In order to successfully position itself in the long term, BAS – the GASAG Group’s customer service division – has launched a company-wide process of change. Its biggest project is a new workforce management system (WFM), which is intended to improve the organization’s performance. Lufthansa Industry Solutions is assisting BAS during the implementation of this project.
The customer
BAS Abrechnungsservice GmbH & Co. KG, with its headquarters in Berlin, is one of the largest service providers in the German energy sector. Its range of services includes customer service, readings, change management, measuring services, accounts receivable management and IT services. Founded in 1999 as a subsidiary of the GASAG Group, the company generates more than EUR 30 million each year together with around 455 employees.
The challenge
Happy customers – this is BAS’ primary goal. Its employees work in customer service for a number of different GASAG Group subsidiaries. Every day, they respond to 3,500 customer inquiries addressing a wide range of requests. While doing so, employees have to take note of the processes of each of the companies that they work for. They provide customized solutions where needed.
In order to successfully position itself for the future, BAS has launched a company-wide process of change. In doing so, the company aims to generate more transparency, utilize new tools and methods, and improve the organization’s performance in the long term. For this to succeed, BAS is reorganizing the way its employees work and is creating a central unit for workforce management. Moreover, BAS wants to improve performance and skill management – which means that employees will be deployed according to their abilities and performance and will be developed further.
The solution
Transforming the way that BAS is organized includes a number of operational, strategic, and content and technical issues – both within individual divisions and throughout the company. Lufthansa Industry Solutions is accompanying BAS’ entire process of change by providing organization consulting, and is carrying out management consulting at a divisional management and executive management level. Moreover, Lufthansa Industry Solutions has taken on the task of project management and is helping BAS to introduce a new workforce management system. Lufthansa Industry Solutions is also working with BAS to implement Systems Aspect, which will make it easier to centrally plan, manage and service customer inquiries.
For this transformation to be successful, BAS employees are developing their own solutions independently. Because they will be responsible for designing this task alongside their day-to-day work, Lufthansa Industry Solutions has initiated a mentoring program. This means that BAS employees will bear primary responsibility for their new tasks, and Lufthansa Industry Solutions will provide them with a mentor who will coach them on content and methods and will help them to carry out the task. By and by, internal managers will assume the role of mentors. What is special about this project approach is that it is based on agile work methods. Up to six agile teams will define goals in a four-week rhythm and work with BAS employees part time to reach these goals in this cycle. In this way, the change process should be successfully completed in December 2017.
The customer benefit
By incorporating BAS employees into the change process and improving workforce management, the company is creating a stronger position for itself for the future. Expertise in the organization will be enhanced in the mentoring program and will help the company to perform better overall. Moreover, employees will continue to develop and will be better able to carry out their everyday customer service tasks with their newly acquired tools and methods.