Company: IBM
Company Description: IBM is a technology corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, with operations in over 171 countries. IBM produces and sells computer hardware, middleware and software, and provides hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from very high end computers to nanotechnology. IBM is also a major research organization, holding the record for most annual U.S. patents generated by a business.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Team Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Customer Service Complaints Team of the Year - Technology Industries
 Nomination Title: IBM Systems Escalation Management Team
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the achievements since July 1, 2020 of the nominated team, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions for this category, provide them in the spaces below.
- Briefly describe the nominated team: its history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 197 words used.
For more than two decades, IBM Complaint Management Team played a key role to restore Client Satisfaction through timely and effective resolution of client complaints across the globe protecting IBM’s revenue.
At the beginning of 2022 team went through tremendous transformation (also received a new name called "Escalation Management Team") with the aim to make the complaint process more effective & efficient for IBM clients. The goal of transformation was to reinvent the Complaint Management Process to become more client-centric, capitalize on cognitive capabilities, and make more efficient use of our resources in resolving clients' issues.
Using principles of Design thinking and Agile methodology the Team designed a process.
The process provides the Client an autonomy to decide when to escalate while it empowers teams to address minor issues efficiently. With Chatbot assistant embedded to address simple concerns to the 1st level of escalation while the most complex issues go to Managed Escalation teams. The workflow is transparent to our clients other than just bringing more simplicity in escalating their cases.
[REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION]
- Outline the team's achievements since July 1 2020 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 247 words used.
Escalation Management Team (formerly called Complaint Management Team) created a new process which went live 9 months ago:
In the new process, clients can express their concerns directly (without account team involvement) and are getting a dedicated resource to take care of described issue. They don’t have to go through different layers anymore or involve account reps. Currently 20% of all managed escalated cases are directly opened by our external clients, allowing for more “face time” with IBM people to better understand & address problems, build greater relationships and further enhance Client Loyalty.
The new process uses AI to diagnose the client issue/concerns and route to the appropriate team. It separates complex and non-complex cases, directing the cases to the right place to the right resource according to skills. In old process every escalated case was sent to a single team, and that team had to identify and allocate which teams (prod, dev, support, shipment etc) should be responsible for it. So far 80% of the issues has been correctly routed saving time.
IBM clients are now taking advantage of Case Support app escalate button to request for help. This helped address 83% of complaints which are resolved by support without involving higher level complaint resource. Chatbot feature of the process addresses nearly 20% of client queries saving time for clients.
[REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION]
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 125 words used.
Clients’ testimonials which demonstrate & provide evidence of the positive progress & impact of transformation:
[REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION] This is the way to get a response when needed"
[REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION] "The Escalation feature has provided us with valuable, real-time visibility of client concerns, allowing us to quickly engage and potentially avoid more serious client dissatisfaction situations."
[REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION] "Client use of the Escalation feature has allowed us to gain insights into their project timelines and pain points, which allows for a long-term collaborative relationship rather than a series of one-off issues."
[REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION] "A useful tool to manage Customer dissatisfaction"
- Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the team's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 187 words used.
Overall, this team is exemplary in enhancing client satisfaction, protecting IBM’s Revenue and ensuring business continuity & value for IBM's clients. Every member takes personal responsibility in the interactions he/she performs to make things simple for clients by listening, acting, and responding timely to their feedback. Team drives solutions to restore client loyalty, advocacy, and growth. This team created a new tool to streamline complaint management process. They created a single Dashboard which provides visibility for governance within the Business Unit and Client Care teams globally. The team can now:
- Efficiently escalates concern and quickly connects to SME
- Made the resolution process fluid
- Moved IBM from reactive to predictive by providing integrated tool with report and cognitive capabilities
- Trained senior consultant resources for project and complex escalation
- Open the escalation process to external clients & IBM business partners directly
Improvements had an impact on overall satisfaction. Internal sentiment survey results went up from 3.2 in December 2021 to 4.3 in November 2022 on a scale 0-5. Teams know that they can make a difference, driving better engagement and client satisfaction with their daily work.
| Attachments/Videos/Links: |
|---|
|