Gill Nutt

1. Gill Nutt CCIM Ltd CEO

2. Background • 1989 Contact 24 – Outsourcing call centre • Supervisor - Call Centre Manager • 1995 Ionica – Telecommunications • National Call Centre Manager • 1997 Pell & Bales – Outsourcing call centre • Operations Director • 1999 CCIM Ltd – call centre consultancy • CEO

3. CCIM Ltd UK -1999 to 2003Consultancy and Interim Management • Sanderson – Head of CS and Sales • Virgin Net – Senior Project Manager • Bush Internet – Head of CS and call centres • Fuller Peiser – Project Manager • Matthew Clark Wholesale - CC Director • Royal Bank of Scotland – Comms PM • Capita – CC Bid Team Planning PM • Kingston Communications – General Manager • Tiscali – Consultant • Tiscali – Customer Services Director

4. CCIM Ltd India 2003 – 2004Migration and Management Consultant • Tiscali – IB Technical support, pre registration and Email • Time Computers – IB Technical support helpdesk • NTL – IB Technical support helpdesk • Supanet – IB Technical support helpdesk • Demon – IB Technical support helpdesk • NTL – Outbound sales Consultancy • KCC – Consultant (performance management) • Mainstay – Consultant (HR processes and operations) • CPP – Consultant to migration teams in UK and India

5. CCIM Ltd India 2004 – presentCCIM projects • Inbound Technical Support • Time Computers • Supanet • V21 • Murphx • Outbound sales • T mobile, 3G, Orange • Homecall, OneTel, Talk Talk • V21 • Consultancy (India & UK) • Recruitment and Training • Own call centre

6. Migrating Tiscali – case history • One of the UK leading ISP’s • Growth through acquisition – Purchased Gateway, Line One and other ISP customer bases • 2002 – over 1 million customers • Technical support and customer services through UK outsourcer • Service level at 24% • High cost and poor service • Poor relationship

7. Cont………… • Quoted as being the worst customer service • 3 customer bases needed help to migrate • Billing platform issues resulted in claims of fraud and incompetence • Call centre had only 60 agents • Sweat shop • Paid seat per hour – micro management • Customers churning Things had to change

8. The change • Provided consultancy in October 2002 • Reviewed the end to end service delivery • Reviewed the customer service strategy • Insource at Milton Keynes • Outsource to alternative UK outsourcer • Outsource offshore • India • South Africa • Other

9. India • Reviewed centres across India • Sent out RFI – tough questions to assess actual ability to provide service • Spent 2 days with each centre drilling down and monitoring behaviours • Got through the smoke screens, empty promises and enticements • Researched the centres and conducted due diligence

10. Selected the centre • Selected KCC in Bangalore • Owner occupier call centre • Experienced international management team • Dual network links and strong technology • Purpose built centre of exceptional quality • Enough seats for entire project and ramp up • Right mind set and ‘can do’ attitude • Good quality agents • Sound HR and training processes

11. Tiscali - results • Migration commenced November 2002 • Go live Jan 2003 25 seats – IB sign up support • Ramped up to 400 seats across all services • Service levels rose to over 90% • Cost saving of £1.3m • Customer churn reduced by 38% • March 2003 quoted as being one of the best ISP CS support in UK (Internet magazine)

12. Migration – key learning • Manage from both sides • Work with client to put together a joint project team • Create a joint project plan and work to it • Understand the risks and issues and jointly address • Daily war rooms / conference calls • Make sure client has all processes in order in UK before transferring to India • Don’t let them transfer their problems to you • Migrate one process at a time • Ensure the client provides comprehensive up to date process and training manuals / documents • Documents should address the audience – your managers and agents • Prepare your centre while the client prepares • Recruitment and soft skills training • Management selection and training • IT and networks – set up and thoroughly tested • Processes, structures and culture • Rostering, facilities, HR processes • Send your managers and trainers to them / their trainers and managers to you • You must be ready by the time the product and process training commences • Support from client during ‘Go Live’ they push – you pull • Ramp down in UK and ramp up in India simultaneously • As agents leave – you replace with staff in India • After stabilising – migration team hand over to operations team

13. UK Ntl outbound Tiscali – IB broadband TS, sales, chat, correspondence centre P&B - OB fund raising Ionica – IB & OB sales India Tiscali – IB TS, Email, SUS Time Computers x 3 Supanet - IB TS Ntl – IB TS Demon – IB TS CCIM Migrations

14. Understanding the issues of Offshoring • Remote management • Inexperienced management teams • Culture of over promising and under-delivering • Ask for one thing and get another • Outdated and inappropriate recruitment methods • Voice and Accent • Do not understand our culture or our customers • Over complicated and drawn out processes • Communication gaps • Hierarchical structures and culture • Quality in customer service and sales

