enhancing the customer experience through collection ... pdfs/e1 mehrer.pdf · a customer centric...
TRANSCRIPT
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Enhancing the Customer Experience Through Collection Activities
Leveraging the power of people and making connections.
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Agenda
• Fortis Inc. and FortisBC Overview• History of Collections Activity at FortisBC• Results Overview• Employee and Customer Experience• Practical Tips to Support this Approach
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Who is Fortis Inc.?
• Fortis Incorporated• Canadian based electric and natural gas distribution utility holding company• Headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland• A generator and distributor of electricity for more than 120 years.• Serves more than 3 million customers across Canada, the United States and
the Caribbean• Publicly traded on the TSX as FTS.TO and on the NYSE as FTS
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Who is FortisBC?
Our Mission:“To create value for our customers, employees and shareholder through leadership in the generation, transmission and delivery of energy, safely and reliably at the lowest reasonable cost.”
Safety
• We put Safety First
Customer centric
• We value the customers’ business
Collaborative
• We work as one company, one team with shared success
Respectful
• We are respectful, honest, and ethical
Progressive
• We seek better ways
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The Big ChallengeIn conjunction with the repatriation of customer service, we challenged ourselves to:
• Develop a collections strategy focused on personal connections and individual stories rather than process;
• Reduce collections administration and costs;• Improve Accounts Receivable and Bad Debt; and• Improve customer satisfaction with collections experiences.
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History of Collections Activities at FortisBC
Historically, collections processes were designed based on:• Previous examples of non-paying customers.• Punishing customers for non-payment.• Ensuring the process was consistent and repeatable.• A heavy focus on disconnection and a belief that
nothing else “worked”
This led to a process that:
• Was inefficient,• Lacked customer focus;• Caused conflict and customer angst; and• Didn’t produce results.
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The “New” Collections VisionA Customer Centric Collections Philosophy
• “FortisBC is here to help keep the energy flowing to your home or business”.• Every customer and every situation is different and warrants individual
consideration.• We are problem solvers not problem causers.• We live in the world of Grey. • Our agents are encouraged to make connections with customers along the way.
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Results OverviewAnnual Notices of Disconnection & Actual Disconnections
-
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
18,000
-
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
2011 2 0 1 2 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
# O
F D
ISC
ON
NEC
TIO
NS
# O
F N
OTI
CES
Notices Disconnections
“New” Vision Truck Rolls reduced
by 60%
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Results OverviewMonthly Average Accounts Receivable ( > 90 days)
0.00%
0.20%
0.40%
0.60%
0.80%
1.00%
1.20%
1.40%
1.60%
1.80%
2.00%
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
$ m
illio
ns
>90 % of Revenue
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Results OverviewQuality and Feedback
Every interaction is subject to sample surveys.
Very Satisfied 80%Somewhat Satisfied 13%Somewhat Dissatisfied 3%Very Dissatisfied 4%
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Employee & Customer Experience
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Practical Tips & TricksHow can you make this approach work for your organization?
Hiring and Training Practices
• Prior collections experience isn’t always a benefit.
• Focus interview questions on empathy, problem solving, helpful tendencies.
• Train options and solutions, not process.
• Eliminate scripts.
• Do lots of call listening and discuss approaches as a team.
• Refresh training and the vision regularly.
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Practical Tips & TricksHow can you make this approach work for your organization?
Reviewing and Removing Policy
• Find and remove process steps that aren’t paying off.
• Give customers more time to react to your requests of them.
• Trust customers to do what they say (until they don’t).
• Wherever possible replace black and white policies with grey ones.
• Design processes focused on keeping energy flowing rather than collecting payment.
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Practical Tips & TricksHow can you make this approach work for your organization?
Leveraging Social and Emotional Connections
• Empower agents to listen to customers and to hear their story.
• Celebrate collections success stories – and not just in collections.
• Develop relationships with social agencies in support of customers.
• Attack the collections stigma organizationally – call listening helps!
• Monitor metrics, but not at the expense of the customer experience.
Thank youFor further information, please contact:
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Dawn MehrerVice President, Customer Service and Information SystemsFortisBC [email protected](604)293-8713
David SlightManager, Credit and CollectionsFortisBC [email protected](604)293-8497