Smart grid will likely change utility job descriptions, from the bottom up March 16, 2011

No one will debate the importance of a contact center agent in a utility’s customer service strategy. As front-line employees, customer service representatives can, and oftentimes do, shape customers’ opinions about the utility depending on the level of service provided. And, whether ideal or not, most customers still pick up the telephone to reach out to their energy providers.

But the job as a customer service representative (CSR) is far from glamorous. In fact, many consider a CSR as an entry-level position. It’s tough, thankless work, and in many conversations with utility officials I’ll often hear how agents are excited about the opportunities existing outside of the contact center. In other words, “after I’ve paid my dues here, I’m sure I’ll get promoted to a position I really want.” Additionally, educational background may not be a high priority, as CareerBuilder.com lists CSR as one of the 20 jobs you can get with a high school diploma.

This line of thinking may have worked in the past, or even up to now. But utilities may not be able to afford to keep things status quo.

In a previous Chartwell blog, Smart grid will require smart contact centers, my colleague Dennis Smith writes how utility CSRs may evolve from conducting transactional type work – collecting payments or starting service – to becoming an energy advisor. Ideally, self-service applications – either on the web or the phone – will satisfy much of the transactional work CSRs perform on a day-to-day basis, especially if those processes are automated. Instead, a CSR will be able to help customers manage their energy use in a more efficient manner thanks to information available from smart meters.

This evolving role of the future contact center employee is very much on the mind of utilities, as a recent meeting with some of Chartwell’s member utilities revealed.

What does this shift in workload mean in how utilities hire and train their CSRs? An agent in the contact center may not necessarily be deemed as an entry-level position if the job description morphs into one performing duties beyond the transaction work. Being an “energy advisor” means the CSR will need to analyze and recommend services for customers, talk with knowledge about various pricing programs and customer opportunities. Whether a high school graduate is ready for such consultant-type work remains to be seen. I wonder if some college graduates have the capacity for this role.  

The CSR hiring process may be quite different if more utilities elect to change their contact center. Soft skills probably will remain important but will not have such a heavy focus on them.

Another thing to consider is salary. From the 2010 report, Contact Center Staffing, Chartwell found the average salary for a CSR was just more than $39,000 annually. For a point of reference, the Social Security Administration calculated the 2009 national average wage index at $40,711.61. In order to attract the kind of talent as the next generation CSR, utilities likely will have to increase compensation.

We all know that smart grid is a game-changer in the utility industry. But have we realized the extent it will change the game?