TI Customers First magazine - Year 01, Issue 01

Customers First Year 1 | Issue 1

Global insights on strategy & innovation

The Culture Value Chain A proven equation: How employee engagement drives top-line growth P.11

A Six Sigma primer Is it possible to have 99.99966% good customer service? P.4

Four disruptive trends that will reshape customer service In the coming years, how will contact centers be put to the test? P.8

Discussing “mega-trends� with Microsoft Florin Grama - Director, Microsoft Customer Support, Europe P.13

New study:

How smart buyers structure contact center relationships Did you know that 50-60% of end-ofterm contact center outsourcing (CCO) contracts were not renewed in 20132014? The question is why? What’s driving buyers to have fewer vendor relationships?

Download this new research study from Everest Group, with support from TELUS International, to learn:

• Reasons behind the evolution of buyer-service provider relationships • Six key factors impacting CCO relationship value • Benefits achieved through a more engaged model • Steps buyers and their service providers can take to foster an engaged relationship • The metrics of an engaged partnership; moving from operational to business outcomes From the study:

Engaged outsourcing relationships do not just happen – they are envisioned, intentionally nurtured, and diligently built. This study shows that while significant effort and planning goes into building such a relationship, the result is a more effective and value-driven service model.

Download the entire “Engaged BPO Relationships” study

TELUS International

Center for excellence

Is it possible to have 99.99966% good customer service? P.4

Welcome message –

What’s your “word” for 2016?

As President of a fast-growing global company, it feels like I’m always travel-

Photo: Stefan Leu

Contents

On the road

ing. For me, face time is critical to stay-

to Aon Hewitt) and the lowest industry

A new shining star on the outsourcing landscape in 2016 P.6

ing connected to my team members

attrition (up to 50% below the indus-

around the world. I often joke that my

try average), all in pursuit of delivering

office is located at Seat 3C, traveling

client experience excellence.

at 30,000 feet in the air, between our

To achieve this, it requires that we fo-

Industry focus

operations in Canada, the U.S., Europe,

cus on all the elements of what makes

Four disruptive trends that will reshape customer service P.8

Central America, and Asia. During these

a truly great customer experience

travels, I encounter a lot of interesting

program. From developing recruitment

people with interesting questions. But

profiles that identify both hard and soft

it was during one particular business

skills, to quality coaching for better first

Success stories

dinner that I was puzzled by a simple

call resolution, to leveraging leading

Culture Value Chain measures top-line impacts of an engaged frontline P.11

question: “what’s my ‘word’ for 2016?”

edge tools and technology, to providing

What kind of question is that? I soon

inspiring workspaces and supporting

learned that choosing a defining word

social responsibility programs that

for the year is now a thing. That single

empower our team members. We’re

Keynote

word is meant to replace New Year’s

focused on both the big picture of

Staying ahead of today’s customer “mega-trends” P.13

resolutions that are often made and

running world-class client operations,

then soon forgotten. Instead, choos-

as well as on the tiny details that make

ing and committing to a single word is

memorable service experiences happen

meant to simplify and bring more clarity

again and again.

Noteworthy

to everything you do during the year;

What’s RPA got to do with outsourcing? P.16

and you’re less likely to forget or aban-

casing a few of the ways in which focus

don the commitment. I like this idea.

– on strategy and innovation – can

As we launch the premier issue of

Fraud management in 2016 P.17

For editorial opportunities, please contact sarah.sikorski@telusinternational.com boriana.dimitrova@telusinternational.com

benefit the customer. That’s why it’s

our Customers First magazine, I’d like

called “Customers First” – because in

to share my word, which has come to

our business, putting customers first

represent my promise to our customers

drives everything we do.

and team members in 2016: Focus.

Grégoire Vigroux – Publisher and Contributor Sarah Sikorski – Editor-in-Chief Jennifer Bach – Executive Editor Jeffrey Gangemi – Managing Editor Boriana Dimitrova – European Editor Katya Hernández – Creative Director

This magazine is devoted to show-

Why “focus,” you might ask? The

Enjoy the read and please be in touch.

