2014 Customer Service Benchmarking
Data Collection guide
March 2014
Updated versions of the Guidelines and recordings from the webinars are
available at are website.
www.1qconsulting.com :: Benchmarking Community :: Data Entry Gateway
Introduction
Purpose of this document
◼ The purpose of this Data Collection Guide is to provide guidance and
direction in how to complete the detailed questionnaire for the Customer
Service benchmark study. It gives instructions regarding the types of
answers expected, as well as errors to avoid. This Guide has been
described as the “rules” for providing data.
◼ It provides the underlying process models around which the various
sections of the questionnaire are organized, to help in understanding the
purpose of some of the questions.
◼ The appropriate costs to include, and those to exclude, are highlighted,
so that each member utility can provide accurate, comparable data for
comparisons.
◼ A few key definitions are provided throughout the document. A
comprehensive set of definitions is provided in a separate Glossary.
2
Scope of the Customer Service Benchmark Study
Customer Contact
• Contact Center
• Local Office
• Self Service
• Contractors
• Credit Inbound calls
Field Service
• Change of Account
• Billing Field Orders
(meter investigations)
• Credit Field Orders
• Order Management
Meter Reading
• Manual
• Mobile AMR
• Fixed Network AMI
Back Office
• Billing
• Billing Field Policies
• Payment Processing
Revenue Management
• Credit Office and
Outbound calls
• Credit Field Policies
• Revenue Protection:
Office and Field
CS Support: CS IT, Training, Benchmarking, Executives
Customer Life-cycle: Meter Set to Cash Measures, Policies & Processes
Employees: Safety, Staffing
Customer: Customer Satisfaction, First Contact Resolution
Areas excluded:
Energy Audit/Energy
Efficiency Group
Meter Change-out
Account Executives
3
Initiatives vs. Practices
In many areas of the questionnaire, there are open-ended questions, in which we are
looking for insights about how you operate. Answers should be:
◼
Brief and succinct – so that the reader doesn't need to read through an extensive
volume of material to understand the message; because the responses will be
printed verbatim, don't mention your company name or individual names in your
replies
◼
Complete enough to be understood in terms of the practice you are describing
◼
Practically speaking, this translates to 2-3 sentence answers to most of the text
questions
For our purposes:
◼
Practices are current activities, programs or processes that have been around for a
while. For these, sufficient time has passed in which to assess their success or
failure. We mostly ask about practices that have proven successful in accomplishing
a specific goal.
◼
Initiatives are new activities, programs or processes that have been enacted
recently with the goal of improvement. These are so recent (1 to 2 years) that
insufficient time has passed in which to assess their success.
4
Data Collection Guide Outline
The organization of this Guide follows the questionnaire outline:
◼
◼
◼
◼
◼
◼
◼
◼
◼
ST. Statistics
CL. Customer Life-Cycle
FL. Financial
SF. Staffing
S. Safety
CS. Customer Satisfaction
IT. Customer Service I.T.
FR. First Contact Resolution
CT1. Contact Center
 CT2. Contact Volumes
 SS. Self-Service & Integration
 BL. Billing
 PP. Payment Processing
 FS. Field Service
 MR. Meter Reading
 CR. Credit & Collections
 RP. Revenue Protection
For a number of the sections of the questionnaire, there are follow-up
sections in which we ask for “historical data”. Those sections are only to
be filled out by companies who are new to the community. For returning
companies, the data provided last year will be used to populate the
“historical data” sections of the questionnaire.
5
Statistics
6
Purpose of the Section
The purpose of this section of the questionnaireire is two-fold:
◼
To gather statistical information about the existing customer base,
and then,
◼
To gather a bit of information about the organization of the Customer
Service functions.
The Statistical Section gathers a variety of demographic information that
describes each company's system in terms of size, customer density, etc.
This information is used in doing analysis of the results, and understanding
the inherent advantages and limitations of the circumstances facing each
utility.
7
Statistical: Customer count
◼
◼
Questionnaire: In the questionnaire we ask for meters and accounts. We ask for counts
of both to be separated by commodity.
 Accounts Definition: Active accounts in your system. An account is typically used for
billing purposes.
Reporting: In the report we will use both accounts and meters as denominators. In
some cases we'll multiply the number of accounts by the number of commodities billed
on that account. This will produce some adjusted numbers that get at the extra cost of
serving an account that receives multiple commodities.
 Customer Count (accounts * commodity) = We add the number of accounts for
individual commodities to get the total. Roughly represents the number of meters.
There are unmetered items and meters that are not counted (such as streetlights).
 Customer Count (accounts) = Roughly represents the number of accounts. An
account with electric and gas meters gets counted once.
 Customer Count (internal) = The count you use internally to represent the number of
customers you have. This is the one reported on annual reports and other
documents.
We use one customer count as the
Non-delivery
customers
can also be
included.
denominator for all of the various costs. So
you want to provide the customer count that
best reflects your activity level in all of the
areas: meter reading, field service, billing, etc.
Other Customers: Many utilities, especially municipals, provide other services beside electric,
gas and water. Most of these we do not want, except for waste. If you also provide other
services such as Waste pick-up, contact us and we'll help you to determine how to handle this.
8
Customer Counts
This question allows us to track all the customers you have, by type (e.g.
combination or single-commodity, etc.) These details are used as the
denominators for many “cost per customer” calculations later.
If you can’t breakout
C/I then enter into
“Other”. We do little
analysis on the
details.
ST5
What was the average number of customer accounts you had last year?
Residential
C/I Small [or
Commercial]
C/I Large [or
Industrial]
Other
Electric Only
Gas Only
Water Only
Electric & Gas
Electric & Water
Gas & Water
Electric, Gas & Water
Other
9
Financial Section –
Using the Cost Model
10
Functional Cost Model
Our approach to collecting cost, performance and staffing information follows
customer transactions through each functional area.
If you have significant costs in one of
the shaded categories, you can enter
your cost in the shaded box. No
boxes are shaded on line.
11
Cost Categories Included
Costs can be broken down into basic categories
◼ General:




◼
Company Labor: direct, supervision, support
Contract Labor (including temps, seasonal)
Contracted Services
Technology
(see page 17 for listing of technology to include and where)
Function-specific items:




Transaction fees
Materials
Postage
Other
12
3/20/14
Cost definitions: General
Company
Labor
Include Direct, Support, Supervision, Management. Cost of
employees includes paid non-working time (e.g. vacation, sick, etc).
Does not include labor overheads (e.g. payroll taxes, benefits) or other
department's allocated charges. If a supervisor or manager spreads
their time over multiple departments, then provide an allocated portion
of their costs to the function. If someone works outside of CS and is
applied as a corporate allocation charge, exclude them in labor costs.
For support, include those people who are directly part of customer
service but cannot be allocated to a specific function.
50% rule: Include a person in an activity if they spend at least 50% of
their time on that activity. If a person divides their time so that they
don't spend at least 50% of their time on an activity they should be in
the “Support” Group.
Contract
Labor
Individuals contracted to perform a specific role
Contracted
Services
Companies contracted to perform a specific function such as meter
reading, overflow call centers, debt collection, etc.
The cost of any contract or outsourcing services. Do not include any
capitalized costs for IT services. Do include 3rd party back-up;
disaster recovery. Include any collection agency or skip trace costs in
contracted services.
13
Cost Definitions: functional
Materials Costs
All cost associated with the function, including any
warehouse/purchasing charges. A few items, such as postage are
called out in a separate category. Includes cost of envelopes, paper,
and ink. Should especially be included for Billing, Payment and
Credit.
Postage Costs
Cost of mailing bills and credit notices. Prepaid envelopes if used for
payment processing. For postage for Credit & Collections, only
include if a separate credit mailing, otherwise put in billing.
Transaction fees
(fees paid by utility)
Fees for credit card transactions, bank charges, etc. Fees
associated with payments (even if a call or a local office) still goes in
payment. All third-party transaction costs associated with receiving
and posting customer payments. This includes fees for lock box,
credit card fees, payment gateways.
14
Cost Definitions: Functional
Vehicle Costs
Costs associated with the operations & maintenance of vehicles for
use solely by Customer service; usually charged out on a per mile or
some other basis. Any payments for use of personal vehicles should
also be included.
Other Costs
Other miscellaneous costs not specifically broken out such as
employee travel expenses; training; office supplies and any of the
categories that are grayed out such as vehicles in the call center or
postage in field service.
15
Technology Cost Within Function
Technology
Any technology specifically used for a function such as meter reading
devices, mobile data technology, telephone switch or call routing
software, call monitoring software etc.
