Buma/Stemra is the first to comply with the European quality standard ECCS
Buma/Stemra is the first copyright organisation to meet the requirements of the European Contact Centre Standard (ECCS). This is the result of a recent audit conducted by the independent inspection body KIWA. The final result of the conducted audit of the Member Service Department of Buma/Stemra was set on 9,8.
Nico van der Hout, ECCS-auditor: “Implementing ECCS is much like composing a piece of music, painful and with effort at first but ending with a harmonious final chord. The level of performance and the way the Member Service Department at Buma/Stemra is organized, can be described as a showcase for contact centres and customer services.”
According to Wim van Limpt, who is responsible for the Buma/Stemra Member Service Department, the acquirement of ECCS underlines the decision of choosing the previously implemented work process. “The Member Service Department at Buma/Stemra wanted to distinguish itself by offering qualitative and transparent services to both members and affiliates. For this, ECCS is an objective quality standard with specific guidelines which focusses on the efficiency and quality of the services provided.”
Case ownership
Before Buma/Stemra reverted to applying ECCS, a new work process was developed and implemented. By what is described as ‘case ownership’, the team of the Member Service Department evolved from being reactive to being proactive with the client placed at the centre of the entire chain in which all employees take their appointed responsibilities. Van Limpt: “After implementing this new work process, the European standard was chosen to provide better insights and make all activities controllable and measurable. The ECCS quality label is a logical continuation of our self-developed ‘case ownership’-methodology.”
Van Limpt regarding the reach of this milestone: “This is definitely a team effort. It will help us to push forward when it comes to our ambition to continually improve our services over the coming years.”
External advisor Paul van Geldorp of Sayblue adds: “The road to certification has been intense but certainly rewarding. Especially when you keep in mind a true change of culture has taken place within this department. The client is increasingly placed in a more central position by all employees.”
About ECCS
The European Contact Centre Standard is a quality standard for contact centres. European customer dissatisfaction concerning the services of companies and institutions was the reason to draw up this norm. The European Contact Centre Standard (ECCS) is an official European Standard (EN 15838) and sets requirements for work processes, employees, techniques, structures and the control of contact centres. Implementing this quality standard leads to improved client satisfaction, less costs and a higher quality.