BPO industry is extremely competitive.

At TELUS International, our differenti-

Jeffrey Puritt

ator has always come from having a

President, TELUS International

culture that promotes the highest team

jeffrey.puritt@telusinternational.com

member engagement (80%, according

@TELUSInt 3

Customers First - Center for excellence

Anna Kozlova – Six Sigma Black Belt and Global Director of Business Process Excellence

A Six Sigma primer –

my job to enable that across our oper-

Is it possible to have 99.99966% good customer service?

like process mapping, data gathering

ations, using LSS and other techniques and analysis, knowledge management, training and best practice sharing. All of these help us drive process improvements and cost savings for our clients.

CF: What types of customer care operational challenges are suitable for

What if someone said it’s possible

experience implementing LSS and other

to have only 3.4 bad customer care

BPI practices.

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) projects?

AK: Anything that has a process!

interactions out of every million? You’d probably laugh them out of the room.

Customers First (CF): What’s your

Ten years ago, bad service may have

Although you may never achieve that

role at TELUS International?

impacted 20 people, but with today’s technology, it can impact 20 million.

near-perfect state, implementing Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology and other

Anna Kozlova (AK): As the leader of

We think of LSS as a tool to reduce

Business Process Improvement (BPI)

our Business Process Excellence team,

customer challenges, so we start

practices in your contact center opera-

I break down complex business prob-

with understanding customer needs

tion will at least bring your KPIs closer

lems by cutting out waste and reducing

and work backwards from there. This

to customer service utopia.

rework, one process step at a time.

means focusing on projects that will

At TELUS International, we believe in

reduce wait times, transfers, callbacks

of Business Process Excellence, Anna

empowering our people to utilize the

and other inefficiencies that adversely

Kozlova, shares some of her first-hand

right tools to solve the right problem. It’s

affect the customer experience.

TELUS International’s Global Director

4

TELUS International CF: Which customer service KPIs can be improved through LSS methodology?

AK: Although almost any metric can be improved through LSS, at TELUS International, we are enhancing our approach to traditional metrics like customer satisfaction. We understand that customers are looking for an effortless experience. By focusing on the customer, we’re able to improve on some unique KPIs that are emerging, such as contacts per customer, first call resolution, turnaround time and call transfers.

CF: Are there limitations to LSS methodology in the contact center environment?

AK: Most process improvement tools can be applied in a contact center environment, but it’s crucial to remember the human factor at play. Six Sigma is based on data-driven decision-making to eliminate defects and reduce variation. But customers are rarely that predictable! Still, we can quantify “proxy” metrics. For example, customer effort can have a simple scale of 1 to 5. As long as we remember that we’re dealing with people, and that 3.4 in 1 million defects is probably impossible

Lean Originating within the Toyota Production System, Lean is a customer-centric methodology for maximizing customer value while minimizing waste in a process. Lean analyzes the full process from beginning to end by classifying each step from the customer’s perspective. Any non-value adding activity in the process is considered waste. When waste is identified, the Lean approach plans continuous incremental improvements and quick fixes rather than major and sudden changes in a process.

Six Sigma Invented by Motorola, Inc. in the 1980’s and popularized by General Electric, Six Sigma refers to a statistical term that measures how far a given process deviates from perfection. Initially, Six Sigma represented a process for identifying and reducing manufacturing defects to a level of no more than 3.4 per million.

Lean Six Sigma Lean is about improving speed, and Six Sigma is about improving quality. While Lean considers the entire process, Six Sigma focuses on identifying the root causes of defects and eliminating the sources.

