FOCUS | CSIA QUARTERLY | OCTOBER 2020

October 2020 CSIA Quarterly

AN AWARDS NIGHT LIKE NO OTHER Celebrating the customer service industry's leading professionals at the 2020 ASEAs

The AI-driven future of Customer Service We sat down with Richard Kimber, the CEO and Founder of Daisee, to learn more about AI and how it’s shaping the future of customer service.

Welcome to the October edition of FOCUS.

In this issue, we celebrate the achievements from the 2020 ASEAs as we look towards 2021

An enormous thank you and congratulations to all the finalists and winners of this year’s Australian Service Excellence Awards (ASEAs) program, which we celebrated on October 22nd.

It was a very different awards evening and we’ve been delighted with your messages of support and congratulations since the event.

The night again highlighted how much customer service is important for every organisation, regardless of your industry or sector. It is also important for every individual – if you have a job, you're a customer service professional.

The insight and good humour you all have when it comes to creating great experiences for your customers is a pleasure to witness.

It inspires me, and the entire CSIA team, to keep on with our mission.

Celebrating our evolving industry is an important, enjoyable part of the job. I’d like to thank Salesforce & Citrus Group this year’s major partners, for supporting us in making the night a special one.

After an incredibly torrid 2020, it was great to be able to come together and celebrate.

In this edition of FOCUS we speak to Richard Kimber, CEO of Daisee about the AI-driven customer service future.

We also hear from some of our 2020 awards judging panel about their insights from this year’s program.

Aaron Hines from Clarity Education talks about the rapid emergence of digital learning and how it can integrate into the future of workforce development.

We hope you enjoy reading the last FOCUS for this year. We’ll be back in January 2021 with news and insights from the world of customer service.

Jeremy Larkins Executive Director

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Contents 04

Celebrating the ASEAs Relive the night and discover the stars of the industry at this year's Australian Service Excellence Awards.

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2020 ASEAs Awards List

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The AI-driven future of customer service An interview with Daisee CEO, Richard Kimber.

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Digital Learning - here to stay Aaron Hines from Clarity Education discusses the future of digital education.

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Performance by design Mary Blake explains how she has helped her clients build high performing service teams.

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Reinventing the ASEAs How did the 2020 ASEAs producers recreate the annual gala for a virtual event?

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Insights from our 2020 Judging Panel Some of the 2020 ASEAs judges share their insights from this year’s program.

“This is an individual award, but it is a team effort” - Ryan De Rosayro, Property Exchange Australia

An awards night like no other It was not a night of glittering gowns on the red carpet, but customer service excellence was recognised and celebrated at this year’s online Awards gala presentation evening.

The 2020 Australian Service Excellence Awards Gala was broadcast live from a studio in Melbourne in October For the 20th year running, hundreds of customer service professionals from across the country gathered online to celebrate the crucial role they play in Australian business success.

“We love doing what we do because we love honouring customer service professionals,” said CSIA’s Executive Director, Jeremy Larkins.

With eleven organisation categories spanning from Customer Service Team of the Year, to Customer Service Organisation of the Year (Medium and Large) to the five individual categories

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“Customer service is at the heart of everything we do” - Mark Fazio, MATE

the breadth of industry expertise and experience among this year’s finalists was stunning.

Lead Judge Danielle Larkins said, “This year our finalists represent a competitive mix of organisations both familiar and new for the first time to the program.”

In 2020, COVID-19 meant that the 20th annual Australian Service Excellence Awards Gala Dinner and Presentation, was replaced by an online live webcast hosted and produced by Michael Pope.

The evening featured live performances by comedienne, Mel Buttle and magician Nick Kay, and featured glimpses of the lighter side of customer service and even an interactive game for all viewers.

“It’s great to see so many organisations putting customer service at the heart of their business.”

Technology enabled finalists, service hero’s, service champions and winners to come together and be recognised for their work to deliver service excellence.

