Business Relationship Management Procedure

1. Introduction

Business relationship management is how the Organisation learns what its customers need, tells them what it is doing, listens to how they feel about the service and puts right what goes wrong. It gives each customer a named contact, a regular rhythm of contact, and a clear route for praise, complaint and escalation. It also turns what customers say into inputs for service improvement.

2. Purpose

To establish and maintain a good relationship between the Organisation and its customers, to understand their needs and expectations of the service, to handle their feedback and complaints properly and to make sure that what is learned is acted on.

3. Objectives

• Every customer has a named relationship manager and a documented set of contacts on both sides.
• Customers receive timely, accurate communication on service performance, planned change and incidents.
• Satisfaction is measured at least [every 6 months] with a target score of [85 percent] satisfied, and every score below [3 of 5] has a recorded follow-up.
• Complaints are acknowledged within [1 working day], resolved within [10 working days] and analysed for causes.
• Service reviews are held on the agreed schedule, with decisions and actions recorded and tracked to close.

4. Scope

• In scope: all external customers of in-scope services and internal customers where an internal agreement exists; prospective customers once a contract is in negotiation.
• In scope: communication, surveys, complaints, service review meetings, escalation, customer onboarding and exit conversations, and recording of customer requirements.
• Out of scope: commercial pricing negotiation, which belongs to the sales and finance functions, and technical incident handling, which is in the Service Operating Model.
• Applies to: relationship managers, service owners, the service desk, delivery teams and anyone who speaks to a customer about service.

5. Terms and definitions

6. Roles and Responsibilities

7. Understanding customer needs

The relationship manager keeps a record for each customer of its business, the services it uses, its stated and implied requirements, what it values most, how it measures the service, and who decides. The record is reviewed at least every [6 months] and updated after every service review or contract change.

1. IdentifyWhen a new customer is accepted, the relationship manager identifies the customer's interested parties, decision makers and users, and records them in the customer contact register (Annexure A). Target: within [5 working days] of contract signature.
2. Capture requirementsThe relationship manager records service, security, reporting and regulatory requirements in the customer record and confirms them in writing with the customer representative. Target: before service start.
3. Share internallyRequirements are given to the service owner and the service level manager, who check them against the catalogue and agreement. Target: [3 working days].
4. ReviewRequirements are revisited at each service review and after any major change in the customer's business.

8. Customer communication

8.1 Principles

• Communication is accurate, plain, timely and consistent: one version of facts across all channels.
• Customers are told bad news early and by a named person, with what is being done and when they will hear next.
• Each customer states its preferred channel and contacts; communication uses these unless an incident requires a faster route.
• Personal data in communication is limited to what is needed, and is sent only by approved channels under the Data Protection and Privacy Procedure.
• Statements about legal, contractual or security matters are approved by the right owner before release.

8.2 Communication schedule

8.3 Handling customer contact

1. RecordEvery material customer contact, whether a call, meeting or message, is recorded in the customer record with date, people, topics and agreed actions. Target: within [1 working day].
2. RespondQuestions from customers get an answer or a holding reply naming an owner within [1 working day].
3. Follow upAgreed actions are logged in the ticketing tool or action register and reported at the next review.
4. CheckThe process manager samples [10] customer records a quarter to check quality and timeliness.

9. Customer satisfaction measurement

Satisfaction is measured so that the Organisation knows how customers feel about the service and can act on the findings. Measurement uses a mix of transactional surveys, periodic relationship surveys and informal feedback.

9.1 Survey types

9.2 Running a survey

1. PlanThe process manager chooses the audience, questions, channel and dates, and agrees them with the relationship managers. Surveys are not sent to a customer already in an unresolved escalation without the relationship manager's agreement.
2. IssueThe survey is issued with a clear statement of why it is being asked, how long it takes, how data will be used and who will see it. Response is voluntary.
3. CollectResponses are collected for [10 working days], with one reminder at day [5].
4. AnalyseResults are scored, split by service and customer, and compared with the target and previous results. Comments are coded by theme. Target: report within [10 working days] of closing.
5. ActScores below [3 of 5] get a call from the relationship manager within [5 working days]. Themes become improvement actions in the improvement register.
6. Feed backCustomers are told what was learned and what the Organisation will change, within [30 days] of the results.

9.3 Survey template

Use a five-point scale where 1 is very dissatisfied and 5 is very satisfied, unless a question says otherwise. Adjust wording to the service.

10. Complaints handling

A complaint is anything a customer calls a complaint, or any expression of dissatisfaction. It is never ignored because it was made informally or by the wrong person.

