a a 1% 1% improvement improvement in in customer customer satisfaction satisfaction - -Gartner Gartner Hold Times Training Costs Agent Churn Error Rates Revenue Per Call Customer Retention Customer Acquisition SOX HIPAA Policies & Procedures Security 19

20 Business Application Silos Difficult and expensive to replace, or even modify Designed to support line-of-business users, not CSR call flows User interface tightly coupled with business logic = not agile Orders CIS Payments 20 Sample Applications

21 Jacada WorkSpace 21

22 Jacada Unified Service Desktop Intelligent view of customer data Intuitive, easy-to-learn and use Agile, easy to modify Task-based user interface Rules and call flow can be maintained by business analyst Orders Non-invasive integration CIS Native integration Payments 22 Sample Applications

23 The Universal Agent Custom views for different call types, customers, skills High bill inquiry Change of address 23 CSR Can Select Role

24 Case Study Public Utility Business Business Objectives: Objectives: Improve Improve customer customer experience experience Reduce Reduce number number of of screens screens used used Automate Automate complex complex call call processes processes Provide Provide automated automated call call disposition disposition Eliminate Eliminate redundant redundant data data entry entry Reduce Reduce customer customer hold hold time time Reduce Reduce average average handle handle time time 24

25 Case Study Public Utility 25

26 Case Study Public Utility Before Before After After Forms Forms /Windows /Windows Mouse Mouse Clicks Clicks Applications Applications used used Bill Bill Images Images Viewed Viewed Hold Hold Time Time 1:31 1:31 0:00 0:00 Total Total Call Call Time Time 5:20 5:20 3:05 3:05 26

27 Today s Webcast: Improving CSR Efficiency in the Utilities Contact Center Ethan L. Cohen Senior Director UtiliPoint International David Holmes Senior Vice President Jacada Ltd. Questions? You can submit your questions using the WebEx Q&A feature. 27 Thank you for attending!