CX Superheroes podcast - Series 16 Episode 3 - From Passion to Best Practice - Kayleigh Harwood - Utility Aid

1 00:00:15,439 - > 00:00:18,719 SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to the latest episode of the 2 00:00:18,719 - > 00:00:22,320 Customer Experience Superheroes Podcast Series. 3 00:00:22,559 - > 00:00:25,920 My name is Christopher Brooks, and along with leading Lexton 4 00:00:26,000 - > 00:00:29,280 and being the co-founder of Lexton Lux, both customer 5 00:00:29,280 - > 00:00:34,399 experience practices, I'm also the host since inception of this 6 00:00:34,399 - > 00:00:35,439 podcast series. 7 00:00:35,600 - > 00:00:38,799 And it's been an absolute pleasure to listen to some 8 00:00:38,799 - > 00:00:42,320 incredible individuals who we reach out to or come to us from 9 00:00:42,320 - > 00:00:45,039 the world of customer experience, whether they're 10 00:00:45,039 - > 00:00:49,119 individuals in organizations serving clients or working for 11 00:00:49,119 - > 00:00:52,640 suppliers or vendors designing and developing better solutions 12 00:00:52,640 - > 00:00:56,560 to help organizations, or if they've got a viewpoint or an 13 00:00:56,560 - > 00:00:59,920 opinion on a topic in customer experience, which really 14 00:00:59,920 - > 00:01:03,520 stimulates your thinking and makes you look at how the world 15 00:01:03,520 - > 00:01:04,879 works in a different way. 16 00:01:05,120 - > 00:01:09,519 Today's guest was uh Kaylee Harwood, who is head of customer 17 00:01:09,519 - > 00:01:11,439 service at UtilityAid. 18 00:01:11,519 - > 00:01:15,200 And if you ever want to hear somebody talk about how 19 00:01:15,200 - > 00:01:18,560 passionate they are at solving problems and making things 20 00:01:18,560 - > 00:01:21,680 better for customers, then this is the podcast for you. 21 00:01:21,920 - > 00:01:24,879 We had a really good conversation about all the great 22 00:01:24,879 - > 00:01:28,400 work they do and also an appreciation of how they can 23 00:01:28,400 - > 00:01:31,040 deliver the work they do because of the culture they have. 24 00:01:31,200 - > 00:01:34,560 There are hundreds of practical ideas in here as well, and it's 25 00:01:34,560 - > 00:01:36,079 packed full of enthusiasm. 26 00:01:36,239 - > 00:01:40,959 So if you want to grab a coffee, spend 30 minutes being inspired, 27 00:01:41,120 - > 00:01:44,159 and just feeling a little bit better about the sector we work 28 00:01:44,159 - > 00:01:46,640 in, then this is the episode for you. 29 00:01:53,280 - > 00:01:53,760 Great. 30 00:01:53,840 - > 00:01:56,799 So we're here with uh Kayleigh Harwood from Utility Aid. 31 00:01:56,959 - > 00:01:59,760 Now, Kaylee, as I understand, you are Customer Services 32 00:01:59,760 - > 00:02:01,920 Director at uh UtilityAid, is that right? 33 00:02:02,239 - > 00:02:03,120 That's correct, yeah. 34 00:02:03,280 - > 00:02:04,480 Well, welcome to the podcast. 35 00:02:04,560 - > 00:02:06,799 It's really good to have you here and thank you for joining 36 00:02:06,799 - > 00:02:06,959 us. 37 00:02:07,280 - > 00:02:08,080 Thank you for having me. 38 00:02:08,240 - > 00:02:08,800 Glad to be here. 39 00:02:09,039 - > 00:02:09,599 That's all right. 40 00:02:09,680 - > 00:02:11,520 Now we're going to get on to talk about a number of really 41 00:02:11,520 - > 00:02:15,120 interesting things, such as the importance of celebration and 42 00:02:15,120 - > 00:02:18,080 just what you know winning a trust award means to you. 43 00:02:18,240 - > 00:02:21,360 But before we do, I've mentioned there your customer service 44 00:02:21,360 - > 00:02:21,919 director. 45 00:02:22,159 - > 00:02:24,800 Sure, you didn't start your career in that particular role. 46 00:02:24,960 - > 00:02:27,039 I'm sure you didn't even start at Utility Aid. 47 00:02:27,199 - > 00:02:28,960 So can you give us an appreciation? 48 00:02:29,120 - > 00:02:31,919 I mean, I very few people say this is where I intended to be. 49 00:02:32,000 - > 00:02:34,240 So I'd imagine some twists and turns along the way. 50 00:02:34,400 - > 00:02:38,240 But where did you start out and how have you ended up having a 51 00:02:38,240 - > 00:02:40,479 journey, which brings you to this particular point? 52 00:02:40,719 - > 00:02:41,680 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, you're right. 53 00:02:41,759 - > 00:02:44,479 I didn't start out as customer service director. 54 00:02:44,719 - > 00:02:48,719 I started out my career actually as a customer service apprentice 55 00:02:48,719 - > 00:02:49,599 at BT. 56 00:02:50,000 - > 00:02:50,159 Right. 57 00:02:50,400 - > 00:02:53,360 And once I had completed that apprenticeship, I was offered a 58 00:02:53,360 - > 00:02:55,280 permanent role there, which I really enjoyed. 59 00:02:55,439 - > 00:02:58,400 I was working on um the technical help desk helping 60 00:02:58,400 - > 00:03:00,560 business customers solve their broadband fault. 61 00:03:00,719 - > 00:03:02,240 So very, very techy. 62 00:03:02,479 - > 00:03:03,599 And I really enjoyed that. 63 00:03:03,680 - > 00:03:07,360 But whilst I was there, I was very curious about how 64 00:03:07,360 - > 00:03:08,800 everything worked in the business. 65 00:03:08,960 - > 00:03:11,919 And I wanted to try a bit of everything and learn as much as 66 00:03:11,919 - > 00:03:12,879 I could about the business. 67 00:03:13,039 - > 00:03:15,599 So I did lots of different things whilst I was there. 68 00:03:15,759 - > 00:03:19,120 I did some real-time lead, I did some floor walking, I did some 69 00:03:19,120 - > 00:03:22,560 coaching, I did some complaint handling, I did some cover 70 00:03:22,560 - > 00:03:25,520 managing, and I really enjoyed doing lots of different things 71 00:03:25,520 - > 00:03:27,280 and getting lots of different skills. 72 00:03:27,520 - > 00:03:31,120 And also one of the great things about BT, certainly whilst I was 73 00:03:31,120 - > 00:03:34,400 there, was that they did some really, really amazing training. 74 00:03:34,639 - > 00:03:38,800 So I was exposed to I did Bellbin training, I did insights 75 00:03:38,879 - > 00:03:42,319 training, I was trained by the Institute of Customer Service in 76 00:03:42,319 - > 00:03:42,960 coaching. 77 00:03:43,360 - > 00:03:45,759 I did continuous improvement training. 78 00:03:45,919 - > 00:03:48,960 And and through doing all of those different, you know, roles 79 00:03:48,960 - > 00:03:52,719 and trying all of those those different things, I came to the 80 00:03:52,719 - > 00:03:55,120 conclusion that I really wanted to do customer service 81 00:03:55,120 - > 00:03:58,800 leadership because I wanted to get people really excited about 82 00:03:58,800 - > 00:04:01,599 customer service, which is how which is how I feel about 83 00:04:01,599 - > 00:04:02,319 customer service. 84 00:04:02,400 - > 00:04:04,800 So I really wanted to sort of inspire that in other people. 85 00:04:04,960 - > 00:04:05,759 So that's what I did. 86 00:04:05,840 - > 00:04:09,599 I moved into a customer service team manager role at BT, which I 87 00:04:09,599 - > 00:04:09,919 loved. 88 00:04:10,400 - > 00:04:15,199 2020, I think I left BT and I moved to utility aid. 89 00:04:15,439 - > 00:04:18,800 And initially what I was doing was working with the national 90 00:04:18,800 - > 00:04:22,160 accounts director, and I was helping her to optimize her 91 00:04:22,160 - > 00:04:24,560 processes so she could maximize her sales. 92 00:04:24,639 - > 00:04:26,160 And we had a really, really great year. 93 00:04:26,319 - > 00:04:28,800 She hit record numbers for the company that year. 94 00:04:29,040 - > 00:04:33,040 So I was presented with an opportunity to move into a head 95 00:04:33,040 - > 00:04:36,000 of account management role where I would essentially do what I 96 00:04:36,000 - > 00:04:38,319 had done for the national accounts director, but scale it 97 00:04:38,319 - > 00:04:39,279 across the whole business. 