The Customer Engagement Toolkit is Action 2 of the AER’s Towards Energy Equity Strategy.
The purpose of the toolkit is to provide guidance, support and resources to consumer-facing energy businesses on how to effectively engage with consumers, in the aim of building an environment that encourages early identification of and response to vulnerability.
The toolkit development process was informed by a range of resources, including:
- stakeholder submissions to a consultation process in March and April 2024, which included a draft of the toolkit
- input and feedback received through customer journey map workshops with various stakeholders, conversations with select consumer-facing energy businesses, and workshops with consumer advocates and representatives
- existing Australian and international literature and research.
The toolkit summarises useful insights for customer engagement into 6 better practice principles:
- Build an organisational culture focused on strong customer relationships and better consumer outcomes
- Design for all consumers
- Deliver customer service that engages effectively with vulnerability
- Collaborate with other organisations
- Use data to improve consumer outcomes
- Commit to continuously improving consumer experiences and outcomes
The toolkit includes illustrative consumer stories, better practice insights and industry case studies, and summaries of how to put each principle into practice. In addition, a flexible slide deck with targeted practical exercises for teams to undertake and a poster have been developed as supplementary materials to support the toolkit’s up-take.
Background
In October 2022, we launched Towards energy equity – a strategy for an inclusive energy market. Our strategy seeks to tackle the enduring issues that prevent people from getting what they need from Australia’s energy system. The Toolkit is action 2 from the strategy.