“Its great to see so many organisations putting customer service at the heart of their business”, said Lisa Dowie, Chief Customer Officer at Property Exchange Australia who was named as Customer Service

Executive of the Year. ”It’s a great honour and really represents the effort the team puts in everyday” said Adam Centorrino, Managing Director of Centorrino Technolgies – winner of the 2020 Best of the Best award.

CSIA warmly congratulates all winners and thanks all who joined us for the evening. .

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2020 Australian Service Excellence Awards Winners Organisations

Individuals

Best of the Best Winner Centorrino Technologies

Customer Service Organisation of the Year – Government/Not for Profit Winner Australian Red Cross Lifeblood Service Champion Lotterywest

Customer Service Team of the Year - Large Winner MATE - Customer Happiness Team Service Champion Townsville City Council - IT Service Operations Team

Customer Service Advocate of theYear Winner Bailey Johnson Commonwealth Bank Service Hero Andrew Orr - Intuit Quickbooks

Customer Service Project of the Year – Continuous Improvement Winner City of Casey - Development of the Customer Experience Strategy Service Champion Commonwealth Bank - Operational Excellence

Customer Service Professional of the Year Winner Gus Younes - Australian Catholic Superannuation Service Hero Bonny Wong - Intuit Quickbooks

Customer Service Organisation of the Year – Large Business

Customer Service Project of the Year – Customer Impact

Winner Aussie Broadband Service Champion HCF: The Hospitals Contribution Fund of Australia

Winner Optus - Care Standards Service Champion Visionstream Australia - Mount Terrible Upgrade Project

Customer Service Leader of the Year Winner Janet Born - Department of Transport and Main Roads (Queensland) Service Hero Chetana Bais Commonwealth Bank

Service Excellence – Medium Contact Centre

Customer Service Project of the Year – Service Transformation Winner INX Software - INX Customer Service Project Service Champion Suncorp Personal Injury - EXCITE

Customer Service Manager oftheYear Winner Ryan De Rosayro - Property Exchange Australia Service Hero Shaun Harper Centorrino Technologies

Customer Service Project of the Year – Service Innovation Winner Optus - Fixed Residential Transformation & Innovation Service Champion Intuit Quickbooks - The Expert Ecosystem

Customer Service Executive of the Year Winner Lisa Dowie - Property Exchange Australia Service Hero Adam Centorrino Centorrino Technologies

Customer Service Organisation of the Year – Medium Business Winner Centorrino Technologies Service Champion Property Exchange Australia

Winner Centorrino Technologies Service Champion Austraian Catholic Superannuation

Service Excellence – Large Contact Centre Winner HCF: The Hospitals Contribution Fund of Australia Service Champion WooliesX – Customer Hub

Customer Service Team of the Year - Medium Winner News Xtend (News Corp Australia) - Campaign Management Team Service Champion Finder – Customer Care Team

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Thank you Thanks to all those who participated in the 2020 Australian Service Excellence Awards program.

Congratulations to all finalists and winners for achieving recognition for the work you do everyday to support your customers.

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A Special Thank You CSIA would like to acknowledge and thank the team that made the 2020 Australian Service Excellence Awards online gala presentation possible.

EVENT PRODUCTION

Michael Pope Productions

EVENT PARTNERS

Salesforce has supported CSIA for the last 4 years. Driving individuals and organisations to deliver best practice customer experiences is the common thread that binds. The current landscape demands we step up and bring this support now more than ever and we truly believe exceptional customer service is what will make an immediate and tangible difference. We also believe using the right technology that provides a complete 360 degree view of the customer is what will propel Service professionals to be their best and become Trailblazers for the organisations they represent.

Trailblazers are pioneers, innovators, and lifelong learners. They inspire others with their constant innovation, by transforming the customer experience, and by growing their careers. Trailblazers drive change.

At Salesforce, we believe anyone can be a Trailblazer. People around the world use Trailhead to expand and hone their Salesforce skills. Now, the service industry is included with new trails for both managers and agents to help contact centre leaders “skill up� for the omnichannel world.