98 00:04:39,439 - > 00:04:40,319 So that's what I did. 99 00:04:40,399 - > 00:04:43,279 I created a team, I did the training, I created the 100 00:04:43,279 - > 00:04:45,360 processes and built it from the ground up. 101 00:04:45,600 - > 00:04:46,959 And it went really well. 102 00:04:47,040 - > 00:04:49,920 We got great feedback internally and externally. 103 00:04:50,079 - > 00:04:53,040 After about 12 months, the business won a customer service 104 00:04:53,040 - > 00:04:56,639 award, which was sort of validation that the direction 105 00:04:56,639 - > 00:04:58,800 that we had gone in as a business was was right. 106 00:04:58,959 - > 00:05:01,920 And just over the years, I've gained more and more functions 107 00:05:01,920 - > 00:05:02,639 across the business. 108 00:05:02,720 - > 00:05:06,800 And I now oversee five functions across the business and manage 109 00:05:06,800 - > 00:05:09,600 over 20 indirect and direct reports. 110 00:05:09,680 - > 00:05:10,879 So it's really grown. 111 00:05:11,040 - > 00:05:13,519 And like you say last year, became customer service 112 00:05:13,519 - > 00:05:15,920 director, which is what I'm doing now, and I absolutely love 113 00:05:15,920 - > 00:05:16,160 it. 114 00:05:16,480 - > 00:05:16,959 SPEAKER_01: Amazing. 115 00:05:17,120 - > 00:05:20,079 Well, I mean, when you say it like that, it feels like a 116 00:05:20,079 - > 00:05:21,439 deliberate strategy, doesn't it? 117 00:05:21,600 - > 00:05:25,120 I mean, you've been engaged on the front line, you've been in 118 00:05:25,120 - > 00:05:27,920 service of those in service of the customer. 119 00:05:28,079 - > 00:05:30,399 You've really spent a lot of time understanding kind of, you 120 00:05:30,399 - > 00:05:31,839 know, customers' requirements. 121 00:05:31,920 - > 00:05:34,959 And but it almost was in the stars that this was this was 122 00:05:34,959 - > 00:05:36,319 where you were going to end up. 123 00:05:36,480 - > 00:05:37,600 But it's interesting, isn't it? 124 00:05:37,680 - > 00:05:39,439 When we start that journey, we never believed that. 125 00:05:39,519 - > 00:05:41,920 But but clearly you're you're where you need to be now. 126 00:05:42,240 - > 00:05:44,480 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was it was definitely never planned. 127 00:05:44,560 - > 00:05:48,879 It was just the the result of I I worked really hard, I was 128 00:05:48,879 - > 00:05:52,079 really curious about how everything worked, and uh doing 129 00:05:52,079 - > 00:05:54,560 all the training and trying all the different things, somewhere 130 00:05:54,639 - > 00:05:58,319 along the way, it unlocked a passion and it's just grown, 131 00:05:58,480 - > 00:05:59,439 grown and grown from there. 132 00:05:59,519 - > 00:06:02,560 But I think it's really important that I I knew I wanted 133 00:06:02,560 - > 00:06:02,959 to progress. 134 00:06:03,120 - > 00:06:05,360 I didn't know where I wanted to progress, but I knew I wanted to 135 00:06:05,360 - > 00:06:05,600 progress. 136 00:06:05,680 - > 00:06:09,360 So I've always just worked really hard, got stuck in, and 137 00:06:09,360 - > 00:06:12,639 always just tried to, you know, stand out from the crowd, and 138 00:06:12,639 - > 00:06:15,759 and off the back of that, opportunities presented 139 00:06:15,759 - > 00:06:16,319 themselves. 140 00:06:16,639 - > 00:06:18,639 SPEAKER_01: Well, I think that's an amazing testament to those 141 00:06:18,720 - > 00:06:22,240 kind of three key criteria there work hard, take opportunities 142 00:06:22,240 - > 00:06:24,160 when they come your way, and be curious. 143 00:06:24,480 - > 00:06:24,800 SPEAKER_00: 100%. 144 00:06:25,040 - > 00:06:29,040 And I think as well, resilience, because as many opportunities as 145 00:06:29,040 - > 00:06:31,360 as I've had along the way, there have been opportunities that I 146 00:06:31,360 - > 00:06:34,560 didn't necessarily get, and you just reflect on them, pick 147 00:06:34,560 - > 00:06:36,000 yourself back up, and you keep moving. 148 00:06:36,079 - > 00:06:38,399 And that's and that I think that's really important as well 149 00:06:38,480 - > 00:06:41,759 to state that resilience is so, so important, especially if you 150 00:06:41,759 - > 00:06:45,439 want to sort of part, you know, pave out a path to progression 151 00:06:45,439 - > 00:06:46,160 and success. 152 00:06:46,480 - > 00:06:46,959 SPEAKER_01: Excellent. 153 00:06:47,120 - > 00:06:50,879 Now, utility aid is let's just kind of unpack what utility aid 154 00:06:50,879 - > 00:06:53,519 is because you've got the word utility in there, and people 155 00:06:53,519 - > 00:06:56,319 might think you're a utility provider, but the words aid in 156 00:06:56,319 - > 00:06:58,160 there, so they might think you're a charity, but you're 157 00:06:58,160 - > 00:07:00,399 kind of somewhere in the middle of those two. 158 00:07:00,560 - > 00:07:03,600 So would you just like to expand for the listeners just who 159 00:07:03,600 - > 00:07:06,879 utility aid are and what role you play in the world? 160 00:07:07,199 - > 00:07:10,800 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so utility aid at our core, we're an energy 161 00:07:10,800 - > 00:07:11,199 broker. 162 00:07:11,279 - > 00:07:13,920 But what makes us very special and what makes us different is 163 00:07:13,920 - > 00:07:18,079 that we're an organization of caring people who work 164 00:07:18,319 - > 00:07:21,040 specifically with charities and not-for-profits. 165 00:07:21,439 - > 00:07:26,639 So we exist to help charities and not-for-profits do what they 166 00:07:26,639 - > 00:07:30,319 do better because their reach, you know, our reach is massive 167 00:07:30,319 - > 00:07:30,720 through them. 168 00:07:30,800 - > 00:07:33,680 If we can help charities and we can help not-for-profits, they 169 00:07:33,680 - > 00:07:36,319 can then free up their time and their money to go and do more 170 00:07:36,319 - > 00:07:36,959 good in the world. 171 00:07:37,040 - > 00:07:38,879 So that's our ethos and that's what we do. 172 00:07:39,199 - > 00:07:39,439 SPEAKER_01: Right. 173 00:07:39,600 - > 00:07:42,560 And functionally, that means helping them become more 174 00:07:42,560 - > 00:07:45,680 efficient with their utility expenses, I guess. 175 00:07:45,759 - > 00:07:47,199 Fundamentally, that's what it's about. 176 00:07:47,439 - > 00:07:47,680 SPEAKER_00: Yeah. 177 00:07:47,759 - > 00:07:51,120 Well, we look after anything to do with their energy we can help 178 00:07:51,120 - > 00:07:51,439 them with. 179 00:07:51,600 - > 00:07:54,240 So whether that's procurement, finding them, you know, the best 180 00:07:54,240 - > 00:07:56,000 deal on their energy contracts. 181 00:07:56,160 - > 00:07:59,199 But then beyond that, we do after care for them because I 182 00:07:59,199 - > 00:08:01,920 don't know if you've spent much time on the phone to energy 183 00:08:01,920 - > 00:08:03,759 suppliers, but it's an absolute nightmare. 184 00:08:03,920 - > 00:08:06,319 So we do that for them so they don't ever have to speak to 185 00:08:06,319 - > 00:08:07,680 their energy suppliers. 186 00:08:07,920 - > 00:08:10,959 We check their bills for them so they don't have to worry, they 187 00:08:10,959 - > 00:08:12,959 can just pay their bills and know that we're checking them in 188 00:08:12,959 - > 00:08:13,360 the background. 