Company: T- Mobile USA

Program Types: Customer Service Program

Program Details: T-Mobile worked with performance improvement company Marketing Innovators to execute an employee initiative that would help them reach their goal of becoming America’s number one wireless service provider. Their target audience of 11,000 customer-facing employees in fifteen call centers nationwide was a diverse group, representing a true cross section of the American work force in terms of age, ethnicity, geography, and job responsibility. The driving force behind the “Do More Get More” campaign was the compelling incentive program. Extensive surveying and focus grouping of the target audience was conducted to identify, in rank order, the types of travel and activity awards that would most motivate these employees to achieve the pre-determined performance goals. Based on employee input, T-Mobile established the most popular award choices. Virtually every component of measurable employee performance played a role in determining incentive eligibility, including accuracy and timeliness of information dissemination and availability at customer’s convenience. The program was announced and promoted through a series of national events and meetings touching all 11,000 eligible customer-service employees. These high-profile events, which were used to reinforce the program’s key messages and to recognize and thank employees for ongoing improvements, included the “T-Mobile Birthday Bash” hosted by Catherine Zeta-Jones, and a 10-millionth customer celebration. All existing communication channels were utilized to promote the campaign including audits, focus groups, weekly conference calls, e-mail, newsletters and staff meetings. A website was designed to enable participants to track their award points and claim awards. In addition, T-Mobile conducted a series of national events for middle and senior management to educate them on how best to motivate customer service employees through the “Do More Get More” incentive program.

Objective: Reinforce critical customer-service behaviors pertaining to quality service Reduce employee attrition by 30% within three years T-Mobile’s new customer service program, “Do More Get More” was a direct outgrowth of T-Mobile’s existing “Get More” national advertising campaign featuring celebrity spokesperson Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Supplier: Marketing Innovators International

Sponsor Assocication: IMA

Results: T-Mobile’s “Do More Get More” customer service program exceeded goals. Sooner than two years following the launch of the “Do More Get More” program, a J.D. Power and Associates study named T-Mobile USA “the domestic wireless industry’s top-provider of customer satisfaction”, by a significant margin. T-Mobile also ranked first in J.D. Power’s follow-up study, just released on June 8, 2005. Within two years following the implementation of the program, employee attrition rates decreased by 50%, far surpassing the original goal of a 30% decrease in attrition rates in three years.

Award Type: CIRCLE OF EXCELLENCE

Award Date: 2005