Combined, Lean and Six Sigma empower business process improvements in terms of speed, flow and quality of processes, improved efficiency, effectiveness and cost.

to achieve, we’re headed in the right direction. customer’s house. Through data mining, we selected 10 different inputs to test for CF: As a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt,

statistical significance. We found that sending the same technician to the house

can you share an example of a suc-

for the second visit increased the chances of fixing the issue by 25%. I devised a

cessful project?

coding method to auto-data scrape the troubles from the past month and connect them with troubles for the following day. If there was a match, the dispatcher would

AK: For one project, the objective was

schedule the same technician for the job. This worked about 50% of the time, but

to reduce repeat service calls to a

the benefits added up to $59K/month. A great example of BPI in action!

5

Customers First - Section name!

Victory Avenue in Bucharest is often compared with the Champs-Élysées in Paris The Triumphal Arch celebrates Romania’s 1878 independence

The Palace of the Parliament is the second largest administrative building in the world

Floreasca City Center is known for shopping, entertainment and business. Its SkyTower is the highest building in Bucharest

Herastrau Area is a residential zone located around Lake Herastrau

6

TELUS International

Victory Square is a major intersection in central Bucharest, Romania’s thriving capital, near office towers and government buildings

Romania —

A new shining star on the outsourcing landscape in 2016 Romania’s reputation as an attractive outsourcing destination is on the rise. The

has a steady influx of educated

country has been climbing in various rankings as a top outsourcing location not

candidates, with 300,000 post-sec-

only in Europe, but also globally. For example, Romania ranked 4th among the

ondary graduates per year, 4,000

world’s preferred outsourcing locations in the latest BPO and Shared Service Loca-

of whom have an education in

tion Index by Cushman & Wakefield.

computer science.

3. EU member state – As a Euro-

Here are four big reasons why Romania is an excellent outsourcing destination:

pean Union member, Romania is favorably positioned as a safe and

true for international companies

sustainable country for outsourcing.

– A recent study conducted by the

looking to outsource multilingual

Any legal or financial issues are

Association of Business Service

customer care to one partner.

simplified under European Union

1. Extensive language capabilities

Leaders in Romania (ABSL) reports

2. Large pool of IT profession-

law.

4. Competitive labor costs – The

that 90% of students speak En-

als – The Romanian Employers’

glish, 26% French, 17% Spanish,

Association of the Software and

average cost of living in Romania is

8% German and 5% Italian. With

Services Industry estimates that

one of the lowest in the European

40 languages spoken in delivery

Romania has more than 100,000

Union, resulting in significant sav-

centers, Romania is a dream come

IT professionals. The labor force

ings for outsourcers.

7

Customers First - Industry focus

Four disruptive trends that will reshape customer service

Once viewed as a last resort for frustrated custom-

So why pay attention? According to Gartner, IoT devices will encompass

ers, the contact center is now a central hub for sus-

over 6.4 billion connected objects in

taining a company’s brand experience. For that to re-

2016, a 30% rise over 2015. Likewise,

main true, contact centers must stay relevant, and able

smart objects per human by 2020.

to respond to changing customer needs. In the coming

IoT will have huge implications

Intel states there will be roughly 26

for the contact center operationally,

years, contact centers will be put to the test facing

technically and even culturally in the

several, potentially disruptive, trends that will impact

years to come. Centers will manage

customer support in a big way.

proactive support and better insight into

more real-time customer data, enabling consumer preferences. With more data

Internet of Things (IoT)

computing and data gathering sensors

comes greater scrutiny around privacy

It’s been said that IoT will give us the

(or in layman terms, it means embed-

and security, and IoT may also increase

most disruption and opportunity over

ding technology into products to make

the need for omnichannel service, tiered

the next five years, but what exactly is

them “smart”). Common applications of

support levels, and so on.

it? IoT revolves around machine-to-ma-

IoT include smartwatches, fitness track-

chine communications using cloud

ers, smart cars and smart appliances.

8

Whether consumers have heard of “IoT” or not, they will experience it more

TELUS International and more in their daily lives. For the contact center, it will be about managing all of this new connectivity without adding customer service complexity.

