Countdown to NCSW 2023
Don’t miss the opportunity to get involved in National Customer Service Week – a week-long celebration of customer service, taking place 2-6 October 2023. Reflect on how you serve your customers, recognise your team’s achievements and show your commitment to service excellence.
National Customer Service Week 2023
This year’s National Customer Service Week (NCSW) runs from Monday 2 to Friday 6 October 2023. We celebrate customer service in our organisations with a series of themes, and prepared activities for each day, in addition to some helpful resources. Don’t forget to download the 2023 digital pack and check out last year’s NCSW round-up for some of the highlights!
National Customer Service Week is a week-long opportunity to raise awareness of customer service and the vital role it plays in successful business practice and the growth of the UK economy.
NCSW 2023 themes include:
- Monday: The Future of AI
- Tuesday: Service with Respect Day
- Wednesday: Customer Service as a Profession
- Thursday: Driving Sustainable Growth
- Friday: Service Recognition Day
We look forward to seeing what you get up to this year!
Monday 2nd October – The Future of AI:
We will start this yearâs National Customer Service Week by discussing the future of AI. Whilst AI has the potential to revolutionise the way we interact with customers, challenges arise when deployed as an alternative to human skills. We will discuss the future role of AI as well as the ethical and social challenges governing AI-powered systems.
- Breakthrough Research: wondering how you can leverage AI to improve your customer experience? Check out one of our latest research reports, A Connected World, which examines the role of technology in shaping the future of customer experience. Some other relevant reports include: The Heart of Artificial Intelligence, Upfront and Personal: Leveraging Data to Deliver a Genuinely Personalised Omnichannel Customer Experience and Customer of the Future 2025
- Head to Head interviews: watch business leaders, such as Paul Willcox (Group UK Managing Director at Stellantis), Paul Philpott (CEO and President of Kia UK and Ireland), Gareth Rhys Williams (Chief Commercial Officer at the Cabinet Office) or Shirley Fell (Chief Operating Officer at Cirencester Friendly Society) discuss the importance of technology in their respective customer service strategies
- Academy Training: sign up for our next Customer Journey Mapping online workshop to reflect on how the customer experience you provide meets your organisationâs goals. We will discuss the importance of customer journey mapping and the impact of customer insight, and review various journey types, from operations to service and complaints. Similarly, our Connecting Customers with Digital online workshop looks at how organisations can support customers with digital engagement, building customer confidence with digital and achieving greater self-sufficiency and overall satisfaction
- Customer Focus Magazine: our long-running publication aims to provide insight and inspiration to our members and subscribers. Read our articles on âDigital Firstâ (Issue 36), âPeople have realised the importance of connectivityâ (Issue 34), and âTaking the Robot out of the Humanâ (Issue 31)
- Download our APPG minutes: the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Customer Service raises awareness and understanding of customer service amongst parliamentarians and establishes a dialogue with UK organisations across all sectors. One of our latest APPG meetings looked at the intersection between digitisation, technology, and customer service
- CEO Blog and CEO Statement: staying current on trends and new data in your field is key. If youâre eager to learn more about the human-tech interface, check out the following CEO Statements: âAI Presents an Opportunity, but Must be Deployed Responsiblyâ, Me, myself and AI, Appropriate use cases for AI in the customer experience, Connecting real empathy with technological efficiency, & Digitally disengaged differs from vulnerable
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Please remember to follow us and tag us in your social media posts along with the hashtag #NCSW2022 #tech
Tuesday 3rd October – Service with Respect Day
Tuesday is Service with Respect Day. The cost of living crisis has had a significant impact on how customers treat frontline workers: join us in supporting our vital campaign and celebrating the change in legislation to protect all teams from abuse.
- Support the campaign: anyone can pledge their support – join us in supporting the campaign if you havenât already and spread the word to friends and family
- Service with Respect Merchandise: get your Service with Respect pack to display your commitment and support your people against hostility and abuse.
- Raising awareness: run a survey or hold a meeting with your customer-facing workers to openly discuss challenging customer interactions and encourage them to report incidents in the future
- Support your frontline people: we have a range of workshops and courses designed to help your people deal with challenging situations and customer vulnerability with confidence
- Spread the word: launch a dedicated social media campaign to spread awareness about abuse towards frontline staff. Encourage your teams to share stories, messages of support, and ways to help combat this issue
- New legislation now in effect: find out more about the new legislation, display the campaign logo on your website and download our campaign resources, including social cards, pre-recorded phone scripts, email copy etc.
- CEO Blogs & Statements: check out some of our articles on the importance of this campaign and some of the achievements accomplished so far, as well as Service with Respect in the news
Share your posts on Linkedin and Twitter
Please remember to follow us and tag us in your social media posts along with the hashtags #NCSW2022 #servicewithrespect
Wednesday 4th October – Customer Service as a Profession
On Wednesday, we will assess how customer service has evolved as a profession and discuss how to build recognition of service as a valued career and profession, with a significant voice and position in the boardroom.
