This is about using user experiences at points of interaction –touchpoints- to understand how to achieve better outcomes from:
- Services to customers, patients, community groups;
- Roles (either job or team/group) carried out;
- Employee competence within a role;
- Employee well-being: Health & safety, and satisfaction.
While these are widely different areas, we can improve the way organisations perform and provide services to users through the use of Touchpoint Value Mapping.
The basis of Touchpoint Value Mapping is drawn from a number of writers [1]. Touchpoint Value Mapping can be applied to a wide range of users who would like to see their experiences better understood to develop and improve the services provided by organisations and their employees. For example, for:
- A buying customer
- A user of a service;
- A patient;
- A community group;
- An interest group;
- Employees who rely on other employees to provide a standard of service;
- Users of corporate support areas. For example employees experience of HR practices and employment conditions of an organisation (e.g. complaint management practices, selection and appointment practices, employee entitlements; payroll issues, training and development provided);
- Other employees affected by the role competence of an employee;
- Employees affected by their work environment (e.g. Health and Safety factors, including stress related issues).
Diagram 1 provides a generic Touchpoint Mapping model, where a range of different Services are shown (in grey) along with their Service Touchpoints. User Experience of a Service can be rated based on Service Touchpoint experience (shown by green, yellow, or red dots) reflecting, where there has been a negative Service Touchpoint rating, Actual User Experiences (shown in blue). From this any related Service Standard Gaps (shown in brown) and Service Value Gaps (shown in purple) can be considered to improve user experiences and the value of future Service.
Touchpoint Value Maps can be drawn in different ways, for example as a moment by moment string of touchpoints in a journey as shown in diagram 1, or as a geographic drawing or sketch of an area within which that moment by moment Touchpoint journey occurs.
User Experience of Service Touchpoints in Diagram 1 can be measured by rating “impact” in different ways [2]. For example:
- In Diagram 1 User Experience is colour rated green, yellow, or red. This can be simply translated into +1, 0, -1 rating respectively, and the Total Experience Value totalled.
- This can be made more detailed by using a wider variance range, and also through the use of weighted measures.
The Actual User Experience (shown in blue) in Diagram 1 covers both feelings and thoughts (e.g. frustration) in terms of a user’s perception of Service Touchpoint experience. These perceptions can be reflected as dimensions of a fair treatment model where a:
- Decision;
- Process (or practice);
- Interpersonal contact; and/ or
- Values, such as those based on perceived attitudes, assumptions, beliefs etc.
The Service Standards Gap in Diagram 1 identifies current gaps between negative User Experience and Service Standards, and where proposals to improve service standard effectiveness can be addressed. For example, are there any that are missing; need to be reset; added; or eliminated.
The Service Value Gap in Diagram 1 identifies if there are any changes needed in current Service Values such as current management and service provider attitudes that influence and support the way Service Standards are applied, and propose changes that could better support the application of Service Standards. This is because effective change to Service Standards is linked to and also involves considering their supporting Service Values.
Touchpoint Value Mapping can be applied to a range of circumstances to improve user service whether within or external to an organisation. It is a systems approach that seeks out interrelated causes and solutions, through a user focus, to successfully improve employee, role, process, and organisational performance.
References
References in the development of this Touchpoint Value Mapping document are drawn from two themes.
The first theme relates to the Value Mapping Journey that a number of writers have contributed to using different terms:
The Gaps Model of service quality (Zeithaml, Parasuraman & Berry 1990) used in the ServQual. Reference:
Then, Customer Journey Maps (CJMs), as referenced in:
Then, Touchpoint Mapping as in references such as:
The second theme relates to Value Network Analysis and the measurement of Value Contribution. Reference:
