Getting to grips with quality at an energy company

The customer contact centre (telephone, email, chat and text messaging) at a major Belgian energy company had developed in less than ten years into an organization with six offices and almost 1200 employees.

Partly due to its rapid growth, the energy company was unable to properly control the quality of its services. In order to improve the quality of the services, it was necessary to get to grips with the most important factors that have an influence on this, namely:
1.    Processes tailored to the customer
2.    Systems that support the processes
3.    Customer advisers who understand their profession.
These three factors must be optimally realized in order to ensure good quality customer contact.

As interim manager, TOTE-M immediately started with interventions and small-scale experimentation. This produced a lot of information and insights into the operation and the culture of the organization. A thorough analysis of these experiences formed the point of departure for the development, together with the management, of a shared vision of quality. This resulted in a reorganization proposal with new positions, departments, tools and procedures, which in turn produced an integrated set-up and design for the customer teams, training courses, coaching, floor walking, work force management, quality monitoring, intraday management and project management.

Great importance was attached to a logical and transparent division of tasks and responsibilities. Also important was the creation of dynamism and a feeling of responsibility in the cooperation between the various departments and employees. The chosen approach played an important role in the success of the entire reorganization. Essential in this respect was the intensive communication, which was continuously tailored to the change process.

The company’s dynamism, cooperation and quality were improved while keeping the operating costs at the same level. The foundations have been laid for the further continuous development of the quality of the services, and the desired and necessary control of quality has thus been realized. A few months after the reorganization, the quality started to develop positively and this improvement is still continuing.