189 00:08:13,439 - > 00:08:15,920 And if there's any issues, we'll get that sorted with the 190 00:08:15,920 - > 00:08:16,720 supplier for them. 191 00:08:16,800 - > 00:08:19,920 So that's one of the things that we do is fund recovery, which is 192 00:08:19,920 - > 00:08:21,600 money that they get 100% back off. 193 00:08:21,680 - > 00:08:23,680 We don't take any of that, we give it straight back to them 194 00:08:23,759 - > 00:08:26,800 and they can put that back into their frontline services. 195 00:08:27,040 - > 00:08:30,560 We also offer net zero services because obviously net zero is a 196 00:08:30,560 - > 00:08:31,439 huge thing at the minute. 197 00:08:31,519 - > 00:08:33,679 Everybody's trying to reduce their carbon footprint. 198 00:08:33,919 - > 00:08:36,639 So that's another thing that we can offer to the organizations 199 00:08:36,639 - > 00:08:39,919 that we work with, as well as you know, loads of different 200 00:08:39,919 - > 00:08:41,200 things we can help with. 201 00:08:41,279 - > 00:08:43,200 So we're very solution focused. 202 00:08:43,279 - > 00:08:46,159 So we get customers coming to us and saying, Oh, can you help us 203 00:08:46,159 - > 00:08:49,120 with our broadband or can you help us put an Easy charger in? 204 00:08:49,279 - > 00:08:52,879 So we don't directly do that ourselves, but we have 205 00:08:52,879 - > 00:08:54,879 partnerships with loads of different companies. 206 00:08:54,960 - > 00:08:57,840 Um so we're so much more than just an energy broker, we're 207 00:08:57,840 - > 00:08:59,600 really a partner to our customers. 208 00:08:59,919 - > 00:09:01,519 SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's great because I think one of the 209 00:09:01,519 - > 00:09:05,360 things that people forget is with charities and NGOs, you 210 00:09:05,360 - > 00:09:08,159 might have specialists who understand the topic. 211 00:09:08,399 - > 00:09:11,759 You know, we deal with people at the RSPCA, and you know, we've 212 00:09:11,759 - > 00:09:15,360 got people in there who have spent their life academically 213 00:09:15,360 - > 00:09:18,639 understanding how to look after animals and to treat to deal 214 00:09:18,639 - > 00:09:19,679 with mistreatment. 215 00:09:19,840 - > 00:09:23,039 But that doesn't mean that naturally they're great kind of 216 00:09:23,120 - > 00:09:25,679 you know accountants or procurement buyers. 217 00:09:26,080 - > 00:09:27,679 Those two things don't come together. 218 00:09:27,919 - > 00:09:30,639 So do you does it kind of surprise you when you speak to 219 00:09:30,639 - > 00:09:34,000 charities just how how much help you can actually provide to 220 00:09:34,000 - > 00:09:34,240 them? 221 00:09:34,320 - > 00:09:36,240 Because this is not core to what they do. 222 00:09:36,399 - > 00:09:40,720 And I guess I would always think to myself as well, as a donor to 223 00:09:40,720 - > 00:09:45,120 a charity, I want my pound to go towards helping the cause. 224 00:09:45,200 - > 00:09:47,440 I don't want to know it's going toward, I don't want to think 225 00:09:47,440 - > 00:09:49,600 about it's going towards putting the lights on and, you know, 226 00:09:49,759 - > 00:09:51,679 inefficient management of a utility. 227 00:09:51,759 - > 00:09:54,399 So is it always surprised you just how much help you can 228 00:09:54,399 - > 00:09:55,279 provide them? 229 00:09:55,600 - > 00:09:58,960 SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, we know our sector and we know that 230 00:09:58,960 - > 00:10:02,080 the customers that we deal with, they are charities and they are 231 00:10:02,080 - > 00:10:03,600 on shoestring budgets. 232 00:10:03,759 - > 00:10:07,039 So they don't have the funds to bring in a procurement 233 00:10:07,039 - > 00:10:09,600 specialist or an energy specialist. 234 00:10:09,759 - > 00:10:11,840 So, and that is where we bridge the gap. 235 00:10:12,000 - > 00:10:14,960 So it absolutely makes sense that they wouldn't have people 236 00:10:14,960 - > 00:10:17,600 in their organization that really know about this stuff 237 00:10:17,840 - > 00:10:19,919 because they don't have the budget to do that. 238 00:10:20,159 - > 00:10:20,480 SPEAKER_01: Sure. 239 00:10:20,559 - > 00:10:22,080 And that's absolutely great. 240 00:10:22,240 - > 00:10:26,240 And in terms of so let's take kind of charities you deal with. 241 00:10:26,320 - > 00:10:29,440 I guess you're dealing with smaller charities, but also 242 00:10:29,600 - > 00:10:30,960 larger charities. 243 00:10:31,200 - > 00:10:33,919 So the individuals, you used a very important word, you're 244 00:10:33,919 - > 00:10:35,039 saying we really care. 245 00:10:35,200 - > 00:10:37,919 So, how do you qualify when people come in? 246 00:10:38,080 - > 00:10:41,519 I mean, it's evident in just talking to you to a few minutes 247 00:10:41,600 - > 00:10:42,960 that runs through your bones. 248 00:10:43,039 - > 00:10:45,840 But when you're bringing new people into your team, how do 249 00:10:45,840 - > 00:10:47,759 you make sure they get what you're about? 250 00:10:47,919 - > 00:10:51,759 Because as I say, it's obvious the functional and the rational 251 00:10:51,759 - > 00:10:54,399 benefit in terms of saving money, but the way that you deal 252 00:10:54,399 - > 00:10:56,559 with them is going to be slightly different to if you 253 00:10:56,559 - > 00:10:59,519 are, you know, a household utility company, you know, 254 00:10:59,600 - > 00:11:02,720 calling up a customer who's you know got a got an issue about 255 00:11:02,720 - > 00:11:03,759 overpaying their bills. 256 00:11:03,840 - > 00:11:07,039 So, how do you ensure you bring the right people into the 257 00:11:07,039 - > 00:11:09,120 organization to support utility aid? 258 00:11:09,440 - > 00:11:12,480 SPEAKER_00: So I think we're very fortunate that we have a 259 00:11:12,480 - > 00:11:13,519 great reputation. 260 00:11:13,679 - > 00:11:16,480 And the fact that we do specialize in charities and 261 00:11:16,480 - > 00:11:20,399 not-for-profits means that we do typically attract that a certain 262 00:11:20,399 - > 00:11:21,440 type of person. 263 00:11:21,919 - > 00:11:26,159 So people who to apply to come and be with utility aid, they 264 00:11:26,159 - > 00:11:28,960 want to join utility aid because they want to make a difference 265 00:11:28,960 - > 00:11:29,440 in the world. 266 00:11:29,600 - > 00:11:33,440 So that's the first thing is that we by reputation attract 267 00:11:33,440 - > 00:11:34,320 great talent. 268 00:11:34,559 - > 00:11:38,639 Then I think for me, when I'm speaking to potential candidates 269 00:11:38,639 - > 00:11:41,600 and people that we want to look to bring on board, what I'm 270 00:11:41,600 - > 00:11:44,320 looking for is that passion, that care, that, you know, 271 00:11:44,559 - > 00:11:46,799 because the technical stuff we can teach that, right? 272 00:11:46,879 - > 00:11:49,919 It's it's important to a degree, but you can teach those stuff, 273 00:11:50,000 - > 00:11:53,120 but you can't teach that fire inside someone where they want 274 00:11:53,120 - > 00:11:55,279 to make, you know, a positive difference in the world. 275 00:11:55,360 - > 00:11:57,440 So that's what I'm always looking for, and that's what I 276 00:11:57,440 - > 00:11:59,279 want to harness and bring into the company. 277 00:11:59,360 - > 00:12:02,480 So when I see that in someone, I absolutely bring them in and I 278 00:12:02,480 - > 00:12:03,200 nurture that. 279 00:12:03,440 - > 00:12:04,000 SPEAKER_01: That's brilliant. 280 00:12:04,080 - > 00:12:07,600 I mean, we work with uh an agrochemical company, and uh the 281 00:12:07,600 - > 00:12:12,080 HR director is exactly echoes what you said, kind of you said, 282 00:12:12,240 - > 00:12:15,519 now I know what matters most to my customers, now I know what 283 00:12:15,519 - > 00:12:18,080 they think is important, that's what I want to hear in 284 00:12:18,080 - > 00:12:18,720 recruitment. 