TM Forum 'Vibe': Systems get in the way, it’s about people being people

NICE, France – I had the opportunity this week to sit in on a keynote address at TM Forum Live discussing the topic of your customer’s future expectations. The discussion was moderated by Jim Metzler from Ashton, Metzler and Associates, and the presenters were David Moffet, ex-CFO at Telstra, and Archer Mobile Chairman Michael Matthews.
Jim posed a question as to what creates a delighted customer and I found the answers incredibly refreshing. The common view was that it wasn’t about scripting customer service personnel to ensure they are no different then a robot. Educate the employees, give them the proper data and the ability to go off script, interpret that data and be a real person who understands the problem the customer has and tries to resolve it. Data alone is not the answer. This would drive a much higher rate of credibility and believability from customers.
Providing employees with leadership and honesty empowers an organization to believe in and support the corporate goal much more then focusing strictly on the numbers. Not that you should ignore the numbers, but if everyone is pulling for the same goal, the numbers will come.
I wish more corporate leaders believed in these tactics for leadership and felt comfortable presenting them in front of an audience of hundreds of industry peers.