W H O L E - O F - C O M P A N Y A D O P T I O N 1 2 3 4 5 6 J O B R E D E S I G N F O R T H E S E R V I C E W O R K F O R C E P R O F E S S I O N A L I S E S E R V I C E C A R E E R S S E R V I C E E X C E L L E N C E C O M P E T E N C Y C A T E G O R I E S W D A S E R V I C E E X C E L L E N C E C O M P E T E N C Y F R A M E W O R K REDEFINING SERVICE EXCELLENCE www.wda.gov.sg SERVICE EXCELLENCE COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK For exceptional service standards that last NO SMALL FEAT Les Amis is big on service ROLE MODELS FOR SERVICE EXCELLENCE SIA cabin crew trainers lead the way SERVICE FROM THE HEART Sentosa engages its people to deliver WOW! CUSTOMER SERVICE: YOUR BRAND’S SECRET WEAPON Drive ROI with good customer experiences
Transcript
WHO
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JOB
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ORKFORCEPR
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SIONALISE SERVICE CAREERS SE
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ICE EXCELLENCE COMPETENCY CATEG
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REDEFINING SERVICE EXCELLENCE
www.wda.gov.sg
SERVICE EXCELLENCE
COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK
For exceptional service standards that last
No small featLes Amis is big on service
Role models foR seRvice excelleNceSIA cabin crew trainers lead the way
seRvice fRom the heaRtSentosa engages its people to deliver WOW!
customeR seRvice: YouR bRaNd’s secRet weapoNDrive ROI with good customer experiences
Your customers have ever-changing demands and rising expectations.We can help You keep ahead.
Dr Hee Soo Yin Director, Generic Skills Development Division
ms elaine ng Chairman, Service Excellence Skills & Training Council
mr Jerry Smith OgilvyOne Worldwide
mr Desmond lim & mr matthew nonis Les Amis Group
Dr marcus lee Institute of Service Excellence Singapore @ Singapore Management University
professor Bo edvardsson Karlstad University
professor Jochen Wirtz National University of Singapore
Sentosa leisure management
triumph Singapore
Singapore airlines
Singapore WorkforCe Development agenCY Generic Skills Development Division
Management Team
Dr Hee Soo Yin Director
ms renee tan Deputy Director
Service Excellence Team
ms peggy lim Assistant Director
ms angeline Wee Principal Manager
ms rebecca thaver Senior Manager
ms renee Sequeira Manager
ms karen tan Manager
mr eugene Chin Manager
in gooD CompanY proJeCt team
Project Lead
renee Sequeira, Singapore Workforce Development agency
Art Direction & Photography
Splash productions pte ltd
Good company makes all the difference in any journey. it is with great pleasure that our service excellence team at the singapore Workforce development agency has collected stories of companies in their journey towards service excellence. We hope that by sharing these stories, many more will join this good company and many more stories will be told of how companies have sought to make service excellence their key business strategy.
Welcome to “in good company”, our publication showcasing the esteemed company we have been keeping since we started our journey in the service excellence landscape, initially through our service excellence (sv) WsQ Framework, and now with the revamped service excellence competency Framework (sv cF).
A NOTE FROM ThE SERVICE EXCELLENCE TEAM
From our service excellence skills and training council members, to our iconic brand partners, our recognition award winners and our training partners, we would like to thank all for journeying alongside us through this time. We have been, and continue to be, very privileged to have them all with us.
Join us as we strive to make service excellence a key business differentiator across all industries and sectors in singapore. in doing so, we are all, indeed, in very good company!
thank you.
For the service excellence team at singapore Workforce development agency
Service Excellence Team
Forward-thinking business leaders like you know that customer demands will only get higher. to continue creating customer experiences that lead to customer loyalty and sustainable business growth, you need to build a service excellence culture – one that takes the lead from you and guides the mindset and actions of your people at all levels.
Find out how Wda can help you build a holistic, lasting shift in your company’s service mindset with the service excellence competency Framework.
call us at 6883 5885 or visit www.wda.gov.sg/serviceexcellence.
SERVICE EXCELLENCE IS MORE ThAN A COMPETITIVE AdVANTAgE. IT’S YOuR WINNINg EdgE. good service can get your business far. But in a competitive landscape, it’s a service excellence culture that will differentiate your business. Win your customers’ loyalty. and get you ahead with sustainable business growth.
give your business the winning edge: adopt the service excellence competency Framework, raise your employees’ service standards through nationally accredited WsQ training programmes and strengthen your company’s service excellence culture.
call us at 6883 5885 or visit www.wda.gov.sg/serviceexcellence.
Contents
PLANNINg ANd PROCESS
No small featLes Amis
LEAdERShIP
Role models for service excellenceSingapore Airlines
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INTROduCTION
Message from Chairman
ThE gOOd COMPANY
Service Excellence Skills and Training Council Members
6SERVICE EXCELLENCE COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK
For exceptional service standards that last
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CuSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Customer service: Your brand’s secret weapon by Jerry Smith
INFORMATION ANd RESuLTS
Measure meaningfullyby Dr Marcus Lee
Can we have it all – service excellence, productivity and profitability?by Professor Jochen Wirtz
A perspective on service innovation by Professor Bo Edvardsson
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REDEFINING SERVICE EXCELLENCE
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MESSAgE FROM ChAIRMAN, Service Excellence Skills and Training Councilelaine ngChief Executive Officer, National Library Board
singapore’s services sector continues to evolve against the backdrop of a tightening labour market and rising consumer expectations. companies will need to tackle a few key challenges at hand to position themselves well for the future.