Contact Center:
◼ IVR
◼ ACD
◼ Scheduling Software
◼ Workforce Management (WFM)
◼ Multi-channel processing
◼ Web, Social Media technology costs
◼ VOIP
◼ Web/email routers
◼ Virtual hold technology costs
◼ 3rd party applications (OMS interface etc.)
Field:
◼ Mobile data
◼ Scheduling
◼ GPS
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Routing software
◼ Dispatching software
Revenue Protection
◼ Tamper plug
◼ Data mining software
NOTE: CIS is a separate category
Meter:
◼ Handhelds
◼ Routing software
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Remote disconnect
◼ MV 90
◼ GPS
Bills:
◼ Inserters
◼ Web/email, bill presentment
◼ C/I billing software (MV 90)
Payment:
◼ Image processer
◼ Slitter/sorter
◼ Interface w/kiosks
◼ Routing software for off-site payments
◼ Payment Kiosks
Credit:
◼ Behavioral scoring
◼ Predictive dialer
◼ Credit optimization software
16
3/20/14
Detailed Cost Breakouts
In order to better understand
costs we not only ask for them
at the high level, but ask for
some breakouts of cost by
activity. The diagram shows
how the costs relate to each
other.
FL25
FL40
Please provide the following detailed costs. Be sure costs are included in matrix above (FL5).
Please provide any of these costs that you have available. If you don't track or don't have, leave blank.
Spending for Inbound Credit Calls
[Should be included in Contact Center]
Spending for Outbound
[Should be included in Credit Office]
Collection agency costs
[Should be included in Credit Office]
Credit scoring costs
[Should be included in Credit Office]
All other Credit Office Costs
[Should be included in Credit Office]
Sum of these 4 equal
sum of "credit office"
column in FL5
Please allocate your local office O&M costs by the following activity type.
The total of this table less the first row for payment processing should equal the total of the local office column in the main matrix
Please provide any of these costs that you have available. If you don't track or don't have, leave blank.
Cost associated with Payment Processing [taking
Include this in Payment Processing above
payments, processing]
Cost associated with Contact Handling [Contact
Include this row and the next in Local Office above
Center function, calls, non-payment walk-ins, etc.]
Other
Total
0
Total from FL5: (Note: these totals should match)
0
17
Exclusions
We've excluded costs related to any of the following:
◼ Overheads -- we asked for your standard “adder” for Pensions and
Benefits, and for your Overhead rate exclusive of the P&B
◼ Facilities purchase, rent, leasing or maintenance costs. We have found
these to be too variable between companies.
◼ CIS purchase or lease costs. We have found these to be extremely
variable among utilities based upon capitalization policies, life cycle
costs, and chargeback policies.
◼ Costs associated with providing services other than electric, gas and
water/sewer.
◼ Capital spending: capital for meter reading, AMI, CIS, and all other
areas. We exclude capital costs throughout the basic cost model, and
track only O&M. In the case of AMI, there is one question in the Meter
Reading section of the questionnaire asking for capital spending.
18
3/20/14
Write-offs
This question captures Revenue and Write-off information. Note the most
important fields are highlighted in green. If you do not answer these, you will
not appear on the Write-offs per Revenue graph.
FL15
Please provide the following revenue and write-off information:
Residential
C/I: Small
[or Com'l]
C/I: Large
[or
Industrial]
C/I
Combined
Total 2012
Electric: Revenues
Electric: Net Write-offs
Gas: Revenues
Gas: Net Write-offs
Water: Revenues
Water: Net Write-offs
Total: Revenues
Accounts Receivable Reserve
FERC Account 904
FERC Account 144
Total: Net Write-offs
Write-offs Percent = Net percent of total revenue written off (e.g. less any
recoveries). Goal is the actual dollar amount written off during the year. This is
not necessarily the same as “uncollectibles”, which is in the FERC 904 account
for the year, since that can be affected by changes in the provision for bad debt
during the year (FERC 144 account). Write-offs are the annual “net” cost of bad
debt. In other words any recoveries (less fees) should be subtracted from gross
write-offs.
19
3/20/14
A Couple of Key Credit Definitions
Performance Measure
◼ 1QC will perform some data validation checks to verify that the
uncollectibles is determined correctly. In particular, the 904 value should =
Write-offs – (change in 144). An example can help:
Example 1
Example 2
144 Account (Last year)
$100
$100
144 Account (Current year)
$100
$120
Write-offs
$115
$115
Uncollectibles (Acct 904)
$115
$95
Essentially, the uncollectibles value varies in the opposite direction of the
change in the allowance for bad debt (acct 144)
◼ In Example 1, the allowance isn’t changed from last year to this year, so
write-offs and uncollectibles are the same.
◼ In Example 2, the allowance is increased from last year to this one, which
has the effect of reducing the uncollectibles value for the year.
20
Staffing
21
Staffing
Staffing summary by
◼ Direct Labor rule: a person having direct interactions with a customer or
with a customer account is considered direct labor. Everyone else is
either supervision or support. Use the 50% rule if they divide their time.
◼ 50% rule: Include a person in an activity if they spend at least 50% of
their time on that activity, you can indicate they are 0.5 FTEs. If a person
divides their time so that they don't spend at least 50% of their time on
an activity they probably should be in the “Support” Group.
◼ Employees assigned full time to a function. Include full-time supervisors
and managers, or full-time employees who spend part time in different
functions. Include part time supervisors and managers.
 Also include employees who spend less than 40 hours per week.
 When calculating FTE value use 2080 as the denominator.
◼ Outsourcing: If you outsource an entire function, do not attempt to turn
that into FTEs.
22
3/20/14
Cost Definitions: General
Direct
Labor
Direct Labor costs follow Direct Labor FTEs. A person having direct interactions with a
customer or with a customer account is considered direct labor. A person whose task is
directly in line with the mission of the process. Everyone else is either supervision or
support. Use the 50% rule (see FTE definition in the Staffing Section) if they divide their
time, if not 50% to a specific function, then charge to support.
As a rule of thumb, when the work will affect a customer file or when it has an effect
perceptible by a customer or a group of customers, this FTE will be classified as Direct
Types of direct labor (by function):
 Contact center: taking calls, responding to correspondence, email, handling walk-in
traffic
 Meter reading: meter readers; mobile AMR van drivers
 Field service: representatives in the field collecting payments, disconnecting
customers, executing change-of-account orders, and billing investigations
 Billing: people handling exceptions, in-depth bill investigations, summary or
consolidated bill preparation
 Payment processing: people processing payments, handling payment exceptions, lost
or misapplied payments
 Credit and Collections: people making outbound calls regarding credit issues; making
payment arrangements with customers; issuing accounts for collections, and the
Analysts who determine Credit policy and perform credit analysis.
23
Support Staff
Administrative support
Unlike technical support, administrative support refers to a task that is required
in all processes. It is generic in nature and is (for the most part) interchangeable
between functional areas. This category includes all secretarial FTEs as well as
accounting and reporting activities that are decentralized in a specific activity,
treatment of basic business information, scorecards, etc.
Technical support
Technical support includes people supporting work specific to that functional
area. It refers to all tasks performed by an FTE in support of a Direct FTE. It is
Mission oriented. It takes the form of a particular expertise or knowledge that
can only be used for a particular activity or process. Trainers and schedulers are
also part of this category. Technical support FTEs will not work directly on a
particular case other than assisting direct FTEs resolve particular problems
encountered. Their task may also be to analyze the process performance,
produce new policies and design new business practices for direct FTEs in order
to ensure the activity evolves towards greater performance.
24
CS Support ARea
◼ Costs, FTEs or activities associated with either the whole CS function
that cannot be allocated to another area of customer service or within a
CS function that cannot be allocated to the activities described for that
function.
◼ Only include people who don't spend at least 50% of their time in a
specific functional area. This might include benchmarking/performance
improvement; training; directors, vice president.
◼ If training is for a specific functional area, then it belongs with that area.
◼ Do not include corporate allocations, or any HR activities.
25
Safety
26
safety
◼ For safety include Customer Service employees when calculating
statistics.
◼ This should include direct labor, support, management and supervision
for:
 Call Center
 Meter Readers
 Field Service (this may only include part of your Field Service
employees or parts of other functions)
• Includes: disconnect and reconnect activities, field notices and
collections, high bill investigations, energy audits, and change-ofaccount work
• Excludes: lineman, meter shop, meter technicians, gas leak repair
 Billing & Payment Processing
 Credit and Collections Office
 Revenue Protection
27
Safety
We ask for raw data to calculate safety statistics. The question also calculates
the statistics within the question. Do not edit the fields highlighted in yellow that
show the calculations. Until some numbers are entered, some of the fields will
show “DIV/0!”
