On-brand call centre customer experiences

In a highly competitive and commoditised market, British Sky Broadcasting (Sky) needs to take every opportunity to differentiate itself and delight its customers. Having recognised that its telephone conversations with customers are a great opportunity to do this, Sky asked Engine to help raise customer satisfaction levels around contact with its call centres.

Our job was to help translate the brand’s communication principles into effective company-wide initiatives - the end game being great customer-facing behaviour, rooted in the brand.

Engine’s expertise in designing practical, customer-centric services lead us to involve key stakeholders (call handlers, managers, and customers) from the outset. Listening to live calls allowed us to share the experiences of customers first hand. We developed a model based on the principle that customers – who often begin call centre calls with negative expectations – need to be looked after not only on a functional level, but also on an emotional one.

The next step – crucial to the success of the initiative – was translating the model into practical tools and systems for call centre staff. The result was a new set of call-handling guidelines that centres around the customer rather than procedure. To help embed this significant culture change, we devised tailored training, coaching, and incentive systems. Finally, we designed and supported a pilot involving hundreds of call handlers.  The pilot was a success – with customer satisfaction up 50% against the control group.

Engine delivered a practical, effective programme that helps Sky differentiate itself through the great customer experience its call centres provide. We are currently involved in helping Sky roll out the programme to call handlers across the company, and pilot the initiative in two further areas of the business.