A systematic approach
Proven methodologies throughout: the airline’s ACE (Achieving Competitive Excellence) tools, developed by Pratt & Whitney and based on Lean principles, alongside the Snapshotz assessment and benchmarking methodology.
Case study · Ethiopian Airlines Group
Destination: World Class contact centre.
How the Ethiopian Airlines Global Customer Interaction Centre in Addis Ababa went from a start-up call centre in 2014 to Africa’s first certified ‘World Class’ CX contact centre in November 2021.
Boarding passFromFNDFundamental · Jan 2015
ToWLDWorld Class · Nov 2021
- Passenger
- Global Customer Interaction Centre
- Origin
- Addis Ababa · ADD
- Audited
- 800+ datapoints
- Assessor
- Rod Jones
- 2014Contact centre brought in-house from an outsourcer in India
- 3Snapshotz audits: 2015, 2018 and 2021
- 800+Strategic and operational datapoints probed in each audit
- 85%+Score needed in at least 25 of 30 categories for World Class
The starting point
A start-up call centre with a world-class vision.
Until 2014, Ethiopian Airlines outsourced its global call centre to a provider in India. When the contract ended, a small team with little contact centre experience set up an in-house operation at the airline’s headquarters, using basic telephony hosted by the state telco.
Even in those formative days, management had a clear vision for where the contact centre was going, and the airline’s CEO committed the resources to get there.
“Our vision is to be the leading customer focused, world class contact center by providing consistent 24-7 best-in-class service, by managing, resolving, and preventing problems efficiently, communicating effectively, and exceeding customer expectations.”
The climb
Three audits. Three levels up the scale.
Snapshotz places every contact centre on a five-level scale of operational maturity and strategic alignment. Each of Rod’s audits showed where the centre stood, and what had to happen next.
- World ClassNovember 2021Certified after the third audit
- Mature
- DevelopingNovember 2018Second audit: marginally Developing
- FundamentalJanuary 2015First audit: early Fundamental
- Foundational
The journey
From outsourced call centre to World Class in seven years.
A five-year transformation from the first audit to certification, delivered through a pandemic and a complete change of technology platform.
- Before 2014
Outsourced
The airline’s global call centre was outsourced to a centralised service provider in India, with calls from around the world routed there.
- Early 2014
Brought in-house
The contract was ended and a small call centre was set up at the airline’s headquarters at Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, on basic telephony hosted by Ethio Telecom.
- November 2014
Initial assessment
Rod spent several days on site with senior and middle management. The airline’s CEO, Tewolde GebreMariam, committed the resources needed to reach independently certified World Class status.
- January 2015
First Snapshotz audit
A week-long audit placed the operation in the early stages of the Fundamental category, still establishing its processes and struggling with core technology.
- November 2018
Second audit
Significant improvements in key areas, held back by a legacy telephony platform and channel integration issues. The centre moved marginally into Developing.
- Late 2018
A new platform and a plan
After site visits to contact centres in South Africa facilitated by Rod, the airline chose Genesys PureCloud. Hundreds of actionable tasks were defined, each with a priority (red, amber or green), a deadline and an accountable manager.
- 2019 to 2021
Ready for take-off
Through the COVID-19 pandemic, the team implemented the new platform, added and integrated channels, and worked systematically through the audit tasks.
- November 2021
Certified World Class
Four days on site and over 800 datapoints later, with a peer review by Snapshotz founder and CEO Deepak Selvaratnam, the Global Customer Interaction Centre was certified World Class.
The standard
What ‘World Class’ actually means.
World Class is not a self-awarded label. It is an independently audited score against global best practice, benchmarked against the top quarter of almost 3,000 contact centres that use Snapshotz worldwide.
85%or better against the Snapshotz benchmark, in at least 25 of the 30 sub-categories
- Over 800 datapoints across 8 sections and 30 sub-categories
- Alignment with the organisation’s strategic and tactical vision
- Compliance with internal and external standards
- Benchmarked annually against similar contact centre operations
Ethiopian Airlines scored in the 80% plus range in virtually every sub-category, and exceeded 85% in most.
Auditor’s observations
Six factors behind the result.
In Rod’s assessment, the journey from a virtual start-up to a certified World Class interaction centre came down to six identifiable factors.
Clear strategic intent
The airline’s Vision 2025 strategy, set in 2010, gave the contact centre a clear direction for its systematic development into an omnichannel interaction centre.
Confronting the brutal facts
Management embraced the weaknesses exposed by the 2015 and 2018 audits and used them as building blocks for a visible continuous improvement programme.
Professional advisory
After each audit, the consulting team worked with management to craft remedial interventions based on best practice, defined as prioritised tasks with deadlines and owners.
Reviews and defined tasks
Regular, systematic reviews and self-assessment of the Snapshotz tasks. In Rod’s view, the single most important factor in reaching World Class.
Passionate, empowered people
Experienced senior managers, a committed middle-management core, and ongoing executive support that empowered the team to implement the recommendations.
“Seldom has the writer been so impressed with a contact centre and its management team.”
Where is your contact centre on the journey?
Rod represents Snapshotz across Africa as a certified assessor. An independent audit shows exactly where you stand, and what it will take to reach World Class.
How assessing and benchmarking works