15. Remote management • Managers from India should attend the client site • Must understand the company culture, priorities and objectives • Instructions should be clear and concise and double checked – much can be lost in translation • Customer retention is paramount – UK companies want to stay close to them – help them by getting to know the culture of their customer base • Take time to get to know each other, do not be faceless voices • Something goes wrong – they get scared – how do they fix it from 5k miles – keep communicating and building confidence

16. Inexperienced management teams • Agent to manager in less than 1 year • Must take up references and conduct intensive assessment centres • Run an ongoing comprehensive management and development programme • Managers understand part of the big picture – need to work alongside professionals to gain end to end knowledge • With a lack of inbound voice experience need professionals to mentor • Managers say ‘yes’ but mean no or maybe – ensure that yes means yes and deadlines and agreements are kept • Managers should not operate a Closed Door policy • Managers should take or listen in to calls – so that they understand the floor and customer facing issues • Departments must meet on a weekly basis so that all work in a common direction and all understand how they fit into the big picture • Senior managers must be available and not be remote to the team • Junior managers must learn to manage upwards and keep their managers aware of the issues and risks to achieving the common goal

17. Over promising • Do not say yes when you mean no or maybe – better to manage expectations • Do not say that things can be done today when you mean: • Tomorrow • In 2 days time • Next week • Say that something can be done when it can’t • Say that something is understood when it isn’t • Say you know how when you don’t • Say it’s okay when it’s not • And tell a client not to worry Because they will

18. Ask for one thing • And get another • 25 technical agents with experience of UK • 10 non technical agents, experience of US • An OOH message from 8pm – 8am • An OOH message from 8am – 8pm • Do not change any of the fields on this report • A report with 3 of the fields changed and 1 added

19. Recruitment • It’s not necessary for agents to have a degree • An Indian recruiter should not listen for UK accent • Ensure assessment is pertinent for each role - written essays are not needed for a voice role • Keep interviews to a minimum – time is precious • HR must be fully briefed on the skills required • Tests should assess the right things and at the right level • Tests should assess the behaviours as well as the skills • Sales agents should be recruited by a sales person • Walk in recruitment should be well organised with enough people to manage it effectively • After all the tests we normally only recruit 10% - 20%

20. Voice and Accent • Britishisation or Nuetralisation – Clarity • Test listening and understanding skills • Mother tongue influence – some cannot be trained • Should be developed incrementally not just at induction – weekly sessions • Question or statement – which is which? • Tone of voice cannot be clearly heard • Managers should be more skilled than agents • We select only 30% of agents after voice analysis

21. Culture • Managers who have been to the UK should share their experience and learning • Most managers and agents have not been outside of their own state • Know little about the UK people, their culture, customs or what customer service means to us • UK companies do not teach enough about their customers and how to deal with them

22. Over complicated and drawn out processes • 10 stage processes that need only be 2 • HR policies and procedures should be less complicated and more straightforward • Technology should be used more • Britain in the 1950’s – need to enter the 21st century • Parkinson’s Rule • Outdated methods – most are paper driven

23. Communication gaps • Senior Managers need to adopt an open door policy • Call centre managers need to be seated on the calling floor • Hierarchical structures can prevent good communication • Don’t allow misinterpretation of directives and requirements between UK and India – keep clarifying • We need to understand each others culture and customs • Always tell the truth – lies will be found out • Agents should be encouraged to raise issues to managers • Procedures must be put in place for good company wide communications

24. CCIM scope of services • Projects – inbound, outbound, non voice • 17 years of experience and expertise • Strategy, project planning and implementation • Communication, Culture, managing the client; building the relationship and bridging 5K miles • IT and technology planning, implementation and management • Recruitment and training – agents, TL’s, quality and trainers • Selection, Training and development of the management teams • Managing upwards – influencing the senior managers / owners • Resourcing, rostering, reporting, analysis • Operational management – reactive and proactive • Building and farming the business, ramping up and developing the operation • UK account management

25. Key learning across the UK • Choose your vendor carefully • Cheapest is not always best • Think about the brand implications • They have much less basic knowledge than UK centres would • Can’t do enough training • Transferring voice calls needs experience don’t try to do it yourself • Don’t move multiple processes at once – one step at a time

26. Lessons learnt • How do you manage your customer relationships from 5k miles • Need to be careful – Indian managers love to say yes • We only recruited 20% of the workforce our outsourcing partner wanted • Use professionals to help both the UK and outsourcing partners to achieve their joint goals • Don’t try to move the world – be selective, some things work and others do not • Don’t let out of sight become out of mind • Choose a consultant who can provide continuous professional support

27. Call Centres • UK has half a million seats • India has achieved huge success • Pakistan has: • Skilled and talented labour force • Excellent telecommunications and IT • Ambition and foresight • Finance and government backing With the right support - Success is assured

28. Thank you