As the world celebrates 2022 Customer Service Week from October 3 to 7, 2022, BENJAMIN SAMSON examines Galaxy Backbone’s determination to provide a comprehensive customer service experience to its clients across the country.
Great customer service is a powerful tool for any company, especially in today’s challenging business environment. In fact, beyond the quality of the product or service being sold, it may be the single most critical influencer for brand loyalty, buying behavior and future business opportunities.
Customer Service Week is an international celebration that calls attention to the importance of customer service and the people who provide it in order to boost morale and teamwork, reward employees for the significant work they do, raise awareness of the value of customer service, remind those who buy your products or use your services of the company’s commitment to customer satisfaction among others.
Customer Service Week has been celebrated since 1987, however, a high point in the week’s long history came in 1992 when the United States of America Congress proclaimed Customer Service Week a nationally recognized event, which is celebrated annually during the first full week in October. The theme for this year’s celebration is: “Celebrate Service”
Commitment to customer service
The theme for this year’s customer service week (Celebrate Service) resonates well with the Galaxy Backbone. This is because the organization has consistently supported individuals and businesses to impact the economy with its dynamic and vibrant human led and digital led customer services operations. It has over the years remained committed to rendering the gold standard of services to its customers and stakeholders regardless of where they may be across Nigeria.
Significantly, the founding fathers of Galaxy Backbone Limited understood from the onset that if the organization set up by the federal government was to meet the objectives for which it was set up for and if it was to succeed and thrive in the evolving, competitive and technologically innovative world, a deeper focus on the customer must be given in its corporate objectives. That is why consistently, year on year, the organization has continued to look for new and innovative ways to exceed customer expectations while measuring customer satisfaction at all levels of engagement.
Likewise, as an organization that prides itself in the delivery of world class services, Galaxy Backbone consistently presents itself to the principles and scrutiny of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) as a way to ensure Customer service is paramount in its entire operations. The organisation recertifies itself every year as an ISO 20000 organisation ensuring its Service Management System (SMS) is always up to date.
Over the years, the organization has raised the bar in ensuring that its customers receive excellent services and are adequately informed and solutions quickly provided when challenges occur. The organization has continued to improve in its operations because of the committed leadership within the organization and the dedication of the highly skilled staff across all levels within the organization.
Also, Galaxy Backbone continues to distinguish itself through its level of ICT operations and skill set available within the organization. The organisation does not just see the customer as external, but internal in nature, hence everyone understands the unique role he or she plays in another person’s success and by extension, the entire customer and stakeholder holder community.
Beyond the string of groundbreaking customer service experience provided to its customers in both public and private sector, Galaxy Backbone under the leadership of its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Professor Muhammad Abubakar, painstakingly developed a five-year strategic plan/business model to drive the company’s vision founded on six fundamental pillars which customer service is integral.
The Galaxy 3.0 Strategic Plan (2020-2025) unveiled during its fifteenth anniversary in September 2020, has government policies as the first pillar, cybersecurity as the second pillar, and financial sustainability as the third.
Customer satisfaction, operational excellence, and capacity and capability enhancement make up the fourth, fifth, and sixth pillars respectively, within the policy frameworks of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy and Nigeria National Broadband Plan (2020-2025).
Customer Service Charter
Meanwhile, in the course of delivering on its mandate, Galaxy Backbone interfaces with a variety of clients. To ensure that the confidence of these clients is built and retained, the organization subscribes to the concept of IPACT, which stands for integrity, passion, accountability, commitment and teamwork.
Also, as part of Galaxy Backbone’s commitment to provide its customers with unique customer service experience and entrenched a culture of excellence, the organization developed a Customer Service Charter. The charter outlines what customers can expect from its customer service and how its customers and partner can help it to deliver professional, reliable and consistent customer service.
Galaxy Backbone also has a set of core values that underpin its customer service ethics, which are: Responsiveness, accountability, continuous service improvement and communication.
Leadership by example
Furthermore, it is important to note that as a limited liability company, Galaxy Backbone could be compared to any forward thinking Information and Communication Technology company in the private sector in Nigeria or globally in its structure, management style, operations and level of attention being paid to customer service delivery. So, despite its placement as a public sector organization, Galaxy Backbone operations meets intentional standards.
Also, since the beginning of the tenure of Prof. Abubakar as Galaxy Backbone’s Chief Executive Officer, he has led the cause of improving customer satisfaction from inside by improving the welfare of the staff and this has helped raise the level of commitment and dedication to Customer service delivery. Professor Abubakar is passionate about ensuring that customer requirements are well catered for and their requirements are consistently met.
Also, Galaxy Backbone’s renewed focus on capacity building, through the research, digital innovation and skills development department of the organization, is one example of the many ways Galaxy Backbone ensures that the customer is well equipped with the right skills to manage the services and solutions being deployed at the customer sight. Galaxy Backbone periodically organizes training for ICT Directors and Engineers to enable them provide first line support within their respective organisations.
Similarly, as technology services evolved overtime with digital and cloud services being prevalent, Galaxy Backbone has through visionary leadership also evolved in the provision of these services to its customers and stakeholders from across the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government and private organisations.