S5
Please provide the following safety information (from OSHA) for last year?
For vehicle incidences, provide the data that you collect and measure.
Total
Customer
Service
organization
(all areas
combined)
Total Hours of Exposure (a)
Days Away Cases (b)
Job Transfer or Restriction Cases (c )
0 (d)
Total Transfer Restricted and Days Away Cases
Other Recordable Injury & Illness Medical cases (e)
0
Total Cases (f)
Total Days Away (g)
Employee Deaths (h)
OSHA Recordable Injury Rate ((f)*200k)/(a) #DIV/0!
OSHA DART Incidence Rate ((d)*200k)/(a) #DIV/0!
OSHA Lost Time Severity Rate ((g)*200k)/(a)#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
OSHA Lost Workday Case Rate ((b+h)*200k)/(a)
Preventable Number of Vehicle Accidents
Total Number of Vehicle Accidents
Number of Miles Operated
[PVA]
#DIV/0!
Preventable Frequency Rate of Vehicle Accidents
Total Frequency Rate of Vehicle Accidents #DIV/0!
Company
Meter
Reading
[office and
field staff]
Company
Field
Service
[office and
field staff]
CS Office
Staff (nonfield and nonmeter
reading)
0
0
0
0
0
0
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
#DIV/0!
28
Customer Satisfaction
29
Customer Satisfaction
Questions in this section are presented in the following categories:
◼ Measuring Customer Satisfaction
 J.D. Power scores
 Frequency of surveys
 Types of surveys [transactional, random, all customers]
 Methods for administering survey [calls, mail, email, website, etc.]
 Survey providers
◼ Complaints (Regulated, Executive, Escalated, Other)
 Escalated Complaint: internally received complaint that originates in the
company and is escalated for handling to senior levels of the company (Vice
President, etc.). This is different than an Executive Complaint which starts there
(e.g. a letter to the CEO, COO, etc.)
◼ Organizing To Handle Customer Issues
30
CIS and CS it
31
Scope of the Customer Service Benchmark Study
Customer Contact
• Contact Center
• Local Office
• Self Service
• Contractors
• Credit Inbound calls
Field Service
• Change of Account
• Billing Field Orders
(meter investigations)
• Credit Field Orders
• Order Management
Meter Reading
• Manual
• Mobile AMR
• Fixed Network AMI
Back Office
• Billing
• Billing Field Policies
• Payment Processing
Revenue Management
• Credit Office and
Outbound calls
• Credit Field Policies
• Revenue Protection:
Office and Field
CS Support: CS IT, Training, Benchmarking, Executives
Customer Life-cycle: Meter Set to Cash Measures, Policies & Processes
Employees: Safety, Staffing
Customer: Customer Satisfaction, First Contact Resolution
Areas excluded:
Energy Audit/Energy
Efficiency Group
Meter Change-out
Account Executives
32
Functional Cost Model – CS IT and CIS costs
Our approach to collecting cost, performance and staffing information
follows customer transactions through each functional area.
C
I
S
CS IT
33
CIS vs. CS IT Costs
◼
CS IT (as part of “Technology” cost) is all the encompassing technology in a broad
sense so it includes any non-CIS and may include some CIS, but is specific to a
functional area
 for example: ACD, IVR, Work Management, Mobile Data are part of CS IT and belong
in their respective functional area (ACD to Contact Center etc.)
 If there is a DIRECT allocation or charge to a function of CIS charges (such as usage
or system utilization), then that goes into the CS IT, otherwise it is part of CIS
◼
CIS is the system used to to maintain customer information, generate bills, issue service
requests, and help “manage” customer relationships by providing utility representatives
data, information and insight about each customer's accounts, individual needs and
preferences.
 Examples of vendor's products include: Accenture's C/1 (Customer-1), Oracle Utilities
Customer Care, SAP For Utilities.
 CIS costs may be costs allocated to or associated with Customer Service but not to
specific functions, such as usage charges, data transfer or use charges, system
maintenance charges. If such charges cannot be allocated to a specific function, they
would go into the CIS cost column.
 Again, verything else such as the Work Management, Mobile Data, Dispatch, ACD,
IVR is Customer Service IT and should be specific to a function
34
These are not included in CIS Costs
Technology
Any technology specifically used for a function such as meter reading
devices, mobile data technology, telephone switch or call routing software,
call monitoring software etc. should not be included in CS IT costs.
Contact Center:
◼ IVR
◼ ACD
◼ Scheduling Software
◼ Workforce Management (WFM)
◼ Multi-channel processing
◼ Web, Social Media technology costs
◼ VOIP
◼ Web/email routers
◼ Virtual hold technology costs
◼ 3rd party applications (OMS interface etc.)
Field:
◼ Mobile data
◼ Scheduling
◼ GPS
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Routing software
◼ Dispatching software
Revenue Protection
◼ Tamper plug
◼ Data mining software
NOTE: CIS is a separate category
Meter:
◼ Handhelds
◼ Routing software
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Remote disconnect
◼ MV 90
◼ GPS
Bills:
◼ Inserters
◼ Web/email, bill presentment
◼ C/I billing software (MV 90)
Payment:
◼ Image processer
◼ Slitter/sorter
◼ Interface w/kiosks
◼ Routing software for off-site payments
◼ Payment Kiosks
Credit:
◼ Behavioral scoring
◼ Predictive dialer
◼ Credit optimization software
35
Exclusions
We've excluded costs related to any of the following:
 Overheads -- we asked for your standard “adder” for Pensions and
Benefits, and for your Overhead rate exclusive of the P&B
 Facilities purchase, rent, leasing or maintenance costs. We have found
these to be too variable between companies.
 CIS purchase or lease costs. We have found these to be extremely variable
among utilities based upon capitalization policies, life cycle costs, and
chargeback policies.
 Costs associated with providing services other than electric, gas and
water/sewer.
 Capital spending: capital for meter reading, AMI, CIS, and all other areas.
We exclude capital costs throughout the basic cost model, and track only
O&M. In the case of AMI, there is one question in the Meter Reading
section of the questionnaire asking for capital spending.
36
First Contact Resolution
37
Definition for FCR, As Presented by 1QC Based on
Research and Practices Reviewed
◼ “First-Contact Resolution (FCR) is the percentage of initial contacts that
do not require any further contact to address the customer reason for
calling/contacting. The customer does not need to contact the company
again to seek resolution, nor does anyone within the organization need to
follow-up. Ideally, first-contact resolution should be defined from the
customer perspective.”
(composite from multiple research sources)
38
Subject Areas in the FCR Section
The FCR section is relatively brief, although asking about a very important
area of Customer Service. Key questions cover the following:
◼ Self-assessment
◼ Improvements made recently
◼ FCR definitions
◼ Measurement approaches
◼ Scope of FCR activities
39
Contact Center
40
Scope of the Customer Service Benchmark Study
Customer Contact
• Contact Center
• Local Office
• Self Service
• Contractors
• Credit Inbound calls
Field Service
• Change of Account
• Billing Field Orders
(meter investigations)
• Credit Field Orders
• Order Management
Meter Reading
• Manual
• Mobile AMR
• Fixed Network AMI
Back Office
• Billing
• Billing Field Policies
• Payment Processing
Revenue Management
• Credit Office and
Outbound calls
• Credit Field Policies
• Revenue Protection:
Office and Field
CS Support: CS IT, Training, Benchmarking, Executives
Customer Life-cycle: Meter Set to Cash Measures, Policies & Processes
Employees: Safety, Staffing
Customer: Customer Satisfaction, First Contact Resolution
Areas excluded:
Energy Audit/Energy
Efficiency Group
Meter Change-out
Account Executives
41
Contact Center Introduction
◼ Contact Center covers the following areas of interest:

Use of Call Center (internal and outsourced, including inbound
collections and small/mid-sized commercial and industrial account
calls)
 Use of Local Offices (there is a Local Office section for collecting
costs separately from the Call Center)
 Use of IVR (internal and outsourced)
 Use of Internet
 E-mail, fax, letter
◼ Enrollment and contract management for retailer (deregulated companies)
NOTE: Although payments by the above channels are included in Contact Center, do
not include payment by check, at a kiosk or a payment center; these transactions are
included in Payment Processing. Cashiers in Local Office who only take payments are
part of Payment Processing.
