2020 Innovation & Transformation Awards Planning: keeping ahead of the change curve in travel See how the customer contact operation at Jet2 has been transformed, to sustain growth and be increasingly agile in a challenging market, with homeworking, real time automation and digital channels.

Summary

Transformation over the past 18 months has been rapid, powered by planning, resource strategy and technology. This is made possible by a culture that embeds change, to drive benefits and become increasingly agile. Homeworking is highly developed and fast-growing, with UK-wide recruitment and a robust virtual support network. Real Time automation (ARTI) from QStory is freeing up time for analysis and supporting homeworkers. Digital development plans include chatbots, asynchronous and in-app messaging. There’s been a hugely positive impact on colleagues and customers, with annualised attrition down to just 18% and adherence up to 82%, both in sales. What’s more, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays were the only travel sector businesses to feature in the Top 25 of the UK Customer Satisfaction Index.

Key Initiatives “We’ve become a thought leader in this area. You know you have Taking homeworking from good to great the model right when you see that level of engagement” With major changes in the UK travel sector contributing to rapid growth in Jet2’s Sean Ablett, customer numbers, it was vital for the contact centre to keep pace. CEO Steve Contact Centre Director Heapy appointed an experienced operational management team, who quickly identified areas for improvement, including the firm’s existing homeworking “Homeworking gives us continuity strategy. In June 2018, 28% of all staff worked from home in locations close of service. We didn’t experience to Jet2’s Leeds and Manchester offices, having previously been trained on site. call queues during the recent Now, 86% of the sales team works from home, with around 345 homeworkers storms because the majority of our staff weren’t caught up nationally. To achieve this: getting into work; they were ■ Social media campaigns attract high-calibre candidates UK-wide. logged on and ready to go.” ■ Digital recruitment used HireVue video software for online assessment. Louise Smith, General Manager, ■ Induction and grad bay are virtual, blended programmes, the latter timed to Contact Centre Planning & MI match new starters’ shift patterns. “We needed a blended way of Attrition has halved, because Jet2 is recruiting the right people, with a learning that would give new wide recruitment pool not tied to specific locations or lifestyle. New starter starters flexibility in the way conversion rates now average 40% in weeks 1-4 versus 35% historically. they learned. We wanted to give Crucially, the move has galvanised pre-existing teams, encouraging their own them access to knowledge and transition to homeworking. “We’ve optimised our candidate pool” “We’ve best practice sharing too.” much greater flexibility” “86% of the sales team now works from home” “more Sean Cooper, frontline brand ambassadors nationwide”. Training Manager

Virtual Support: a robust platform and strategy Collaborative platforms have been integral to Jet2’s homeworking success, with Microsoft Teams and SharePoint used to support new starters and host digital training. These tools have also been deployed to create virtual communities for established teams, including mainline, group and pre-travel sales. Individuals can chat with each other and their manager via instant messaging, group chat & video conferencing. Furthermore, a ‘knowledge hub’ has been developed, again using Teams and SharePoint, to connect the various communities, publicise promotions and incentives, and build engagement through fun features like weekly virtual bingo. Crucially, this hub also provides access to a new e-learning portal, including 91 visual learning resources, covering topics from compliance 1 to soft skills. “We’ve worked hard to create a virtual team atmosphere” “No one feels isolated” “It’s been transformational”.

Best Practice Guide © Professional Forums Ltd 2020 Results Driving success through real time automation ■ Homeworking up c.58% With virtual working now embedded, Louise Smith, Contact Centre Planning year-on-year & MI GM, made the case for automation software and selected the ARTI suite ■ 86% of sales team working from QStory. This gives homeworkers the same level of real time management from home and support as onsite-teams, while freeing the real-time team to focus on ■ Mainline sales adherence analysis over admin. She and the team engaged Jet2’s operational leaders and up 16% points, to c.82% frontline, by developing e-learning modules and running a comprehensive team leader training programme. Buy-in was also increased through targeted ■ Sales team annualised communications, with mailers showing how ARTI’s self-serve app could help attrition down to 17.8% people overcome common frustrations. Key functionality includes automated ■ Retail conversions up 28% approval of shift moves and swaps, management of breaks/offline activities on benchmark and a powerful MI suite that is used interactively in team huddles to create ■ UKCSI top 25 for Jet2.com understanding of key performance drivers. They also developed functionality and Jet2holidays with QStory to help manage their outbound calls on the day. Implemented ■ CSAT ratings of 82.6 and in just four weeks, the platform faced its first major test a fortnight on, when 82 respectively Thomas Cook went into administration. ARTI’s Broadcast function was used extensively at this time to communicate contingency plans and offer/arrange overtime, giving an immediate boost to adherence. This has now stabilised at c.82% in mainline sales, 16 percentage points above the pre-QStory baseline. “There’s visibility for all” “It’s changed mindsets” “People have bought in”.

