ICIM today awarded Telecom Italia UNI EN15838:2010 certification for its 187 and 119 contact centres, dedicated respectively to fixed-line and mobile telephony. The company becomes the first telephone carrier in Italy and one of the first in Europe to offer certified customer care services.
Certification of services dedicated to high-value customers, including advanced fixed-line and mobile services, is a major achievement for the company ascribable to implementing enhancements in organization, making processes more efficient, introducing groundbreaking technological solutions, and raising levels of skill and competencies among staff.
The certification assessment was carried out by ICIM, the Italian Certification Body, in accordance with guidelines from the new European UNI EN 15838:2010 standard and UNI 11200:2010 standard parameters and operational guidelines that, for the first time, enshrine customer-centric best practice. Published at the end of 2009 and ratified in over 30 countries, this set of standards was drafted by a long-term Task Force (under Italian chairmanship) set up by the CEN European Standards Authority to guarantee objective evaluation of a set of service standards.
Franco Bernabè, Telecom Italia CEO, says: “Certification of our customer care services is the result of the Group’s strategic orientation: putting the customer at the heart of what it does by adopting advanced caring models designed to add value and build relationships based on mutual satisfaction. To make this a reality, we have introduced leading-edge technological platforms and made investments in personnel skills, competencies and motivation. We have achieved exceptional results in terms of service efficiency, sales, satisfaction and customer loyalty enhancement. Together, these activities have allowed us to raise customer satisfaction service levels close to standards of excellence.”
Gaetano Trizio, Managing Director of ICIM, comments: “It gives us pride to have certified the market leader in a significant segment in which customer care is crucial, after working alongside staff at Telecom Italia to assess their training and skills. We are particularly proud that ICIM established the original template for this set of standards – which marks a major step forwards in guaranteeing customer care services – by promoting them to the UNI organization.”
ICIM’s analysis drew on statistical data, documentation and direct observation of operations, in a process that including monitoring a large number of phone calls handled by Telecom Italia contact centre operators. The parameters considered included response times, operational roles and responsibilities, working conditions, staff satisfaction levels, end-user satisfaction level monitoring, organizational models, and the operational tools deployed.
The improvements undertaken by Telecom Italia to its customer care services have won a number of high-profile acknowledgements in a short space of time. As well as earning EN15838 certification, the company recently won two high-profile awards at the 2011 Customer Management Multimedia Competence (CMMC) event: one for the most innovative project implemented (Contact Center 187) in fixed-line telephony services, and one for the brilliant results achieved by TIM’s 119 Customer Service. As Italy’s national champion, Telecom Italia will now go through to the selection process for the international awards issued by the European Confederation of Contact Centre Organizations (ECCCO) in October. Telecom Italia is also a finalist at the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer service in the “Innovation in Customer Service Telecommunications” and “Customer Service Leader of the Year” categories, which are announced on 21 February in Miami (USA).
Rome, 31 January 2011
