Case Study: Thames Water

How Thames Water’s customer services operation improved customer contact planning and forecasting efficiency by over 100% by working with Sabio to implement a back office workforce management solution across its front and back-office operations.

BUSINESS CHALLENGE

The front-office contact centre and back-office function at Thames Water’s Customer Services operation were effectively working in isolation, with separate staffing needs, different technology platforms and distinct employee cultures. As part of the company’s ‘New Start’ programme to adopt a unified approach across its service operation, Thames Water needed to ensure the effective planning and forecasting of work levels across both parts of its customer-facing business. A key driver for this initiative was the need to optimise customer service levels and improve the company’s ranking in the annual Ofwat water utility service rankings.

SABIO SOLUTION

Thames Water wanted to work with an experienced contact centre technology partner to implement back office workforce management as part of a broader Workforce Optimisation strategy, so it selected Sabio to implement a WFM solution based on Verint’s Impact 360 suite.

RESULTS DELIVERED

• Annual savings of upwards of £250,000
• 100% plus productivity improvement from Thames Water’s specialist planning and scheduling team
• Optimised scheduling adherence and reduced absences
• The project enabled other initiatives to deliver a 120 FTE reduction
• Successfully automated over 20,000 holiday requests – freeing up over 50 percent of team leaders’ time, and allowing an increased focus on coaching