Back to News
Utilities achieving higher customer satisfaction through FCR, according to new Chartwell report
ATLANTA – March 9, 2010 – Measuring first-contact resolution (FCR) has led to higher customer satisfaction scores and fewer incoming calls, Chartwell finds it its latest report, First-Contact Resolution in the Utility Industry 2010.
Overall, utilities are doing a better job of addressing customers’ problems in one call and eliminating the need of repeat contacts. Evidence shows that utilities average better customer satisfaction scores as reported by the well-known industry indexes if they strive to solve customers’ problems on the first contact, Chartwell finds.
“While a FCR initiative is just one component in a utility’s overall strategy to improve customer satisfaction, evidence shows a link between measuring and achieving contact resolution and higher satisfaction scores,” Chartwell analyst Doris Yon says. “However, implementing such a measurement can, and usually does, cause certain service metrics to rise, such as handling time and average speed of answer. So utilities need to balance FCR efforts with their overall goals in service metrics.”
First-Contact Resolution in the Utility Industry 2010 shows how some utilities measure contact resolution, and Chartwell reports that not all utilities arrive at their FCR rates in the same manner. This can lead to disparate reporting, but Chartwell also finds while standard benchmarks are difficult to gauge the overall trend of improvement is evident.
Most utilities with a FCR program measure resolution on agent-assisted or automated calls, but some have expanded the initiative to include other touch points such as Web interactions or field service visits to gauge first-contact resolution instead of first-call resolution.
ABOUT CHARTWELL INC.
Chartwell Inc. is a specialized information provider that facilitates knowledge exchange among utility professionals responsible for management practices and technology solutions. Chartwell publishes best practices case studies, quantitative research and electronic newsletters, and hosts conferences and other events for utility professionals.
Press Contact
Doris Yon
(404) 237-9099, Ext. 29