42
Approach to Local Office Costs
This question follows from question FL5, in which the total costs for the
local offices are provided. The goal is to understand how the costs are
allocated across the services provided in the local offices.
FL40
Please allocate your local office O&M costs by the following activity type. The total of this table less the
first row for payment processing should equal the total of the local office column in the main matrix.
Please provide any of these costs that you have available. If you don't track or don't have, leave blank.
Cost associated with Payment Processing [taking
Include this in Payment Processing above
payments, processing]
Cost associated with Contact Handling [Contact
Include this row and the next in Local Office ab
Center function, calls, non-payment walk-ins, etc.]
Other
Total
0
As you’re preparing your data, your normal Local Office
cost is likely to include costs that we want moved to
Payment Processing per our guidelines. This question is
a place to report your total Local Office cost but
separated into the portions for Contact Ctr and Payment
Processing.
43
Contact Center
What's not included:
◼ Contact center covers every interaction with customers except:
 Meter Reading
 Field Service
 Credit Outbound Calling
 Payment by check, kiosk, or payment center
◼ Contacts related to regulatory, complaints, executive complaints, are not
included here
◼ Contacts pertaining to large C&I customers (e.g Account Managed) are
not included here
◼ As per above, though payments that are made through contact center
channels are included in Contact Center, they are also counted as
payments in the Payment Processing section. Do not include payment
by check, at a kiosk or a payment center in contact center.
◼ Payments made to cashiers (who only take payments and perform no
other functions) should be excluded from Contact Center.
44
Contact Center Definitions
Contact
Center
Contacts
(Inbound)
A completed customer call, local office transaction, IVR, or internet
transaction. Do not include uncompleted transactions (e.g. abandons).
Do not include general switchboard informational calls. The following
is a description of some of the main types of transactions included:
• New Customer/Turn On/Off*/ Change of Account [excluding
•
•
•
•
credit related turn on or off or any meter install] = A customer
request for a turn-off of an existing account; a new customer
requests a turn-on of an account.
Billing issue (such as High Bill) = Any contact related to billing
amount such as inquiries, adjustments, and high bill complaints.
Make Payment (Pay Bill) via these channels = Include contacts
for live call or other channel debit or credit card payments, IVR,
electronic check payments, web.
Credit [payment arrangement, credit extension, etc] = Any
contact related to a past due notice, including payment
arrangements and reconnect of service
Report Gas/Water Leak or Electric Interruption/Outage = A
contact about an electrical outage, gas leak, water leak or other
premise-related issue of this nature.
*Note: We ask for breakout of T/On, T/Off, and Move in question CT315
45
Updated 3/14/14
Contact Center Definitions (continued)
Contact Center
Contacts
(Inbound
continued)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sign up for E-bill
Sign up for other/additional commodity services/Dereg
Provide meter read
Low Income Assistance
General Company Information
Get Account information [view bill, view usage]
Other = Miscellaneous contacts that cannot be categorized into
the categories provided
Outbound
Contacts
•
•
•
•
•
•
Service interruption (communication of ETR or restoration)
Credit/Collections (outbound)
Billing Notifications
Product or service related
Other proactive outbound
Blended Transactions
Social
Networking
contacts
• Twitter, other social networking
• SMS/Text Message
46
Topics Covered in the Contact Center Section (CT1)
◼ Service Level and Measurements
◼ Demographics, Organization, and Scope of Services
◼ Measuring shrinkage
◼ Contact volume management practices
◼ Initiatives
◼ Outsourcing
◼ Workforce Management
47
Technology – Contact Center
Technology
Any technology specifically used for a function such as meter reading
devices, mobile data technology, telephone switch or call routing
software, call monitoring software etc.
Contact Center:
◼ IVR
◼ ACD
◼ Scheduling Software
◼ Workforce Management (WFM)
◼ Multi-channel processing
◼ Web, Social Media technology costs
◼ VOIP
◼ Web/email routers
◼ Virtual hold technology costs
◼ 3rd party applications (OMS interface etc.)
Field:
◼ Mobile data
◼ Scheduling
◼ GPS
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Routing software
◼ Dispatching software
Revenue Protection
◼ Tamper plug
◼ Data mining software
NOTE: CIS is a separate category
Meter:
◼ Handhelds
◼ Routing software
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Remote disconnect
◼ MV 90
◼ GPS
Bills:
◼ Inserters
◼ Web/email, bill presentment
◼ C/I billing software (MV 90)
Payment:
◼ Image processer
◼ Slitter/sorter
◼ Interface w/kiosks
◼ Routing software for off-site payments
◼ Payment Kiosks
Credit:
◼ Behavioral scoring
◼ Predictive dialer
◼ Credit optimization software
48
Contact Volumes
49
Counting Contacts
◼ CSR answered calls & IVR calls – completed contacts (not abandons)
◼ Local office – customer visits
◼ Web contact – log-ons to account or hits to a specific type of page (some
judgement required, but includes pages that provide information that avoid
a phone call)
◼ E-mail/Letters/faxes – incoming and outgoing
◼ Social networking – outbound
Do not count paper bill presentments or mailed in customer payments in
contact center
50
Inbound Contact Volumes
This matrix serves to provide the detailed information on how many contacts come
into the company for each type of inquiry. Subsequent questions ask more detailed
information about individual rows from this matrix.
CT305 How many of each of the following inbound transactions were Completed using each method?
Please enter your totals here whether or not you are able to provide it by activity.
Contacts by Channel
Live callcompany
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
L
L
New Customer/Turn On/Turn Off
[exclude credit related related T/O or
any meter install]
Change of Account
Billing Issue [such as high bill, problem
with bill etc. exclude Credit-related]
Get Account information [view bill, view
usage]
Provide meter read
Make payment via these channels
Credit [payment arrangement, credit
extension, etc]
Report Gas/Water Leak or Electric
Interruption/Outage
Sign up for E-bill, paperless bill
Provide E-mail, sign-up for notifications,
mobile etc
Sign up for other/additional commodity
services/Dereg
Low Income Assistance
General Company Information
Other
Blended Transactions
Total Inbound
Live calloutsourced
provider
In-person
contact
[Local
office]
IVRcompany
IVRoutsourced
provider
Mobile App,
Mobile
Web, or
Internet
SMS
Fax/Letter [Web Site] Message
Email
Not
Tracked
Total
Contacts
by
Channel
by type
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
T = Transactional activities
L = Look-up activities
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
51
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Addressing “Transactions” versus “look-up’
Activities…What counts as a transaction
◼ We are seeking to better capture and address completed transactions versus
what we are calling “look-up” activities:
 Transaction= customer executes an actual transaction with the utility- an
inquiry, an order, a request for service, payment, etc.
 Look-up= customer accesses a self-service channel, typically IVR or Web,
to view general information about the company or view Customer Service
information about their account but does not transact or conduct a
transaction
◼ If you have activities that represent a “look-up”, please place them in the
General Company Information category. These should go in either the Web or
IVR category
◼ What should not count as a transaction by transaction category:
 Simple Web “hits” where the customer may hit the web site (and you
capture it) but there is no transaction or you don’t know the reason for the
activity
 Accessing the IVR but then opting out to a CSR or Agent before completing
a transaction (the Agent live contact is a transaction, the initial IVR entry and
opt out is not)
Do not count uncompleted transactions in the IVR or web, or simply accessing these
channels for information as completed transactions in a specific transaction category in
CT305 other than “General Company Information” (for lookups)
52
OUtbound Contact Volumes
CT335 How many of each of the following OUTBOUND transactions were handled using each method? Note: Do not include bill mailing
or bill insert mailing in these totals; do not include credit notice mailing
Please enter your totals here whether or not you are able to provide it by activity. Do not include Credit Outbound calls since they are part of the credit process.
Mobile
App,
In-person
Mobile
Live callcontact
IVRWeb, or
Total
Live call- outsourced
[Local
IVRoutsourced
Internet
SMS
Automated Contacts
company
provider
office]
company
provider
Email
Fax/Letter [Web Site] Message Outbound by Type
Service interruption-related
(communications of interruptions, ETRs,
changes in status etc.)
0
Product or service related communication
0
Billing Notifications [ebill, bill availability]
0
Other proactive outbound communication
0
Blended Transactions
0
Total Outbound Contacts
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
53
Self Service & Integration
54
Self Service Introduction
Self Service covers the following areas of interest:
 Use of customer self service channels: web, IVR, email, fax
 Services offered and functionality
 Measures
 Initiatives and marketing
 Governance
Enrollment and contract management for retailer (deregulated companies)
55
Background
◼
◼
◼
As part of the core questionnaire, we want to survey Self-Service
Channels and innovative ways companies and customers are interacting
with one-another.
