In the interests of understanding cross-industry best practice in the area of complaints handling, Harding & Yorke (H&Y) sponsored this roundtable discussion, inviting a range of client-side practitioners from prominent and leading organisations, to share their views as to what excellence in this area should look like, in terms of delivering positive customer experience (CX). Industry sectors represented included Insurance, Mobile Phones, Telephone / Online Banking, Internet Service Provider and Wealth Management. The discussion was independently moderated by an operational change planner & strategist and co-hosted by a board level advisor. In addition, H&Y had representation from two business consultants and a senior consultant in the design and delivery of training, coaching and corporate culture programmes.

Objectives of the session were to identify conduct risk, understand what creates cultural trends, how corporate values can be embedded within the complaints handling procedure and how these contribute to brand equity.

This synopsis of some of the key comments and observations made during the discussion has been produced in the interests of sharing elements of best-practice which it is hoped will contribute to a virtuous circle in which both an organisation and its customers benefit.

SYNOPSIS
At the outset it was agreed that it is necessary to balance business needs with compliance, thus highlighting the challenge within certain sectors, notably Financial Services, to satisfy all stakeholders. This includes internal personnel at different departmental and seniority levels, but also includes partners, suppliers, regulators etc – but not forgetting the all-important customer.

An interesting comment was made that complaints handling is not ‘rocket science’, that this area should have very simple objectives and it is not necessary to over-engineer the matter. However, a common understanding of what excellence should ‘look like’ in complaints handling still needs defining; in short, how can a company get it right? This can be challenging to understand and/or improve for several reasons given:

1. An estimated 25% - 35% of customers have reason to complain, yet maybe only 10% tell you (however, they do tell their friends and social networks)
2. Many software, analytical and management information tools have not accurately reported on customer sentiment but have been more geared to a compliance approach
3. Front line staff are not always trained with the appropriate soft skills to deal with complaints
4. Policies that front line staff are required to impose may be detrimental to achieving great CX
5. Some organisations don’t have board level sponsorship for CX initiatives
6. Some organisations have great board level enthusiasm for CX initiatives, yet it may be difficult to get senior operational staff and middle management to agree and implement
7. Root cause analysis is still primitive in many organisations
8. Data & MI Reports may be manipulated before being read by key stakeholders
9. The lowest paid, most junior employees are the ones closest to the customer

In one sector it was indicated that some customer complaints were being handled up to six months after being filed and more than one scenario was provided to show that the Complaints department was a ‘dark backroom operation’, yet subsequently the Complaints area has been moved to equal importance as a sales call, in recognition of the link with loyalty and advocacy which affects the brand equity.

Regarding the tools available to view the status of customer complaints, one company spokesperson advised that full visibility is provided via the CRM systems; however, it is unclear whether the CEO or other board directors regularly view this data. Some great examples of C-Level interest in the handling of complaints were cited, such as a CFO of a major Mobile Telecoms provider receiving a snapshot of all complaints and even responding to certain ones personally. CEO attitude was cited as pivotal to success of CX in all areas including complaints handling. Whilst a CEO might author a document stating what the corporate vision and values are, that should not preclude the CEO from being actively involved in departmental operations in order to understand the issues, challenges and progress, rather than just an occasional or surface interest.

Consistency across all channels, functions and touchpoints is really important and complaints should be recognised as one of those areas that can be the determining factor as to whether a customer is left with a positive emotional experience or not, one that will promote improved customer lifetime value through longer term as a customer and through cross/up purchasing as well as becoming advocarial.

Effective root cause, or route source, analysis was stated as important to bring significant change. The Business Intelligence yields the clues as to what causes a complaint. If these causal reasons can be analysed, a programme of change can be implemented to negate the need for recurring complaints of a similar nature. By using pre-emptive and pro-active contact management it is possible to drastically reduce a large percentage of customer complaints. One suggestion was made that a person in the area of complaints handling could be moved into the sales area for a period of time, to enable them to see, hear and understand how some of the complaints may originate. If this cross-sharing of departmental function occurred at many levels, a more holistic approach to prevention and remedy could be achieved.

A thought-provoking question was raised ‘What is radical in complaints handling’, i.e. what can turn complaints into a major differentiation to strengthen brand ties with the customer? What will wow a customer at the time of, or shortly after lodging a complaint? Regarding front-line staff it was stated that they are often trained with the wrong soft skills to deal with irate customers. Often the training is to ‘be calm’, yet a mirror neuron approach is more effective, to reflect the mood of the customer. Yet this must clearly be done to the appropriate degree in order to achieve a balance between empathy for the customer and demonstrating pride and belief for the organisation for which one works. Coaching is required to train this soft skill element into the front-line staff and this will likely require a ‘coach the coacher’ programme as this style may not represent the traditional training skills such ones have received.

An interesting comment emerged that gained wide agreement, that ‘when I complain, it’s because I don’t want it happen to another customer’. This interesting insight shows that customers are not simply fixated on ‘what’s in it for me’, but like to believe that the organisations they deal with are fair, just and equitable by nature, for the benefit of all.

A number of areas were stated as of key interest moving forward with this subject, including the need to convince middle management and tracking of outcomes such as ceased being a customer, cross/up purchasing, referring others, duration as a customer from time of complaint.

This event was sponsored by Harding & Yorke. Contact Rob Sowden +44(0)7747 561656