Wearables Yes, wearables technically falls under IoT, but we think it deserves a special shout out. Often defined as technology devices worn by consumers to track biometric activity (Fitbit anyone?), it’s quickly broadening into additional categories. Wearables will connect numer-

Internet of Things Consumers will experience IoT more and more in their daily

Wearables

lives. For the contact

Wearables will connect

center, it will be about

numerous verticals

managing this new

and their products -

connectivity without

from high-tech gad-

adding customer ser-

gets and virtual reality

vice complexity.

devices, to luxury fashion and healthcare

ous verticals and their products from

companies.

high-tech gadgets and virtual reality devices, to luxury fashion and healthcare companies.

For example, imagine devices like Ralph Lauren’s PoloTech Shirt, Nike+ and Fitbit – all working together and sharing data to provide the wearer with a complete view of their athletic performance. This data could then be shared further with health care providers and/or insurance companies.

For the call center, this means having agents that no longer serve just one product but rather, the entire product ecosystem including, potentially, competitor products. Some contact centers will view this as an operational headache, while others will see it as an opportunity for differentiation.

Financial Technology (aka Fintech) Fintech is a term often used to describe financial technology startups (although some have grown past the experimental phase and into the mainstream).

Sharing Economy The sharing economy requires close cooperation between

Financial Technology

people on both sides

When it comes to

of the transaction, as

banking and finance,

it changes the way

the fintech market will

people consume and

offer entirely new ways

deliver services.

of doing business, with new products and new customer service expectations.

While some label fintech companies as disruptive (even revolutionary) as they threaten traditional banking, many 9

Customers First - Industry focus

see them as filling a gap for the services that big banks simply don’t offer.

Others see them as changing finance for the better, putting more focus on the customer, helping address previously underserved consumers (including Millennials), and forcing incumbents to examine their own costs and quality of service.

So what’s the impact on call centers? When it comes to banking and finance, there are going to be entirely new ways of doing business with new players, new customer groups, and

Both incumbents and upstarts are going to have to ensure robust customer support practices are in place as consumers start to gain more power and control when it comes to their financial services options.

new expectations. Both incumbents and upstarts are going to have to ensure robust customer support practices

their own mobile apps. While traditional

be for contact centers, it is clear that it

are in place as consumers start to gain

business models change in response to

will change the way people consume

more power and control when it comes

new sharing economy entrants, cus-

and deliver services. In the end, good

to their financial services options.

tomer service expectations will change

customer service will be a shared

as well.

responsibility based on more emotional,

Why? The sharing economy requires

personal connections. Figuring out how

Airbnb is less than eight years old, yet it

close cooperation and authentic experi-

to adopt sharing economy principles in

has already drastically changed the way

ences between people on each side of

the contact center could be a differenti-

people travel. Likewise, Lyft and Uber

the transaction. While it’s not clear how

ator in the years ahead.

have forced taxi companies to offer

“disruptive” the sharing economy will

Sharing Economy

10

TELUS International

Culture Value Chain measures top-line impacts of an engaged frontline

By Kevin Bottoms Global VP, Business Development TELUS International kevin.bottoms@telusinternational.com It’s a proven fact that highly engaged frontline team members create superior experiences for their customers over non-engaged employees. For two examples, think Apple or Zappos. Anyone who has taken a tour of Zappos – or who has visited an Apple store – immediately recognizes a strong company culture. Apple “Geniuses” live

Culture Value Chain

Top-line growth

Retaining delighted customers contributes to long-term growth by increasing lifetime value of a customer, and share of wallet.

and breathe the technology. Zappos employees mix fun and positivity with a little weirdness. Both cultures are impossible to miss.

Zappos reports annual agent attrition of 20%, which means only one in five of

Engaged team members are more empowered to provide great service that delights customers and improves KPIs.

their contact center agents underperHigher NPS/CSAT

forms to the point of being dismissed, or leaves for another job, in a given year. The rest stick around to build their skills and their careers. Likewise, Ap-

Lower attrition

When team members feel connected to their work and their team, they stick around to build their careers.

ple’s retail workers earn above average pay, have good benefits, a company stock purchase plan, and perhaps most desirable – receive discounts on Apple products. Apple surrounds its people with the benefits that matter to them

A great company culture surrounds team members with the things that matter, engaging them both personally and professionally.

as a part of their culture and employee Agent engagement

ecosystem.