For one, employers need to understand that they don’t necessarily need a sizable workforce in order to deliver excellent service. rather, it’s the quality that counts – what they need are dynamic people with the right skills and attitudes. the challenge for companies, then, is to ensure that their staff are well trained, productive and innovative.
the second key challenge is transforming people’s perceptions of the services sector in order to attract the best talents. to do this, we need to start with service professionals themselves. if they are imbued with self-belief and self-respect, they will come to regard great service as an attainable and worthy goal and take pride in what they do. only then will others look at the industry with respect and be drawn to it.
Whole-of-company approach
my fellow service excellence skills and training council (sestc) members and i believe that companies will be able to better meet their present as well as future challenges if they take a whole-of-company approach to service excellence and invest in quality training.
i’ll share our experience at the national library Board (nlB). our senior management works alongside staff across all levels to strive towards nlB’s service goals. We take great care to acknowledge our staff’s service efforts, both big and small. knowing that we stand by them wholeheartedly, they have the confidence to continuously pursue service innovation. nlB also has a training roadmap for all staff, from frontline officers to senior management, that emphasises service excellence and service delivery.
i believe our whole-of-company approach has made all the difference. in 2013 nlB’s compliment-to-complaint ratio was 500 to 1,
“My fellow Service Excellence Skills and Training Council (SESTC) members and I believe that companies will be able to better meet their present as well as future challenges if they take a whole-of-company approach to service excellence and invest in quality training.”
a clear indication that we have served our customers well. perhaps more significantly, these numbers also reveal the goodwill nlB has built with singaporeans, for they have taken the effort to share their well-meaning feedback with us. many of them also come forward to lend us a helping hand for our programmes. all these efforts on the part of our customers go to show that they value our libraries and services.
Service excellence Competency framework
nlB’s approach to service excellence is not atypical of companies in singapore. our services sector has a collective desire to provide service that is on par with the best worldwide, and industry players, many of whom are on the sestc, know what it takes and what we should do to be among the best.
in developing the service excellence competency Framework, the sestc focused on enabling the shift from a manpower-intensive service model to one emphasising service efforts led by productivity and innovation. importantly, the framework also supports companies in driving a whole-of-company approach to service excellence and adopting a customer-centric view to achieve business goals. it raises the importance of professionalising service jobs, and recognising and rewarding service professionals with nationally recognised competencies and qualification pathways through the singapore Workforce skills Qualifications (WsQ) system. new in the framework are the non-WsQ c-suite courses, aimed at enabling senior management to take the lead to promote service excellence and cascade a service culture across their companies.
at nlB, we are looking forward to adopting the framework into our training roadmap. i hope your company will do the same too. if we equip our service workforce with quality training that also builds their confidence and enthuses them about the industry, the future of our local services sector will be brighter than ever.
INTROduCTIONINTROduCTION
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leaders of successful singapore companies known for their service excellence have come on board to support, endorse and adopt the service excellence competency Framework. as members of the service excellence skills and training council (sestc), they guide the development and implementation of the framework, ensuring that it meets the needs of singapore’s services sector.
senior vice-president, products and services, singapore airlines
mr low Cheong kee
managing director, home-Fix diY
ThE gOOd COMPANY ThE gOOd COMPANY
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Ready to redefine your company’s service standards? Shift up your gears. It’s time to revolutionalise your service delivery with the Service Excellence Competency Framework.
Gear up for the service revolution
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FOR EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE STANdARdS ThAT LASTSet your company’s service excellence culture in motion. With the Service Excellence Competency Framework, a holistic skills and competency model for the services sector, you are geared for enhanced service standards and a truly enduring service culture across all levels in your company, from top management to operational staff.
SERVICE EXCELLENCE COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK
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PROFESSIONALISE SERVICE CAREERSRecognise and reward skills upgrading; re-evaluate company’s recruitment, remuneration, training and talent management strategy; revisit employer-employee relations
JOB REdESIgN FOR ThE SERVICE WORKFORCERedesign service jobs to optimise limited manpower without compromising service standards. This may include multi-skilling, job design for special workforce segments such as mature and disabled workers, and flexi-work arrangements.
AdOPT ThE ThRuSTS
WhOLE-OF-COMPANY AdOPTIONRedefine the service experience by shifting from a manpower-focused service model to an innovation- and productivity-focused model
dEFINE ThE NEEdS(COMPETENCY CATEgORIES)
A service excellence culture begins with clear strategic direction at the top. Senior leaders invest ample resources to develop service talents and support systems, constantly remind employees of the company’s service vision, and lead by demonstrating desired service behaviours. There are no shortcuts to service excellence – only a steadfast company-wide commitment to customer-centric practices.
SET ThE STRATEgY
SERVICE EXCELLENCE COMPETENCY FRAMEWORKThe Service Excellence Competency Framework is established based on three thrusts. Companies can develop their own service strategy through six competency categories.
BENEFITS: improved business profitability, improved service productivity, enhanced customer satisfaction, enhanced employee engagement
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BENEFITS: improved staff engagement, reduced staff attrition, enhanced service experience, improved service productivity, progressive career and wage improvements
BENEFITS: enhanced job scopes, flexible job scopes, improved staff engagement, reduced staff attrition, enhanced service processes, enhanced service experience, improved service productivity and efficiency
INFORMATION ANd RESuLTS•Serviceperformancemanagement•Benchmarking•Customersatisfactionmeasurement
SERVICE INNOVATION•Customerexperience•Serviceinnovationculture
SERVICE EXCELLENCE COMPETENCY FRAMEWORKSERVICE EXCELLENCE COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK
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training is a cornerstone of service excellencethe rigour of the programme is anchored to sia’s staunch belief in service excellence. mr tan pee teck, sia’s senior vice-president, products and services, says: “service excellence is an integral part of sia’s mission to be a global premium airline providing service of the highest quality.