As companies evolve these solutions, greater levels of integration are
required among and between key systems.
We are interested in investigating and understanding the integration
between the CIS (Customer Information System) and self-service
mechanisms (including both company generated and customer
generated communications) These include:
 IVR, Web and other self-service options or other newly expanding
means such as social networking.
 Areas covered could include outage notifications, service
appointments, collections, energy usage notifications, program
enrollments, bill presentment etc.
56
Self Service Integration with the CIS
 Self-service interaction: much of what we ask about in
self-service includes IVR, Web, E-mail, Fax, Kiosk etc.,
and we add “social networking” and outbound/
informational communications that allow for self-service
and customer information
 Social networking:
o Which sites are being used for
what activities
o Plans for expansion or addition,
integration with other key systems
o Impact on other channels
o Costs associated (mainly in terms
of staffing, technology)
o Success stories
o “Social Media in the Contact
 Outbound (proactive) contacts: build upon existing
Center”
outbound data and information captured currently to
understand:
o What companies are doing to innovatively reach
customers using outbound (calling, text, email programs,
appointment scheduling/confirmation etc.)
 CIS Integration: Some focus on how Line of Business
applications (billing, trouble, knowledge databases etc)
above are integrated with the CIS for better (effective,
efficient, responsive) service delivery
57
Topic Areas for Self-Service Channels
◼ Self-Assessment
◼ Transactions processing capability
◼ Social Media usage
◼ Customer self-service integration efforts (excluding social networking)
◼ Outbound service and communications
◼ Marketing/Initiatives
◼ Mobile applications
58
Billing
59
Scope of the Customer Service Benchmark Study
Customer Contact
• Contact Center
• Local Office
• Self Service
• Contractors
• Credit Inbound calls
Field Service
• Change of Account
• Billing Field Orders
(meter investigations)
• Credit Field Orders
• Order Management
Meter Reading
• Manual
• Mobile AMR
• Fixed Network AMI
Back Office
• Billing
• Billing Field Policies
• Payment Processing
Revenue Management
• Credit Office and
Outbound calls
• Credit Field Policies
• Revenue Protection:
Office and Field
CS Support: CS IT, Training, Benchmarking, Executives
Customer Life-cycle: Meter Set to Cash Measures, Policies & Processes
Employees: Safety, Staffing
Customer: Customer Satisfaction, First Contact Resolution
Areas excluded:
Energy Audit/Energy
Efficiency Group
Meter Change-out
Account Executives
60
Technology – Billing
Technology
Any technology specifically used for a function such as meter reading
devices, mobile data technology, telephone switch or call routing
software, call monitoring software etc.
Contact Center:
◼ IVR
◼ ACD
◼ Scheduling Software
◼ Workforce Management (WFM)
◼ Multi-channel processing
◼ Web, Social Media technology costs
◼ VOIP
◼ Web/email routers
◼ Virtual hold technology costs
◼ 3rd party applications (OMS interface etc.)
Field:
◼ Mobile data
◼ Scheduling
◼ GPS
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Routing software
◼ Dispatching software
Revenue Protection
◼ Tamper plug
◼ Data mining software
NOTE: CIS is a separate category
Meter:
◼ Handhelds
◼ Routing software
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Remote disconnect
◼ MV 90
◼ GPS
Bills:
◼ Inserters
◼ Web/email, bill presentment
◼ C/I billing software (MV 90)
Payment:
◼ Image processer
◼ Slitter/sorter
◼ Interface w/kiosks
◼ Routing software for off-site payments
◼ Payment Kiosks
Credit:
◼ Behavioral scoring
◼ Predictive dialer
◼ Credit optimization software
61
Subject Areas for Billing
◼ Bill presentment
◼
◼
◼
◼
◼
◼
 Channels
 Activities/Volumes
 Bill options
Bill Design
Accuracy
 Pre-audit/post-audit
 Exceptions
 Errors
Estimating
Efficiency & Measurement
Outsourcing
Initiatives for improvement
62
Billing Definitions
Transactions
◼ Bills Issued = Count one per customer, even if multiple commodities or
multiple meters at a premise (e.g. a “consolidated bill”).
 If a summary bill is produced (e.g. usage at multiple locations is
summarized), count each individual location as a bill, as well as the
summary bill.
 Count any e-bills sent, but do not double count any mailings. If you
send both paper and electronic, count as one bill.
 Include any final bills sent in this count.
Performance Measures
◼ Error Rate = Account adjustments identified after the bill is delivered to
the customer. A change that affects multiple months is still considered
one adjustment. Does not matter if the account is re-billed or just
adjusted on a subsequent bill. The adjustment may not be the company's
“fault”.
63
Billing Volume
This question provides the key information to know how many bills of
each type were issued. It is used in determining % of electronic bills, as
well as billing costs per bill.
BL5
How many bills did you issue through each channel?
When sending both paper and e-bill, count paper bill only. Bills counted as being via Internet or Email should be "paperless".
Via paper only
Via paper & posted on internet
Via paper & sent through e-mail
Via internet only [customer must look up info,
include here even if a reminder e-mail is sent]
Via e-mail only [customer gets billing
information via email, doesn’t have to visit
web-site to view their bill]
Via EDI, XML or other electronic billing source
Total
0
64
Payment Processing
65
Subject Areas for Payment Processing
◼ Volumes and types
 Payment Options (cash/credit/electronic)
 Processing types
◼ Outsourcing
◼ Payment agencies
◼ Accuracy/Timeliness
 Efficiency
 Productivity
 Posting/timeliness
66
Technology – Payment Processing
Technology
Any technology specifically used for a function such as meter reading
devices, mobile data technology, telephone switch or call routing
software, call monitoring software etc.
Contact Center:
◼ IVR
◼ ACD
◼ Scheduling Software
◼ Workforce Management (WFM)
◼ Multi-channel processing
◼ Web, Social Media technology costs
◼ VOIP
◼ Web/email routers
◼ Virtual hold technology costs
◼ 3rd party applications (OMS interface etc.)
Field:
◼ Mobile data
◼ Scheduling
◼ GPS
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Routing software
◼ Dispatching software
Revenue Protection
◼ Tamper plug
◼ Data mining software
NOTE: CIS is a separate category
Meter:
◼ Handhelds
◼ Routing software
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Remote disconnect
◼ MV 90
◼ GPS
Bills:
◼ Inserters
◼ Web/email, bill presentment
◼ C/I billing software (MV 90)
Payment:
◼ Image processer
◼ Slitter/sorter
◼ Interface w/kiosks
◼ Routing software for off-site payments
◼ Payment Kiosks
Credit:
◼ Behavioral scoring
◼ Predictive dialer
◼ Credit optimization software
67
Payment Processing Definitions
Transactions
◼ Payment = Payments processed should roughly equal bills issued. One
check for multiple bills counts as multiple payments. Multiple payments for
one bill counts as multiple payments.
◼ Include all payments whether sent via mail, paid in local office, payment
agency or pay station, paid on-line or through IVR or call center, or collected
in the field.
Performance Measures
◼ Payments that have been posted accurately to the right accounts as a
percent of all payments
Other
◼ Payment locations = Payment agencies; local offices, pay stations
◼ Cashiers in local offices should be included with this function since their
primary function is to take payments. Other local office reps who handle
activities in addition to taking payments are part of the contact center.
68
Payment Processing Definitions (Continued)
◼ Energy Assistance: payments might be processed by another agency or
group. 3rd-party is paying on behalf of customer; agency accepts
payment, uses other funds and processes it into the utility. Generally,
put in "3rd Party"
69
3/19/14
Payment Channels & Options
In some cases, customers opt out of a
transaction before it’s completed. So
your call center considers it a payment
call, but payment didn’t receive the
payment. So numbers may not match.
◼ We ask you to provide
information on payments
both by channel and option.
◼ We also capture information
in both the Contact Center
(CT305) and Payment (PP5)
areas about payments
received. Be sure that data
is reported in all areas.
◼ If a customer is transferred
to a third party to make their
credit card payment, we still
want to track where they
started (CSR, IVR, Web) not
where the ended (3rd party).
We’re tracking how they
intended to deliver the
payment, not how you
processed it.
PP5
How many payments [usage bill and deposits] were delivered by the customer to the utility
through each channel?
Should be roughly equivalent to bills issued.