For Zappos specifically, strong links between employee engagement, the customer experience and top-line

Corporate culture

The set of beliefs and behaviors that defines how team members interact with each other, and with customers.

growth are the foundational elements for its internal operations. “Our Net Promoter Score hovers around 92%, which is incredibly important because we don’t have a big marketing budget,” Continued on page 12 11

Customers First - Success stories ists, sustained top-line growth follows.

Client impact 1

That’s what we call the “Culture Value

In a one-year span, our client in the wireless space increased team member engagement by 12%. The following impacts were measured:

and again.

Frontline attrition decreased by 7%

Chain,” and we’ve seen it proven again

CSAT increased by 14%, while DSAT decreased by 9%

A few examples: With a wireless client, fierce competition demanded lower costs while increasing Likelihood

Company wireless revenue increased by 7%

to Recommend (L2R). We implemented mechanisms for agents to provide direct customer experience feedback to the client’s retail store operations. Then, we eliminated the handle time metric so agents felt empowered to do whatever it took to meet customer needs and directly contribute to the L2R score. Their engagement level increased by 12%, and lower attrition drove down costs while increasing customer retention (see client impact 1).

For one of our top clients in the personal fitness technology space,

Client impact 2

sustained growth over several years

Between 2014 and 2015, our client in the personal fitness technology space increased team member engagement from 66% to 75%. The following impacts were measured:

to raise our engagement level. So we

required us to create new strategies

Frontline attrition decreased by 3%

CSAT Company improved, revenue more from the high than doubled 70’s to year to year, sustained with increased level of 91% profitability

asked team members for their input.

The result? We deployed our Coaching for Excellence program, where team leaders mentor their team members one-on-one to drive sustained performance improvement over time.

Download the complete Culture Value Chain study, with Frost & Sullivan.

That, along with team-building events designed to help team members use

says Kelly Wolske, a Trainer at Zappos.

dustries such as financial services, high

the client’s product to build a healthier

“The customer experience is really a

tech, and consumer goods.

lifestyle, drove measured engagement

form of marketing.”

Think about that for a second. “The

We’ve proven that frontline team member engagement has a direct

from 66% to 75% in 2015 (see client impact 2).

customer experience is really a form of

impact on our clients’ top-line growth.

marketing.” I couldn’t have said it better

The more a company’s stated values

team member engagement drives top-

myself. At TELUS International, a BPO

align with its real culture on the ground,

line growth for companies like Apple

with a measured engagement level of

the higher it drives measured team

and Zappos. TELUS International has

80%, we’ve found that statement to be

member engagement and the lower it

proven the same focus can be applied

especially true in highly competitive in-

pushes attrition. When this equation ex-

in an outsourced environment too.

12

The Culture Value Chain proves that

TELUS International

Florin Grama is the Director of Support and Engineering Management for Microsoft in Bucharest, Romania. He is also president of The Association of Business Service Leaders (ABSL) in Romania, an organization working to bring together high profile companies across the Shared Services Center (SSC), Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) and Research and Development (R&D) sectors.

Photo: Stefan Leu

Staying ahead of today’s customer “mega-trends” Customers First (CF): What is your role at Microsoft?

Florin Grama (FG): I lead Microsoft’s largest Customer Service & Support (CSS) team in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which consists of over 600 IT software and service support professionals and consultants based in Romania. The team is responsible for assisting partners and customers in the enterprise, mid-market and small/

medium business segments. We deliver services and technical support related to all Microsoft services and products,

We recently spoke with Florin to get his perspective on how big global me-

ranging from Cloud platforms and

ga-trends like Big Data and Cloud Computing are impacting customer expecta-

services – Office 365, Azure, CRM,

tions and customer experience delivery in Europe and beyond.

