Spark Energy Case Study – Training an established energy supplier
‘Our ‘Right First Time’ percentage has gone up since the training we received, which has been fundamental in giving us the ability to handle calls appropriately.’
– Spark Energy account manager
Overview
In November 2018, Spark Energy – including its 290,000 customers, offices, systems and people – was acquired by OVO Energy through a SoLR (Supplier of Last Resort) process.
Spark Energy continued to be run as a separate brand, with OVO Energy involved in day-to-day management, strategy and direction.
Challenge
Having started measuring its Net Promoter Score (NPS) early in 2019, Spark Energy was disappointed with its initial score of -17.
A number of key issues were identified:
- Account Managers had received just two weeks induction training
- Soft skills and accountability were lacking
- Customers were typically calling in multiple times to resolve the same issue
Eager to reduce the high level of complaints, Spark Energy set an objective to deliver +20 NPS.
Solution
A Sigma Connected team spent three days onsite with Spark Energy account managers, managers and support functions to identify gaps and opportunities.
Our team found that account managers lacked empathy, failed to apologise when appropriate, and often reverted to technical and policy talk.
We spent two weeks developing a bespoke training programme designed to boost NPS, with our experienced energy trainer delivering a training workshop to 150 customer service account managers at Spark Energy’s offices over a five-week period.
Our coaches supported Spark Energy’s people for an initial two-week period, before transferring their skills to in-house coaches, with staff trained to improve soft skills, call control and customer service, among other areas
Result
Spark Energy now has a positive NPS and is on a path towards reaching its +20 target.
Within 60 days post-training, there was an 18% increase in ‘Right First Time’ results.
In-house coaches are now utilising new skills taught by Sigma to continually improve Spark Energy’s NPS.
A more positive atmosphere has been established within Spark Energy’s teams, and training material developed by our team is now utilised within all their inductions.