Mail: Directly to utility
Mail: To lockbox [outsourcer or bank]
In-person: Field collector
In-person: Local Office
In-person: 3rd Party Agency - then delivered
as bundled payments to utility
In-person: 3rd Party Agency - then
transmitted as electronic file
In-person: Kiosk
Call center: Via CSR
not considered electronic
Call center: Via IVR
Electronic: Mobile APP
Electronic: Text
Electronic: Payment through Utility website
(whether or not a 3rd party is used to process
the payment)
Electronic: Direct debit, automatic bill pay, preauthorized payment (you go get the money)
Electronic: Customer sends you the money
via LIHEAP, ACH, EDI, Checkfree, Customer
pays through their bank)
Total
0
70
Field Service
71
Scope of the Customer Service Benchmark Study
Customer Contact
• Contact Center
• Local Office
• Self Service
• Contractors
• Credit Inbound calls
Field Service
• Change of Account
• Billing Field Orders
(meter investigations)
• Credit Field Orders
• Order Management
Meter Reading
• Manual
• Mobile AMR
• Fixed Network AMI
Back Office
• Billing
• Billing Field Policies
• Payment Processing
Revenue Management
• Credit Office and
Outbound calls
• Credit Field Policies
• Revenue Protection:
Office and Field
CS Support: CS IT, Training, Benchmarking, Executives
Customer Life-cycle: Meter Set to Cash Measures, Policies & Processes
Employees: Safety, Staffing
Customer: Customer Satisfaction, First Contact Resolution
Areas excluded:
Energy Audit/Energy
Efficiency Group
Meter Change-out
Account Executives
72
Technology – Field Service
Technology
Any technology specifically used for a function such as meter reading
devices, mobile data technology, telephone switch or call routing
software, call monitoring software etc.
Contact Center:
◼ IVR
◼ ACD
◼ Scheduling Software
◼ Workforce Management (WFM)
◼ Multi-channel processing
◼ Web, Social Media technology costs
◼ VOIP
◼ Web/email routers
◼ Virtual hold technology costs
◼ 3rd party applications (OMS interface etc.)
Field:
◼ Mobile data
◼ Scheduling
◼ GPS
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Routing software
◼ Dispatching software
Revenue Protection
◼ Tamper plug
◼ Data mining software
NOTE: CIS is a separate category
Meter:
◼ Handhelds
◼ Routing software
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Remote disconnect
◼ MV 90
◼ GPS
Bills:
◼ Inserters
◼ Web/email, bill presentment
◼ C/I billing software (MV 90)
Payment:
◼ Image processer
◼ Slitter/sorter
◼ Interface w/kiosks
◼ Routing software for off-site payments
◼ Payment Kiosks
Credit:
◼ Behavioral scoring
◼ Predictive dialer
◼ Credit optimization software
73
Field Service Scope and Activities…2 parts
Field Service Orders
◼ Field Service focuses on activity at the meter and includes (see detailed definitions
later):
 Billing-related activity
 Change of Account
 Field Credit activity
◼ Field Service policies have influence on activity costs
 Change of account estimating rules
 Hard vs. Soft Disconnect
 Credit policies
 AMI usage
◼ Even if these activities are performed in some other area of your company (e.g. meter
electricians or line crews), we want them included in the Field Service section so that
all companies are consistent.
Field Service Order Management
◼ Benchmark the process for getting short-cycle, customer-generated AND internallygenerated work to the field and completed
74
Updated 3/12/14
Field Service Definitions
◼
◼
A completed field order is one where the assigned activity has been performed. CGI
or “Can't Get In” does not count as a completed order. A trip to a service location that
involves multiple commodities (e.g. gas and electric change of account) is considered
as multiple trips. If multiple activities are performed at a location, count as only one
trip. Do not include orders that may have been received by the FS but not fielded. If
an order is received but not undertaken in the field (e.g. a credit order that is allowed
to expire or is “office-completed”, do not include this in the completed orders. We only
want to include fielded orders in FS5.
Types of orders:
 Billing-related activity – High bill investigation in the field, either customer or
internally initiated, check read, rereads, meter tests in conjunction with
investigation, meter change out in conjunction with investigation, also includes a
disconnection for meter that had been left on, has usage, but no customer.
 Change of Account – new customer to service territory, customer moving within
service territory; not greenfield site. Includes: Soft Connect/Disconnect (e.g. Read
in or read out); Hard disconnect/reconnect (e.g. physically turn off service). Does
not include a new meter set. Turn-on/turn-off for seasonal customers
 Field Credit activity – Credit disconnections and reconnections, notice delivery,
field collections
If you have an inactive meter that shows activity
and you simply send a person to shut it off or
remove it – put that in Field Service
Do not double count
75
What's not included
◼ Gas odor response
◼ Programmatic meter change-outs or tests
◼ Revenue Assurance orders (e.g. remove meters, install locking rings,
◼
◼
◼
◼
etc.)
Meter installations at a brand new service location; service upgrades;
larger meter installs and related activities.
Restoration Specialists (e.g. Electric Troubleshooters)
Linemen, Line construction or O&M
Energy efficiency activities (typically part of Marketing Department)
76
Updated 3/12/14
Field Service Order volumes
FS5
We ask for aggregate
volumes, then some detail
about each type of order,
including handling
approaches and policies
FS25
How many field orders were completed during the year for each commodity? [Note:
Completed orders do not include CGI or UTC orders]
Please make sure to complete questions FS 25, 40 and 50 once you complete this question.
If you cannot breakout transaction types, e.g. Billing Related, please use the "Breakdown
Unavailable" colum.
Change of
Account
Field Credit
Billing
Related
Breakdown
Unavailable
Electric
Gas
Water
Breakdown
Unavailable
Total
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
How many field orders were completed during the year for each Change of Account
activity?
Total should match FS5: Change of Account column.
Customer Turn-On
Customer Turn-Off
Other COA
Seasonal Turn-ons
Total Change of Account
0
Total from FS5 - these totals should match
0
FS50
How many field orders were completed during the year for each Field Credit activity?
Note total should equal total in FS5: Field Credit column
Field visit to leave disconnect notice
Field visit to collect or disconnect customer
Field visit to disconnect only
Field visit to reconnect – standard business hours
Field visit to reconnect – after-hours service
Total Field Credit
0
Total from FS5 - these totals should match
0
FS40
Total
How many field orders were completed during the year for each Billing related activity
(Either generated internally or by customer)?
Total should equal FS5: Billing Related column.
CUSTOMER: High Bill Investigation
CUSTOMER: Check read
INTERNAL: Check Read
INTERNAL: Disconnect for Usage on Inactive
INTERNAL: Other/Misc Investigation
Total Billing
0
Total from FS5 - these totals should match
0
77
0
Field Service Costs
Given our definitions, we can then allocate cost
FL35
Please allocate your field service costs to the following activities. The total of this table should equal the
total of the field service column in the main matrix.
Please provide any of these costs that you have available. If you don't track or don't have, leave blank.
Billing-Related Activities [e.g. High Bill Investigation in
Field]
Credit Orders [includes notice delivery, field
collections, disconnects, reconnects]
Change of Account [new and moves, turn-ons/turnDispatch
Other
Total
0
78
Field Service Order Management Process
The purpose of this section is to evaluate the process for getting short-cycle, customergenerated AND internally-generated work to the field and completed. This includes the
three specific field service activities (credit, billing investigations, and change of account)
specified in previous pages.
Because of the widespread adoption of mobile data solutions for many field activities, we
are also interested in how the scheduling process for these activities interacts with other
activities.
79
Process Model:
Field Service Order Management Process
Order
Scheduling
• First step in the order
management process as
defined by 1QC.
• Simply scheduling- when,
what time etc.
• Does not include the
assignment of the order or
the issuance or dispatch of
the order
• Orders can be scheduled for
example as:
• same day,
• current (with a specific
date) or
• future (known to be
scheduled for future
time period but with
out a specific date)
Order
Assignment
Order
Issuance/
Dispatch
Order
Handling/
Completion
• Second step in the order
management process
• Third step in the order
management process
• Last steps in the order
management process.
• The assignment of a
scheduled order to a
worker (or work group),
geographic territory and
skill set
• The issuance of a
scheduled and assigned
order to a specific worker
or work crew in the field.
• It does not include the
issuance of the order to a
worker and the workers
tasks for a day or shift.
• The best example of an
issued order would be an
order that is in the hands of
the worker (or on his/her
mobile device) to be handled
and completed.
• The worker handles the
issued order and either
completes it or updates
the status if unable to
complete (UTC, CGI etc.).