Continued on page 14 13

Customers First - Keynote embedded into the company culture.

Especially with the advancement of the Cloud, this trend will only grow as we are now firmly into the “service based model” and moving farther away from hardware all the time.

CF: What are the keys to offering effective multilingual customer support?

FG: Microsoft is present in nearly 200 countries across the globe and delivers services in many different languages.

We deliver services from many countries, because we believe services taiPhoto: Stefan Leu

lored to different cultures make a huge difference to our customers. Customer service must be globally standardized, consistent, but also localized at the same time, so that customers know

Florin Grama – Helping Microsoft serve customers across 200 countries, and even more languages, he says the key is motivating and engaging frontline team members

what to expect and that they will receive

InTune to Windows, Office, Sharepoint,

outsourcing destinations, the cost level

raphy.

Exchange, Skype, Active Directory,

is reasonable for the value provided.

Ensuring “follow the sun” delivery

System Center, SQL, Developer Tools,

And our people continue to improve

models and approaches, integrated

and others.

every year!

technology platforms and automation

similar quality levels regardless of geog-

are key ingredients to success. There CF: Romania is often described

CF: How have Microsoft’s customers

are also lots of new technologies that

as the new “outsourcing valley of

changed over the years, and how

can help improve global service stan-

Europe.” What do you think are the

have those changes affected the

dards. For example, one technology

top strengths of Romania from the

company’s approach to customer

that could become standard in custom-

outsourcing standpoint?

service?

er service organizations is Skype Translator, which allows agents to interact

FG: Romania has one of the most de-

FG: In a mobile-first, cloud-first world,

with customers with real-time text or

veloped IT infrastructures in the world,

customers want services to run on

voice translation from one language to

but our most precious resource by far is

any device. They want self-service

another.

our people. We have a well-developed

and automation. They expect real-time

education system which graduates tens

interaction and to have their services up

CF: What does “putting customers

of thousands of university students a

and running at all times, with fast reso-

first” mean to you?

year, most of whom speak English and

lution of their issues. We like to say that

are multilingual. Like other attractive

“customer obsession” is now deeply

14

FG: Putting customers first means

Social

Mobile

TELUS International

Analytics

Cloud

For social networks, the

With massive smartphone

Machine learning continues

As cloud capacity increases,

cream has risen to the top.

adoption, millions of people

to converge with processing

computing efficiency comes

Facebook has well over a

are walking around with

power, allowing computers

at pennies on the dollar. Flex-

billion users, and Twitter and

supercomputers in their

to increasingly sift through

ible arrangements allow users

LinkedIn are rapidly monetiz-

pockets, with access to

both structured and un-

to adapt capacity as their

ing their reams of data.

services like never before.

structured data.

demands change.

making sure we understand the needs

FG: “Transformation.” The four me-

data and create dashboards that keep

of customers and that we are deliver-

ga-trends of Mobile, Cloud, Big Data,

you informed about what’s most im-

ing services and solutions that are up

and Social significantly influence the

portant about your business. Just like a

to their expectations. I have a strong

world and the IT/outsourcing industry,

dashboard in your car displays im-

belief that in a services business, highly

and the speed of change is massive.

portant information about your vehicle,

motivated and engaged employees do

Innovation and creativity are more

such as its speed, its fuel level, or how

make the difference in providing those

important than ever. Speed to adapt to

healthy the engine is, the dashboard in

services that customers want. They are

the new realities is key.

Power BI interprets Big Data and dis-

the key to both understanding the cus-

plays important information about your

tomer and delivering the highest-quality

CF: You mentioned four mega-trends

experience possible.

– Big Data, Social, Mobile, and

business.

Cloud. Can you share some of the

CF: As you noted, creativity and

CF: What’s the best customer ser-

ways Microsoft’s operations are

innovation are more important than

vice you’ve ever received? Any good

at the forefront of several of those

ever. Do you have any specific exam-

stories to share?

trends?

ples of why that’s true, particularly in your industry?

