Improve customer satisfaction & reduce customer support calls

TELUS is one of Canada’s largest telecommunications providers, with more than half of Canadian homes as subscribers. Customer support —specifically telephone support— is a major cost centre. The pandemic has been one of several factors that have increased call volume, resulting in more than one hour wait times and decreased customer satisfaction. Given the organization’s commitment to amazing service, a scalable and cost-effective solution had to be found.

PH1 was contracted to lead a rapid innovation initiative to improve satisfaction of online support, while reducing the demand on call centres. TELUS had an aggressive target to grow their self-assure initiative and needed to accelerate that initiative by launching a proof of concept and upskilling internal resources.

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Video will transform self-service: It makes problems more relatable and solutions feel achievable

Given TELUS’ need to deliver results quickly we decided that this engagement should focus on the largest driver of customer support calls: slow internet and no internet. These issues have increased through the pandemic as a result of more Canadians working from home, studying remotely, and depending on reliable internet. The client was seeking improved content, article templates, and troubleshooting tools.

The project was designed as 10 one-week rapid innovation sprints:

Monday: Define the problem
Tuesday: Investigate solutions
Wednesday: Design challenge
Thursday: Create and test prototype
Friday: Prepare the recommended solution

Projects would be co-created using Mural boards, Figma, and Notion to offer all teammates and stakeholders visibility and input into the process. PH1 was responsible for all research, recruitment, design, testing, and recommendations.

Monday: Define the problem Sprints begin by fostering alignment and gathering context PH1 proposes three sprint goals, including rationale for each Client selects a goal for the week’s sprint through a voting exercise Client comments and concerns are tracked as additional guidance Based on the goal, specific stakeholders were interviewed to gain context and data Audit the problem and create journey maps detailing areas to explore

Tuesday: Investigate solutions Explore customer reactions to a range of solutions offered across the industry Scan direct competitors, international telecom orgs, and similar orgs Cluster types of possible solutions and delivery models Test select solutions with customers and compare to incumbent TELUS solution Track insights about problem space and solution models

Wednesday: Design challenge Studio day moving from requirements to initial concepts Based on research, map out insights and requirements relevant to the challenge Recommend specific design challenges that could be the focus of the sprint Consult with client about priority, feasibility, and context before selecting Rapid ideation through concepts and designs Testing of initial concepts with customers

Thursday: Create and test prototype The most intense day of sprint when the team rapidly iterates designs in parallel to customer tests throughout the day Refine concepts based on Wednesday’s results Move to higher fidelity design and into prototypes Conduct at least 5 tests in parallel to design updates End the day with two preferred solutions and send out to set of testers using Loom as a remote, unmoderated tests to select a winner

Friday: Prepare the recommended solution Collect final testing insights and deliver completed content, design, and user flow Review results from overnight tests and integrate into the winning prototype Prepare designs and content for delivery Prepare recommended testing methodology to assess lift from recommendation

At the end of Friday we begin preparation for next week’s design sprint by listing the possible design challenges.

Delivered a new troubleshooting tool to increase customer satisfaction and reduce slow internet call volume
Delivered a white paper and training guide to enable internal team to create more empathetic and effective self-assure resources
Delivered recommendations to address gaps across the 50 online resources with the highest traffic
Delivered recommendations to address user journey barriers, including consolidation of redundant and competing resources