Company Access Using Web & Mobile Self-Service
Creating value within the company using e-Citiz
Self-Service
In the world of goods, the advantages of "self- service" have been demonstrated many times over. Very few people in our society do not regularly use a shopping cart or a cafeteria tray. Self-Service allows greater numbers of customers to be managed more rapidly, using fewer qualified staff, thus reducing operating costs. Customers also benefit from this system: they have access to a broader choice of products, lower prices and faster transactions.
Currently, this phenomenon initially limited to shopping mall car parks, is now expanding to the Web. The Gartner Group defines "Web Self-Service" as a system enabling customers or users to perform transactions or obtain information without human intervention. A large number of solutions have already been rolled out for information access services. These are knowledge management based solutions deployed on the web.
e-Citiz provides the necessary complement by covering the transactional aspect, thus allowing the deployment of fully functional Web & Mobile Self-Service (WSS).
Interacting with clients
To date, this type of relation was provided either by a physical counter, or by phone, requiring direct confrontation.
One can but note that it is impossible to extend opening hours infinitely, to constantly have enough representatives to welcome clients and users without a wait, or to provide access to offices that meet these requirements, close to where the citizens live.
For a director or representative, as well as for a client or user, delivery of the service generates tension. The ability to guarantee quality of service while conforming to management constraints is like trying to square a circle for the director. The staff responsible for interaction with clients is faced with the stress inherent in any situation that involves another person who is demanding, in a hurry and often required to accomplish a specific task. Finally, the client or user must take steps to ensure their availability during opening hours, go to the required location and wait in the queue, only to realize that they are missing some supporting document or that they must return anyway because the procedure involves several steps.
In this context, user expectations are: availability, simplicity, speed, competence, respect - friendliness, consistency, transparency.
On the other side of the counter, the demands on customer relations managers are: to hide the complexity, manage all processes, demonstrate relational skills, possess a large workforce and to be able to rapidly grasp the customer's context.
Web & Mobile Self-Service
For both companies and clients, the aim is to perform as many transactions in as little time as possible. While providing a measure of relief to the company, Web & Mobile Self-Service systems involve users in completing their procedures. In practice, examples of this for customers could include the ability to manage their client account over the Web and :
- modify contract and its options
- place orders
- track orders
- track and pay invoices, etc.
Thus, they can perform the most common tasks at any time, without the need to wait for their turn or to provide lengthy explanations of their context to a representative. A user may initiate a procedure, but also monitor its status and validate each of its component steps.
Ultimately, customer management costs are reduced, revenue increases naturally, the client is more satisfied and, having become involved in the relationship, is more loyal as well.
Single Window
Ultimately, customer management costs are reduced, revenue increases naturally, the client is more satisfied and, having become involved in the relationship, is more loyal as well.
To be efficient, the Self-Service function is based on the notion of Single Window, which encompasses all of the business functions required to conduct the various transactions at a single access point.
In a multi-actors context, this is also the collaborative tool required for perfect service synchronization. Web & Mobile Self-Services can thus be implemented at all levels of services underlying client procedures.