Trailhead for Service Professionals focuses on teaching new tech soft skills, sharing best practices for multi-channel customer service efficiency, and using new digital tools to create deeper customer relationships.

For a comprehensive view of what Salesforce does specifically for Service, we invite you to take a look here where you’ll find customer success stories, a demonstration video and more. Plus, take a moment to read about The List of the Most Important Customer Service Skills based on our latest research here Blaze your own trail and challenge yourself to be a Service Trailblazer.

Citrus Group leaders in the recruitment of Contact Centre and Customer Service professionals Established in 2013, Citrus Group has become synonymous with quality and professionalism and today is recognised as leaders in the recruitment of Contact Centre and Customer Service professionals.

We boast an impressive and extensive client portfolio which includes iconic brands in a large range of industries including, banking and finance, insurance, telecommunications, FMCG and many more.

We have established a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the recruitment and retention of Contact Centre and Customer Service personnel.

We continually provide our clients with skilled and experienced personnel in a large range of Contact Centre and Customer Service positions, including, entry level, team leaders, specialised, project management and senior management.

Our management team has been in the industry since 1995. We bring decades of experience in providing recruitment, retention and management solutions. Each and every member of our team has had first-hand experience working within a Contact Centre and or Customer Service environment. We know this is the only way to truly understand our clients’ needs and the business we are in.

If you’re looking to recruit and retain the best customer service focused talent in the market, then give us a call and experience the difference.

Phone: 02 8203 5760 Email: info@citrusgroup.com.au Web: www.citrusgroup.com.au

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Daisee was excited to support the 2020 Australian Service Excellence Awards and congratulates all the finalists and winners for their achievements in customer service excellence. Daisee is proud to align with the CSIA community to help further transform the quality of their customer service within their organisations.

Daisee is an Australian headquartered global AI software company specialising in automated quality management for customer interactions, powered by artificial intelligence, speech, and sentiment analytics. Daisee’s solution is designed to draw deep understanding from customer interactions and spoken conversations between companies and their customers.

Daisee has the unique ability to automatically analyse and dynamically score 100% of customer interactions identifying issues that require human intervention. This is presented via a world-first automated, digital quality scorecard that summarises the most important elements of each interaction. This allows customer service teams to work much more efficiently, even when remote, by providing supervisors and trainers the performance and CX insights to provide datadriven, targeted coaching to agents. It’s never been easier to keep agents on-message, ensure they follow processes, and celebrate top performers www.daisee.com

Drive customer loyalty with connected digital workflows ServiceNow is delighted to support the 2020 Australian Service Excellence Awards.

When the unexpected happens, customers want to know they can depend on you to hear them and meet their needs. Your ability to adjust to current conditions and help customers navigate the new challenges they are facing will likely define your relationship with them going forward. Do it well and you could have a customer for life; do it badly and you may lose them forever.

How confident are you that your service can deliver during uncertain times to keep your business going? With ServiceNow, see how to evaluate your customer service so you can identify and address broken processes and gaps. Be certain you can do what’s needed to ramp up fast and meet expectations to keep your customers satisfied. It’s the best way to increase the loyalty and lifetime value of your customers and keep your business on track.

Continue reading ServiceNow Executive Insights Brief.

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Can your customer service handle whatever comes next?

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The AI-driven future of customer service We sat down with Richard Kimber, the CEO and Founder of Daisee, who provides a SaaS solution that automates quality management using artificial intelligence (AI) for customer service, to learn more about AI and how it’s shaping the future of customer service.

Some people are nervous or sceptical about AI—what’s your view?

RK AI is a very exciting technology that should be embraced widely within the Australian and broader community. It's one of those areas around which people tend to have a low level of understanding, so it's important to emphasise the benefits and opportunities it provides and not to be too sceptical or nervous about it.

How can AI be used in customer service?