“in an increasingly competitive business environment, our continued success will depend more than ever on a workforce that is skilled, dynamic and committed to customer service excellence. staff training and development is a cornerstone of sia’s service excellence.”
ms Foo says: “We believe in preparing and equipping our trainees well to serve our customers with competence and confidence. all ccrp components are carefully designed and chosen to prepare our crew for their roles on board.”
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role moDelS for ServiCe exCellenCeSIA’s cabin crew trainers make a difference by translating the airline’s service vision for new cabin crew recruits during training
Cabin crew trainers translate the service visionas well as equipping new cabin crew members with the necessary knowledge and skills, the ccrp also immerses the trainees in sia’s service tradition and culture.
says mr rajamohan: “We coach the trainees not only in product knowledge and content, but also in the right attitude and values, which in turn help them become true service professionals.”
staff training offers the opportunity for new recruits to assimilate sia’s service vision, which focuses on the pursuit of excellence to not only meet, but also exceed customers’ expectations, and retain customer loyalty.
sia employees are inducted into the company’s service vision through channels such as the corporate e-portal, circulars and dialogue sessions. But none of these arguably make an impact as great as trainers who have personally experienced and lived the service vision.
ms Foo says: “my role as a cabin crew trainer is to motivate, coach and mentor my trainees so that they are able to demonstrate sia’s service vision.”
her aim is to inculcate in the trainees a passion for service – to make a difference by creating extraordinary moments for sia customers.
as an inflight supervisor and line instructor, mr rajamohan sees himself as a role model who can show new cabin crew members the way to do things right. he also feels that his many years of experience as a cabin crew member have definitely given him an added advantage as a trainer.
“i share with my trainees personal experiences and stories, which give them a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities,” he says. “i share with them the joy that comes from being genuine. i emphasise how simple and satisfying it is, and how successful one can be, when service is carried out from the heart.”
ms foo Juat fang Singapore Airlines cabin crew trainer
mr rajamohanSingapore Airlines cabin crew trainer
“I share with them the joy that comes from being genuine. I emphasise how simple and satisfying it is, and how successful one can be, when service is carried out from the heart.”
after 19 years as a singapore airlines (sia) cabin crew member and inflight supervisor, ms Foo Juat Fang joined the sia school for cabin crew under the cabin crew training department.
that was 17 years ago. today, as a senior trainer in the faculty, she continues to use her inflight service experience and knowledge to help develop and transform cabin crew recruits into consummate service professionals.
like ms Foo, mr rajamohan is also a trainer and an inflight veteran – he has 34 years of experience. he flies two weeks of the month as an inflight supervisor and spends the other half of the month as a line instructor, sharing his wisdom and experience with new trainees.
they are both trainers for the 15-week cabin crew readiness programme (ccrp), an in-house introductory course for new sia cabin crew members. sia has aligned the ccrp to the service excellence competency Framework, and trainees receive the nationally recognised WsQ service excellence statements of attainment after completing the course.
conducted over four months, the ccrp is known to be one of the most extensive and rigorous of such programmes in the airline industry. the new recruits undergo training for everything from social etiquette and safety to meal service and communication. they also carry out community work and are exposed to different cultures to learn skills for serving customers of different nationalities and those with special needs.
You can build your organisation’s service culture with the help of the Service Excellence Competency Framework. the service excellence competency Framework offers the following programmes for the competency category of leadership:
•WSQChampiona Service excellence ethos (service champion, level 5)
•WSQDriveServiceStrategies for market entry opportunities (service champion, level 5)
•WSQLeadwith Service vision (service leader, level 4)
•WSQRoleModel the Service vision (service coach, level 3)
•WSQDemonstrate the Service vision (service professional, level 1)
LeadershipLeadership
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What kind of service mindset do you want your staff to have?
We want our staff to create exceptional experiences and rewarding moments for our guests. We want every one of their meals to be memorable and the precursor of many more to come. our staff should also always put themselves in our customers’ shoes. empathy, humility and integrity are the values that we try to imbue in our service culture.
les amis group has remained a relatively small operation over the years. How does it uphold its service standards with a small team?
Being small enables us to concentrate our efforts. We adopt a strict promote-from-within practice so that our culture doesn’t get diluted as we expand operations. this is true even for our c-suite executives. We cross-promote the team members and leaders who are ready to take on new challenges and enable them to spearhead new concepts or outlets. this way, our culture and, more importantly, our values are brought over each and every time.
no Small featLes Amis Group’s relatively small operation is not an obstacle in its pursuit of service excellence, as founder and owner Desmond Lim tells us
What can Singapore’s service industry improve on?
as a customer, we know exactly what we want from service providers. if there’s a problem, we want it to be addressed painlessly and quickly. it’s fairly straightforward, isn’t it? Yet, service staff here often forget about empathy for their customers. they will say that something cannot be done because it is the company’s policy, or that things have always been done a certain way. We do need to remember that the service provider does not determine what good service is; the customer does.
tell us an interesting customer service story about les amis.
a scottish customer used to have lunch at les amis two or three times a week without fail. he would sit at the same table and order the same set lunch. the team became so close to him that they would invite him to our staff parties and football games, and he would join us!
pepperoniSuntec City Mall
mr matthew nonis, Group Training & Development Manager,Les Amis Group, Nam Nam Suntec City Mall
Chefs from the Les Amis Group
Do you see talent investment as risk-taking?
