In 2007, Sprint’s customer satisfaction rating was 61, worst
in the wireless telecom industry by a 
wide margin. Fast forward five years and
CEO Dan Hesse had accomplished an amazing turnaround. Sprint’s ACSI score
climbed ten points to an industry-leading 71—the biggest improvement of any
company in any industry—and was ranked number one in call center satisfaction.
wide margin. Fast forward five years and
CEO Dan Hesse had accomplished an amazing turnaround. Sprint’s ACSI score
climbed ten points to an industry-leading 71—the biggest improvement of any
company in any industry—and was ranked number one in call center satisfaction.
How did Hesse do it? Given the bleak situation, he could
have continued to slash costs, hunker down, and hope for a buyer to rescue the
company. Instead, taking a customer-centric approach, he directed the
organization to fix its customer service problems and innovate to increase
value to customers.
No doubt low morale was a factor in poor customer
experiences. In the commentary surrounding the "Sprint 1000" debacle
(the company fired customers due to excessive support requests), many said that
the calls were the result of dealing with Sprint employees who could not take
care of a problem, getting transferred around, and even being dropped and
having to call back. In short, customers wanted more “one and done” calls.
I’ve written previously that authority, insights, and
motivation are key to empowering call center agents to improve first call
resolution (FCR) and delight customers. Sprint has invested in an array of call
center technologies and software applications to help agents resolve service
requests more effectively. However, it’s not clear that any specific solution
had a transformative impact. Rather, it was Hesse’s decision to make customer
experience a corporate goal, and the use of analytics to focus on the right
problems, that made the biggest difference, in my view.
I do think Sprint made innovative use of social media to
empower its employees to serve as “ambassadors” for the company. An offshoot of
its “Employees Helping Customers” initiative, Social Media Ninjas was launched
in 2010 to help improve Sprint’s reputation using social media sites like
Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Jennifer Sniderman, Sprint’s group manager of
employee communications, said the program was inspired by discussions about
“how to leverage outreach to customers as a competitive advantage.” Customers
were taking to social media to vent about problems, so why not equip Sprint
employees to engage and help? Sniderman said Ninjas were asked to “have an
authentic conversation, talk about what you know, be friendly, help when you
can, and answer questions.”
All too often, support issues are dumped on the contact
center, including problems created in product development, marketing, or
elsewhere. Sprint’s Social Media Ninjas program is a brilliant use of social
media to unleash the influence of thousands of employees to rebuild its brand.
As of December 2012, 2,700 Ninjas were helping to improve Sprint’s reputation
using their personal networks to engage with customers. Inviting all employees
to lend a hand helping customers also sends a message that delivering a great customer
experience is everyone’s responsibility.
By 2013 employee morale had noticeably improved. On
Glassdoor, one account executive employed for eight years called his experience
a “wild, awesome ride” and gives Sprint management good marks for innovation,
cleaning out poor performers, and listening to employees. Hesse has earned a 79
percent approval rating, significantly better than his peers at major wireless
carriers.
About Bob
For more information visit http://hookedoncustomers.com
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