Digital channels: next generation customer service Another key element in Jet2’s transformation has been the deployment of new customer communication tools, designed to consolidate Jet2’s high CSAT ratings. Over the past six months, the centre’s multiskilled technology team has expanded live chat to cover trade agent and ‘manage my booking’ enquiries as well as general sales, looking to develop a chatbot, inhouse, during 2020. Furthermore, the team is pioneering asynchronous messaging, starting with Apple iMessage, which was piloted during a four-week agile sprint. With the trial delivering 90% CSAT, metrics from the pilot are currently being built into a future resource plan. Once deployed, the team will introduce other messaging platforms including WhatsApp and rich communication services (RCS). They are also building their own platform for in-app messaging. “We’ll apply a controlled pilot across 2020” “Messaging resonates with younger demographics” “It’s the future”. “I believe that our current sales team is more engaged with each other than they’d ever be within four walls of a building. I’ve never seen that “I was hesitant to start homeworking. “QStory stops us making bad decisions, level of engagement, peer to In 20 years of work, I’d always been which can have a negative impact on peer.” office-based. I thought it would be availability. We can see straight away Sean Ablett, a lonely environment, but I can’t what the options are if someone Contact Centre Director tell you how amazing it’s been. It’s needs to be off for a doctor’s brought huge positives to me, my appointment.” “QStory enables an family and my team.” Mark Stevenson, opportunity for the real-time Hayley Lock, Team Leader team to become analysts, not Group Team Leader administrators.” “We’re trying to make things simpler Lauren Lockwood, “With QStory you have the option and easier, and help customers to Real Time Manager to change your breaks and see how contact us 24/7 at a time that suits you’re doing in terms of your time- them. We were the first travel brand “Our aspiration now is to keeping. It gives you more freedom.” in the world to go live with Apple’s become the number one Samiratou Soffo, iMessage chat service.” nationwide homeworking Pre-Travel Sales Agent Ancel Gornall, General Manager, employer of choice by 2022.” Customer Excellence and Transformation Louise Smith, General Manager, Contact Centre Planning & MI

Jet2.com is the UK’s 3rd largest scheduled airline, Jet2 Holidays the 2nd largest tour operator. A c.600FTE multi-site contact centre rises to c.700FTE during the peak. This employs 322 homeworkers and uses Microsoft Teams and 2 SharePoint for collaboration alongside QStory for real time automation. Homeworking: a fresh approach to recruitment Historically, homeworkers were recruited via day-long assessment centres at one of four locations before going through a six-week training and grad bay process on-site in Leeds. In order to offer a truly virtual experience – better suited to candidates’ personal needs and geographic setting – a fully digital process was instigated. Today, the recruitment team uses HireVue video software to remotely capture applicants’ responses to predetermined interview questions. Their answers are then used, alongside the outcomes of a digital roleplay, to gauge their suitability for the role. “Anecdotally, people are telling us that the process is a lot less stressful than a recruitment centre” “We get a much better quality of candidate this way” “It’s a real added benefit”.

Homeworking: the onboarding process is vital The homeworker training and grad bay programmes have also undergone a major overhaul, with each process now executed entirely online and condensed to two weeks apiece. New starters benefit from a blended, virtual induction, featuring face-to-face interaction via Microsoft Teams alongside webinars and a suite of highly visual, content-rich training modules, which are hosted on SharePoint. They then go through the grad bay, which is conducted in accordance with each starter’s personal shift patterns. To ensure success, the grad bay is also supported by: ■ A network of champions/mentors who use Microsoft Teams to live-coach new starters as they’re interacting with customers. This approach gives participants a ‘first fix’ rather than having to escalate to understand the most appropriate response. “It massively impacts me that ■ Recordings of all mentoring sessions, which recruits are directed to if they I’m able to eat together with require additional support in any one area. my children in the evening; ■ Workshops at specific points in the process – for example, a commission homeworking lets me do that. workshop on day four. The work-life balance for me has ■ The knowledge hub, which features a digital study portal for all employees to been transformational.” support their learning. Hayley Locke, Sales Team Leader “We’ve evolved the whole process” “Doing everything virtually has revolutionised the way we induct people” “No one misses any part of the grad “I feel like I’m my own boss. I bay learning journey now”. have no distractions. I can work more efficiently and effectively because the customer isn’t “We’ve created a virtual environment “We’ve created hubs using SharePoint hearing background noise where knowledge is accessed at the and Microsoft Teams, which help Homeworking has improved all point of need. It’s been so successful ensure there’s a strong team aspects of my role.” for new starters that we’ve opened atmosphere for home workers. I can’t Aiden Graham, up our resources to the whole estate; believe the adjustment we’ve made Groups Travel Advisor everything you need to do your job is to make homeworking feel like a now available on the knowledge hub.” community.” “We have never been further Sean Cooper, Katie Lee, apart geographically, yet never Training Manager Sales Team Leader felt closer. People in Scotland and the South East interact like they are in the same office.” Phil Harrison, Sales Manager

“We have a lot more coaching and development time with our team leaders than you would in an office; the support is amazing.” Nicola Smurthwaite, Sales Agent