We see it more as an investment for the future – we are building a talent pipeline. people are our core asset. We may invest millions of dollars into interior design and outfitting new concepts and outlets, but what use is this without the proper “software” to run the restaurants?
What has been les amis’s biggest challenge in its service excellence journey?
even though managers acknowledge the need for training, when it comes to walking the talk, they tend to shy away, citing reasons such as a lack of manpower at their outlets. to overcome this, we are in talks with a local academic institution to explore structured on-the-job training with WsQ certification at the workplace.
pack’DSuntec City Mall
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Like Les Amis, you can transform your customers’ experiences by focusing on your service operations.
the service excellence competency Framework offers the following programmes for the competency category of planning and process:
•WSQImplementOperationsfor Service excellence (service professional, level 1)
How does staff development benefit the company?
We believe that in order for our team members to be exemplary in serving people who want to live the good life, there is no better way than to experience it for themselves. that is why, for instance, we send our top talents on annual all-expenses-paid trips to the food and wine capitals of the world. this shows how much we value and respect our team members. at the same time, it allows us to develop their potential. exposed to a myriad of practices and trends, they can then use what they have learnt to create new menus, implement new service processes and work more efficiently.
HowhasSVWSQ training helped les amis employees?
our staff attend sv WsQ courses such as “lead a team”, “offer customised and personalised service” and “participate in service innovation processes”. WsQ provides an accessible, structured and systematic approach for us to develop our team’s foundational and occupational skills. WsQ also allows our staff to earn certifications based on industry-agreed benchmarks.
pLanning and proCess pLanning and proCess
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one of singapore’s premier attractions known for its service culture, sentosa believes in engaging its people to bring out their best in service delivery. its staff engagement programme spans service initiatives, staff training, performance measurement as well as recognition and rewards.
Do the Wave sentosa’s key service initiative Wave (Welcomed, assured, valued, energised), championed by its chief executive officer mr mike Barclay who heads the Wave steering committee, comprises a series of programmes aimed at instilling customer-centric values in all employees in sentosa, including those of its partners.
one ongoing Wave programme is “show You care”. ms lim explains: “our staff are urged to demonstrate the ‘care’ behaviours of being proactive, looking at things from customers’ points of view, and exceeding guests’ expectations.”
the Wave-o-meter internal survey is another engagement programme, where team members rate their own performance and share their challenges with the senior management team.
the tables were set. the guests had arrived. all was ready for a joyous birthday party at port Belly restaurant – except for one thing: the birthday cake had split into two. Without missing a beat, mark alverez lim, the assistant Food service manager, assured the panicky mother and called sentosa’s executive chef, who got the kitchen crew to fix up the cake and make it look as good as new. the happy customers were able to carry on with their celebrations without further ado.
this heartwarming episode is just one of sentosa’s many service stories distinguished by staff who have taken ownership of customers’ predicaments and gone the extra mile to delight and surprise.
“exceptional service is about being sincere and compassionate to our guests. it’s about being proactive in creating a great experience,” says ms lim suu kuan, divisional director, guest experience division, sentosa leisure management. “a great sentosa experience begins with our employees. We encourage them to deliver outstanding service from the heart.”
“Sentosa believes in engaging its people to bring out their best in service delivery.”
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ServiCe from tHe HeartSentosa engages and invests in its people for the best guest experiences
SVWSQcompetencytrainingas an approved training organisation accredited by the singapore Workforce development agency, sentosa has customised its in-house training based on the service excellence WsQ framework.
staff attend in-house courses centred on service delivery, such as Wave service leaders, where service leaders learn how to inspire their teams; and handling challenging situations, where staff gain greater self-awareness, helpful for managing their interactions with others.
“using the framework, we have been able to offer our team members guided learning opportunities,” says ms lim. “this has shown results in staff retention as well as building organisational competencies.”
motivating through staff engagement service initiatives and competency training aside, sentosa also has other engagement measures to boost staff morale and motivation, such as performance measurement and recognition and rewards.
in terms of performance assessment, sentosa benchmarks employees’ performance against its star core values (namely service, teamwork, acting with integrity, results-oriented) based on feedback from guests and partners, as well as findings from guest satisfaction surveys and mystery shopping.
to motivate employees further, sentosa offers several internal recognition and reward initiatives. these include the ceo’s personalised notes to staff, quarterly service awards and the annual ceo star awards.
Like Sentosa, you too can transform your customers’ experiences by focusing on your people. the service excellence competency Framework offers the following programmes for the competency category of people:
•optimise the Service performance of Your Workforce (c-suite, level 6)
•WSQStrategiseWorkforcefor Service excellence (service champion, level 5)
•WSQOptimiseWorkforcefor Service excellence (service leader, level 4)
“We also have a company game where additional bonus payout is made when predetermined guest satisfaction targets are met. this further motivates everyone to work towards delivering service excellence,” says ms lim.
sentosa also actively participates in external awards that recognise service staff, such as exsa (excellent service award), singapore experience award and singapore service excellence medallion.
people make tHe WorlD go WoW!At Sentosa, great service experiences begin with its people. Through WSQ competency training and service initiatives, Sentosa ensures that its people across all levels are always ready to deliver WOW! experiences to its guests.
that’s not all. sentosa knows that recognition draws out the best in its people. that’s why it measures its staff’s performance and duly rewards great service delivery with awards and incentives.
all these and more to make its people the best ambassadors of asia’s favourite playground.