RK There are many ways AI can be used. A particularly useful way is analysing and prioritizing masses of information: being able to sift through thousands and sometimes millions of different

customer interactions to understand which ones matter. Another is prediction: using AI to predict what will happen in the future to allow you to adapt to provide better, consistent customer service. AI is very much underused in these areas but it’s also where a lot of companies can benefit from using it.

What are the benefits of AI and automation in customer service?

RK The main benefit is in the removal of waste, such as the wastage of customers’ and agents' time. We can use AI to identify mundane or straightforward interactions that can be automated using self-service technology—things like password resets or tracking packages.

Ultimately, we want to make sure high-value or complex interactions are directed towards people in the customer service teams.

AI analysis of customer interactions can also be used to dramatically improve customer experience as it can provide deep insight into the reason for customers calling in, as well as their sentiment, emotion and any other characteristics of the call that may indicate a poor customer experience. This information can then be used to customise and personalise coaching and development for each team member to ultimately improve customer experience.

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Can you share case studies where AI has helped improve the customer experience?

RK All our customers have seen a significant uplift in customer experience and satisfaction scores and this is due to our solution being not just a stick but moreso a carrot. The insights that our customers are providing their agents are improving their day-to-day life as it’s not just about where things can be improved; in a matter of seconds, managers are able to bring up a dashboard that shows exactly what agents are doing well. It's easy to show the wins.

One of our customers in particular, MYOB, showed over 20% improvement in their already very strong CSAT scores. Another win for MYOB that is related to customer experience but also revenue, was that their coaches were able to identify areas of improvement for their sales teams to become more solution-centric in their pitches, which resulted in an 18% increase in conversions. That is huge! These types of improvements are echoed by all of our customers.

What’s involved in implementing AI in an organisation?

RK AI can be complex, which can be a barrier to implementation. Where Daisee fits is that we are an intelligent middleware that sits on top of your existing systems. Our suggestion is that you look for very-easy-to-implement solutions such as the Daisee solution that easily fit into your existing infrastructure and data layer rather than something that has a difficult implementation. You can be up and running within a matter of hours and days rather than weeks and months.

How do you see AI shaping the future of the service industry?

AI will dramatically change people's perceptions around service because it is the information that service teams are gathering that is so critical to their companies and that has largely been unknown and untapped until now. It is going to really change how we think about service and its importance to all companies.

What advice would you give to organisations considering or starting their journey towards automated operations?

RK Do not start with a chatbot, whatever you do.

Really big mistake! Unless you haveanalysed and fully understood your customers in terms of their reason for calling, complexity of issues and resolution, you should not even begin to design a chatbot—the experience can be very frustrating and annoying for customers Any final words?

RK In its broadest sense, service is all about moments of truth. These are the interaction points when your customers come and talk to you about an issue or problem they have, so it's important to be able to surprise and delight your customers with these interactions. Keeping a customer is much more cost-effective than attempting to win new ones, so this idea that service is somehow something we have to do has to be changed. We need to use AI to focus in on looking after our most valuable customers—our existing customers.

AI will also help us with consistency of interactions with our customers across the organisation. That's one of the biggest challenges we all face—when a customer interacts with us, they get a different experience depending on who they talk to. With the use of AI and tools like Daisee’s, we can lift the bar on the overall standard of service.

Humans remain the superior intelligent beings on the planet but I believe AI can help us be even better. It's like having Google Maps in our car. We don't need the car to drive itself, but it's helpful having Google Maps in it. That's the context we should think about when we think about the impact AI will have on customer service— augmenting human capacity.

RK I think AI is going to have a dramatic impact on the service industry. The most important impact will be what I call ‘right channeling’; having the customer use the correct channel for the appropriate issue and ultimately putting higher-value tasks to humans and using automated channels for more everyday issues.

That's how I see it will shape the future—much less wastage of people's time.

This interview was transcribed using Daisee AI.

The service area of a company will no longer be thought of as the back office. The connotation that the contact centre is the cost centre of the business is going away. Companies are realising that the service part of their business is super important and much more like the new front office.