- Breakthrough Research: We recently launched our Breakthrough Research âBuilding the Service Nation: Changing Perceptions about the Profession of Customer Serviceâ. The report gives an insight into the extent to which customer service is seen as a profession with defined skills, standards and career pathways, and how professional development is evaluated and supported. You can download the research here and rewatch the launch webinar if you missed it
- Similarly, our âLeading by Exampleâ Breakthrough Research examines how values-based leaders will shape the future of customer service and includes perspectives from Senior Executives, frontline employees, Customer Service Managers and Team Leaders
- Academy training & qualifications: register for our new Academy Workshop on Customer Service Root Cause Analysis and our ServiceFocus suite of training courses to support your professional development. Our Professional Qualifications will also help your teams develop a set of transferable skills and behaviours to improve business performance
- Organise shadowing programmes: interested colleagues can spend a day shadowing customer service representatives – this firsthand experience will give them a taste of the day to day responsibilities and challenges faced in the field
- Download our APPG minutes: the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Customer Service raises awareness of customer service amongst parliamentarians and establishes a dialogue with UK organisations across sectors. During one of our latest meetings, we discussed how to tackle skills shortages through professionalising customer service â download the minutes here
- CEO Blog and CEO Statements: check out some of our posts on the importance of training and upskilling your teams, such as ‘More than a summer job: Service as a Profession‘, âInvest now in the skills we need for the futureâ, âLetâs see some true service leadershipâ, or âGiving careers in service the respect they deserveâ
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Please remember to follow us and tag us in your social media posts along with the hashtags #NCSW2022 #skills #capabilities
Thursday 5th October – Driving Sustainable Growth
Organisations need to consider the impact of their business practices on the environment, society, and the economy. We will discuss the link between sustainable growth and long-term success.
- Attend our Annual Conference 2024 â The Service Nation: Building a Thriving Future. You will hear from renowned speakers and thought leaders discussing emerging trends and best practice. You will also gain an insight into the evolving role of customer service and its potential for future growth â book your place here
- Download our Service Experience Model: founded on five inter-dependent financial and reputational outcomes, our interactive model focuses on enhancing each of these elements in relevant and sustainable ways. Use the model to diagnose current performance, identify areas for improvement and set meaningful strategies for service development and sustainable delivery
- Â Reshape your service strategy: benchmark your organisation against the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) Measure your customer satisfaction, identify your strengths and areas for development, and benchmark your performance with other organisations either in or outside your sector. Use the findings to develop a sustainability action plan
- Measure your employee engagement: assess your employeesâ view of how your strategy, culture and processes enable your organisation to deliver world class customer service. Members can survey their staff by using our redesigned employee engagement tool, ServCheck.
- Read our Breakthrough Research: our research has proved that organisations with higher customer satisfaction than their sector average have achieved stronger turnover growth. Download our âThe Customer Service Dividendâ Breakthrough Research to find out more about the relationship between customer experience and financial performance.
- Engage with all stakeholders: reach out to customers, employees, investors, and local communities to understand their sustainability expectations and concerns. Seek their input and involve them in decision-making processes to ensure alignment and foster a sense of shared responsibility
- CEO Blogs and Statements: check out some of our CEO blogs and statements on this topic, including âTime to move the dial on growthâ, âBuilding the four pillars of a Service Nationâ, âComing together to define our Service Nationâ or âRunning to stand still? Businesses need to find a way to move forwardsâ
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Please remember to follow us and tag us in your social media posts along with the hashtag #NCSW2022 #strategy #leadership
Friday 6th October – Service Recognition Day
It’s time to recognise your Service heroes: Friday is all about celebrating those people that have succeeded through adversity and made a significant impact on your customers.
- Wall of fame: ask your colleagues to vote for their Customer Service Hero in your organisation and share your winners on LinkedIn and Twitter from 8am to 4pm on 6th October using the hashtag #cshero. Remember to give an example of their achievements, and we will then pick an overall winner for the day â good luck!
- UK Customer Satisfaction Awards: start preparing for the Instituteâs Customer Satisfaction Awards 2024 â Have a look at the Award categories, download the Awards Criteria and check out our Top Tips for your awards submissions. Deadline: Fri 16 Oct, 2023
- Appreciation messages: encourage customers, colleagues, and managers to submit appreciation messages for exceptional customer service representatives. Compile these messages into a digital or physical “wall of appreciation” that can be displayed in common areas or shared online!
- Remember your remote teams: show your remote workers that Customer Service Week is about them, too. Surprise them and send rewards to their homes as a gesture of gratitude for their hard work â donât forget to check out our NCSW shop!
- Recognition ceremony: host a special ceremony or event to recognise outstanding customer service representatives. Present awards or certificates to individuals who have consistently delivered exceptional service and gone above and beyond to satisfy customers. Invite senior management, colleagues, and customers to attend and show their appreciation
- External Recognition: consider taking the celebration outside of your organisation by letting your customers know about some of the people âbehind the scenesâ who deliver the service and support they need
- Customer Focus Magazine: read our articles âBuilding Customer Service Successâ (Issue 31) and âWhy Future Service Winners Have To Be Innovatorsâ (Issue 28). We will be publishing our next issue of the magazine (Issue 39) in September 2023, and the theme will be âThe Service Revolution â A Celebration of Excellence in Serviceââ donât forget to download your copy here!
Share your posts on Linkedin and Twitter
Please remember to follow us and tag us in your social media posts along with the hashtags #NCSW2022 #csheroes #recognition
In 2022, we once again celebrated customer service during the first week of October with a series of themes. Thanks to everyone who shared their activities with us!
We have collated some of the highlights below. We are sorry if you have not been featured, we had too many submissions to include them all.
We hope you enjoyed the week and we look forward to seeing your efforts in 2023!
Share your posts on Linkedin and Twitter
Please remember to follow us and tag us in your social media posts with the hashtag #NCSW2022
NCSW Merchandise: highlight your involvement