peopLe peopLe
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By marcus lee, PhD, Academic Director, Institute of Service Excellence, Singapore Management University
meaSure meaningfullYAnalytics based on surveys such as the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore can help companies improve service performance across all employee levels
CuStomer ServiCe: Your BranD’S SeCret Weapon Drive your company’s return on investment with good customer experiences
We all want to be successful in the areas that matter to us. Business owners strive for long-term profitability, which translates into a handful of medium-term goals for company leaders. this further translates into short-term key performance indicators (kpis) for the rest of the employees. this system of interrelated kpis is what defines organisational excellence for most businesses.
collectively meeting our individual kpis would, by definition, achieve organisational excellence, and the general belief is that achieving organisational excellence would ensure the long-term viability of the companies we work for.
all these underscore the importance of setting meaningful kpis for the different layers within an organisation.
measuring customer satisfactionWhile the data required for reporting an organisation’s financial health may be relatively straightforward and unambiguous as a consequence of the host of regulatory standards surrounding the reporting of accounting metrics, the measurement and reporting of customer-related metrics is more often than not fraught with ambiguity and subjectivity as no regulatory standard exists in this realm.
every experience customers have with your company impacts what they think of your brand. customer service is very often the frontline of this experience. according to dimensional research, customer service ranks as the no. 1 factor influencing how much a consumer trusts a company. so when you consider your brand strategy and investment, customer service needs to be at the heart of it.
retail, travel and hospitality brands with front-facing staff have long known this. the shangri-la hotel group, for example, has put service at the centre with its brand promise to “embrace a stranger as one’s own”. When it launched its new brand campaign in 2010, as much effort was invested in staff motivation and training as in paid media.
social media has heightened the need for all brands, including those whose service model is
the service excellence competency Framework offers the following programmes for the competency category of information and results:
• maximise Service and Business performance (c-suite, level 6)
any changes in customer expectations, perceptions of quality, or perceptions of value would have on customer satisfaction, complaint behaviour and customer loyalty.
Service performance improvementcustomer analytics based on robust surveys such as the csisg can be invaluable in guiding improvement efforts at different levels within an organisation. in particular, such analytics can be used to help shape the training curriculum for frontline employees.
most employees want their work to be meaningful and to be appropriately recognised and rewarded for their efforts. acknowledging that kpis shape behaviour stresses how crucial appropriate kpis are to an organisation. and while measurement is not the be-all and end-all of organisational excellence, doing it poorly or not at all is a sure-fire recipe for your company’s eventual irrelevance. so make it your mission to measure kpis meaningfully.
For more information on the CSISG, please visit ises.smu.edu.sg
run by the institute of service excellence (ises) at singapore management university, the customer satisfaction index of singapore (csisg) is a national customer perception survey based on a methodology with a sound scientific basis closely linked to company profitability. this methodology is also used as the basis of national customer satisfaction indices in 15 countries around the world.
the csisg embeds relationship-level satisfaction customers have with companies in an interconnected system of antecedents and consequences. doing this allows companies to understand the impact
customeR satisfactioNcsisG
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customeR expectatioNs
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The CSISG Causal Model
complaiNt behaviouR
An example of a finding from the Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore
By Jerry Smith, Regional President, Asia Pacific OgilvyOne Worldwide
Focusing on customer service drives return on investment in four key ways:
1Good customer experiences boost repurchase probability and long-term loyalty.
2Poor customer service experiences lead to increased service costs, especially if online service fails, forcing customers to pick up the phone.
3Poor customer service experiences risk customer defection and revenue losses. Poor service can cause the loss of as much as two-thirds of sales at the point of sale.
4Poor customer experiences can quickly damage the reputation of your brand.
online or delivered through intermediaries, to focus on customer service. often service can be the achilles heel of otherwise vibrant brands. impenetrable interactive voice response (ivr) systems are a top consumer moan online. however, good service at the point where customers have picked up the phone can build your brand, even if they have called to complain. american express knows that customers who call in with complaints and have them resolved will be more loyal than customers who have never complained at all.
pete Blackshaw from nestle has memorably put it in his book title: Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000. it is time to look at your brand as the complete set of experiences and touchpoints customers have with your company, and to ask yourself if customer service is your brand’s secret weapon or its achilles heel.
how would You Rate the haNdliNG of
complaiNt oN a scale of 1 to 10?
have You complaiNed
to YouR baNk iN the last 3
moNths?
Yes
35.8%
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64.2% 96.1% 1.9% 1.5%
You didN’t complaiN because...
haNdled pooRlY
(1-5)
35.7
haNdled well (6-10)
71.2
No ReasoN
73.7
toodifficult
51.7
NopoiNt
44.9customeR loYaltY scoRes
the service excellence competency Framework offers the following programmes for the competency category of customer experience:•WinCustomersforLife(c-suite, level 6)
Customer-Centric initiative (CCi) The Customer-Centric Initiative (CCI) is led by SPRING Singapore with support from the Go-the-Extra-Mile for Service (GEMS) Up agencies such as National Trades Union Congress, Singapore Workforce Development Agency, Singapore Tourism Board and Institute of Service Excellence at SMU. The CCI aims to encourage companies to commit to service excellence and take the lead in raising service standards in their industry and is part of the GEMS Up movement to transform Singapore’s service quality in the retail, food and beverage, hospitality, healthcare, transport and travel sectors.
Note: Industry benchmark data were taken from Department of Statistics (DOS) and matched to the respective CCI project period for each individual firm. DOS data from the years 2006 to 2011 were used.
however, there are five potential strategies companies can pursue in order to achieve cost-effective service excellence:
although challenging, it is possible to improve both service quality and productivity. the Wda service excellence competency Framework can be used as an enabler to drive sustained superior performance, service excellence and cost-effective operations.