285 00:12:18,879 - > 00:12:22,240 All the technical stuff that we do, we can teach them that. 286 00:12:22,399 - > 00:12:25,759 But unless it's kind of in them to be able to recognize that 287 00:12:25,759 - > 00:12:28,399 they've got to be, I think there's a things like flexible 288 00:12:28,399 - > 00:12:31,440 and reliable, unless they've got these characteristics, I'm gonna 289 00:12:31,440 - > 00:12:31,759 struggle. 290 00:12:31,840 - > 00:12:33,679 And it sounds that's what you look for as well. 291 00:12:33,840 - > 00:12:37,519 You look for the characteristics that make them a utility aid 292 00:12:37,519 - > 00:12:40,080 person, and then you'll teach them how to do the job. 293 00:12:40,320 - > 00:12:41,679 SPEAKER_00: Exactly, exactly. 294 00:12:41,840 - > 00:12:45,200 And things like if we're interested to know, do they 295 00:12:45,200 - > 00:12:45,600 volunteer? 296 00:12:45,759 - > 00:12:48,320 Do they go and do you know, work with charities in their own 297 00:12:48,320 - > 00:12:48,480 time? 298 00:12:48,720 - > 00:12:52,240 Because that's you know, that's our culture and it's laced 299 00:12:52,240 - > 00:12:53,200 throughout what we do. 300 00:12:53,279 - > 00:12:56,960 So, as part of uh our perks to our employees, we give them two 301 00:12:56,960 - > 00:12:58,639 paid volunteering days a year. 302 00:12:58,799 - > 00:13:02,240 And if they want more than that, we're very flexible to give them 303 00:13:02,240 - > 00:13:02,399 more. 304 00:13:02,559 - > 00:13:04,480 So, yeah, those are the things that we look out for. 305 00:13:04,639 - > 00:13:05,600 Do they volunteer? 306 00:13:05,759 - > 00:13:08,240 You know, because it's easy to say in an interview, isn't it? 307 00:13:08,399 - > 00:13:10,799 I do X, Y, and Z, but you know, are they going out? 308 00:13:10,879 - > 00:13:11,759 Are they doing things? 309 00:13:12,000 - > 00:13:13,600 Is there evidence exactly? 310 00:13:13,840 - > 00:13:14,240 Exactly. 311 00:13:14,559 - > 00:13:16,399 SPEAKER_01: Well, I think I might apply then I so I run a 312 00:13:16,399 - > 00:13:18,720 cup group and I also run the Customer Experience World Games, 313 00:13:18,799 - > 00:13:19,679 which helps charities. 314 00:13:19,759 - > 00:13:21,519 So look out for my application. 315 00:13:22,080 - > 00:13:24,879 You know, you can teach me the stuff you do is so technical, 316 00:13:24,960 - > 00:13:26,480 but hopefully you can teach me how to do that. 317 00:13:26,639 - > 00:13:28,559 Now let's come on to some of that because you mentioned 318 00:13:28,559 - > 00:13:29,279 something really important. 319 00:13:29,360 - > 00:13:32,639 So we work a lot with studies that understand just where 320 00:13:32,639 - > 00:13:34,639 customer experience makes the difference. 321 00:13:34,879 - > 00:13:39,519 And post-purchase is the biggest area for impact in my perception 322 00:13:39,519 - > 00:13:40,720 of an organization. 323 00:13:40,879 - > 00:13:43,919 And as you're saying there, your experience of dealing with the 324 00:13:43,919 - > 00:13:47,679 conventional utility companies is they make that really hard. 325 00:13:47,759 - > 00:13:50,639 And when you're a when you're a charity and you want to be 326 00:13:50,639 - > 00:13:53,840 spending your time on the front line helping the cause that 327 00:13:53,840 - > 00:13:57,200 you're serving, you don't want to have your time tied up on the 328 00:13:57,200 - > 00:14:00,320 telephones listening to language you don't understand and talking 329 00:14:00,320 - > 00:14:02,159 about kilowatts and goodness knows what else. 330 00:14:02,399 - > 00:14:04,559 So, how have you addressed that? 331 00:14:04,720 - > 00:14:07,919 How do you give the confidence to your customers that look, we 332 00:14:07,919 - > 00:14:08,639 can do this bit? 333 00:14:08,720 - > 00:14:12,240 And then how do you interact with the utility companies in 334 00:14:12,240 - > 00:14:13,200 that instance? 335 00:14:14,000 - > 00:14:15,840 SPEAKER_00: I think there's two questions there. 336 00:14:16,000 - > 00:14:20,399 How do we give customers the confidence that we are the right 337 00:14:20,399 - > 00:14:21,039 fit for them? 338 00:14:21,200 - > 00:14:22,799 We are consistent, we deliver. 339 00:14:22,879 - > 00:14:25,679 So what we say we're gonna do, we we deliver on it. 340 00:14:25,759 - > 00:14:28,240 And our trustpilot, we're 4.8. 341 00:14:28,399 - > 00:14:31,360 So lots of customers are on there talking about the great 342 00:14:31,360 - > 00:14:35,200 stuff that we're doing, and we are multi-award winning. 343 00:14:35,279 - > 00:14:38,320 So the you these things show that we do what we say we're 344 00:14:38,320 - > 00:14:41,440 gonna do, and we've got lots of people shouting about you know 345 00:14:41,519 - > 00:14:44,000 the good things that we're doing for us, which is fantastic, 346 00:14:44,080 - > 00:14:44,720 obviously. 347 00:14:45,039 - > 00:14:48,320 And your other question was how do we deal with suppliers? 348 00:14:48,480 - > 00:14:51,600 Yeah, we have built really good relationships with our 349 00:14:51,600 - > 00:14:55,039 suppliers, so we have you know, specific specific people that we 350 00:14:55,039 - > 00:14:55,600 can go to. 351 00:14:55,759 - > 00:14:59,360 So whereas customers will ring in and they'll go through to a 352 00:14:59,360 - > 00:15:02,000 generic, you know, number where they've got to press an option 353 00:15:02,080 - > 00:15:05,759 and they end up stuck in this circle of pressing numbers. 354 00:15:05,919 - > 00:15:07,360 We they don't have to do any of that. 355 00:15:07,440 - > 00:15:09,919 They just pop us an email or give us a call and then we'll 356 00:15:09,919 - > 00:15:10,799 take it off them. 357 00:15:10,960 - > 00:15:14,639 We'll liaise with us contacts at those suppliers and we'll get 358 00:15:14,639 - > 00:15:17,279 them much quicker resolutions than that what they could get if 359 00:15:17,279 - > 00:15:21,360 they were, you know, going into that awful, those systems of 360 00:15:21,360 - > 00:15:21,840 doom. 361 00:15:22,240 - > 00:15:22,480 SPEAKER_01: Sure. 362 00:15:22,639 - > 00:15:26,159 And I can imagine that you know, that human interaction they have 363 00:15:26,159 - > 00:15:29,600 with you and the staff that you've carefully handpicked is 364 00:15:29,600 - > 00:15:32,080 something that is you know, you want to provide, but it's a 365 00:15:32,080 - > 00:15:32,480 premium. 366 00:15:32,639 - > 00:15:35,039 And I understand, you know, some of the services you've 367 00:15:35,039 - > 00:15:37,120 identified, well, maybe they could be served through a 368 00:15:37,120 - > 00:15:37,919 customer portal. 369 00:15:38,080 - > 00:15:39,360 So when did this come about? 370 00:15:39,440 - > 00:15:41,440 When did the customer portal go live? 371 00:15:41,759 - > 00:15:44,960 SPEAKER_00: We just launched our customer portal actually last 372 00:15:44,960 - > 00:15:49,519 week, and we've put a lot of time into making a perfect 373 00:15:49,840 - > 00:15:51,200 because it sounds very basic, doesn't it? 374 00:15:51,360 - > 00:15:53,679 A portal, everybody's got a portal, haven't they, these 375 00:15:53,679 - > 00:15:53,919 days? 376 00:15:54,000 - > 00:15:58,080 You know, most companies have one, but we have spent a lot of 377 00:15:58,080 - > 00:16:02,720 time making sure that it's the creme de la creme of portals 378 00:16:02,960 - > 00:16:06,000 because, like you mentioned, we work with charities, and some of 379 00:16:06,000 - > 00:16:09,279 those are big charities, but lots of them are small charities 380 00:16:09,360 - > 00:16:13,519 and and things like village halls and scout groups and 381 00:16:13,519 - > 00:16:14,399 things like that. 382 00:16:14,720 - > 00:16:17,679 And a lot of the people that work there, they're just you 383 00:16:17,679 - > 00:16:22,879 know retired, you know, people that with no yeah, exactly. 