The challenge

The supplier was moving its customer service operation onto the Kraken system while also dealing with a significant increase in customer queries. With employees and customers transitioning to the new system, call volumes were putting pressure on internal customer service teams.

Recruitment was already under way, but getting new people through the client’s usual training programme took around three to four weeks. They needed experienced support much faster to help manage demand while the migration continued.

Solution

Sigma Connected already had advisors with utilities and Kraken experience available, so we were able to move quickly. The initial requirement was for two teams of 15 advisors, supported by an operations manager.

The mobilisation covered everything needed to get the new operation running, including contracts, access, billing arrangements, performance measures and training. Because our advisors had already completed core GDPR and cybersecurity training and knew the Kraken platform, the client-specific training could be reduced from around three to four weeks to just three or four days.

That existing experience also meant our advisors only needed additional water sector knowledge rather than learning a completely new way of working. They already understood utilities, billing and the underlying platform, allowing them to transition quickly into the new service.

As the operation developed, we also worked through practical challenges around access to specialist client support, finding a way to bring that support into the team rather than allowing it to slow up delivery. Strong early performance then led the client to increase the requirement from 30 to 100 people within the first few weeks.

Later in the programme, the supplier also needed additional complaints support. Sigma Connected’s combination of platform experience and complaints expertise meant we could quickly add a specialist team to help manage that demand too.

Results

We were set a stretching target of six calls per hour within four weeks – around the same point the client would normally expect a new recruit to be just coming out of training.

Across the first four groups, productivity moved quickly towards that target, with teams reaching or exceeding it during the programme. The client later reduced the target to five calls per hour, bringing it in line with its own internal measure.

At one point, Sigma answered 15,000 calls in a single week – around 50% of the supplier’s total inbound volume.

The speed and performance of the initial 30-person team gave the client the confidence to scale the operation to 100 people, helping  manage customer demand through a major period of change without waiting weeks for recruitment and training to catch up.