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Best Practice Guide © Professional Forums Ltd 2020 Real-time automation: a partnership approach QStory appealed to Jet2’s real-time team not simply because its ARTI platform could recommend productive activities to fill excess available time and mitigating actions in the event of a service level risk. Nor was it solely about the tool’s ability to automate many of the team’s manual processes – including absence logging, holiday processing, time banking, adherence, and all associated reporting. An additional draw was the technology provider’s partnership approach, which resulted in an agile implementation that took just four weeks – from contract signing through user acceptance testing (UAT) to real-world deployment. ■ During this time, QStory’s developers worked closely with Jet2’s real-time team to create several bespoke dashboards – with a prime example being around call-backs. ■ During UAT, it became immediately clear that many split-shift workers were scheduling their call-backs for as soon as they come back online at 5pm. So, instead of seeing the expected uplift in service levels and performance, they were taking a hit. ■ Working collaboratively with the real time team, QStory’s developers quickly added an option to book in call-backs like any other activity in ARTI. These could then be matched against availability and forecast to ensure call-backs only occurred when there was the right level of resource. ■ Moreover, the system was also configured to capture the success of the call- backs, thereby justifying their value in future strategic plans. “Doing this in Excel would have been labour-intensive and risked input errors” “QStory is dynamic and forward-thinking” “They’re fast-paced, like ourselves”. “QStory Broadcast enables overtime to be offered to all, regardless of whether they’re in work or not – it’s fairness to all. It’s increased team leader autonomy, while providing more assurance and visibility.” Louise Smith, General Manager, Contact Centre Planning & MI Manager

“QStory does everything to take our ideas onboard and evolve the solution to make it suitable for Jet2.” Pete Ladley, Real Time Analyst

“I can still have conversations with real-time, but they’re more educated conversations now because I can see what is needed.” Mark Stevenson, Team Leader

“It’s been great for team leader morale. We dreaded dealing with adherence issues or sickness previously. There are no dreaded tasks now. You just whizz through it. Come 9am, it’s done.” Andy Twigg, Team Leader

“We like to see our performance. It boosts our self-motivation; if you’re not performing you can see it.” Adam Bricklebank, 4 Pre-Travel Sales Agent ARTI: The impact of real-time automation As well as freeing up the real-time team to analyse performance, ARTI has increased team leader autonomy, giving them much greater visibility and control over the timing and content of their 1-2-1s and coaching sessions. Critically, the tool has also improved frontline agents’ ability to flex their working day using the QStory app, thereby supporting employee wellbeing and work-life balance. Examples of the tool’s success can be seen in the volume of flexible frontline requests fulfilled in the first five months of deployment. Specifically: ■ c.23,000 break moves/matches were completed during this time – a task that would have required 1,900+ hours of manpower to execute, pre-QStory, at a cost of c.£30,000. ■ 1,400+ shift swaps have been undertaken, negating the need for manual intervention, which would have taken 186 hours at a cost of c.£3,000. The platform, which also enables agents to log sickness and late notifications, has been further enhanced with a recent soft launch for automated holiday approvals. This functionality has been highly successful, with more than 1,000 requests processed automatically during the first month alone. “It’s given us operational rigour” “It’s so easy to make a switch” “I like having the freedom to move my break; it suits me”.

Further initiatives supporting Jet2’s transformation The programmes outlined in this case study aren’t the only projects that have been undertaken by the contact centre during the past 18 months. Other initiatives that have fed into Jet2’s wholesale transformation include: ■ A team leader development programme, implemented in conjunction with “We’ve used lots of exciting ways consultancy Frontline Performance Group (FPG), which has centred around to engage with agents via the knowledge hub, including using improving team leaders’ coaching capabilities and goal-setting skills – a countdown bar to highlight helping maximise their time with individual agents. customer promotions and ■ A promotional drive from the merchandising team, aimed at encouraging animated video content.” frontline teams to up-sell ‘retail’ products, such as in-flight meals and seat Lois Dalzell, bookings, where appropriate for the customer. Significantly, this activity was Customer Experience Specialist expedited through the new knowledge hub, which was used to host banner ads and video content to keep the promotion front of agents’ minds. “When we put an article on our “We’ve made huge strides in the past 18 months” “The pace we’ve moved at has knowledge hub on Kids Meals, it generated 357 article views been massive” “We’re talking extensive transformation”. and lots of comments. It’s about keeping the engagement there.” “People from across the business “18 months ago we felt more like an now come together to have a BBBB office that took calls and there was Alex Playle, Retail Data Analyst session – to look at how we can bend very little planning. It was eye-opening, rules, break processes, borrow best a difficult journey in terms of what “If you scratched the surface with practice and/or build new ways of we needed to run the contact centre MI, what looked nice wasn’t all working.” effectively.” that it seemed.” Rachel Hill, Sean Ablett, Louise Smith, General Manager, Customer Excellence Team Leader Contact Centre Director Contact Centre Planning & MI

“We are using messaging as a platform to engage with our Vibe brand customers.” Andy Parsons, Team Leader

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Best Practice Guide © Professional Forums Ltd 2020