384 00:16:23,919 - > 00:16:28,000 And they don't know how to use computers and do super technical 385 00:16:28,000 - > 00:16:28,240 stuff. 386 00:16:28,320 - > 00:16:31,519 So what I wanted was a portal that anybody could use. 387 00:16:31,679 - > 00:16:35,679 And actually, through when I was testing it, I got my 10-year-old 388 00:16:35,679 - > 00:16:36,879 son to test it for me. 389 00:16:37,039 - > 00:16:38,960 So I said, Oh, where do you think you would click if you 390 00:16:38,960 - > 00:16:39,600 wanted to do this? 391 00:16:39,759 - > 00:16:41,679 Where do you think you would click if you wanted to do that? 392 00:16:41,759 - > 00:16:44,320 And he was able to navigate it as a 10-year-old. 393 00:16:44,399 - > 00:16:47,600 And I thought, if my 10-year-old can navigate, then it's that's 394 00:16:47,600 - > 00:16:49,600 the seal of approval, it's ready. 395 00:16:49,840 - > 00:16:52,480 SPEAKER_01: And what sort of services are you hoping now you 396 00:16:52,480 - > 00:16:56,000 can get customers to look at through the portal? 397 00:16:56,399 - > 00:16:58,799 SPEAKER_00: So at the minute it's very simple things. 398 00:16:58,960 - > 00:17:01,600 We customers can now go on there, they can view their 399 00:17:01,600 - > 00:17:05,839 contracts, they can view their rates, they can make any changes 400 00:17:05,839 - > 00:17:06,880 on their account to us. 401 00:17:06,960 - > 00:17:09,359 So they don't have to ring us up anymore if they need to add 402 00:17:09,359 - > 00:17:12,000 somebody onto the account or if they want to, you know, change 403 00:17:12,000 - > 00:17:13,680 some of their billing preferences, they don't need to 404 00:17:13,680 - > 00:17:16,559 ring us or email us, they can just log on in a couple of 405 00:17:16,559 - > 00:17:19,359 clicks, submit that to us, and it's all taken care of. 406 00:17:19,599 - > 00:17:23,039 They can raise support tickets to us on there, they can 407 00:17:23,039 - > 00:17:26,720 download reports if they want to show in their portfolio. 408 00:17:26,960 - > 00:17:29,440 So very simple stuff at the minute. 409 00:17:29,599 - > 00:17:33,279 And we are let's, you know, let's see how it goes, let's see 410 00:17:33,279 - > 00:17:36,480 what the customers say, and we'll build it out if there's an 411 00:17:36,480 - > 00:17:37,359 appetite for that. 412 00:17:37,599 - > 00:17:40,079 But I think it's really important that we never want 413 00:17:40,079 - > 00:17:43,680 something like a portal to seem like a like a like a blocker to 414 00:17:43,680 - > 00:17:46,720 customer service because ultimately uh human interaction 415 00:17:46,720 - > 00:17:48,960 and people is what we've built our brand around. 416 00:17:49,119 - > 00:17:52,720 So we're very careful when it comes to anything technology 417 00:17:52,799 - > 00:17:55,920 that it's there as it's there as a support if you want it, but 418 00:17:55,920 - > 00:17:57,920 ultimately if you want to speak to us, just give us a call. 419 00:17:58,400 - > 00:18:00,240 SPEAKER_01: Well, I think it's really important, you know, 420 00:18:00,400 - > 00:18:05,119 voices like yours remain loud in organizations because as silly 421 00:18:05,119 - > 00:18:07,759 as it seems, that piece you just mentioned around we built our 422 00:18:07,759 - > 00:18:11,200 brand around the human interaction, it gets lost in the 423 00:18:11,200 - > 00:18:13,759 corridors over time, unless somebody's there kind of 424 00:18:13,759 - > 00:18:14,240 reminding. 425 00:18:14,319 - > 00:18:17,039 I just saw a really interesting case with Southwest Airlines 426 00:18:17,200 - > 00:18:19,920 where a management company have come in and said you've got to 427 00:18:19,920 - > 00:18:22,319 change X, Y, or Z in the way you do things. 428 00:18:22,480 - > 00:18:25,279 And fundamentally, it's destroyed their point of 429 00:18:25,279 - > 00:18:28,960 difference and really put them as no better than anyone else. 430 00:18:29,119 - > 00:18:31,039 And I think that's the things you've got to kind of try and 431 00:18:31,039 - > 00:18:31,839 remember, isn't it? 432 00:18:31,920 - > 00:18:34,720 Now, you mentioned something that's a very simple thing to 433 00:18:34,720 - > 00:18:37,359 say, but I'd imagine it took quite a bit of time to do. 434 00:18:37,440 - > 00:18:39,200 And you said, like in raise tickets. 435 00:18:39,279 - > 00:18:41,839 So we're talking about this portal doesn't exist in 436 00:18:41,839 - > 00:18:45,680 isolation, it is integrated in some form with your other 437 00:18:45,680 - > 00:18:46,000 system. 438 00:18:46,160 - > 00:18:48,480 So, so how much of a challenge was that? 439 00:18:48,720 - > 00:18:52,160 Because you know, bringing two entities together, it can be 440 00:18:52,160 - > 00:18:54,240 quite daunting for organizations. 441 00:18:54,480 - > 00:18:58,079 Did you at any time think we do this this more than we need to 442 00:18:58,079 - > 00:18:58,240 do? 443 00:18:58,480 - > 00:19:01,519 Or did you find that actually it was a much easier process doing 444 00:19:01,519 - > 00:19:03,279 the integration than you thought it would be? 445 00:19:03,599 - > 00:19:07,039 SPEAKER_00: I'll be honest, that's the integration side of 446 00:19:07,039 - > 00:19:08,240 things, that's an IT. 447 00:19:08,799 - > 00:19:09,920 Fair enough, fair enough. 448 00:19:10,720 - > 00:19:15,359 So to me, it was no problem, but I'm sure our uh IT person would 449 00:19:15,359 - > 00:19:16,079 say different. 450 00:19:16,240 - > 00:19:19,279 But ultimately, if it's benefits the customer, then it's worth 451 00:19:19,279 - > 00:19:20,000 doing, isn't it? 452 00:19:20,160 - > 00:19:20,319 Yeah. 453 00:19:20,480 - > 00:19:21,759 SPEAKER_01: And it does work seamlessly. 454 00:19:22,240 - > 00:19:24,960 If I raise a ticket, it goes through to the right place on 455 00:19:24,960 - > 00:19:27,440 the system and therefore it gets picked up as it would have done 456 00:19:27,440 - > 00:19:28,240 if I called up. 457 00:19:28,480 - > 00:19:29,839 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, 100%. 458 00:19:30,160 - > 00:19:32,559 It's super seamless, everything integrates really well. 459 00:19:32,640 - > 00:19:37,759 And I personally have spent hours, maybe even days, testing 460 00:19:37,839 - > 00:19:41,039 it every single workflow and making sure that it's perfect. 461 00:19:41,200 - > 00:19:43,759 And if there was anything that I thought, no, this could be 462 00:19:43,759 - > 00:19:45,680 better, I made sure that it got changed. 463 00:19:45,759 - > 00:19:49,119 So I've personally been involved in every step of making sure 464 00:19:49,119 - > 00:19:50,400 that it's perfect. 465 00:19:50,640 - > 00:19:50,960 SPEAKER_01: Brilliant. 466 00:19:51,359 - > 00:19:53,680 Well, I mean, it's important because obviously I guess the 467 00:19:53,680 - > 00:19:57,279 challenge is that if it goes wrong, customers reject it, and 468 00:19:57,279 - > 00:19:59,519 then you've got twice as many calls coming in, haven't you? 469 00:19:59,599 - > 00:20:02,799 And you know, and if you've got this kind of badge of honor, 470 00:20:02,880 - > 00:20:06,240 which is you're trusted, then actually, regardless of whether 471 00:20:06,240 - > 00:20:10,240 it's a phone call or an app or any other digital interface that 472 00:20:10,240 - > 00:20:13,920 you introduce, the assumption is I can trust this, and that's why 473 00:20:13,920 - > 00:20:16,400 you need to do the hard work before it actually goes live, 474 00:20:16,559 - > 00:20:16,960 isn't it? 475 00:20:17,039 - > 00:20:17,119 Really? 