Generic cost-reduction strateGies
dual culture approach
systems and technoloGy that enable employees
Focused service Factory
cost-eFFective service
excellence
customer selF-service and/or co-creation that is enabled throuGh selF-service technoloGies
Can We Have it all – ServiCe exCellenCe, proDuCtivitY anD profitaBilitY?Yes, we can – companies that embark on service excellence journeys gain higher productivity and profit growth
By professor Jochen Wirtz, Director, UCLA – NUS EMBA, National University of Singapore Business School
commissioned by spring singapore, the cci impact study conducted by nus has indicated the relationships between service excellence, productivity and profitability.
the study found that companies that had embarked on customer-centric initiatives significantly outperformed their competitors on all key performance indicators, including total value added, value added per worker, total sales, sales per worker as well as profit growth. For the best-performing companies, a key success factor was their service excellence journeys. they did not solely execute a single customer-centric initiative, but worked on a continuous stream of initiatives.
the ability to pursue both differentiation through service excellence and cost leadership in services is particularly difficult because the characteristics of services – such as distributed operations, simultaneous production and consumption, and customisation – make economies of scale and productivity gains hard to achieve.
“For the best-performing companies, a key success factor was their service excellence journeys. They did not solely execute a single customer-centric initiative, but worked on a continuous stream of initiatives.”
When Your customers are happY, so are
Your shareholders and emploYees
Service excellence is about creating consistent value for your customers. When your customers are happy, they develop lasting relationships with
your business and return as loyal clients. The result? More sales and revenue. More shareholder value and satisfied employees.
Service excellence, profits and employee satisfaction are inter-related. Start building a culture of service excellence with the help of
the Service Excellence Competency Framework.
Call us at 6883 5885 or visit www.wda.gov.sg/serviceexcellence.
shareholders
+
emploYees
customers
industry benchmark
cci companies
cci companies(n=40)
cci companies(n=36)
cci companies(n=45)
cci companies(n=42)
cci companies(n=51)
cci companies(n=28)6
.1%
22
.6%
increase in total value added
increase in value addedper worker
+8.0
+16.5 +11.6
+2.5 +14.1
+4.5
16.7
%
24
.7%
16.6
%
5.0
%
8.2
%
4.9
%
19.0
%
increase in operatinG receipts (sales) per worker
increase in operatinG receipts (sales) per sQ Foot
increase in total remuneration
increase in remunerationper worker
15.5
%
18.0
%
3.7
%
impact study on customer-centric initiative
executive summary – overall FindinGsvalue added and productivity of cci companies and benchmarking
20
in a service-driven economy like singapore’s, service innovation has become increasingly more important in shaping business growth than goods innovation.
service innovation is carried out by reconfiguring resources and creating value in a service system for a business effect. in service innovation, customers adopt new roles as resource integrators or co-creators of value. service innovation can also be based on new value propositions or new ways of capturing value and business models.
take ikea’s service innovation, for example. the swedish furniture retailer has reconfigured its resources to focus on their value-in-use. instead of displaying the same type of furniture or items in one room, it combines different pieces of furniture and items in “experience rooms”, where its customers can test-drive solutions such as a kitchen or living room before purchase. immersed in the solutions, customers are able to co-create value with ikea and assess the value according to their particular needs at home while reducing their purchase risk.
a perSpeCtive on ServiCe innovation A systemic approach to understanding service innovation
serviCe innovation
By professor Bo edvardsson, Service Research Center, Karlstad University
“As for resources, they are products and services that have potential value, but their value is realised only during value co-creation when used by actors.”
Service innovation frameworkhere, i will provide a systemic approach for understanding service innovation – the actor, resource and institution Framework (ari Framework).
actors are the engines in service innovation. they can be individual customers (or customers in groups), employees (or an individual employee) or companies (or organisations). actors are key to realising innovation, as they use resources or integrate them with the aim to co-create value for themselves.
as for resources, they are products and services that have potential value, but their value is realised only during value co-creation when used by actors. actors assess value from their own points of view in their given contexts. they possess dynamic resources such as knowledge, skills and motivation, and the use of these resources is moderated by their enacted roles as well as their institutions.
This article is based on “A conceptualisation of service innovation as reconfiguration of actors, resources and institutions”, a paper by Edvardsson, B., Tronvoll. B. and Witell, L., presented at the First International Workshop on Service Innovation Research,18–20 September 2013, University of Magna Gracia of Catanzaro.
institutions and institutional rules as well as values and forces in social systems, in turn, shape how actors integrate resources and co-create value with them. institutions enable and constrain resource integration and value co-creation in service systems.
many service innovations now are based on value co-creation through interactions on social networks such as skype, twitter, instagram and Facebook. these are examples of platforms, eco-systems and value networks within the contexts of institutionalised practices.
Triumph brings the true art of shaping to all women in Singapore with its unique Shapewear Cocoon customer experience.
Step into the “cocoon” and discover shapewear that defines curves to reveal your natural beauty. Complete with shapewear stylists, iPad demonstrations
and even fashion tips (inner wear as outerwear), it’s no wonder that customers are delighted by their personal metamorphosis into their best body shape.
Through a WSQ Service Innovation holistic training solution, Triumph has been able to transform and translate its customer experience into
increased revenue, market share and brand awareness.
That’s Service Innovation at its best.
