How energy retailers can be disruptors too

AGL was recently recognised at the Australian Computer Society (ACS) Digital Disruptor Awards for delivering industry-leading digital experiences, products and services for our customers.

So why is this important?

There’s no question digital disruption is one of the biggest challenges facing every industry today – but also one of the greatest opportunities.

Technology is transforming the way companies operate and how they engage with customers.

And the energy industry is no exception. Our customers expect an intuitive, consistent, seamless and personalised experience through a diverse range of digital channels.

Transforming the customer experience

In August 2016, AGL announced a three-year $300 million customer experience transformation program aimed at putting digital at the heart of our organisation.

At its core, the program is about transforming how customers interact with AGL by creating simple digital tools and experiences that meet their needs.

The customer experience transformation program is delivering a range of unique customer experiences, including:

Self-Service Meter Read: quick, accurate submission of meter reads.
Simple Sign-On: simple login process for customers across all channels.
Energy Insights: personalised reports to give customers greater visibility and control over their energy usage.
One Minute Move: a faster, easier, digital move and tracking experience.
One Touch Pay: easy, on the go bill paying via stored wallet.

In the last 12 months, our mobile app and web services have seen twice as many customer interactions.

And we’re now able to proactively identify when customers experience problems with our digital systems, so that we can resolve any issues quickly and easily.

New ways of working

But digital disruption is not just about technology – it’s about thinking and working differently. To deliver such a transformation, AGL introduced Agile as a delivery framework and mindset.

We upskilled our teams for quicker decision-making and greater collaboration, and we’re exploring ways to be fast, safe and low-cost. Our teams have made significant strides in delivering value to customers quicker (we’re now introducing changes more than 90 times per month) and improving the stability of our systems despite rapid growth and change.

"Technology at AGL is now characterised by agility (the ability to respond to change), speed (time to value) and automation (increased productivity). We’re more responsive, data driven and customer centric."

Looking to the future

Just as we’re changing the way customers engage with AGL, we’re also transforming our employee experience.

We’ve started to align and integrate our internal processes and technology, to help us make the best decisions and succeed in a fast-paced and always-changing market.

We’re also continuing to test and pilot new products and services. We’re doing this by engaging with and understanding our customers and using Agile ways of working, supported by close partnerships between technology and the business.

As part of this, we’re exploring how we use data and artificial intelligence to make better decisions. For example, our Energy Insights platform – which provides customers with information on their energy usage through machine learning – has the potential to provide even more insights to customers as the ‘Internet of Things’ expands.

Our customer experience transformation program is just the start. But we’ve put in place the foundations for a digital-first business and we’re excited to see what comes next.