476 00:20:17,359 - > 00:20:19,119 So yeah, let's come on to that trust then. 477 00:20:19,200 - > 00:20:20,240 So so talk me through that. 478 00:20:20,400 - > 00:20:22,079 This happened towards the end of last year. 479 00:20:22,160 - > 00:20:24,720 What particular awards were this you were nominated for? 480 00:20:25,279 - > 00:20:28,240 SPEAKER_00: So we were shortlisted for a number of 481 00:20:28,240 - > 00:20:28,640 awards. 482 00:20:28,720 - > 00:20:31,599 Forgive me, I can't remember off the top of my head all of them, 483 00:20:31,759 - > 00:20:33,599 but we won Most Trusted. 484 00:20:33,680 - > 00:20:36,720 And the year before that, we won Best Customer Service Me. 485 00:20:37,039 - > 00:20:41,519 Uh, we also at the Energy Awards last year won TPI, like third 486 00:20:41,599 - > 00:20:43,680 party intermediate of the year, yeah. 487 00:20:44,160 - > 00:20:45,119 SPEAKER_01: The one I saw, yeah, exactly. 488 00:20:45,279 - > 00:20:45,440 Yeah. 489 00:20:45,759 - > 00:20:49,519 And you know, I mean, this is in utility brokerage, it's a 490 00:20:49,519 - > 00:20:50,240 competitive market. 491 00:20:50,640 - > 00:20:53,359 I mean, not everyone is doing the sector you're doing, but I 492 00:20:53,359 - > 00:20:55,519 guess you were up with others who are doing different sectors, 493 00:20:55,680 - > 00:20:56,480 would that be right? 494 00:20:56,720 - > 00:20:57,359 SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes. 495 00:20:57,440 - > 00:20:59,119 There's lots of there's lots of brokers. 496 00:20:59,200 - > 00:21:02,799 It's a very, it's a very saturated, you know, it's a very 497 00:21:02,799 - > 00:21:06,160 saturated business type, and there's lots of brokers out 498 00:21:06,160 - > 00:21:06,319 there. 499 00:21:06,480 - > 00:21:10,160 So to win is no small fee, and we're super proud. 500 00:21:10,400 - > 00:21:13,599 And I think brokers get a bad name as well, especially in the 501 00:21:13,599 - > 00:21:16,559 energy industry, because there's a lot of naughty ones out there. 502 00:21:16,880 - > 00:21:20,000 And people, you can get tired with the same brush. 503 00:21:20,079 - > 00:21:24,240 So, yeah, for us to win awards like this that make us stand out 504 00:21:24,240 - > 00:21:27,519 and show that we are one of the good ones, it is great. 505 00:21:27,599 - > 00:21:28,480 It is really great. 506 00:21:28,720 - > 00:21:30,720 SPEAKER_01: And you mentioned earlier when we first spoke 507 00:21:30,720 - > 00:21:33,119 about it that it was good for those in the business. 508 00:21:33,279 - > 00:21:35,200 Just talk me through that because one of the things that 509 00:21:35,200 - > 00:21:38,160 we recognize is that when we achieve something, we should 510 00:21:38,160 - > 00:21:41,279 celebrate it, whether it's a small game for our customers or 511 00:21:41,279 - > 00:21:44,400 something that our colleagues have recommended and it resulted 512 00:21:44,400 - > 00:21:45,599 in a better outcome. 513 00:21:45,759 - > 00:21:48,480 So, how important has this been to recognize? 514 00:21:48,559 - > 00:21:51,599 Because within your team, you probably feel like you're doing 515 00:21:51,599 - > 00:21:52,079 a good job. 516 00:21:52,160 - > 00:21:55,440 And you just say we trust pilot scores coming back, you've got a 517 00:21:55,440 - > 00:21:58,160 healthy response from customers to say we value what you do. 518 00:21:58,319 - > 00:21:59,759 But sometimes it's when you step outside. 519 00:22:00,160 - > 00:22:04,240 side of your world into the bigger, you know, badder world 520 00:22:04,240 - > 00:22:08,240 of you know the sector, such as utility brokerage, then you kind 521 00:22:08,240 - > 00:22:11,119 of find out, are we a small play, you know, are we kind of 522 00:22:11,200 - > 00:22:13,680 you know overthinking how good we are here? 523 00:22:13,920 - > 00:22:16,960 So how did it feel to be there against, you know, the best of 524 00:22:16,960 - > 00:22:18,720 the best and still come out on top? 525 00:22:18,799 - > 00:22:20,480 What did that mean to the staff? 526 00:22:20,799 - > 00:22:23,599 SPEAKER_00: I can't describe how happy it makes them. 527 00:22:23,839 - > 00:22:27,119 We are, we have like a group chat, like a company chat, and 528 00:22:27,119 - > 00:22:30,640 everyone sat there waiting for to find out whether we won or 529 00:22:30,640 - > 00:22:30,799 not. 530 00:22:30,880 - > 00:22:33,759 And it's just such a good energy in the office the next day. 531 00:22:33,839 - > 00:22:38,880 Everyone's so proud and there's just this, you know, this buzz 532 00:22:38,960 - > 00:22:41,839 in the office when we win these things because the pe they 533 00:22:41,839 - > 00:22:44,160 really do care, employees really do care. 534 00:22:44,319 - > 00:22:46,960 You know, little things like when we get a trust like a five 535 00:22:47,039 - > 00:22:49,359 star trust pilot review, everyone in the office is like 536 00:22:49,519 - > 00:22:52,480 we've got another one because we genuinely care. 537 00:22:52,559 - > 00:22:54,880 And I love that about utility aid and that's something that 538 00:22:54,880 - > 00:22:59,039 I've as long as I'm here I really want to protect that that 539 00:22:59,039 - > 00:23:02,160 energy and that passion because it's it makes us so different. 540 00:23:02,319 - > 00:23:03,279 It really does. 541 00:23:03,599 - > 00:23:04,799 SPEAKER_01: Well it can get forgotten. 542 00:23:04,880 - > 00:23:08,000 I mean you can forget to kind of on on that loop the assumption 543 00:23:08,000 - > 00:23:10,079 is if something's gone wrong we've got to close it and go 544 00:23:10,079 - > 00:23:11,839 back to the customer and say we fixed it. 545 00:23:11,920 - > 00:23:14,079 But actually if something's gone well we've got to go back to 546 00:23:14,079 - > 00:23:17,519 those who created it and remind them that you did a good job and 547 00:23:17,519 - > 00:23:18,720 do more of the same please. 548 00:23:18,880 - > 00:23:21,599 So it's it's really important that you keep that spirit going. 549 00:23:21,759 - > 00:23:24,160 I also love what you say as well because you're in the business 550 00:23:24,160 - > 00:23:28,559 of helping charities the fact that you allow staff to take 551 00:23:28,559 - > 00:23:31,519 days off to do extra volunteering the fact that kind 552 00:23:31,519 - > 00:23:33,759 of you anticipate they're going to be doing things in the 553 00:23:33,759 - > 00:23:38,160 community are there other ways in which utility aid support the 554 00:23:38,160 - > 00:23:39,920 sector you're in further as well? 555 00:23:40,240 - > 00:23:42,640 SPEAKER_00: Yeah so we've actually just launched our 556 00:23:42,640 - > 00:23:47,039 utility aid foundation which is essentially some from every 557 00:23:47,039 - > 00:23:50,400 contract that is signed through our national charity tender we 558 00:23:50,400 - > 00:23:52,720 put some money into a pot and the supplier puts some money 559 00:23:52,720 - > 00:23:56,160 into a pot and then we have a committee who meet and we 560 00:23:56,160 - > 00:23:58,880 distribute those funds to help the customers that we work with 561 00:23:59,039 - > 00:24:00,079 which is just amazing. 562 00:24:00,240 - > 00:24:04,160 And again all of our staff absolutely love it because we 563 00:24:04,160 - > 00:24:07,680 just love doing good things because I think you know we are 564 00:24:07,680 - > 00:24:10,960 a business we do we do exist to make money but it's so much more 565 00:24:10,960 - > 00:24:11,599 than that for us. 566 00:24:11,680 - > 00:24:14,799 We all have a purpose and we all want to do as much good in the 567 00:24:14,799 - > 00:24:15,599 world as possible. 568 00:24:15,759 - > 00:24:17,680 So so yeah we're really proud of that. 569 00:24:18,000 - > 00:24:18,960 SPEAKER_01: And that's a fabulous thing. 