CCI for Retail encourages businesses in the industry to raise their service levels.
Aims
- To raise the service levels of organisations in the retail sector in Singapore.
- To increase customer satisfaction of locals and tourists through better service.
- To cultivate service leaders in the industry who, in turn, will motivate other organisations to improve their service levels.
- To develop service benchmarks that organisations in the retail sector can use to measure their service levels.
For who?
- All Singapore-registered businesses in the retail sector who want to participate in service improvement projects, including:
- privately-owned companies
- partnerships
- group of enterprises
- industry bodies/associations
For what?
- To fund and support projects undertaken by organisations in the retail sector to improve service levels/customer experience and benchmark themselves against industry standards.
- Service improvement projects may include:
- service audits (e.g. mystery audits, customer satisfaction surveys etc.) to identify service gaps
- development and implementation of service strategies, blueprints, standards or systems
- implementation of technology to improve service levels (e.g. point of sale systems can reduce checkout time and improve customer satisfaction)
- development of training programmes under the Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) framework to train staff on service competencies
- participation in overseas study missions for organisations in the retail sector to learn customer service best practices from their foreign counterparts or industry players
- implementation of reward systems to recognise employees for good service
- certification under Singapore Service Class (S-Class)
How much?
- Funding is decided on a case-by-case basis. Typically, CCI will fund up to 70% of the qualifying costs.
- Qualifying costs include:
- professional services or consultancy fees
- service audit costs
- manpower costs related to the CCI project
- service-related study trips, conferences and exchange programmes
- Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) training for employees (funding from the Singapore Workforce Development Agency)
Things to note
- Service audits or customer service surveys should preferably be done by an independent external party. Post-implementation assessment should be carried out by the same party.
- Project must not have commenced at the time of application.
- Typically, the duration of a CCI project is about a year. The project can be as short as 9 months to as long as 2 years. This depends on what the company wants to do.
Background
- CCI for Retail is part of the “Go-the-Extra-Mile for Services (GEMS)” – a nation-wide movement to encourage retail organisations to commit to service excellence and raise service standards in their sector to improve Singapore's service quality.
- CCI for Retail was launched on 26 August 2007 with 20 retailers making up some 900 outlets and 20,000 service staff in Singapore. A year after participating in CCI for Retail, the 20 retailers reported an average of 8% improvement in service levels which is expected to lead to S$150 million increase in sales.
Changes from 1 February 2009 - 31 January 2010
- CCI is part of BUILD (Business Upgrading Initiatives for Long-Term Development) which helps businesses to strengthen their capabilities during the downturn for future growth.
- BUILD provides higher funding support to SMEs for all existing SPRING Singapore's capability development programmes. This applies to applications received between 1 February 2009 and 31 January 2010.
For more info
Customer-Centric Initiative (CCI) for Retail
SPRING Singapore
Officer-in-charge
Ms Chan Mui Ling
Administrative Executive
Business & Service Excellence Division
SPRING Singapore
Email: chan_mui_ling@spring.gov.sg
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