FG: Recently, my bank called and

FG: Microsoft has developed and

emailed me, proactively mentioning that

brought to market platforms and

FG: The speed and ability to bring in

I might have a potential issue with my

services in the Cloud such as Office

new innovative products and services,

credit card. Namely, they asked me to

365, Azure and CRM online. Apart from

and develop the existing ones to ad-

renew my credit card in order to avoid

our own hardware business, we have

dress and anticipate customer needs

improper use or identity theft, which

developed products and services like

are of huge importance. You have to

they believed could eventually occur.

Office, Office 365, Outlook, Skype, SQL

understand where customers’ busi-

They provided me with a very simple

on non-Windows operating systems

nesses are going and what they need in

and easy way to fix the problem, which

(Linux, Android, MAC, iOS) in order to

order to achieve more. Recent exam-

took me no more than 10 minutes to

provide customers with seamless expe-

ples at Microsoft include the launches

complete. That solution was quick and

riences on any mobile device.

of Office or Skype for non-Windows

exceeded my expectations of how long

Yammer is a leading enterprise

operating systems, or SQL Server for

social network for businesses to get

Linux. I truly believe that anticipating

work done smarter and faster, used for

and serving rapidly changing customer

CF: What’s your “word” to describe

private communications within organi-

needs will be the key to success for

the outsourcing industry in 2016, and

zations.

companies of all sizes, now and in the

such a solution would take.

why did you select that word?

With Power BI, you leverage your

future.

15

Customers First - Noteworthy

What’s RPA got to do with outsourcing?

Robotic Process Automation

improve service levels and productivity.

(RPA) has been making headlines in

For instance, RPA technology could

research publications lately with titles

manipulate application software instead

such as “The Robots are Coming”

of agents during customer interactions.

and “Greetings from Robotistan.”

However, RPA is not quite as exotic as the titles suggest. These are not physical robots like you would see in manufacturing, but rather software that gets the work done.

RPA is a highly innovative technology best suited for process driven areas of business such as

No, robots like C-3PO will not be physically deployed in contact centers. But a piece of software could automate repetitive tasks performed by agents...

finance, administration, logistics,

This would allow agents to focus on high-value, complex customer interactions, resulting in optimal customer satisfaction and improved operational profitability.

Will RPA upset traditional models of outsourcing? The answer lies in how BPOs will leverage RPA capabilities in their processes and harness the advantages of software robotics. Still,

order processing, fraud and IT. It has

cally deployed in contact centers. But a

the concept of RPA is either unknown

the ability to increase efficiency and

piece of software could automate repet-

or misunderstood by many buyers and

speed for repetitive, high volume and

itive tasks performed by agents, thus

outsourcers alike - likely due to the

rule-based tasks requiring no human

saving time and optimizing processes

connotation associated with the term

judgment.

to function more efficiently.

“robotic.” Looking positively to the

The question is how will RPA

The technology possesses the

future, RPA actually gives outsourcers

affect the outsourcing sector? No,

capability to improve quality, decrease

a new way to innovate and could even

robots like C-3PO will not be physi-

transaction turnaround time, and

help the industry grow.

16

TELUS International

Key challenges that will transform fraud management in 2016 What key challenges and trends will transform fraud management in 2016?

We tried to answer this question at our Executive Breakfast event held in February in Paris, France. Over 75 of the country’s top fraud management experts met with decision makers from various industries to discuss the latest trends and breakthroughs affecting the fight against fraud.

Executive Breakfast – Industry experts meet to discuss fraud management trends in Paris

The French Bank Card Association found that internet fraud doubled over the five-year period between 2010 and 2014.

Challenge 1: Cybercrime is attracting more and more fraudsters. The French Bank Card Association found that internet fraud doubled over the five-year period between 2010 and 2014. One of the reasons is that it’s easier and less risky - why risk robbing a bank when you can commit fraud at home? Second, cyber fraud is scalable and has a quick ROI. Technology advancements enable the deployment of fraud schemes on a large scale and in a cost-effective manner.

