Stofa streamlines and unifies customer service delivery with ServiceNow

Stofa re-imagines the service experience for today’s always-on customers
Stofa is one of Denmark’s leading providers of broadband and cable TV solutions with a customer base of 480,000 households across the country. In an age where much of the consumer’s professional and private life is spent online, it is critical for customer service management to handle issues promptly and efficiently.

To keep pace with current demands, Stofa decided to modernise its customer service operation, which runs under the banner Network Operations Center (NOC). NOC is brought in when an issue cannot be handled by Stofa’s firstlevel support team. Previously, issues were handled over the telephone—often with the customer waiting on the line—with no way to prioritise or queue issues. During peak hours, customer waiting times could be long—leading to a stressful environment for employees and often leaving customers dissatisfied. It was time for a new service management approach.

Stofa uses ServiceNow to redefine service processes, eliminating bottlenecks and “rush hour” requests
Stofa started the modernisation work with a comprehensive review of existing processes for handling customer issues, identifying bottlenecks, and outlining what could be done to streamline and unify customer service delivery. A key improvement would be to introduce a system to eliminate “request rush hours” for the NOC and enable the scheduling of issues throughout the day. As the new processes began to take shape, Stofa brought in Syspeople both as a future implementation partner and as a sounding board. A ServiceNow implementation partner, Syspeople is a Danish service management, automation, and monitoring expert. It offers advice and assistance in the field with interest, passion, and integrity.

“I had experienced service management implementations in the past and for me this was a very good case of how such a solution can improve processes quickly,” says Michael Terkildsen, Unit Manager, Stofa Network Operations Center. “Together with Syspeople we reviewed a number of systems and it was quickly apparent that ServiceNow had the platform that was best suited to our needs.”

Michael continues, “Syspeople is both knowledgeable and adaptable. One of the team’s key strengths is that they always find a way to make ideas become reality and deliver real improvements. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the words ‘that’s not possible.’ As a strategic partner, they were invaluable and as soon as we decided on the processes, all the components and pieces of the program fell into place very quickly.”

“We view ServiceNow’s offering as a complete and proven cloud-based service management platform, with an intuitive user interface that provides comfortable access to services,” says Mikkel Leth-Nissen, CEO, Syspeople. “The solution provides a powerful toolkit that secures service delivery overview and efficiency for management, service professionals, and end users alike.”

ServiceNow exceeds expectations with smooth implementation and out-of-the-box functionality
According to Michael, the implementation of the new solution went smoothly, and the results exceeded expectations.

Michael continues, “The functionality exceeded our expectations and we were very happy with the results and value for money. We’ve not had a single reason to question our choice. I was positively surprised about the functionality we received for the relatively small investment. The implementation was easy and as intuitive as the interface itself, with a lot of functionality out-the-box.”

Mikkel agrees: “This was a successful and smooth implementation, not least because we were working with a customer that is familiar with and understands the potential value in service management solutions.”

One functionality Syspeople developed at Stofa’s request involved a tailored system to handle larger issues in the network—for example, service disruption affecting a large number of households. When several customers contact Stofa about the same issue, those requests can be collected and escalated, and customers can receive updates via their preference of text message or email. Customers can also respond to requests via a link.

Michael also felt that the implementation provided a better structure for service delivery. The previous bottleneck where first-level support staff had to pass issues to NOC over the phone was eliminated. When a customer service representative registers a request in the Now Platform®, they can also verify that the request has been picked up, managed, or scheduled, which is another significant improvement.

ServiceNow helps Stofa prioritise customer support requests, boosting satisfaction and creating a more efficient internal workflow
Rather than a service delivery process operating on a first-come, first-served basis, urgent requests can be prioritised and other requests can be scheduled across the day to help ensure a steady workflow without stressful peaks. Requests can be tasked to ensure that the best available person can manage it at the most suitable time.

This has improved the consumer experience significantly. Waiting on hold while a first-level support technician tries to get hold of a NOC specialist is no longer necessary. Instead, new ways to interact with the customer and timely updates on requests help ensure that valuable customers feel cared for when an issue arises.

Stofa drives change management across the business with ServiceNow
The implementation of ServiceNow for customer service management has been a resounding success for Stofa, and the company is reviewing how the platform can improve processes in other areas.

Michael concludes: “For instance, we are currently implementing change management across the business on the Now Platform. All changes are being put in a calendar, which is then approved by a change advisory board. This provides an extra level of security to ensure that all change is well thought through and won’t result in unforeseen consequences.”

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