• 1QC uses issued and
dispatched synonymously
• The completion process
includes documenting all
the appropriate work
information required to
complete the order for
field purposes
80
Meter Reading
81
Scope of the Customer Service Benchmark Study
Customer Contact
• Contact Center
• Local Office
• Self Service
• Contractors
• Credit Inbound calls
Field Service
• Change of Account
• Billing Field Orders
(meter investigations)
• Credit Field Orders
• Order Management
Meter Reading
• Manual
• Mobile AMR
• Fixed Network AMI
Back Office
• Billing
• Billing Field Policies
• Payment Processing
Revenue Management
• Credit Office and
Outbound calls
• Credit Field Policies
• Revenue Protection:
Office and Field
CS Support: CS IT, Training, Benchmarking, Executives
Customer Life-cycle: Meter Set to Cash Measures, Policies & Processes
Employees: Safety, Staffing
Customer: Customer Satisfaction, First Contact Resolution
Areas excluded:
Energy Audit/Energy
Efficiency Group
Meter Change-out
Account Executives
82
Cost Allocations: Meter Reading
Meter Reading O&M cost allocation, please break out total meter reading costs
by technology.
FL30
Please allocate your meter reading O&M costs by the following meter reading types. The total of this table should equal the total of meter
reading column in the main matrix.
Please provide any of these costs that you have available. If you don't track or don't have, leave blank.
AMI – 2-way Fixed Network
AMR - Mobile or 1-way Fixed Network
Demand Meters [e.g. MV-90]
Manual Reads
Total
0
83
Technology – Meter Reading
Technology
Any technology specifically used for a function such as meter reading
devices, mobile data technology, telephone switch or call routing
software, call monitoring software etc.
Contact Center:
◼ IVR
◼ ACD
◼ Scheduling Software
◼ Workforce Management (WFM)
◼ Multi-channel processing
◼ Web, Social Media technology costs
◼ VOIP
◼ Web/email routers
◼ Virtual hold technology costs
◼ 3rd party applications (OMS interface etc.)
Field:
◼ Mobile data
◼ Scheduling
◼ GPS
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Routing software
◼ Dispatching software
Revenue Protection
◼ Tamper plug
◼ Data mining software
NOTE: CIS is a separate category
Meter:
◼ Handhelds
◼ Routing software
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Remote disconnect
◼ MV 90
◼ GPS
Bills:
◼ Inserters
◼ Web/email, bill presentment
◼ C/I billing software (MV 90)
Payment:
◼ Image processer
◼ Slitter/sorter
◼ Interface w/kiosks
◼ Routing software for off-site payments
◼ Payment Kiosks
Credit:
◼ Behavioral scoring
◼ Predictive dialer
◼ Credit optimization software
84
Subject Areas for Meter Reading
◼ Volumes
◼ Service Levels
◼ Manual Reading
◼ Outsourcing
◼ AMI/AMR
85
Meter Reading Introduction
Meter Reading covers regular monthly
◼ Manual reads
◼ Demand (MV-90)
◼ AMR: mobile read and 1-way fixed network
◼ AMI: 2-way fixed network reads used primarily for billing purposes
Does not include
◼ Check reads, re-reads, etc., which are included in Field Service.
86
Meter Reading Volume Data
The goal of these questions it to understand number of meter reads by
meter type. If your AMI meters are read many times per month, we still only
want an answer of “12” for those meters, not many hundreds or thousands.
MR5
How many meters did you have on your system that are read by each method?
AMR/AMI
Demand
Fixed
Fixed
[e.g. MVNetwork, Network,
Manual
90]
Mobile
1-way
2-way
Total
Electric
Gas
Water
0
0
0
0
Breakdown
unavailable
Total
0
0
0
0
0
MR10 How many meter reads by reading method did you perform last year? [for billing purposes only]
Include only one read per month - used for billing - not all reads performed during a month
AMR/AMI
Demand
Fixed
Fixed
[e.g. MVNetwork, Network,
Manual
90]
Mobile
1-way
2-way
Total
Electric
0
Gas
0
Water
0
0
Breakdown
unavailable
Total
0
0
0
0
0
87
Meter Reading Definitions
Transactions
◼ Meter Read = Scheduled meter reads. If multiple meters are read at a
premise, count as multiple reads. Include AMI/AMR, but only count one
read per month for billing purposes. Trips to take a reading for a change
of account or as part of a billing investigation (e.g. re-read) should NOT
be included, instead these are in Field Service. For demand meters,
even though the reader has to read both a demand register and a usage
register, treat it as a single read.
Performance Measures
◼ Error Rate = Number of errors identified through the billing system
before the bill is mailed, plus errors identified by the customer.
88
Meter/Billing Errors
A meter reading error is an error that ends up in the billing system that results in
a reread or estimate in order to generate a bill.
Meter reading errors can be found at points 1, 2 and 3 in the diagram below.
Meter
Read
Pre-edit (in
software)
BILLING
Bill
Exception
5
Customer
Bill
Exception
6
7
1
Pre-Bill
MR Error
Error
Evaluation
Evaluation
Meter
Services
Meter Reading Errors =
1
+
Bill Exceptions
Pre-bill =
Post-bill =
5
+
2
+
Billing
Error
Coded
2
MR Error
3
3
MR Error
6
7
89
..
Other
Error
..
Credit & Collections
90
Scope of the Customer Service Benchmark Study
Customer Contact
• Contact Center
• Local Office
• Self Service
• Contractors
• Credit Inbound calls
Field Service
• Change of Account
• Billing Field Orders
(meter investigations)
• Credit Field Orders
• Order Management
Meter Reading
• Manual
• Mobile AMR
• Fixed Network AMI
Back Office
• Billing
• Billing Field Policies
• Payment Processing
Revenue Management
• Credit Office and
Outbound calls
• Credit Field Policies
• Revenue Protection:
Office and Field
CS Support: CS IT, Training, Benchmarking, Executives
Customer Life-cycle: Meter Set to Cash Measures, Policies & Processes
Employees: Safety, Staffing
Customer: Customer Satisfaction, First Contact Resolution
Areas excluded:
Energy Audit/Energy
Efficiency Group
Meter Change-out
Account Executives
91
Sections in the Credit questionnaire
Overall Results – Delinquencies
Transaction Volumes
Process Management
Regulatory Environment
Process Steps
◼ Account Initiation
◼ Active Account Management
◼ Collection Actions
◼ Final Account Management
Customer Assistance
Supplier Credit
92
Process Model -- Key Areas of Credit & Collections
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Account
Initiation
Active Account
Management
Collection
Actions
Credit Scoring
Deposit
Requirements
Positive ID
Customer
Information
Collection
Fraud Prevention
Past due Amounts
Service Denial
C/I initiation
• Deposit Review
• Behavioral Scoring
• Contact Center
Policies
• Customer
Segmentation
• C/I Analysis
• Late payment fees
• Landlord
Agreements
• Special Accounts
• Record maintenance
• Final Bills
• Vacant Properties
• Notices
• Payment
Arrangements
• Outbound calling
• Field collections
• Field termination
(cut-out)
• Restoration of
service (cut-in)
• Sheriffs
Warrants/Legal
• Bankruptcy/Judgme
nts
• C/I Collections
• Supplier Collections
Customer
Assistance
Programs
Final Account
Management
•
•
•
•
• Low Income
Assistance Programs
• Li-HEAP Programs
• DSS/ State
• Other Grants
• Notification to DSS
of Pending
Termination
• $ Minimums
• Community
Outreach
Final Billing
Write-off
Skip-Tracing
Collection Agency
Operations
• Reporting to Credit
Bureaus/ National
Information
Exchanges
Regulatory Environment – RULES
Process Management – Performance measurement & reporting, organization structure, staffing & resources,
effectiveness measurement of individual actions, write-off forecasting, optimization modeling
Involved/Affected Organizations – Credit, Call Center, Accounts Processing, Field/Meter Services
Note: Process includes Residential and C&I segments
93
Guidelines - Credit Office Activity
What's included:
◼ Notices issued, determination of disconnections and reconnections,
payment arrangements when handled in the credit area (separate from
contact center), outbound calls, policy development and execution
◼ Include any collection agency or skip trace costs in contracted
services
◼ Only include credit postage if a separate credit mailing, otherwise put in
billing.
◼ Include outbound credit calls, which are calls made by the company
(or contractors) to remind customers to pay their overdue bills, make
payment arrangements, etc.
