Offers of support from our membership network
Our network of members and stakeholders are here to help other members through this crisis in a range of ways
Looking after the health and safety of your employees who cannot work from home
Throughout the COVID-19 epidemic, some employees are required to attend their workplace or travel to perform their role. Often they are delivering essential services that are essential customers and society as a whole. We have drawn on a range of global sources and The Institute’s research to provide an overview and guidance to help keep your employees safe in a range of working environments.
Remote working in a customer service context: top tips
For some employees, remote working or working from home is established practice. But for many employees in service organisations, it’s an unfamiliar experience and means quickly adjusting to new ways of communicating and collaborating with customers, colleagues, partners and suppliers. Whether your role involves dealing directly with customers or suppliers; designing customer experience; leading and managing teams, we’ve set out some essential tips which will help.
Top tips for maintaining great service in challenging times
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, many traditional ways of working are no longer viable. A new normal is being established - and we are all grappling with the challenges and opportunities it presents. We reached out to our network of Vice Presidents - business leaders from across the UK in a range of sectors for their top tips on maintaining great service through these challenging times.
Top tips to serve your vulnerable customers better
Vulnerable customers can go unnoticed by organisations - if you’re not looking for the signs, you might easily miss them. It is important to assume that, potentially, all customers are vulnerable – there is no such thing as the ‘ideal’ customer. The CARE framework, for example, will help you to identify if a customer is vulnerable. Here are just some of the things you need to watch out for when you’re communicating with a customer:
CEO Video: The importance of service in a time of crisis
The Institute's CEO, Jo Causon, discusses the importance of customer service at this time and of delivering on promises, looking after vulnerable customers and driving a service nation
Calm leadership and focus needed in unprecedented coronavirus times
The job of leaders is to keep a level head, stay focused, and navigate the best way forward with the facts that they have at the time. Difficult times call for better leadership.
A time to stand back and reflect at a critical juncture for customer service
Take a moment and reflect on where you really are in your customer service journey. Does it reflect your purpose and values as an organisation? Are you clear about who you are serving and why? If not, what do you need to do to adjust your trajectory?
The FT: Shops can prosper if they treat customers with care
Following BRC-KPMG’s Christmas Retail Sales Monitor reporting tough trading conditions, the FT published this letter from our CEO, Jo Causon. Jo address the 'perfect storm of political, economic and consumer uncertainty drastically affecting spending in the UK', and suggests brands…
Now’s the time for a service excellence reset to drive satisfaction back up
After five successive drops “stretching back over a period of two and half years" the time has surely come for organisations to reverse this decline and get satisfaction back on an upwards curve.