Annual Report 2011 - Watercare
Annual Report 2011 - Watercare
Annual Report 2011 - Watercare
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<strong>Watercare</strong> Services Limited<br />
<strong>2011</strong> ANNUAL REPORT<br />
<strong>Watercare</strong><br />
at work<br />
Customer centre fields 300,000th call<br />
<strong>Watercare</strong>’s customer centre passed a major milestone in June<br />
<strong>2011</strong>, fielding its 300,000th call since it was established eight<br />
months earlier.<br />
“We had the basics in place, but could still do more to improve<br />
staff knowledge and skills to ensure we are providing services<br />
to customers more effectively.”<br />
The customer centre was created to manage both inbound and<br />
outbound calls plus customer-related correspondence items<br />
for around 430,000 households.<br />
Setting up the customer centre posed several challenges, not the<br />
least of which was educating new customer advisors on the six<br />
different charging mechanisms and service level agreements in<br />
place in the former local and district council areas – all of which<br />
had to be maintained as part of a seamless customer transition<br />
to <strong>Watercare</strong>.<br />
In its first two months of operation, the customer centre failed to<br />
meet its performance targets as large volumes of calls were received<br />
and systems were refined. However, performance has improved<br />
continuously since January and the centre is now consistently<br />
meeting or exceeding its targets.<br />
Chief Services Officer Trish Langridge attributes the improvement<br />
to initiatives focused on individual staff performance and policy<br />
changes, including the development of templated responses,<br />
the introduction of a single water tariff and the development<br />
of an online knowledge centre.<br />
Trish says that with the integration phase now behind them and<br />
performance tracking at consistently high levels, the customer<br />
centre is working on initiatives that will help deliver the best<br />
possible customer experience.<br />
“These improvement opportunities include participation in<br />
the development of a new hardship strategy to assist those<br />
customers who have difficulty paying for the services they<br />
receive from <strong>Watercare</strong>. This involves the establishment of<br />
an independent trust that will offer budgeting advice and<br />
assistance to these customers,” Trish says.<br />
The customer centre is working on initiatives<br />
that will help deliver the best possible<br />
customer experience.<br />
Customer satisfaction<br />
Customer Advisor Margaret Puni in the new customer centre in East Tamaki.<br />
PAGE 39<br />
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