ComReg: How getting it right from day one set the relationship up for success
ComReg is the statutory body responsible for the regulation of the electronic communications and postal sectors, responsible for facilitating competition, protecting consumers and encouraging innovation. The existing relationship with their outsource Customer Service provider was coming to an end and they kicked off a competitive tendering process by way of the open procedure through www.etenders.gov.ie and in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). Arise was awarded the contract, scoring higher in the procurement process than any other bidder.
As soon as the contract was signed, the Arise team needed to leap into action as timescales were incredibly tight – handover from the previous service provider had to be completed within 6 weeks. There had not been any interaction between Arise and the stakeholders at ComReg in advance of the project commencement, which meant that relationships between the two organisations had to be built from scratch.
Arise immediately agreed to show ComReg the new office space that they had earmarked for the new team, even though it was a Bank Holiday weekend. And despite it being a completely empty shell, with no fit-out, the ComReg team put their confidence in Arise’s structured ‘Just in Time’ delivery plan.
Whilst the office fit-out was kicking off, the training team spent time at ComReg’s offices, immersing themselves in the business and transferring key training materials into the Arise ”Way of Learning”, designing an in-depth training programme. Arise HR were able to recruit key personnel with experience in the Electronic Communications sector, which meant they already had a detailed understanding of the end customer, the complexities of the industry and how things worked.
The two teams worked closely together, and stakeholders within each business were ‘partnered’ to ensure that communication was happening throughout the different levels engaged in the delivery plan. Tight timescales meant that there was absolutely no room for misunderstanding and each party needed to make sure that conversations were open and honest so everybody had very clear expectations and an understanding of what was to be delivered.
Coincidentally, go-live was scheduled to happen over another Bank Holiday weekend. The Arise team took it upon themselves to be on-site over the weekend to test systems as soon as they were switched over from the previous service provider. Due to the nature of the contract, there was no opportunity to carry out a staged migration so Arise had to be prepared to take on the whole service from 8am on the morning of service switch over. The team and office were fully ready, and the service was migrated seamlessly.
“From the minute we appointed our new outsource Partner, we knew delivery was going to be tight. It made for a very intense 6 weeks, but we had a shared vision with the Arise team of what we wanted to achieve. From day one we were incredibly impressed with their openness, attention to detail, and their commitment to delivering an excellent service. There was a high level of trust between the partners, and the responsiveness of the entire team, from senior leadership, training providers and operations delivery was second to none.
From the beginning of our relationship, Arise took the responsibility for delivering on time, and actively sought to take on accountability for the workload which gave us complete confidence in the timeline. We felt the whole team was on top of the plan from day one, keeping us in the loop, and although there was contingency built in, the ‘Just in Time’ nature of the plan was faultless. It really set us up for a great working relationship going forward.”
Therese Hourigan, Head of Retail Policy, ComReg