Lots of empathy and even more emotions at the 18th CCC Convention in Berlin

On 8th October 2015, the 18th CCC Convention was held at the Humboldt Carré in Berlin.
Around 150 participants listened to exciting presentations on “Empathy and Emotional Connection” held by international speakers from Germany, Turkey, Poland, and the USA.
Maria Hoffrichter-Zanetti from CCC Communications Management welcomed the guests at the impressive venue.

Convention Moderator Olav V. Strawe, founder of TeleTalk trade magazine and US entrepreneur, captured his audience with his Opening Speech on empathy in social media.
Empathy is defined as the ability to recognize emotions in other people and to put oneself in their place. It must not be confounded with compassion, Olav Strawe said. He went on to explain how empathy is compatible with the digital world. In his opinion, social media actually lives on empathy. Emojis and emoticons are used to convey finely graded emotions even in written language. According to Strawe, empathic people are far more active in social media than others.

Ela Banu, Head of Advisory Contact Centres & Mihaela Predica, Head of Business Area (Accounts, Payments, Value Added Services), ING BANK, Romania
“Corporate empathy, a powerful commercial tool”

Ela Banu und Mihaela Predica both have years of experience in the banking business. In their joint presentation, the experts emphasized the importance of empathy as a tool in the business context: “Empathy is the power that propels business forward. “

Companies have to transport empathy in three different channels: toward their employees, toward their customers and toward the public.
The two presenters strongly suggested hiring empathic employees – especially in contact centers – and building a strategy around empathy.
In this respect it is crucial that the right attitude goes from “top to bottom” – from the highest ranks of management to all teams within the company.

İlker Baydar, CEO, Markafoni, Zizigo, Enmoda, Misspera at Naspers Group Turkey, Turkey
“New world order is established on values, not rules”

İlker Baydar is a manager at Markafoni, part of Naspers Group Turkey. He presented insights into the Turkish e-commerce market and into the success strategy of markafoni.com.

Turkish customers have very high demands, especially with respect to fast processes with online shops and delivery of their orders on time, said Baydar. The differences between male and female shoppers are also considerable in the e-commerce business, and it is important to take them into account, according to Baydar.

markafoni.com uses various strategies to meet the changing demands of customers, such as One Click Check-out, lockers where customers can pick up deliveries or Same Day Delivery. With measures like these, the company managed to reach top marks in areas like customer satisfaction or the Net Promoter Score.

Kerstin von Blumröder, Manager Training Customer Care, Lieferheld, Germany
“Innovation from the 14th Century: Heroic yesterday, today and tomorrow”

Kerstin von Blumröder has been working at Lieferheld.de since January 2014. In her current position, she is responsible for training new employees. Lieferheld.de (also known as DeliveryHero) is an internationally successful online platform for ordering food. Lieferheld.de’s customer service has about 135.000 B2B and B2C contacts a month. Pictures of the customer service employees on the company’s contact page are meant to make the service experience more personal for the customer.

In June 2014, Lieferheld.de established the innovative E-Tip System. It enables the customer to give an electronic tip if he was especially satisfied with the customer service agent’s work. Lieferheld.de pays a quality bonus on behalf of the customer. Through this system, an agent can earn up to 160 Euro a month in tips, said Kerstin von Blumröder.

Alper Alten, Customer Services Quality Management and Planning Senior Management, Vodafone Turkey, Turkey

“My Second Family – Practical guidelines for building up family perception in business organization”

Alper Alten presented a business concept in which employees become members of a “second family” and the workplace becomes a second home. According to Alper Alten, employees are at the center of the “holy trinity” of service quality, costs and turnover.

Vodafone Turkey has realized the Second Family Concept in three steps: Listen, Understand, Act.
Open talks, honest feedback and group discussions make a transparent company culture possible. In this respect, according to Alper Alten, it is crucial to pay attention to conversations in the background and to attribute them particular importance.

In so-called “Soulbound” projects, Vodafone Turkey involves its “family members” and actively meets their needs, through personal development, entertainment, diversity, carreer possibilities, appreciation and company loyalty.New measures are tested and developed according to a system of trial and error.

Piotr Merkel, Managing Partner, IQMart, Poland
“Customer experience matters – How shall we design the customer service model to meet the preferences and needs of our customers”

Piotr Merkel emphasized that flexible and individual customer solutions are necessary – and their design should be determined by the customers themselves. The simpler and more natural their implementation, the more efficient. He said that customers’ needs are often regarded to little in designing solutions. He gave several practical examples from his work for the Energa Group to explain the strategy presented. Piotr Merkel stated that all companies are primarily active in the service business and that they should put their focus on service, too. Products are interchangeable, he said.

After the presentations, the 10th CCC Special Award was presented. Maciej Buś, founder of Call Center Forum, Poland, was admitted to the CCC Hall of Fame.