Daisee analyses and automatically scores 100% of customer interactions using a world-first automated, digital quality scorecard. Daisee enables you to see far beyond words alone, surfacing the underlying emotion hidden deep within your interactions—what your customers are really saying, thinking and feeling.

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Digital Learning – No longer emerging … Here to stay.

Global disasters have been known to become crucial turning points in our history for the evolution of forward-thinking technology and convenience. The famous saying, that links back to thousands of years to Plato, shows us that “necessity is the mother of invention”.

This year we have seen some of the fastest advancements of technology in the workplace than ever before, all out of necessity. EdTech has been at the forefront of this technology evolution with a projected 8 billion dollar investment, globally, by 2021 and an estimated 1.7 billion of that in the Australian market.

The first part of 2020 saw a little known video conferencing technology application, Zoom, become a household name in a matter of weeks.

Such is the landscape for digital learning.

While employers have managed to get the majority of workers to provide business continuity from home, the use of different systems, application and technology has now, seven months later, forced people to trust in, and rely on, technology and infrastructure.

The same is said for digital learning environments.

What used to be viewed as a 'link to mandatory training' is now a powerful tool for learning and development within organisations.

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"The 2018 LinkedIn Workforce Learning Report found that a whopping 93 percent of employees say they would stay at an organisation if it invested in their career."

The 2020 global pandemic has forced many of us business owners to rethink our entire business model. It has rearranged the way we interact with people on a social and professional level and created unimaginable challenges in terms of logistics, forward planning and managing our staff.

In fact, one of the main reasons for employee retention is an organisation's investment into professional development and the progression of their workers.

The 2018 LinkedIn Workforce Learning Report found that a whopping 93 per cent of employees say they would stay longer at an organisation if it invested in their career.

While traditional classroom learning has suffered, digital learning and EdTech resources have come into their own. The pandemic has pushed more courses and learning online. A change that was long Digital learning is becoming an increasingly popular way for businesses to access a scalable solution that overdue. meets the needs of large or global organisations to reach employees in any location.

The trajectory of traditional education was on a This form of education can be considered dynamic. gradual curve to transition into the digital space, however, the recent global need for remote life has For example, online learning courses have the opportunity to iterate, in real time, as business and given that curve a shot of adrenaline and forced rapid adaptation and fundamental change forever! industry landscape shifts.

Digital learning and remote working have become the default in 2020. Businesses with no remote capacity have had to adapt and pivot to survive during this time. Coincidentally, making learning more accessible that ultimately benefits organisations and employees.

So how do we make the most of this technology evolution that is unfolding around us?

Although formal learning and education remains essential for some highly skilled professions, there is a very strong market for informal learning to boost professional development and learning on the job.

As an organisation, the best way to take advantage of digital learning in your workplace is to embrace micro-credentials. This includes ‘gamification/badging’ and certification through short-sharp programs, in an intuitive online environment, accessible on any device at any time.

So why would employees do employer lead training in their own time?

Many employees see workplace training as an opportunity to grow their skills and invest in their professional future.

ClarityEdu is a Learning Experience Design company that creates people-centered digital learning experiences based on the learning needs of employees, the learning styles of each individual and desired learning outcomes for the organisation.

This means finding the most engaging, appealing and cost-effective solution when it comes to learning and development for your staff. We achieve this through planning and discussions with your organisation to tailor the learning experience to each individual, and organisational needs.

Education doesn’t have to be a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Reading books and sitting tests is appropriate in some formats but there are so many other ways we can learn.

By designing your learning experience you can access a calculated mixture of text, video, imagery, infographics and bite-sized information. All accessible across multiple devices and with a community of other learners.

“Education doesn’t have to be a ‘one size fits all’ approach.”

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Courses can also support individuals at different learning levels through flexible environments. This includes self-paced learning or even a 'blended' option for a face-to-face support structure via webinars, virtual classrooms and social communities within the learning environment to foster connection.

