Genesys Announces Results of Customer Innovation Awards Programme

  • 13 companies recognised for Outstanding Customer Service in Dynamic Environments
Wokingham, April 25, 2007 - At G-Force San Diego, Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc., an Alcatel-Lucent company (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), announced the results of its second annual Customer Innovation Awards programme to recognise outstanding customer service through the innovative use of technology in highly dynamic environments.

Genesys started accepting nominations for the Customer Innovation Awards in November 2006 and more than 240 organisations worldwide nominated themselves or were nominated by their deployment partners or Genesys field-staff. A short list of 13 finalists was invited to present in-person to an independent panel of judges in San Francisco, Paris and San Diego.

The independent judging panel was made up of two dozen industry experts who specialise in customer service, including analysts from IDC, Forrester, Datamonitor, Yankee Group, Opus Research, COMMFusion, Jamison Consulting, McGee-Smith Analytics and Frost & Sullivan.

Nominees were assessed on four key criteria:
  • Innovating in a dynamic and challenging environment;
  • Optimising service via technology and business processes;
  • Improving the overall customer experience;
  • Leveraging contact centres and customer service strategically.
Organisations were eligible for an award based on their degree of achievement of these key criteria which relate to the four phases of the Genesys Contact Centre Capability Maturity Model: establishment phase, consolidating phase, performing phase and optimising phase. Organisations that demonstrated high performance in all four key criteria were considered to be in the 'optimising' phase of the Contact Centre Capability Maturity Model and received a "4-Star" award, while companies in the "performing" phase received a "3-Star" award. One consistent scoring result across all of the finalist organisations was a high strategic alignment of contact centre and customer service goals.

The following companies were recognised with a "4-Star" level of achievement:
  • FinecoBank, the leading direct bank and number one broker in Italy (www.fineco.it), received the highest marks in the category of leveraging IP, using new modes of delivering customer service and setting innovative new performance metrics;
  • iiNet, one of Australia’s Internet service pioneers (www.iinet.net.au), was nominated for vast improvements in productivity, service levels, sales and customer service;
  • Ladbrokes plc, the world's leading sports betting and gaming company (www.ladbrokes.com), received top rankings in efficiency, financial performance and customer satisfaction;
  • Scotiabank, one of North America’s leading financial institutions and Canada’s most international bank (www.scotiabank.com), received its highest marks for multi-channel integration, proactive customer service and streamlined optimisation;
  • Yahoo! Inc., a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide (www.yahoo.com), emerged as the best at extending the boundaries of the contact centre and creating virtual contact centres across multiple sites using new technology.
The following companies were recognised with a "3-Star" level of achievement:
  • Aeroplan, Canada's premier loyalty marketing company (www.aeroplan.com), was the leader in voice self-service and proactive customer service;
  • AXTEL S.A.B. de C.V., a Mexican telecommunications company (www.axtel.com.mx), achieved top-level ratings for improved financial performance and the integration of automation and human service; 
  • eircom, Ireland's largest telecommunications supplier (www.eircom.com), demonstrated a high level of innovation with voice response, multiple self-service options and ROI all rating highly;
  • Houston 311, a service helpline supporting over two million residents in the city of Houston, Texas (www.houstontx.gov), was the first public sector organisation to achieve finalist status and was praised for their ability to integrate multiple organisations to create a positive customer experience; 
  • Nomura Securities Co., Ltd., the leading securities and investment banking company in Japan (www.nomura.co.jp/), highlighted its use of IP which improves service speed and quality, and enhances business efficiencies that foster dynamic cooperation between branch offices and contact centres;
  • SalesForce Australia, the largest and fastest growing telephone sales and customer development company in Australia (www.salesforceaustralia.com), achieved perfect ratings within several scoring elements and was noted for its focus on customer satisfaction and optimisation of agent skills and work modes;
  • T-Mobile Germany, the leading provider of mobile communication services in Germany and the largest company within the T-Mobile International group (www.t-mobile.de), was recognised for its business process strategy, extending access across the organisation and overall customer satisfaction;
  • United Airlines, one of the largest international carriers based in the United States (www.united.com), showcased innovative use of one of the largest speech-enabled interactive voice response applications today.
"The Genesys Customer Innovation Awards program recognises organisations that deliver great customer service despite the challenges of dynamic contact centre environments," said Wes Hayden, president and CEO, Genesys. "Every organisation received a top score in at least one scoring element and we congratulate them all for their commitment to delivering a positive customer experience. They treat their contact centres as strategic opportunities, linking customer service to business success."

About Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc.
Genesys, an Alcatel-Lucent company, is the only company that focuses 100 per cent on software to manage customer interactions over the phone, web and in e-mail. The Genesys software suite dynamically connects customers with the right resources - self-service or assisted-service - to fulfill customer requests, optimise customer care goals and efficiently use resources. Genesys software directs more than 100 million customer interactions every day for 4,000 companies and government agencies in 80 countries. These companies and agencies can leverage their entire organisation, from the contact centre to the back office, to improve the overall customer experience. As a result, Genesys helps stop customer frustration, drive efficiency, and accelerate business innovation. For more information, go to www.genesyslab.com  or visit the industry blog at www.betterinteractions.com 

About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) provides solutions that enable service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. As a leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications, and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the end-to-end solutions that enable compelling communications services for people at home, at work and on the move. With operations in more than 130 countries, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach. The company has the most experienced global services team in the industry, and one of the largest research, technology and innovation organizations in the telecommunications industry. Alcatel-Lucent achieved adjusted proforma revenues of Euro 18.3 billion in 2006 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. [All figures exclude impact of activities to be transferred to Thales]. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: www.alcatel-lucent.com

Media Contact:
Lucille Jackson, Genesys, 0118 9747100, ljackson@genesyslab.co.uk

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