Be transformed into your best shape
Ser
vice
Inn
ovat
ion
Like Triumph, you can transform your customers’ experiences with service innovation.
the service excellence competency Framework offers the following programmes for the competency category of service innovation:
role of Service leaderResponsible for operationalisingservice excellence
role of Service CoachResponsible for nurturing and supervising staff for service excellence
role of Service professionalResponsible for engaging customers for service excellence
eligible for WsQ diploma in service leadership
eligible for WsQ advanced certificate in service excellence
eligible for WsQ certificate in service excellence
serviCe exCeLLenCe WsQ roadmap
A ROAdMAP TO SERVICE EXCELLENCEthe service excellence competency Framework is designed to help companies create and define their desired service experiences through building organisational capabilities for innovation and productivity. it also aims to professionalise service careers through an embedded Workforce skills Qualifications (WsQ) pathway for progression.
Service
Professional
Service
leader
role of Service ChampionResponsible or championing and driving company-wide service excellence
eligible for WsQ specialist diploma in service leadership
get on board with the Service excellence Competency framework and equip your employees with the holistic skills to thrive and excel in the services sector.
From service excellence courses for frontline staff to a service leadership specialist diploma for a regional director, there is something that fits everyone.
Find out more at www.wda.gov.sg/serviceexcellence or call 6883 5885
F i n a l l Yc r e a t e y o u r p e r f e c t f i t
24
Service
Champion
Service
coach
finanCiaL support
the singapore Workforce development agency (Wda) enhances the competitiveness of our workforce by encouraging workers to learn for life and advance with skills. in today’s economy, most jobs require not just knowledge, but also skills. Wda collaborates with employers, industry associations, the union and training organisations, to develop and strengthen the continuing education and training system that is skills-based, open and accessible, as a mainstream pathway for all workers – young and older, from rank and file to professionals and executives – to upgrade and advance in their careers and lives.
For more information, please visit www.wda.gov.sg
Enterprise Training Support (ETS) the ets scheme aims to help you achieve the following outcomes:
•Raiseyouremployees’productivity and skills levels
•Attractandretainvaluedemployeesby developing good human resource (hr) and management systems and practices tied to training
•Attractandretainvaluedemployeesbyhelping you benchmark compensation and benefits to market rates
You can receive the following funding support: training grant; capability development grant; curriculum contextualisation and alignment grant; hr development grant; and compensation and Benefits system review grant.
TRAININg PARTNERS
programme partners
cet centres
PARTNERINg FOR SuCCESS
tÜv sÜd psb learninG Service Quality (SQ) Centre10 Eunos Road 8#07-05 Singapore Post CentreSingapore 408600Tel: 6376 0777Fax: 6274 6091Email: [email protected]
ntuc learninGhub73 Bras Basah Road#02-01 NTUC Trade Union HouseSingapore 189556Tel: 6486 7795Fax: 6339 7288www.ise.nextu.com.sg
kaplan proFessionalDevan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability80 Jurong East Street 21#06-02, Singapore 609607Tel: 6733 1877Fax: 6733 2977Email: [email protected]/professional
essec asia-paciFic100 Victoria Street, #13-02 National Library Building Singapore 188064Tel: 6884 9780 www.essec.edu/asia
mendaki sense116 Changi Road#05-01 to #05-15WIS@ChangiSingapore 419718Tel: 6478 3100www.mendaki-sense.com.sg
institute oF systems science, national university oF sinGapore25 Heng Mui Keng TerraceSingapore 119615Tel: 6516 2020/2009/2096/5777Fax: 6778 2571Email: [email protected]
traininG vision institute pte ltd11 Eunos Road 8 #06-04 & #06-05Singapore 408601 (Wef March 2014)Tel: 6467 3341Email: [email protected]
sinGapore chinese chamber institute oF business47 Hill Street #08-01 SCCCI BuildingSingapore 179365 Tel: 6334 1080Fax: 6337 1165Email: [email protected]
institute on asian consumer insiGht (aci) Nanyang Business SchoolNanyang Technological University50 Nanyang AvenueSingapore 639798Tel: 6790 4966Email: [email protected]
civil service colleGe31 North Buona Vista RoadSingapore 275983Tel: 6874 1733Fax: 6874 1735Email: [email protected]
rohei corporation3 Shenton Way #19-09/10 Shenton House Singapore 068805Tel: 6534 9322Email: [email protected]
institute oF service excellence at sinGapore manaGement university81 Victoria Street Singapore Management UniversityAdministration BuildingSingapore 188065Tel: 6828 0111Email: [email protected]
Enhanced Training Support for SMEsenhanced training support for smes encourages greater training participation from small and medium enterprises. You can enjoy up to 90% course fee funding and absentee payroll funding of 80% of basic hourly salary at a cap of $7.50 per hour. to qualify, smes must be registered or incorporated in singapore, with not more than 200 employees.
WorkProWorkpro helps you expand and sustain your manpower pool through grants and incentives targeted at specific strategies such as job redesign, better age management and work-life harmony, and to hire and retain more back-to-work locals and mature workers. You can receive the following funding support: workplace improvement and job redesign grants; and recruitment and retention incentives.
For more details on the financial support schemes, log on to www.wda.gov.sg
Workfare Training Support (WTS)if your employees earn not more than $1,900 per month and are 35 years old and above, you can benefit from the Wts scheme when you sponsor them for training. Wts encourages you to sponsor your lower wage employees for training to upgrade their skills and improve your business performance.
You can enjoy the following benefits under the Wts scheme:
•Lowertrainingcostsandmore training choices
•Moresupportforbasicskillstraining
You can benefit from 95% course fee funding and absentee payroll funding (no dollar cap). in addition, your employees can directly benefit from the cash awards under the training commitment award (tca).
