Owning the Last Mile

From the obvious health risk, to the lockdown and social distancing measures that have become part of our strange new world, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been all too evident.

For many people, the emotional, mental, social and financial stresses have been overwhelming. As we have seen, this worry and frustration has led people to question what they see around them – things that would have once been viewed as everyday life.

During the early stages of the pandemic, this included the work of our sector. On-site teams working in local communities found themselves at the sharp end of public scrutiny, challenged on whether the work taking place was truly “critical” and whether social distancing guidelines were being adhered to. Customer contact centre teams also faced a rise in calls from customers questioning the continuation of work during the tight restrictions and guidance provided by the government.

At the time, there was work to be done to establish public faith and provide an understanding of the work being delivered by utilities companies and their contractor partners to keep people connected, taps flowing, households warm and lights switched on.

Thankfully, these messages were well received and public sentiment towards critical workers in our sector proved to be overwhelmingly positive throughout the restricted period.

It goes without saying that this has been a difficult time for everyone and businesses will have worked harder than ever to ensure the right support has been in place for their people. Strong, clear and consistent communications, encouragement to ensure colleagues feel emotionally and physically safe and well, or simply finding the time for an extra well done or thank you here and there.

‘Every colleague counts’ has been our mantra throughout. Ensuring the right support is in place is not only the right thing to do, it also provides a foundation for a more positive customer experience.

Each critical worker, and each customer that they have engaged with, will have had their own experience and perspective of the pandemic. During what has undoubtedly been a period of anxiety and stress for so many, the likelihood of an emotionally overloaded customer reacting unpredictably and disproportionately to an unforeseen issue with a utility service will almost inevitably have increased.

Imagine, too, the additional impact for a vulnerable customer who is experiencing a supply interruption, a leak, a pressure drop or added noise or disruption stemming from works in their street during this period.

Long before coronavirus became a part of our everyday vocabulary, the need to understand and appreciate the varying needs of vulnerable customers has been a key area of focus for our sector. Quite rightly, the challenge of doing all we can to care for vulnerable customers has been a huge priority throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Of course, vulnerability can take many forms, all of which require an appropriate and sensitive approach. From customers enduring extended periods of isolation due to age or health conditions, through to customers with mental ill health or struggling financially, the approach has to be right.

Our definition of customer vulnerability reflects those of our clients and their regulators. It also takes into account the impact we may have on customers who may be affected by the services we deliver.

Arming our teams with the appropriate training, guidance and tools to identify and understand each customer’s situation is a hugely important responsibility.

Asking the right questions, showing compassion, patience, flexibility and understanding in relation to a customer’s specific circumstances, offering the appropriate reassurances and providing clear and consistent communication on who we are and the work we are doing. It’s what our business refers to as ‘owning the last mile’, considering the specific needs of a vulnerable customer from the moment a job is started through to completion.

As measures and restrictions continue to ease, predicting exactly what the “new normal” will look like is almost impossible.

The best organisations and leadership teams will continue to play an instrumental role in understanding, supporting and positively influencing their people through the recovery period.

Influencing a customer’s mind set will be equally important. The onus now is to continue to work hard to understand each customer’s individual situation and to act accordingly.

The customer service message for our people is that recovery is a phase and not just a moment. People will transition through the recovery period in their own ways and everyone – both customers and our own people – will go through their own journey.

From the operational frontline through to back-office support roles like planning and scheduling, everyone has a role to play.