THE South Africa Customer Service Excellence Awards – a brainchild of the Chartered Institute of Customer Management (CICM) – will this year scan the South African market to single out leading firms and professionals in the very critical customer service industry.
The broader Customer Service Excellence Awards are hosted annually by CICM in countries namely Zimbabwe, Namibia, Malawi, Zambia and Swaziland among others. And they have become a key catalyst in improving the competitiveness in customer service.
2022 marks the first year that the Awards have been extended to the South African market.
This year’s awards seek to recognise companies that have risen above the dragged out Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain issues, and numerous other challenges over the course of 2021, to advance the field of customer service excellence (CX) in important and extraordinary ways.
CICM chief executive, Ricky Harris – who is based in South Africa – said the South African market’s economic prowess in the region should also translate to thought leadership on issues of good customer service.
“It is also important for us as thought leaders in South Africa. to ensure that we lead by example and address whatever discrepancies we experience within the service delivery industry. We, as South African companies, should be ambassadors for the rest of the African countries.
“We have a young, energetic population and there are so many job opportunities available, with customer centricity being the blue print for companies to focus on visualising their journeys,” she said.
“Customers have much higher expectations, such as proactive services, personalized interaction and connected experiences across digital channels.
“Customers want their personalized needs met and not treated like a number.”
The expansion into the South African market highlights the continued growth of the awards, which started in Zimbabwe in 2012.
In 2014, the Customer Service Excellence Awards were introduced in Zambia, and the following year they were rolled out in Rwanda, Tanzania, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia and Uganda through CICM’s various country partners.
And in 2016, the Service Excellence Awards were launched in Swaziland.
The South Africa Customer Service Excellence Awards are aimed at recognizing and promoting excellence, professionalism and outstanding achievements in customer service/customer experience across various industry sectors.
To the extent that the Awards have different national events, each country has its own theme.
“The theme for the South Africa Customer Excellence Award is ‘Creating an Authentic Experience’. Organisations must take responsibility for the way they are conducting business. Customers demand organisations to be socially involved, authentic in their business practices and by delivering on their promises,” said the CEO.
“The Awards aid as a catalyst to promote a culture of service excellence across the country. And it is also important to showcase the strength and growth of organisations when dealing with Customers/Consumers on a daily basis.
“We welcome our sponsors to take part in this event and be acknowledged for their efforts and providing the public with the evidence of your successes as a participant and team player in the CX Industry.”
According to CICM, there are numerous benefits that will accrue to firms that participate in the South Africa Customer Service Excellence Awards, namely: recognition of the organisation’s achievements in customer service, enhancing both its credibility in the market place and the customer’s confidence in dealing with the organisation; and continuous improvement and benchmarking of the organisation’s customer service efforts through the annual customer service assessments to the International Customer Service Standard.
There is also greater focus on customer service throughout the entire organisation, brought about as a result of both the Awards and the assessment process.
And there is enhanced morale at all levels of the organisation, brought about by greater autonomy to deal with customer complaints and an overall reduced level of complaints.