10.1 Complaint process

1. ReceiveAnyone who receives a complaint records it or passes it to the service desk or relationship manager the same day, using the complaint form (Annexure B). The customer does not need to repeat their account.
2. AcknowledgeThe complaints coordinator acknowledges in writing within [1 working day], names the person handling it, and explains the steps and expected dates.
3. ClassifyPriority is set by customer impact, repetition, contract risk and any regulatory or data involvement (see the table below). Data or security matters go to the information security lead immediately.
4. InvestigateThe assigned owner, who must not be the person complained about, gathers facts from tickets, logs and staff within [5 working days], and speaks to the customer if facts are unclear.
5. RespondA written response states findings, what went wrong, what will be done to put it right and by when, and any apology or remedy. Target: [10 working days] from receipt, or the date agreed with the customer if longer investigation is needed.
6. ResolveAgreed remedial actions are completed and verified. The customer is asked whether they are satisfied. If not, the complaint is escalated one level.
7. Close and learnThe coordinator records the outcome and cause, and the process manager analyses complaints every month for trends. Systemic causes become problems or improvement actions.

10.2 Complaint priority

10.3 Rules for handling complaints

• Complaints are handled fairly, with respect and without blame; the customer is not penalised for complaining.
• Information about the complainant is kept confidential and used only to deal with the complaint.
• If a complaint concerns a person, that person is not involved in its investigation and is told of the outcome as appropriate.
• Where the matter involves personal data, the Data Protection and Privacy Procedure also applies and its timelines are kept.
• If a customer remains dissatisfied after the final response, it may ask for review by [the Head of Customer Relations] and then by [top management], and is told of this route.
• Complaints that show a failure to meet a requirement of the SMS are raised as nonconformities.

11. Service review meetings

Service reviews are held with each customer at the frequency in its agreement, and at least [quarterly] for customers with a service level agreement. The relationship manager chairs, and the service owner, a delivery lead and the customer representative attend. Strategic customers are also reviewed with top management at least [annually].

11.1 Preparing and holding the review

1. PrepareThe relationship manager gathers the service report, open actions, complaints, satisfaction results, planned changes, risks and any commercial points. Target: pack issued [5 working days] before.
2. HoldThe meeting follows the agenda below, is time-limited to [90 minutes], and records decisions and actions with owners and dates.
3. RecordMinutes are issued within [3 working days] and agreed by the customer within [5 working days].
4. Follow upActions are entered in the ticketing tool or action register and reported at the next meeting. Any change to the agreement goes through the Service Level Management Procedure.

11.2 Agenda template

12. Escalation

Escalation lets a customer or an employee raise a matter that is not being resolved in the normal way. It is used for service, relationship and contractual concerns; incident escalation is in the Service Operating Model.

• The escalation route and named contacts are included in each customer's onboarding pack.
• No customer is discouraged or penalised for escalating.
• Each escalation is recorded with a clear owner, reason, decisions and closing date; open escalations are reported at every governance meeting.

13. Interfaces with other processes

• Service level management: requirements feed agreements; breaches and review outcomes feed changes to agreements.
• Service catalogue management: the customer view is used in conversation; requests for new services go to the Management Representative.
• Incident and request management: complaints from tickets reach the relationship manager; incident updates follow the agreed cadence.
• Change and release management: customer-visible changes are communicated in advance.
• Continual improvement: satisfaction and complaint themes become improvement actions.
• Information security and privacy: handling of customer data in communications and complaints.

14. Key performance indicators

15. Records and evidence

• Customer contact register and customer records, kept while the contract is active and [3 years] after it ends.
• Communication logs, service review packs and minutes, kept for [3 years].
• Survey designs, raw responses and analysis, kept for [3 years]; individual responses are anonymised after analysis where practicable.
• Complaints register and case files, kept for [3 years] after closure.
• Escalation records, kept for [3 years].

Annexure A: Customer contact register

Annexure B: Complaint form and log

Annexure C: Service review minutes

Annexure D: Document history

16. Exception

Exceptions to this document are allowed only where compliance is not practicable and the risk has been assessed. A request must state what is to be excepted, why, the risk it creates, the compensating controls, and an end date no later than [6 months]. It is approved in writing by the document owner and the risk owner, recorded in the exceptions register, and reviewed at the end date. An exception does not change the document.

17. Enforcement

Compliance is monitored through internal audits, management review and routine checks by the document owner. Non-compliance is reported through the incident or non-conformity process and handled under the organisation's disciplinary procedure, and under the terms of any contract for people who are not employees. Serious or repeated non-compliance may lead to loss of access and, where the law is broken, to referral to the authorities.

18. Review

This document is reviewed at least every [12 months], and when there is a significant change to the organisation, its systems, its risks or the law, or after an incident that shows it was not effective. Each review is recorded in the revision history.

ISO/IEC 20000-1:2018 references

Related documents

• Service Level Management Procedure
• Communication Procedure
• Service Catalogue Management Procedure
• Service Operating Model
• Service Reporting and Continual Improvement Procedure
• Service Management Policy
• Data Protection and Privacy Procedure
• Internal Audit and Management Review Procedure