Thought Leadership

How can you make the right decisions for your business in the face of uncertainty? What will that mean for your staff, customers and company reputation? In this insightful audio interview, Dr Liz Jackson MBE, Marketing Director at BCMS, talks to Jo Causon, CEO of the Institute of Customer Service, about the many challenges business leaders are facing in the current situation.

Your membership of The Institute of Customer Service is a valuable resource that can help you deal with current challenges and prepare for the future. We’ve set out some of the practical ways your Institute membership can offer immediate and practical help.

Organisations across all sectors will have huge sections of their workforce whose services – temporarily at least – they don’t require and can’t sustain. How they handle this dilemma will shape how they’re viewed by employees and customers long into the future.

Head 2 Head: Jo Causon explains to Craig Elvin at Executive Heads why Customer Service is at the beating heart of the UK economy, why Customer Service employees should receive greater recognition and how businesses can deliver excellent customer service during these challenging times.

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.

Our network of members and stakeholders are here to help other members through this crisis in a range of ways

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.

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.

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

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:

Brilliant organisations don’t do something to be seen to be doing it. They do it because it is relevant to their purpose and the right thing to do. As part of our Inspiring a Service Nation campaign – developed and launched before we knew of the impending crisis – we have been calling on businesses to stand up and be counted for the good of the country.

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.