Transforming Free Zone Customer Journeys, Processeses and Systems

Context, Approach & Methodology

• DAFZA recognized the importance of its CRM and the opportunity to drive change through it to enhance the customer experience.
• DAFZA is a free economic zone in Dubai and home to more than 1,600 registered companies and 15,000 professionals. It is one of the fastest growing free zones in the region, contributing 5 per cent of Dubai's GDP.
• The services to customers cover everything required for company set up: from leasing and licensing, to visa and government services and ongoing operation: from facility management, to security and IT.
• Together we set out to achieve three goals:- Improve Customer Engagement- Streamline and Enhance Processes- Consistency and Quality through TechnologyWe interviewed, observed and analysed the customer behaviour to identify pain points and opportunities and worked very closely with the departments to understand their requirements.After designing the future customer journey we dove deep into the detailed processes that will drive that customer experience and defined the system requirements to enable it.
• The engagement was a remarkable success and was extended to cover implementation support, as the new processes got implemented in a new CRM system.

The Groundwork

• 25+ workshops - We conducted workshops with customers and the business to define the new customer journey and the values that form the new CX vision. We held separate workshops with the departments to co-create and validate the new processes.
• ‍54 business interviews - We conducted in-depth, full-day interviews with 21 different functions across all departments to gain a deep understanding of the requirements of the business.
• 45 customer calls - Listening to customer call recordings, following up on negative ratings of customer interactions and direct customer interviews. This let us hear first hand what issues customers are facing, how they are being resolved. It enabled us to ask customers directly about pain points they experience and to identify hidden barriers in their journey.
• 267,250 online sessions - We conducted digital customer shadowing to better understand the customer experience.
  We installed a tool to track the usage of the customer portal. This allowed us to see how customers are actually using the portal and where they drop out of a process.
• 64 policy change proposals - During our engagement we encountered a number of policies that required change, confirmation or definition.
• 17 systems and integrations - Salesforce, Oracle Service Cloud, Oracle Sales Cloud, Eloqua, QMS (Quotation module), Avaya, Smart channels, Immigration integration, DHA integration, Guard Pro, Omnivista, BMS, FSI, Docusign, Customer portal, Employee portal, Contractor portal
• 94 individual processes - Lead Generation, Lead to Quote, Quote to Lease, Lease to License, Lease Renewal, Lease Length Extension, Negotiation, Lease Area Reduction, Certified Copy of Lease, Transfer to Smaller Office, Sharing Premises, Lease Termination, Court Case, License Amendment, License Amendment,  Company Termination, Additional License, License Renewal, License Termination, Company Structure Change, and many more
• 198 services - Car Pass Sticker for Company Vehicle, Car Pass Sticker for Tenant, E-Gate Pass, Service Provider Gate Pass, Fire Safety Training, Letter for Gate Pass, Letter to Etisalat, CCTV & Access Control, Certified Copy of Good Standing Certificate, DED NOC
  (Issuance of Dual License), DED NOC (Renewal of Dual License), Inspection Request, New Parking, Parking Renewal, E-Security, Clearance, Company Termination, Statement of Accounts, Cheque/PDC Recall, Credit Memo, New Employee Visa and others.

The Results

‍One Source of Truth

We redesigned the systems to have a single source of truth to ensure reliable and accessible information at every stage and all departments.

CX Vision

We co-created and formulated a CX Vision to guide the company in its interactions with customers. It defines the values that should permeate the customer experience.

Customer Journey

From understanding the As-Is and uncovering pain points to rethinking the future journey, we worked with customers and the business to redesign the experience we want to offer.

Connecting with Employees

Creating a relationship and bond between DAFZA and the workforce that works within the free zone.

Digitisation of Documentation and Approvals

The covid19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital signatures and we used the opportunity to fully digitalise all internal and external approvals.

Simplification and Streamlining of Processes

We challenged every step in the processes in order to trim unnecessary complexity and provide easier and faster services.

Notification Management

When, how, who is notified about what and on which channels is crucial to the customer relationship. We empowered the customer to take charge of how he wants to communicate with the company.

Robotic Process Automation

Across all processes we achieved an average of 31% fully automated steps.
This resulted in dramatically faster and more consistent processing of service requests.

Eliminating Pain Points

779 pain points were identified and rectified for customers and employees, from unclear and confusing processes to broken systems or duplication of work.

Customer Guidance

The lack of guidance and communication to the customer was one of the main concerns we identified.
We implemented targeted and relevant guidance on what to do and how to do it when it is relevant as well as a clear, transparent and detailed status tracker for customers to keep on top of their requests and finally providing a process overview to manage expectations.

Customer Support

A key improvement was enabling and empowering the customer care team to provide actual help and immediate resolution, coupled with a rigorous ticketing system for customer inquiries and complaints.
We went a step beyond to show how live on-screen support can transform how we interact with customers via the customer portal.

Implementation Support

We are excited to support the team throughout the implementation of the plan we created together.
Seeing our work come alive and recommendations being applied is very rewarding and spurs us on to continue to deliver outstanding work.