◼ Include credit scoring transaction fees
◼ Bankruptcy
◼ Customer Assistance
94
Guidelines - Credit Office Activity
What's excluded:
◼ Field activities (connect/disconnect for non-pay, notices, collections) should
be included in Field Service
◼ Inbound credit calls belong in contact center
95
Cost of Credit & Collections
The true cost of credit is spread throughout the questionnaire – some in Contact
Center, some in Field Service, the rest in Credit Office – to better fit with the
organization structure and channels for executing the work. For analysis
purposes we’ll put the cost of credit back together.
Here’s where to find the total cost of credit & collections:
◼ Credit Office: FL5 Credit Office column
In addition we ask you to break out your answer in FL5 and provide some
details in FL25
 Outbound Credit Contacts
 Collection Agency Costs
 Credit Scoring Costs
◼ Field Collections: FL35 Credit row
◼ Handling Inbound Credit Contacts: FL25 Inbound calls
96
Technology – Credit
Technology
Any technology specifically used for a function such as meter reading
devices, mobile data technology, telephone switch or call routing
software, call monitoring software etc.
Contact Center:
◼ IVR
◼ ACD
◼ Scheduling Software
◼ Workforce Management (WFM)
◼ Multi-channel processing
◼ Web, Social Media technology costs
◼ VOIP
◼ Web/email routers
◼ Virtual hold technology costs
◼ 3rd party applications (OMS interface etc.)
Field:
◼ Mobile data
◼ Scheduling
◼ GPS
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Routing software
◼ Dispatching software
Revenue Protection
◼ Tamper plug
◼ Data mining software
NOTE: CIS is a separate category
Meter:
◼ Handhelds
◼ Routing software
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Remote disconnect
◼ MV 90
◼ GPS
Bills:
◼ Inserters
◼ Web/email, bill presentment
◼ C/I billing software (MV 90)
Payment:
◼ Image processer
◼ Slitter/sorter
◼ Interface w/kiosks
◼ Routing software for off-site payments
◼ Payment Kiosks
Credit:
◼ Behavioral scoring
◼ Predictive dialer
◼ Credit optimization software
97
3/17/14
A Couple of Key Credit Definitions
Performance Measure
◼ Write-offs Percent = Net percent of total revenue written off (e.g. less any
recoveries). Goal is the actual dollar amount written off during the year.
This is not necessarily the same as “uncollectibles”, which is in the FERC
904 account for the year, since that can be affected by changes in the
provision for bad debt during the year (FERC 144 account). Write-offs are
the annual “net” cost of bad debt. In other words any recoveries (less fees)
should be subtracted from gross write-offs. **
◼ Percent Past Due 60 Days = Percent of bills unpaid at 60 days. Note for
most utilities this is balance due at second bill.
**Compare that to “Bad Debt” which is Uncollectable Expense plus
the YOY Change in A/R Reserve
98
Write-offs
This question captures Revenue and Write-off information. Note the
most important fields are highlighted in green. If you do not answer
these, you will not appear on the Write-offs per Revenue graph.
FL15
Please provide the following revenue and write-off information:
Residential
C/I: Small
[or Com'l]
C/I: Large
[or
Industrial]
C/I
Combined
Electric: Revenues
Electric: Net Write-offs
Gas: Revenues
Gas: Net Write-offs
Water: Revenues
Water: Net Write-offs
Total: Revenues
Accounts Receivable Reserve
FERC Account 904
FERC Account 144
Total: Net Write-offs
99
Total 2012
3/17/14
Volumes – Deposits Collected
One area of interest is the number of deposits collected as a ratio to new applications
(CR180) . . .
New Customer Applications
Qualify for deposit
requirement
Actually bill the
deposit
Deposits
collected
100
3/17/14
Customer Assistance scope (CR355…)
Includes:
◼ Customers eligible (%) for assistance programs
◼ Customer receiving (%) assistance
◼ $ value available and provided
◼ $ in State assistance available
◼ Costs
◼ Practices and processes, approaches, policies, promotion of programs
101
Revenue Protection
10
Revenue Protection: Scope of Activities
Revenue Protection activities vary greatly among utilities, depending on a number of
factors, including commodities offered. Some utilities have dedicated Revenue Protection
departments, which are the focus of this section. Other utilities leave the various
activities in different areas of customer service and operations. For our purposes we only
want you to include your dedicated Revenue Protection departments.
The broadest definition (sometimes referred to as Revenue Assurance) includes both office and field
activities surrounding these types of revenue loss:
◼ Energy theft (aka diversion, unauthorized usage): 1) Meter tampering; 2) Meter bypass; 3)
unauthorized attachment.
◼ Fraud (aka identity theft): Field investigation related to fraudulent names, and passing accounts
among roommates to avoid bills.
◼ Billing Problems: Field investigation and back billing for 1) usage on unmetered accounts, 2)
usage on inactive accounts; 3) Meter errors (stopped or broken); 4) Not in system; unknown
user
◼ Other activities/technologies: 1) Data mining to identify suspicious
usage patterns; 2) AMI tamper flags
For purposes of this survey:
If you send a revenue protection
◼ Do not include meter-related field work performed by
person out to investigate to
determine if there is theft involved or
Field Service or Meter Shops
revenue loss involved – put it in
◼ Do not include special contact center programs to
Revenue Protection.
prevent identify theft or fraud at account initiation
Do not double count
◼ Do not include routine billing investigations
103
Revenue Protection: THE PROCESS Model
The process model is built on a series of individual steps through which each
case must progress
CASE
Reported
CASE
Investigated
CASE
Confirmed
CASE
Billed
CASE
Collected
◼ Reported: A reported issue (e.g. from Meter Reading, a hot line or data
◼
◼
◼
◼
mining) is acknowledged and put in a backlog (perhaps identified as a
“case”)
Investigated: A revenue protection person reviews either in the office or in the
field and identifies a course of action (probably identified as a “case”)
Confirmed: The outcome of the investigation concludes there is usage that
should have been paid for
Billed: A bill is presented to the customer (almost always a “case”)
Collected: Customer pays (and the “case” is closed)
104
Revenue Protection – the Iceberg Model
Cases
Collected
Cases Billed
Cases Confirmed
Cases Investigated
Cases Reported
Total Cases (unknown)
The amount of revenue
collected only reflects the “tip
of the iceberg” when it comes
to energy theft and fraud.
105
Relationship to Questionnaire
In order to separate cases between RP25 and 30 and RP35 and 40, you’ll probably have
had to reach the confirmed stage. You’ve investigated the case and determined whether
or not it was intentional theft (RP25/35) or an error by the company (RP30/40).
CASE
Reported
CASE
Investigated
CASE
Confirmed
CASE
Billed
CASE
Collected
Cases worked (asked in RP15) are any cases that are investigated, confirmed, billed, and
collected. In order to answer RP15, you’ll have to have determined what type of case it in
in the investigation stage.
106
Technology – Revenue Protection
Technology
Any technology specifically used for a function such as meter reading
devices, mobile data technology, telephone switch or call routing
software, call monitoring software etc.
Contact Center:
◼ IVR
◼ ACD
◼ Scheduling Software
◼ Workforce Management (WFM)
◼ Multi-channel processing
◼ Web, Social Media technology costs
◼ VOIP
◼ Web/email routers
◼ Virtual hold technology costs
◼ 3rd party applications (OMS interface etc.)
Field:
◼ Mobile data
◼ Scheduling
◼ GPS
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Routing software
◼ Dispatching software
Revenue Protection
◼ Tamper plug
◼ Data mining software
NOTE: CIS is a separate category
Meter:
◼ Handhelds
◼ Routing software
◼ Telecommunications
◼ Remote disconnect
◼ MV 90
◼ GPS
Bills:
◼ Inserters
◼ Web/email, bill presentment
◼ C/I billing software (MV 90)
Payment:
◼ Image processer
◼ Slitter/sorter
◼ Interface w/kiosks
◼ Routing software for off-site payments
◼ Payment Kiosks
Credit:
◼ Behavioral scoring
◼ Predictive dialer
◼ Credit optimization software
107
We Thank you for your Input and Participation!
Contact Information
Ken Buckstaff
Ken.Buckstaff@1QConsulting.com
310-922-0783
Gene Dimitrov
301-535-0590
Gene.Dimitrov@1QConsulting.com
Debi McLain
Debi.McLain@1QConsulting.com
760-272-7277
Tim Szybalski
Tim.Szybalski@1QConsulting.com
925-878-5066
Updated versions of the
Guidelines and recordings
from the webinars are
available at our website.
www.1qconsulting.com
::Benchmarking Community
::Data Entry Gateway
Corporate offices
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Maryland
400 Continental Blvd. Suite 600
El Segundo, CA 90245
(310) 426-2790
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Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 961-1505
108