Over the past 10 years, I have seen more and more companies move towards the blended learning option and the ‘Stackable Learning Model’, where building their own programs by ‘stacking’ other skills-based programs together and creating a bespoke product that suits the exact needs of the organisation. They are seeing the value of certifications and noticing the costs savings even more.

CSIA Online offers the Stackable Learning Model through its range of products in the Customer Service Certification space.

Organisations can easily build a robust customer service learning experience that includes programs such as Certified Customer Service Excellence (CCSE), Certified Customer Service Leader (CCSL)

and Certified Complaint Handling Excellence (CCHE).

Organisations have found this option saves on costs, keeps knowledge up-to-date and offers industry credibility via the CSIA branded certificates. It also benefits employees as they develop new skills and knowledge and it is an investment into their professional development.

Which, as mentioned earlier, makes you an employer of choice!

ClarityEdu have partnered with CSIA to rebuild their traditional classroom learning style into a more easily accessible digital learning product that best suits the needs of both your organisation, and your employees.

But don’t take my word for it, why don’t you head over to csiaonline.co and have a look for yourself?

Aaron Hines Director Clarity Education

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Performance by design

Mary Blake, General Manager of Citrus Group shares her experience in building high performing service teams.

Over the course of my career, I’ve built many high performing teams.

When I am asked how, I am very clear that it is by design, not luck that this has occurred.

securing Australian talent who were engaged in their Brand, growing and nurturing talent into other areas of the business and increasing their conversion.

Designing high performance and a self-effacing culture is difficult. There is a saying, a fish rots from the head down. Leadership, or lack there of coupled with unclear direction and a lack of complementary skills is the root cause of a team’s demise. I prefer the saying, a fish smiles from the head down – and this is how I have built high performing teams and our team at Citrus Group have assisted our Clients to do the same, by designing the environment, the values alignment and the competencies support and drive a culture of high performance.

This “dream” has been their reality of the last five years. I hear you ask, did they turn this around? It was achieved through a redesign of their process, in short – we made the fish SMILE! Firstly, we helped them uncover the values of the organisation and the key stakeholders. As you then build your recruitment framework, teams are built based on complementary skill sets and values alignment to the Brand and the business.

It is important to map the key competencies of behavior that drives a high performing culture and determine how to validate and draw them out in your recruitment process.

Five years ago, we were engaged with a well-known Global Aggregation Brand who had been in the Australian Marketplace for 12 months. Their incumbent recruitment provider had been giving them some good people.

Their turnover was at 200%, they churned and burned their leads and were told that this was industry acceptable!

Secondly, we worked with their leadership to incorporate the vision and the purpose of the business into the recruitment journey and onboarding process.

This was not acceptable to us and a conversation ensued of how they dreamed of shifting turnover,

Finally we supported the adoption of a leadership philosophy that included trust, empowerment, and adaptability.

These three intertwined principles supported the success in recruiting people aligned to the values and vision. By bringing a group of people together who have trust, feel empowered to do their job and are adaptable – they can move mountains and change the world.

Singularly, it is like a fish swimming upstream, they will never make it.

Over the past five years of partnership with our Client, they have seen phenomenal year on year growth. The trajectory of the business surpasses their performance results. They are known for being an Employer of Choice, they have won multiple awards and have some of the highest tenured staff in the industry.

We have had the privilege of watching them grow, of continuously deep diving and tweaking the process to watch them shine. It is heartwarming to see staff that were hired as an Agent, grow, learn and develop into a leader who are selecting, training or leading the next generation coming through.

Ask yourself, is your team performing at its highest function. Does your business SMILE from the head down?

Mary Blake General Manager Citrus Group

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Reinventing the (virtual) ASEAs The Australian Service Excellence Awards is a high-caliber annual corporate event that I’ve been honored to host several times at venues such as Crown or the Melbourne Convention Centre. I was delighted to accept the challenge to recreate this event in an online setting and apply my experience as a television producer.