570 00:24:19,119 - > 00:24:21,680 So those utility companies probably wouldn't have thought 571 00:24:21,839 - > 00:24:25,519 they wouldn't have had a vehicle to support the charity unless 572 00:24:25,519 - > 00:24:28,240 you came together as a foundation and said we put in, 573 00:24:28,319 - > 00:24:31,599 you put in and then the charity gain again beyond what they 574 00:24:31,599 - > 00:24:32,559 thought they were going to get. 575 00:24:32,640 - > 00:24:35,599 So it's sort of you know coming to you not only gets an 576 00:24:35,599 - > 00:24:39,359 efficiency in terms of time management and savings but 577 00:24:39,359 - > 00:24:42,000 actually now they're getting something that you ask any 578 00:24:42,000 - > 00:24:44,240 charity they would say the first thing they want is some more 579 00:24:44,240 - > 00:24:47,200 funds please you're actually able to raise them some small 580 00:24:47,200 - > 00:24:49,039 funds and make a real difference to their wealth. 581 00:24:49,119 - > 00:24:49,680 That's amazing. 582 00:24:49,759 - > 00:24:53,279 SPEAKER_00: It's really cool yeah it is and it's and it makes 583 00:24:53,279 - > 00:24:56,400 us really it makes me really proud to to be a representative 584 00:24:56,400 - > 00:24:59,359 of utility aid and it's even little things like when I joined 585 00:24:59,359 - > 00:25:03,599 utility aid in in covid it was a really difficult time for 586 00:25:03,599 - > 00:25:04,079 everybody. 587 00:25:04,319 - > 00:25:09,119 Utility aid were sending masks you know PPE to organizations 588 00:25:09,119 - > 00:25:09,759 who needed it. 589 00:25:09,839 - > 00:25:13,519 So it's little things like that just are so normal for us that 590 00:25:13,599 - > 00:25:16,319 you know when people say to me what is it you guys do that 591 00:25:16,319 - > 00:25:20,720 makes you different because it's so normal to us I'm like oh what 592 00:25:20,720 - > 00:25:21,279 do we do? 593 00:25:21,440 - > 00:25:22,799 But it's little things like that. 594 00:25:22,960 - > 00:25:25,920 You know we send if we've customers tell us that they're 595 00:25:25,920 - > 00:25:28,240 having operations and things we'll pop them cards and things 596 00:25:28,240 - > 00:25:31,920 like that handwritten cards and it's just ever it's so deeply 597 00:25:31,920 - > 00:25:34,720 embedded within our culture that it's just so normal to us. 598 00:25:34,960 - > 00:25:36,880 SPEAKER_01: Well that comes from that very first decision you 599 00:25:36,880 - > 00:25:39,920 made which is to bring the real the right sort of people in yeah 600 00:25:40,079 - > 00:25:42,480 because you have to have it running through your bones to 601 00:25:42,480 - > 00:25:46,160 kind of be in service of others and to be in a not just you know 602 00:25:46,400 - > 00:25:49,279 empathetic in as much as I know what you're going through but to 603 00:25:49,279 - > 00:25:52,319 actually care enough to think empathy only works if you act 604 00:25:52,319 - > 00:25:52,799 upon it. 605 00:25:52,960 - > 00:25:55,920 And as you say there to actually just recognize getting a card 606 00:25:55,920 - > 00:26:00,000 through the door from you utility aid you know it means we 607 00:26:00,000 - > 00:26:02,960 listen to the conversation that we had with you on the phone you 608 00:26:02,960 - > 00:26:04,880 know we we took action on the back of it. 609 00:26:04,960 - > 00:26:06,960 It's not always about just taking action about the 610 00:26:06,960 - > 00:26:10,240 transactions it's about recognizing the person beyond 611 00:26:10,240 - > 00:26:12,160 the contract that you have which is really important. 612 00:26:12,319 - > 00:26:14,720 Well I'm really interested to know maybe you can reveal or 613 00:26:14,720 - > 00:26:17,759 maybe you can't what's going to happen next what are the things 614 00:26:17,759 - > 00:26:20,880 that you're thinking about you know in terms of where you can 615 00:26:20,880 - > 00:26:24,079 go next because it feels like as you rightly say all of these are 616 00:26:24,079 - > 00:26:27,279 just small pieces that when you bring it together it's a 617 00:26:27,279 - > 00:26:28,400 significant impact. 618 00:26:28,559 - > 00:26:31,200 SPEAKER_00: So what's bubbling away behind the scenes that you 619 00:26:31,200 - > 00:26:34,319 can share with us that you're thinking about doing next we're 620 00:26:34,319 - > 00:26:38,079 obviously we help a lot of we help 4,500 not for profit 621 00:26:38,240 - > 00:26:41,200 organizations, but we that's just the tip of the iceberg we 622 00:26:41,200 - > 00:26:44,160 want to help as many as we can one of the things that we're 623 00:26:44,160 - > 00:26:47,279 looking at as a business is right how can technology help us 624 00:26:47,359 - > 00:26:50,400 how can AI help us can it help us or is it the right decision? 625 00:26:50,480 - > 00:26:51,279 Is it not the right decision? 626 00:26:51,359 - > 00:26:55,359 Because what we're always looking to do is make sure that 627 00:26:55,359 - > 00:26:57,759 we keep the cost to serve as low as possible. 628 00:26:57,839 - > 00:27:00,319 So if technology is the right way to do that then that's 629 00:27:00,319 - > 00:27:01,680 absolutely something we're going to explore. 630 00:27:01,759 - > 00:27:04,880 So that's something we're really interested in but I'm excited 631 00:27:04,960 - > 00:27:08,559 but hesitant with things like that because I never want like I 632 00:27:08,559 - > 00:27:11,759 said with the big portal I never want anything to be a blocker to 633 00:27:11,759 - > 00:27:12,480 customer service. 634 00:27:12,559 - > 00:27:15,440 So I I'm we're it's not something we've rushed because 635 00:27:15,440 - > 00:27:19,759 I've seen a lot of organizations rush into implementing AI and 636 00:27:19,759 - > 00:27:21,519 things like chatbots and things like that. 637 00:27:21,680 - > 00:27:25,200 And actually it's just so frustrating as a consumer to 638 00:27:25,279 - > 00:27:27,440 like I just want to speak to a person. 639 00:27:27,599 - > 00:27:32,960 So I've been very measured and very I've not rushed into to 640 00:27:32,960 - > 00:27:35,279 anything like that, but it's something that I'm exploring 641 00:27:35,519 - > 00:27:40,400 because any extra channels to support I want to explore 642 00:27:40,480 - > 00:27:42,480 whether that's something that our customers are interested in. 643 00:27:42,559 - > 00:27:44,079 So that's something that we're looking at. 644 00:27:44,400 - > 00:27:46,079 SPEAKER_01: Excellent well I think you know as you put it 645 00:27:46,079 - > 00:27:48,319 there you're what you're interested in is something that 646 00:27:48,319 - > 00:27:51,440 helps the customers this may or may not be the right thing and 647 00:27:51,440 - > 00:27:55,599 therefore having a healthy cautious approach feels like 648 00:27:55,599 - > 00:27:58,160 you've got a good leadership in place as well rather than 649 00:27:58,160 - > 00:28:01,200 rushing you as some organizations we interact with 650 00:28:01,359 - > 00:28:05,039 are forcing AI through because it's there and then stopping to 651 00:28:05,039 - > 00:28:06,960 reflect afterwards do we need it? 652 00:28:07,119 - > 00:28:08,240 Should we be using it? 653 00:28:08,400 - > 00:28:11,359 Is this the right solution for the problem we're trying to 654 00:28:11,359 - > 00:28:15,119 solve but it sounds as if the way you guys go is much more 655 00:28:15,119 - > 00:28:19,039 about understanding how can we make the best of this and then 656 00:28:19,039 - > 00:28:24,240 deciding to do it in a diligent and detailed way so that you 657 00:28:24,240 - > 00:28:28,240 don't have a single customer say what's going on here's like a 658 00:28:28,319 - > 00:28:31,680 you know and that that must be you know that you've worked in 659 00:28:31,680 - > 00:28:35,599 telecoms before it's different isn't it I mean it's not this 660 00:28:35,680 - > 00:28:37,839 it's not that same sort of environment this is a very 661 00:28:37,839 - > 00:28:40,559 special environment where you get the permission to to move 662 00:28:40,559 - > 00:28:40,880 like that. 663 00:28:41,039 - > 00:28:45,039 SPEAKER_00: Do you feel that yeah I think with utility aid 664 00:28:45,279 - > 00:28:49,680 I'm very fortunate that we have a great leadership team and we 665 00:28:49,839 - > 00:28:52,880 all work really well together to make sure that everything we do 666 00:28:52,880 - > 00:28:54,240 is the right thing for the customer. 