Service Benchmarking

Steve Downton, Downton Service Management Consultants Ltd, Noventum Group

A number of key trends have emerged from 2009, not least of which has been the emergence of a serious lack of relevant operational measurements.  Coming out of the recession has highlighted for many that the availability of reliable external data on customer needs and how to deliver to them is very limited. With a secondary challenge on how appropriate are measures carried over from the pre-recession era.

Senior executives are well aware of the impact of a measurement system on employees and managers.  If a business wants to improve the way it is viewed by its customers, a strong focus on measuring what those customers care about most, would seem to be a good idea.  Most companies, however, measure what is easy to measure, or what is important for them to measure, regardless of its impact on customers.

 Steve Downton, Downton Service Management Consultants Ltd, Noventum Group

A number of key trends have emerged from 2009, not least of which has been the emergence of a serious lack of relevant operational measurements.  Coming out of the recession has highlighted for many that the availability of reliable external data on customer needs and how to deliver to them is very limited. With a secondary challenge on how appropriate are measures carried over from the pre-recession era.

Senior executives are well aware of the impact of a measurement system on employees and managers.  If a business wants to improve the way it is viewed by its customers, a strong focus on measuring what those customers care about most, would seem to be a good idea.  Most companies, however, measure what is easy to measure, or what is important for them to measure, regardless of its impact on customers.

Many companies are continuously working to improve their service organisation; like transforming from a product into a customer driven service organisation; standardise service propositions and processes, improve effectiveness and efficiency.

The Service Management Benchmark Study aims to provide participants with usable information and insight into what measures are really relevant in today’s changing environment. Hear the results of the ground-breaking research at this seminar and come and discuss what it means for you and your operation.

Over the last four years Service Management Magazine and Downton Service Management Consultants have conducted a review of the attitudes on mobilisation, to determine the opinion of the marketplace and to explore the experience of those already using these solutions, to gain an impression of the rate of change.  The research has shown a dramatic shift in favour of mobile solutions, and a poll at a mobile conference of 30 companies in April indicated that 35% are now onto their second and 25% are onto their third mobile solution.