Company: TELUS
Company Description: At TELUS, we’re using our world-leading technology to drive meaningful change — from transforming healthcare and making our food supply more sustainable to reducing our environmental footprint and connecting Canadians. We offer both personal and business solutions (security, internet, mobility, tv bundles, online security); healthcare, agriculture, and sustainability solutions.
Nomination Category: Communications & Marketing Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Internal Communications - 100 or more employees
 Nomination Title: Mindshare Prioritization Program - Content & Communication Strategy Team
- Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 247 words used.
We conducted testing in March 2022 to guide the direction of our pilot program, looking at two factors:
1. Maintaining our current communication strategy, but scheduling agents time out of the call center queue to review content
2. Governing communications, but leaving agents in the queue to review content
Testing revealed that stronger governance of agent communications could improve the overall experience without removing agents from the queue.
Following this discovery, a workshop was held in Spring 2022 to generate ideas for the Content Simplification Strategy pilot. The objective of this pilot was to create mindshare and efficiency benefits by trialing a simplified communications approach. Insights from the workshop, combined with the learnings from the initial testing, informed the three components of the pilot.
The first component involved changing how low-impacting changes were communicated. These news stories were removed from the agent news feed and given appropriate focus, resulting in an 80% reduction in news stories in the feed. The second component focused on reducing email volume by delivering higher-impacting messages through the news feed instead. This centralized communications and reduced the need for agents to split their attention between their email inbox and the news feed. The third component introduced governance in the news feed, ensuring a balanced distribution of news stories throughout the week.
Our Mindshare Prioritization Program was designed to address the challenges of agent mindshare overload by streamlining communication channels, optimizing content delivery, and balancing information load, ultimately improving agent efficiency and well-being.
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 108 words used.
Enclosed are internal communications, including emails and documents from OneSource, delineating the details of the program, both as the Pilot and Business as Usual (BAU). Additionally, we have included the presentations delivered to our leadership team for dissemination among their respective teams. These materials provide a comprehensive overview of our change management approach and the anticipated outcomes of the pilot program.
Furthermore, we have attached the January 2023 presentation, presented to our leadership team, which showcases the results achieved during the period from August 2022 to December 2022. The remarkable success of the program has consequently facilitated its transition from the pilot phase to the status of BAU.
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the nominated campaign or program - its genesis,development, planning, commission, and performance to date - OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions, provide them in the appropriate spaces below:
- Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
Our Mindshare Prioritization Program was created by our Content & Communication Strategy Team to address agent mindshare overload (AMO). Our call center agents were feeling overwhelmed with the amount of information delivered to them, and the rapid pace of change. Our goal was to centralize, govern, and prioritize the delivery of our communications and knowledge to our agents.
Call centers are fast-paced environments where agents are expected to handle multiple tasks simultaneously. They must navigate complex customer inquiries, access various databases, and adhere to strict call handling metrics, all while providing exceptional service. At TELUS, one of our corporate values is “We passionately put our customers and communities first” and we accomplish this by creating meaningful, human connections to improve outcomes for our customers. When agents are overwhelmed by excessive information, their ability to empathize and provide personalized solutions diminishes.
Additionally, AMO contributes to high turnover rates. The stress and mental strain associated with overwhelming policy changes and constant communication from various platforms can result in burnout and job dissatisfaction. As a result, there is increased recruitment and training costs to replace departing agents. This constant churn further hampers productivity and customer service quality.
To address AMO, we asked ourselves “How can we more effectively utilize shrinkage, technology, readiness & training to deliver changes in a more digestible way, reducing mindshare overload, and improving agent engagement & performance”. By recognizing and mitigating this problem, our goal was to enhance employee satisfaction, improve customer experiences, and optimize overall operational efficiency.
- Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of July 2021. Even if your initiative started before July 2021, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of July 2021 only (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
In January 2023, the pilot approach was approved to become our standard communication strategy across our Customer Experience division.
Reduction in Communications: The program successfully achieved a notable 58% reduction in communications, including both news and email. This reduction alleviated the information overload on agents and allowed them to focus on critical tasks.
Positive Agent Feedback: The notable reduction of communications was recognized and appreciated by the agents, indicating an improvement in their work experience.
Increase in News Readership: The initiative resulted in a 7% increase in news readership among agents. By centralizing communications in the news feed and reducing email volume, agents were more likely to engage with and stay updated on important information.
Black Friday Success: During the high-pressure Black Friday period, the campaign led to a significant 33% year-over-year decrease in communications volume, providing agents with more bandwidth to focus on driving strong sales results.
High Score for Quality and Usefulness: In an annual survey sent to agents regarding the OneSource communications platform, the newly introduced stories achieved an impressive 91% score for quality and usefulness.
No Escalations: The program successfully ensured that there were no escalations from customers or stakeholders due to lack of agent knowledge or awareness. This indicates that agents were well-informed and equipped to handle customer interactions, resulting in a seamless customer experience.
Overall, since August 2022, our program has demonstrated tangible improvements in agent efficiency, reduced mindshare overload, increased agent engagement, and positive feedback, resulting in enhanced customer service quality and satisfaction.
- Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
Our Mindshare Prioritization Program was launched in two stages, with the pilot phase of the program being initiated in August 2022. During this period, the Content Simplification Strategy was tested and refined to assess its effectiveness in reducing agent mindshare overload and improving overall efficiency.
Following the successful pilot phase, the program was officially launched in January 2023. This marked the implementation of our Content Simplification Strategy as a regular practice across our organization, aiming to streamline communications and alleviate the burden on agents.
By specifying clear launch dates for the pilot and official program, we were able to track and measure the impact of the program accurately. This approach allowed for iterative improvements during the pilot phase and provided a clear timeline for the transition to the full-scale implementation of the Content Simplification Strategy.
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