A leader is only as good as his team. Nurturing skilled workers with relevant expertise is the key to adding value to your company. WDA offers a myriad of financial schemes to support staff training so that you can build up your talent pool and improve your business performance.
talent WortH SupportingFinancial support schemes to build your talent pool
About Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA)
27 26
All great service stories have great beginnings. You have been inspired by the stories behind some of the most distinguished names in the services sector. Now it’s your turn to bring your own signature story to life. Build your own signature story on the solid foundation of the Service Excellence Competency Framework.
If we have got you thinking, call us at 6883 5885 or visit www.wda.gov.sg/serviceexcellence today!
Your service story starts here
S i g n a t u r eS t o r i e S
Responsible for leading and driving whole-of-company service excellence
Responsible for operationalisingservice excellence
Responsible for engaging customers for service excellence
Responsible for nurturing and supervising staff for service excellence
SERVICE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MEASUREMENT
BENCHMARKING
SERVICE BRANDING
SERVICE RECOVERY
CUSTOMER LOYALTY
SERVICE DELIVERYSTAFF PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
1
REWARDS AND RECOGNITION
2
DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT
3
DRIVE CUSTOMER LOYALTY FOR SERVICE EXCELLENCE
DRIVE BRANDING AND COMMUNICATION FOR SERVICE EXCELLENCE
STRATEGISE PARTNERSHIPS FOR SERVICE EXCELLENCE
SERVICE VISION, MISSION AND VALUES
SERVICE DIRECTION AND STRATEGY
BUILDING A CULTURE OF SERVICE EXCELLENCE
DEPLOYMENT OF PLANNED SERVICE INITIATIVES AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
SERVICE PROCESS AND SYSTEMS DESIGN AND IMPROVEMENT
ENHANCE YOUR CUSTOMER STRATEGY
BUILD A SERVICE EXCELLENCE CULTURE
TRANSLATE STRATEGY INTO SERVICE OPERATIONS
S T R AT E G I S E W O R K F O R C E F O R S E RV I C E E XC E L L E N C E
IMPLEMENTOPERATIONSFOR SERVICEEXCELLENCE
OPTIMISE THE SERVICE
PERFORMANCE OF YOUR WORKFORCE
WIN CUSTOMERS
FOR LIFE
MAXIMISE SERVICE
AND BUSINESS
PERFORMANCE
TRANSFORM YOUR SERVICE THROUGH STRATEGIC INNOVATION
MANAGEOPERATIONSFOR SERVICEEXCELLENCE
DRIVE SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
EVALUATE ORGANISATION FOR BUSINESS EXCELLENCE
MANAGE PARTNERSHIPS FOR SERVICE EXCELLENCE
DEVELOP SERVICE RECOVERY FRAMEWORK
MANAGE THE SERVICE BRAND
PROVIDE GO-THE-EXTRA-MILE SERVICE
RESPOND TO SERVICE CHALLENGES
PROJECT A POSITIVE AND PROFESSIONAL IMAGE
CONTRIBUTE TO CUSTOMER SERVICE OVER VARIOUS PLATFORMS
CHAMPION SERVICE INNOVATION
INNOVATE THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
STRATEGISE SERVICE OPERATIONS
DEMONSTRATE THE SERVICE VISION
LEAD WITH SERVICE VISION
DEVELOPSERVICE
OPERATIONS
ENGAGE IN SERVICE
INNOVATION INITIATIVES
O P T I M I S E W O R K F O R C E F O R S E RV I C E E XC E L L E N C E
ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS FOR CUSTOMER CONFIDENCE
ANALYSE SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
WORK IN A DIVERSE SERVICE ENVIRONMENT
FOSTER SERVICE INNOVATION
DEVELOP NEW PRODUCTS / SERVICES
ROLE MODEL THE SERVICE VISION
COACH FOR SERVICE PERFORMANCE
MANAGE A DIVERSE SERVICE ENVIRONMENT
MANAGE SERVICE PERFORMANCE
ACQUIRE INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE
1CV
2CV
Themes
NON-WSQ
WSQ SPECIALIST DIPLOMA IN SERVICE LEADERSHIP (15 CV)
WSQ DIPLOMA IN SERVICE LEADERSHIP (20 CV)
WSQ ADVANCED CERTIFICATE IN SERVICE EXCELLENCE (15 CV)
WSQ CERTIFICATE IN SERVICE EXCELLENCE (13 CV)
CERTIFIED SERVICE PROFESSIONAL
C-Suite (Level 6)
Service Champion(Level 5)
Service Leader(Level 4)
Service Coach(Level 3)
Service Professional(Level 1)
LEADERSHIP PEOPLEPLANNING & PROCESS CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE INFORMATION & RESULTS SERVICE INNOVATION
SERVICE INNOVATION CULTURE
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
CHAMPION A SERVICE EXCELLENCE ETHOS
DRIVE SERVICE STRATEGIES FOR MARKET ENTRY OPPORTUNITIES
2CV
1CV
2CV
2CV
1CV
2CV
2CV
2CV
2CV
2CV
1CV
2CV 2
CV
2CV 2
CV1
CV
2CV
2CV
2CV
2CV
2CV
2CV
2CV 2
CV2
CV2
CV
2CV
2CV
2CV 1
CV2
CV
2CV
2CV
CORE UNITS ELECTIVE UNITS
Responsible or championing and driving company-wide service excellence
Electives can also be taken from any other WSQ framework. They can be obtained from within the same level as the qualification or taken from one level above or below that level. CV : Credit Values
COMPETENCY CATEGORIES
N
$&
A B
%
Overview of Service Excellence Competency Framework
