This project contains three primary objectives:
to identify customer relations best practices from other relevant organizations;
to identify metrics for both internal performance tracking and external comparison;
to develop tools that will enable water utilities to improve customer relations, with
the ultimate goal of improving customer satisfaction and utility efficiency.
The approach involves five basic tasks:
identify key customer relations processes;
collect and verify customer relations metrics and practices;
identify customer relations best practices;
develop a web toolkit; and,
communicate findings via workshops and written reports.
Our approach is to document best practices and associated metrics from both within and
outside the water industry, providing the widest possible set of practices that can be accessed
by the water industry.
To identify high-performing utilities and other organizations, we have developed a multifaceted
performance metric comparison framework. This framework includes internal and
external measures for each target customer relations process selected by the project team.
Measures include service, productivity, and cost metrics. We developed comprehensive data
definitions related to these metrics so that utilities can enter comparable data.
For gathering original and comparable data, we have piloted several unique surveys and service
tests, including a customer survey, among our participating utilities. Feedback on the
surveys, including definitions, will be taken into account prior to finalization of the surveys
for general release.
Our framework of internal and external performance metrics provides a powerful
comparison of utility customer relations performance, as well as ensuring that service is
measured by the end-customer. Companies exhibiting high internal performance, high
customer satisfaction, and effective technologies will be identified as "best performers."
During best practice discovery, we will investigate and visit some of these best performers
to learn more about their winning strategies and practices.
A key element of our approach is the development of a web-based toolkit designed to assist
utilities in identifying customer relations improvement opportunities, assessing customer
relations performance, measuring performance over time and against others, and discovering
ideas for improvement that have been successfully implemented by leaders in customer
relations.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 180 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 4 |
| Published : | 06/17/2004 |