The Platform It was my intention to make it as interactive as possible for all, so the decision to go with zoom meetings rather than webinar paid off. It began early with the invitation to attendees to meet in groups at their workplace, even though it was held 7:30 at night.

Many took up the idea which necessitated adding a ‘room connector’ to the event to bypass the corporate firewalls. Also, people with the latest Zoom version were able to choose their own corporate breakout rooms at the end of the night to have their own ‘debrief’.

Then to highlight the 50 or so finalists, virtual backgrounds were produced to identify them as finalists then champions or winners.

The use of breakout rooms meant we could coral spokespeople before then spotlighting the winners and hearing their acceptance speeches, as well as answer the odd spontaneous question.

Putting the Social into Virtual "It was my intention to make it as interactive as possible for all."

The chat box was kept alive by messages of congratulations, privately or to the whole room. One finalist in fact was observed to be sending congratulatory messages to every winner in each award. That expression of support would just not have been possible if

it were the usual live event held in a function room.

The strategic placement of some funny subject-relevant videos, as well as the live appearance of comedienne Mel Buttle and magician Nick Kay, gave both variety and a respite from the traditional award after award. Plus the winning of an iWatch by participating in an online quiz on their smart phones gave delegates another interactive dimension to the whole thing.

Bringing it Together Great staging and creative design enabled the production to overcome the technical challenges presented by Zoom to create an entertaining and innovative live event.

My congratulations to the team at CSIA for selecting to produce what has been a highly acclaimed event in 2020..

Michael Pope If you would like Michael to produce or host your next event reach out to info@michaelpope.com.au

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Insights from our 2020 ASEAs Judging Panel Nearly forty judges were selected for the 2020 Australian Service Excellence Awards Judging Panel from CSIA members, ASEAs Alumni and CSIA Certified Practitioners including Todd Gorsuch, Andrew Carlton and Charlotte Whyatt, who share their thoughts on the 2020 program.

As a certified practitioner with CSIA it is a highlight each year to participate on the judging panel for the Australian Service Excellence Awards.

Customer Science was born from the vision to improve customer service and experience standards in Australia, so to be a part of celebrating the companies that are excelling is really exciting.

Every year there are fantastic learnings from best practices that keep me on my toes and provide our consulting team an unfair advantage.

Even today consistently Australian companies have more to learn with common challenges.

I see CSIA playing a vital role in spreading this knowledge to help us all be better at what we do. I look forward to seeing another great year of the CX bar being raised!

Todd Gorsuch Managing Director Customer Science

Judging this year's ASEAs reminds me of Masterchef. Each year the quality of the participants gets better and better. I have been judging for 5 years and initiatives that were outstanding back then are common, even expected, now.

I think that is fantastic for Australian consumers overall but does mean that expectations will continue to rise.

The organisations that are setting themselves apart are being super smart about linking their initiatives to clear business outcomes such as leveraging customer feedback into marketing, tracking journey experiences, pinpointing more precise improvement opportunities, and tracking and linking their CX ROI. This greater precision is ensuring that limited resources and investments are both improving a specific customer experience and generating a business return for the organisation.

Cannot wait to see what 2021 brings.

Andrew Carlton Director Virtual CX

Growing into a successful career in IT and customer experience led me to be recognised nationally at CSIA’s very own Australian Service Excellence Awards, as Customer Service Manager of the Year, two years in a row in 2016 and 2017.

This year, it was inspiring to see the innovation, agility, and growth from organisations that have a customer focused culture at their core. The increased use of customer insights to drive significant and measurable improvements to products and services, along with the true empowerment of staff to delight the customer is resulting in a noticeable increase in customer and employee satisfaction.

I’m thrilled to be a part of celebrating service excellence in Australia and recognising the talented individuals and organisations who are helping raise service standards.

Charlotte Whyatt Service Consultant Customer Science

Level 3 383 George Street Sydney NSW 2000

T 1300 912 700 E info@csia.com.au W csia.com.au