667 00:28:54,319 - > 00:28:58,319 So there's never any pressure to do something just purely to 668 00:28:58,319 - > 00:29:02,480 improve numbers on a sheet we we never want to make assumptions 669 00:29:02,480 - > 00:29:05,200 about what customers want and we never want to do something just 670 00:29:05,200 - > 00:29:09,119 to tick a box or to to get a little bit more money. 671 00:29:09,279 - > 00:29:12,319 Things like that just are not how we operate. 672 00:29:12,480 - > 00:29:15,599 So everything we do is making sure that is this what customers 673 00:29:15,599 - > 00:29:19,519 actually want is it going to help the overall service is it 674 00:29:19,519 - > 00:29:22,400 in line with our brand so there's yeah absolutely there's 675 00:29:22,400 - > 00:29:26,480 never any rush but I I can't speak it might not be the same 676 00:29:26,480 - > 00:29:29,759 in other energy brokers I don't know utility aid really is quite 677 00:29:29,759 - > 00:29:30,160 special. 678 00:29:30,319 - > 00:29:34,160 SPEAKER_01: So so I don't know industry wide whether they're as 679 00:29:34,160 - > 00:29:37,039 fortunate as I am but I think you have an ethos you have a 680 00:29:37,039 - > 00:29:40,559 culture which allows you to be like that you know the curiosity 681 00:29:40,720 - > 00:29:43,680 the celebration you know that the two things you want to make 682 00:29:43,680 - > 00:29:46,640 sure is this right you know you give them the permission to ask 683 00:29:46,720 - > 00:29:48,319 and to go and find the answers to that. 684 00:29:48,480 - > 00:29:50,880 And secondly you want to be proud of everything you do. 685 00:29:50,960 - > 00:29:53,599 So it's not just a case of good enough will do. 686 00:29:53,680 - > 00:29:55,359 And I think you know that does set you apart. 687 00:29:55,839 - > 00:29:56,559 That's amazing. 688 00:29:56,720 - > 00:30:00,559 Well I mean listening to this podcast there will be other CX 689 00:30:00,720 - > 00:30:03,920 practitioners there will be clients in organizations like 690 00:30:03,920 - > 00:30:06,559 manufacturing telecoms but also because of the customer 691 00:30:06,559 - > 00:30:09,119 experience World Games we support over 30 charities in 692 00:30:09,119 - > 00:30:11,519 that there will be individuals out there who work for not for 693 00:30:11,599 - > 00:30:13,119 profits and NGOs. 694 00:30:13,279 - > 00:30:16,319 So if any of those have listened to this and thought this is I've 695 00:30:16,400 - > 00:30:19,519 you know I've not come across this type of service before can 696 00:30:19,519 - > 00:30:21,200 they reach out to you Kaylee? 697 00:30:21,279 - > 00:30:21,759 Is that okay? 698 00:30:21,920 - > 00:30:24,000 SPEAKER_00: Yeah yeah so they could if they go onto our 699 00:30:24,000 - > 00:30:28,559 website utility-aid.co.uk our numbers there in big blue 700 00:30:28,559 - > 00:30:31,440 letters and you can give us a call and you'll speak to a human 701 00:30:31,519 - > 00:30:32,799 and yeah we'll look after you. 702 00:30:33,039 - > 00:30:35,039 SPEAKER_01: But they'll take you through what this what the 703 00:30:35,039 - > 00:30:37,359 offering is and how it can work for you sort of thing. 704 00:30:37,519 - > 00:30:40,079 SPEAKER_00: Yeah yeah there's no pressure there's no pressure 705 00:30:40,079 - > 00:30:41,759 selling there's no nothing like that. 706 00:30:41,839 - > 00:30:45,200 You can have a a a genuine conversation tell us what you're 707 00:30:45,200 - > 00:30:45,759 struggling with. 708 00:30:45,839 - > 00:30:48,480 If you're not feeling loved by your current energy broker tell 709 00:30:48,480 - > 00:30:50,960 us what your pain points are and we'll let you know what we can 710 00:30:50,960 - > 00:30:53,359 do and you can then make a decision are we a good fit for 711 00:30:53,359 - > 00:30:53,599 you? 712 00:30:53,839 - > 00:30:55,759 SPEAKER_01: Brilliant and others may have listened to this and 713 00:30:55,759 - > 00:30:56,640 been really inspired. 714 00:30:56,720 - > 00:31:00,000 You know you clearly are someone who sees the value in 715 00:31:00,000 - > 00:31:02,640 celebrating and being progressive rather than you know 716 00:31:02,720 - > 00:31:04,720 when you were even talking at the beginning it's about finding 717 00:31:04,720 - > 00:31:06,799 pain points to make them better not kind of you know 718 00:31:06,960 - > 00:31:10,319 everything's doom and gloom and that's reflected in kind of your 719 00:31:10,319 - > 00:31:12,880 tone and your posts on LinkedIn and other channels. 720 00:31:13,039 - > 00:31:16,559 So if individuals want to follow you or just connect with you 721 00:31:16,640 - > 00:31:19,200 just to kind of recognize what you're doing is LinkedIn the 722 00:31:19,200 - > 00:31:20,000 best way to do it? 723 00:31:20,240 - > 00:31:22,480 SPEAKER_00: Yeah they can connect with us on LinkedIn they 724 00:31:22,559 - > 00:31:25,759 can connect with me personally on LinkedIn and as well all of 725 00:31:25,759 - > 00:31:29,440 the leadership teams are very visible in social media and all 726 00:31:29,440 - > 00:31:32,400 of our personal names and job titles are all over our website 727 00:31:32,480 - > 00:31:35,680 so we're very visible and easy to if people want to connect 728 00:31:35,680 - > 00:31:39,039 with us we're very we don't hide we're you can see who we are. 729 00:31:39,279 - > 00:31:40,960 SPEAKER_01: Well brilliant I mean we're talking about 730 00:31:40,960 - > 00:31:44,079 charities which is kind of you know they're there to help make 731 00:31:44,079 - > 00:31:46,720 the pieces of society which aren't working better. 732 00:31:46,960 - > 00:31:49,519 We're talking about utility which can be a very dry topic 733 00:31:49,599 - > 00:31:52,799 but it felt anything like that in this conversation because of 734 00:31:52,799 - > 00:31:53,839 your upbeat approach. 735 00:31:54,000 - > 00:31:57,279 So thank you Kelly for your time thank you for the work you're 736 00:31:57,279 - > 00:32:00,319 doing and the way that you're kind of inspiring the others and 737 00:32:00,319 - > 00:32:02,880 making a significant difference and continue to do that with 738 00:32:02,880 - > 00:32:06,480 utility aid and you know it feels like this is probably just 739 00:32:06,480 - > 00:32:09,119 a dress rehearsal for something very big you're going to do in 740 00:32:09,119 - > 00:32:09,599 the future. 741 00:32:09,680 - > 00:32:12,319 So I do wish you all the best with that and if anyone wants to 742 00:32:12,319 - > 00:32:15,599 connect you heard if you're a charity or an NGO go to the 743 00:32:15,599 - > 00:32:18,559 website if you'd like to follow Kaylee just to kind of hear her 744 00:32:18,559 - > 00:32:22,079 inspirational posts then do so as well but for now I'll thank 745 00:32:22,079 - > 00:32:24,160 you and wish you all the best for the future. 746 00:32:24,480 - > 00:32:26,480 SPEAKER_00: Thank you Christopher thank you for having 747 00:32:26,480 - > 00:32:26,799 me