Across Europe, utilities brands operate in an environment where customer demands are higher than ever. Thanks to regulatory demands, complex infrastructure and often limited IT systems, it has never been more challenging to align CX with customer expectations.
Meeting regulatory requirements can lead to inconsistent communication and service standards, making it difficult to optimize the customer journey, while legacy systems and processes can slow the pace of digital transformation.
And all of this is happening as, thanks to the ease with which consumers can now switch between providers, omnichannel engagement and transparency about energy consumption and billing are quickly becoming table stakes for building and maintaining customer relationships.
To address these issues, utilities often look to external partners, building ecosystems of vendors and suppliers to access the skills and tools needed for delivering a CX that aligns with customer expectations. However, these relationships can sometimes hinder, rather than help with, consistent CX delivery.
QA inconsistencies add complexity
Different providers may rely on proprietary approaches to quality assurance (QA), leading to customer interactions or operations being assessed against inconsistent criteria. This can result in operational inefficiencies, fragmented service quality and increased compliance risks as consistent adherence to regulatory requirements across vendors becomes harder to ensure. A Deloitte study found 80% of consumers prefer brands that offer personalized experiences — raising the bar for utilities to deliver consistent, tailored service across vendors and channels. That consistency doesn’t happen by accident: it requires shared standards, calibrated scoring and transparent reporting across every provider touching the customer journey.
Siloed, self-assessed QA processes can create oversight gaps, obscure valuable customer insights, and make it challenging to identify systemic issues or drive sustained improvement. Manual QA is time-consuming, resource-intensive and subject to human bias. With limited sampling coverage, important trends can be missed, coaching opportunities are harder to surface, and insights are often delayed or incomplete — reducing an organization’s ability to respond to emerging issues or evolving customer needs.
Transforming QA to transform CX for a utilities brand
Recognizing these challenges, a major U.K. energy provider partnered with Foundever® to move from fragmented, vendor-driven QA to a centralized model. Together, they:
- Established a centralized QA function: A single set of objective standards and metrics applied across all vendors and channels.
- Introduced transparent reporting: Live dashboards gave leadership instant visibility into every layer of performance.
- Implemented risk-based auditing: Proactive monitoring targeted compliance hotspots and mitigated regulatory risk.
- Invested in people: Internal experts were upskilled and accredited, creating a culture of continuous improvement.
- Optimized supplier management: Smarter staffing models and renegotiated contracts reduced inefficiencies and costs.
Measurable results
By unifying QA, the provider moved from reactive oversight to proactive control, positioning itself to accelerate digital transformation and deliver greater value to customers — resulting in $3.7M in annual savings. This approach, in concert with a wider transformation program, also helped drive a 36% improvement in CSAT scores and, thanks to stronger regulatory compliance, a 25% reduction in complaints within just six months.
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