Challenge 2: New communication channels create new loopholes, often not anticipated by companies. The popularity of mobile devices has reached astronomical levels, and mobile fraud is following suit. The growing adoption of the Internet of Things also presents new fraud opportunities, leading the FBI to issue a warning

Among the key learnings from the event was that understanding the con-

statement regarding the piracy risks associated with connected objects.

Challenge 3: Customers expect instant action. In his book, “The Dictatorship

text of a transaction is a crucial element

of Urgency,” Gilles Finchelstein claims that we are now governed by our own

in fraud management. However, the

impatience. This appetite for “everything now” has caused product offerings and

current digital environment makes that

services to adapt. While this on-demand attitude is already present in the service

context more complex and therefore

sector with instant delivery options and payment by installments, it’s gradually

more difficult to comprehend. The

becoming a reality in other segments too. “As soon as possible” is becoming the

experts at the event identified three key

new norm.

challenges making fraud management more complicated in today’s digital age.

Recognizing these challenges and devising ways to take action will generate much more discussion in the years ahead.

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What does putting customers first mean to you?

Unscripted

I think of customers not just as people calling us to buy a product, but as men and women with real problems, seeking solutions. That’s why I do my best to put myself in their shoes. Usually it’s not difficult, because we’ve all been in similar situations, hoping to receive not only the service that we pay for, but also understanding and sympathy. Nothing beats real human interaction.

In my view, it’s about a few key things: 1) aligning our business culture to the ever-evolving needs of our customers; 2) making sure that our key business accomplishments showcase what we have achieved for our customers; and 3) that we – as leaders – remove the road blocks that affect our customers’ needs and/or strategies for success.

José Calderón, VP, Operations TELUS International Central America, El Salvador

It means bringing added value to our partners’ business, by acting as their advocates and being constantly proactive in providing feedback and suggestions on how to drive excellence in customer service.

Danail Pavlov, Customer Support Agent TELUS International Europe, Bulgaria

It permeates everything we do. Customers experience it in our transparent sales process, in how we onboard and support them, and in the expert engineers we’ve hired. We call it ‘DizzionCare,’ and it means listening first and doing the right thing by our customers. It’s not just solving problems but using technology to help grow and improve our customers’ business.

Chris Horning, Sr. Client Relations Manager Dizzion (virtual desktop and cloud solutions)

For me, it means striving to build healthy relationships with customers by identifying their needs and providing the best possible experience. Another thing is passion. If you love what you’re doing and if you always put the customer first, the customer will feel that – and you will have a successful relationship.

Our Customers 4Life program leads our culture to develop long-term relationships with customers. We focus on three main areas – Operational Improvements to make interactions easy, convenient and accurate; Communications that inform, engage and invest our customers and employees; and Education that articulates the “Customers 4Life” behaviors expected in each organizational role. By partnering with our customers for their long term success, we earn the right to do business with them!

Annica Ronquist, Head of Global Customer Operations and

Nancy Porte, VP, Global Customer Experience

Services –Teleopti (workforce management solution)

Verint (speech and text analytics)

Adriana Alecu, Operations Manager TELUS International Europe, Romania

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TELUS Days of Giving 2015

TELUS International

The Big Picture TELUS Days of Giving drew more than 7,250 volunteers to 11 events outside of Canada in 2015. In this picture, a local woman proudly cuts the ribbon on her new home in the Santa Gertrudis community of Santa Tecla in San Salvador, El Salvador. Volunteers from TELUS International partnered with local non-profit TECHO to build 20 houses for local families over two days last November.

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Customer service and contact center solutions – see the difference today.

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When it comes to finding the right customer service partner, it’s all about cultural alignment. Will your outsourcing partner truly uphold your brand promise? And will they take care of the agents serving your customers? At TELUS International, we aspire to be your brand ambassador and to redefine the outsourcing industry through our spirited teamwork and caring culture.

See for yourself! Click here to take a quick virtual site tour of our operations in the United States, Central America, Asia or Europe.

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