I am the customer: Jo Causon

“Can utilities recognise ­excellence when it happens?”

There is a lot to be positive about within the utilities sector: the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) rates it as the most improved sector in the UK economy, gaining 1.9 points compared to last year.

Customer-facing staff are the day-to-day representatives of a business. Arguably they determine business reputation through their service and are key, very public touch points. As leaders we are responsible for making sure these critical assets of our business are equipped with the appropriate skills to deliver the best customer experience.

The UKCSI looks in detail at the areas where members of staff in the utilities sector are not achieving the highest standards. Understanding this is critical, but for me it is more important to think about broader challenges and potential solutions. Are we rewarding our people appropriately, can we recognise excellence when it happens and replicate it? More importantly, how can we build this into a sustainable model? Also, how do we maximise the roles of technology and artificial intelligence and balance these with the very critical and distinctive human interactions?

The results we see in the UKCSI are revealing, but I’m most interested in asking how the utilities sector can benefit from posing these tough questions, sharing excellence from within the industry and learning from other sectors. If we are serious about maintaining the loyalty of customers, we need to answer these questions together.

Jo Causon, chief executive, The Institute of Customer Service