At Lush, two separate departments with very different microcultures had been merged to form a new digital customer care team. On paper they were “one team”; in reality they were under-resourced, overrun with emails and calls, and still acting like two separate groups.

They were working out of a shared Gmail inbox, with no proper workload management, no clear processes, and very little leadership or clarity. People were stressed, making things up as they went along, and there was visible conflict and frustration.

I needed to:

• Bring the two groups together into one cohesive team

• Stabilise workload and reduce stress

• Put in place basic structure, processes and leadership

• Provide the wider business with proper insight into product feedback, complaints, returns and regulatory issues

I tackled it across resourcing, tools, process and culture:

• Analysed incoming traffic (volumes, channels, complexity) to understand true workload and built a case for the resource needed to do the job properly.

• Implemented a CRM system so we could manage workload effectively, track cases, and move away from the chaos of a shared Gmail inbox.

• Designed reporting to give the wider business visibility of product feedback, complaints trends, returns/replacements, and to support regulatory reporting for allergies and reactions.

• Put in place a clear management structure, so everyone knew who they reported to and who was there to support them day to day.

• Introduced sensible KPIs that focused on both productivity and quality, rather than just “get through as many emails as you can”.

• Created a feedback mechanism for the team to share ideas, raise issues, and feel heard, which helped surface problems early and reduced simmering resentment between the two legacy groups.

• The two clashing groups became one cohesive digital customer care team, with a shared way of working and clear leadership.

• Conflict within the team reduced to effectively zero, and day-to-day stress levels dropped as workload and expectations became manageable and transparent.

• Productivity and efficiency improved significantly thanks to better routing, tracking and KPIs.

• The wider business now had clear visibility of customer feedback, complaints and trends, and regulatory reporting for allergies and reactions was handled properly and consistently.

• CRM Systems
• Leadership Coaching
• analytics
• Report Design
• Resource Management

• BI & Analytics
• Digital Enablement
• Process Effectiveness & Automation

• Retail and Consumer