Case studies
HSBC
Situation
HSBC believes that customer recommendation is an important factor in its long-term success. Improving complaints handling could increase satisfaction and recommendation. It would also show us where the biggest problems are in the organisation. HSBC had targets to reduce complaints and close them fast, which meant for customers it was hard to complain and solutions could be rushed or incomplete.
Insight
The complaints problem can be 100 times bigger than it looks. Only 10% of people who are unhappy tell you – and each person who is unhappy tells 10 people.
Most customers have emotional needs (“I’m frustrated and angry”) as well as rational (“solve my problem”); HSBC needs to resolve both to leave people satisfied.
The order of improvement matters: First, you must handle current complaints well (to make people happy), then you can make it easier to complain (to resolve more problems); finally, remove the root causes of complaints (once you have a full picture of what the problems are).
Solution
A 10-step framework, breaking a complex problem down to simple steps and covering the customer view and business view together.
Global operational standards for complaints, defining Red, Amber (“minimum standards”), Green (“the best of HSBC”) and Gold (“best practice from all industries”).
Self-assessment of 20 countries against the standards; fed back opportunities and advice to each country.
Worked with three pilot markets to deliver improvements.
Result
“One of the best examples of project work that I’ve ever seen … we had support from across the world for this direction” Alex Matthews, Head of Service Quality
Consistent framework and standards adopted globally, creating focus and action among teams.
HSBC was among the few high-street banks not to be criticised by the UK industry watchdog in a recent review.
Our Events
- Ownership – the only thing that matters for long term growth?Wednesday 29th February 2012
What effect does an organisation's ownership have on its approach to growth and its long term success in achieving it? We are interested in not just who has ownership, but how they own as well.
There is currently a lively debate around this issue and we’ve assembled three speakers with interesting and useful perspectives. Luke Mayhew, former MD of one of the country’s favourite employee owned retailers (now a non exec at a range of businesses owned in other ways). Michael Green, who's written a book all about long term growth and ownership and how stock-markets could be changed to promote not prevent (The Road from Ruin). And our favourite grouchy city journalist who has many points of view, all strongly held, Anthony Hilton (a member of our Advisory Board).
For more information and to RSVP please email Sonia sstuart@the-foundation.com.
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Time for Action
Last year… we worked on a pro-bono project for Action for M.E. (the UK’s largest charity for people with M.E.)
One of the results that emerged from our collaborative workshops with their leadership team was that they should focus on leading a
