What do elephants and successful contact centre managers have in common? The African and the Asian elephant are the only two surviving species of what was in prehistoric times a diverse and populous group of large mammals. Their survival todate in spite of many hardships is testament to their adaptability and resilience to changing conditions. The elephant is distinguished by its high level of intelligence, interesting behaviour, methods of communication and complex social structure. There are many parallels with this majestic beast and a successful contact centre. Here are 5 of them…

1. Customer Services Audit has worked with over 1,700
customer contact centres around the world. During our
seven years we have noticed a number of remarkable, shared
qualities in the leaders.
While recently in Africa, I took some time off to visit a local
game reserve. There I became fascinated with a herd of
elephants and watching them gave me an idea!
This presentation is a light-hearted look at just five of the
powerful qualities the most successful contact centre leaders
share with these amazing animals.
Let me know what you think. Please enjoy!

2. l Email: info@customerservicesaudit.com l WWW.CustomerServicesAudit.com l
Elephants Teach Leadership Lessons
for the Head of Customer
Service… The Leader of a herd has the
Vision. Yet they do not drive the
others - they lead by example.
They protect and nurture the
young and old; engaging and
communicating with each
individual within their community.
This ensures everyone
understands what is happening
before and during activities with
a minimum of surprises.
Snapshot Stat: Only 1 in 10 supervisor or team leader can verbalise key
organisational goals. This causes disconnect and poor alignment between
the operational centre and organisation.

3. l Email: info@customerservicesaudit.com l WWW.CustomerServicesAudit.com l
Elephants, like humans, can’t
always choose who they work
with, but they can build relations
with those in their herd. They can
make sound choices about who
they bring into the herd in the
future and they can choose the
best ways to manage “rogues”.
Elephants develop and thrive on
community with every one
chipping in to support each other.
Elephants Teach Leadership Lessons
for the Head of Customer
Service…
Snapshot Stat: 3 out of 5 of your best agents leave because of flawed
hiring, inadequate induction, overworked or inadequate supervision.

4. l Email: info@customerservicesaudit.com l WWW.CustomerServicesAudit.com l
Elephants Teach Leadership Lessons
for the Head of Customer
Service… In every elephant herd,
communication is key. Not
something talked about - it is the
way decisions are made and
actions taken. Also, it is not about
the leader telling everyone what
they should do. The leader makes
time to listen to the members of
their herd and consider their
perspective before changes are
made that affect the entire herd.
Snapshot Stat: Distrust of the leader of the centre is the leading cause
of poor engagement amongst customer service staff.

5. l Email: info@customerservicesaudit.com l WWW.CustomerServicesAudit.com l
Elephants Teach Leadership Lessons
for the Head of Customer
Service…
Snapshot Stat: Centres with formal continuous improvement programmes
records 30% more engagement from staff, higher productivity and significantly
higher customer satisfaction than those without a programme in place.
The leader of every elephant herd is
constantly and unrelentingly focused on
observing and making little
improvements. They sense that every
little improvement adds up to a stronger
and sustainable herd. Elephant leaders
encourage their group to make the
effort to see new ways to weather hard
times and seek out new food sources or
ways to reach the food.

6. l Email: info@customerservicesaudit.com l WWW.CustomerServicesAudit.com l
Elephants Teach Leadership Lessons
for the Head of Customer
Service…
The sustainability of the herd is
vital for survival. Elephant
leaders know if they only focus on
how things operate on a day-to-
day basis it will never be enough.
They have a long-term strategic
focus to prepare the herd for the
future. One without the other will
cause the herd to drift apart and
away, starve and/ or not know
how to respond during times of
challenge.
Snapshot Stat: Only 1 in 10 centres have a formal plan for the future.
The budget is not a plan, it is a budget.

7.  The world’s first web-based assessment and
benchmarking tool for customer service
centres.
 Originally developed in New Zealand by
Customer Services Audit in 2009.
 Today, the research organisation draws
together all globally-published standards to
produce a checklist of over 700+ variables
required to successfully manage a customer
service environment.
 They provide a team of senior consultants from
around the world.
 Their advisory board ensures benchmarks and
practices are relevant and up-to-date.
 Customer Service Associations around the
world have recognised the depth and value of
their structured approach and methodology
and offer their members certification and
accreditation employing the Snapshotz Online
tool.
UNIQUE FEATURES
 Best practices of each centre is validated in
real-time against data from the 1,700 plus
organisations subscribed to Snapshotz.
 Customer service organisations have a
standard and accurate way to assess the
current state of their activities
 They can immediately validate their results
against global best practices.
 Snapshotz Online results provide
recommendations for practical improvements
that grow the strength of the centres
continually
 Tool is structured to be easy to use, enables
organisations to complete a rigorous
evaluation within two days. They receive
instant reports, task lists and reports that
pinpoint the top 50 opportunities for
immediate improvements.

8. Take action today. Join the growing list of customer service
organisations making a time-saving, focused, cost-effective
and practical difference for their customers, employees and
shareholders.
Sincerely, Deepak Selvaratnam
Contact us: info@customerservicesaudit.com
or visit our website WWW.CustomerServicesAudit.com
Customer Services Audit Ltd, TeleConsultants House
31 MacKelvie Street - Grey Lynn, Auckland
PO Box 147210 Auckland 1144, New Zealand
Phone: 0064 9 376 2806.