Customer Satisfaction with DTCC: Steady at 91%
Overall customer satisfaction with DTCC remained at 91% for the second year in a row, according to the latest customer survey. DTCC delivers “innovative products; solid service; consistency in processing; [and is] very responsive,” said one customer. “They are easy to work with. They get stuff done,” summed up another survey respondent.
The data also indicate DTCC’s ratings compare favorably within the industry. The Melior Group, which conducts DTCC’s annual survey, noted that when benchmarked against comparable survey questions for other financial institutions in its database, “DTCC scores above The Melior Group’s industry average on almost all key metrics.” Additionally, overall satisfaction is above the industry average for the fourth year in a row.
Customers first
“Putting customers first is a driving force in DTCC’s business model,” said Donald F. Donahue, DTCC chairman and CEO. “It starts with listening to our customers, understanding their business priorities and delivering products and services that anticipate and address their needs. It also entails an unwavering commitment to quality programs such as Six Sigma that enable us to lower costs, increase quality and efficiency, and employ metrics to track progress.”
Donahue added that DTCC employees are the foundation for customer satisfaction. “We take great pride in the dedication and commitment of all DTCC employees in striving to not only meet – but exceed – customer expectations,” said Donahue. “Their efforts are an essential component of our ability to deliver consistently high customer service.”
As a key component of the ongoing customer dialogue and DTCC’s response to it, DTCC asks customers for feedback on its performance, and the Customer Satisfaction Survey is the primary tool for obtaining this feedback.
“We use the survey results to measure our efforts to improve customer satisfaction over the previous year; to isolate factors that may lead to lower satisfaction levels; and to identify opportunities to improve satisfaction going forward,” said Paula Arthus, DTCC managing director, Relationship Management. “The survey feedback provides important input for developing metrics-driven customer satisfaction action plans at both the enterprise-wide and business-unit levels.”
Driving perceptions
The four primary drivers of customer satisfaction with DTCC, according to The Melior Group’s analysis of the data, are:
- Transaction-processing capabilities. Customers indicated 93% satisfaction (vs. 95% last year). “The number of trades they settle is phenomenal, great accuracy,” commented one customer.
- Commitment to quality. DTCC received a 90% satisfaction rating, compared with 91% last year. “They continue to deliver quality solutions at a good price that is good for the industry,” said a customer.
- Customer service. The satisfaction rating for this critical aspect of how DTCC serves customers was 84%, up 3 points from 2006. “The service has significantly improved over the last 18 months,” said one customer. “I think they have done an excellent job of listening and responding accordingly,” noted another.
- Customer-centric. This rating reached 80% satisfaction, a 4-point increase from 2006. “DTCC has increasingly become more open to suggestion and more proactive in working through their issues and industry problems,” said one customer. Respondents also are keen for DTCC to expand into areas beyond their traditional products and services. Suggestions included “Expand into other operational processes that would result in savings;” “Think a little further outside the box;” “More focus on non-core products;” and “More aggressive addressing inefficiencies within the industry.”
Key attributes
The survey asked customers to rate their satisfaction with various attributes/qualities that reflect DTCC’s values and priorities. Of the 13 attributes measured, customers expressed the highest satisfaction with integrity: 95% (vs. 94% last year). “They reliably perform admirably to support our industry and our firm … a trusted advisor,” summed up one survey respondent.
“Customer confidence in DTCC’s integrity and reliability is the baseline for our role in the industry,” said Donahue. “Our customers entrust a critical component of their business to DTCC and they understand that we are absolutely committed to serving the industry with the utmost integrity.”
Ratings for other key attributes remained stable, including 82% satisfaction with effectiveness in reducing risk (vs. 84% in 2006) and 74% satisfaction for innovation (vs. 73% in 2006).
Focus on functionality
DTCC maintained strong satisfaction scores in key functional areas. The company received a 92% rating for the breadth of the product/service line (vs. 90% in 2006).
In addition, satisfaction with DTCC’s product/service array was high: 12 of the 16 products that have been in the market for more than three years met or surpassed DTCC’s goal of 85% satisfaction. (The 85% goal marked an increase from 80% for the previous three years.) “They absolutely deliver what the industry needs,” said one customer.
DTCC’s technology received 87% satisfaction for connectivity and 82% for hardware and software (both ratings up 1 point from 2006). “Overall, I feel DTCC strives to put forth excellent systems,” said one customer. “They provide a value-added service to the community … robust and sound systems,” said another.
Customer satisfaction with “technology-related attributes” ranged from moderate to high, including a solid increase in the rating for DTCC’s ability to anticipate customers’ technology needs to 77%, up from 69% in 2006.
In the technology-related category, business continuity garnered the highest rating, with 90% satisfaction (vs. 87% in 2006), followed by “ease of use” at 89% (vs. 85% in 2006). An area requiring improvement is “leveraging the Internet,” which received a 72% satisfaction rating, the same as last year. “We would like to use the Web features, but understand there are a few issues that need to be ‘ironed out’,” said one survey respondent. “Please keep participants informed of this progress.”
Problem resolution
Problem incidence declined for the third year in a row. Most customers surveyed (76%) did not experience a problem with DTCC in 2007, compared to 72% last year. That means 24% of customers had a problem, an incidence rate that is “fairly typical for major players in the financial services industry,” according to The Melior Group.
The survey findings also indicate that the more severe the problem, the less frequent the occurrence. Of customers that faced problems over the past year, 24% were significant, 42% moderate and 47% minor (some customers faced more than one type of problem). In a related category, customers indicated satisfaction with DTCC’s “sense of urgency when responding to customer concerns,” which increased to 80%, up from 75% last year. “While this is a strong step in the right direction, increasing our sense of urgency will be an area of focus across DTCC as part of the action planning process to address survey concerns,” said Arthus.
“Data from previous surveys indicated that the more severe the problem, the less satisfied customers were with DTCC’s ability to resolve it, which led us to focus on improving significant problem resolution,” said Adam Bryan, DTCC managing director, Customer Service. These efforts are “starting to bear fruit,” according to The Melior Group.
All together, 39% of survey respondents expressed satisfaction with DTCC’s ability to resolve their significant problems, up from 24% in 2006. Satisfaction was lower for the resolution of moderate and minor problems. “However, this does not appear to have affected overall satisfaction in a negative way, suggesting customers feel DTCC is focusing its attention in the right place,” said The Melior Group.
Customer recommendations for improving satisfaction with problem resolution included escalating problems more quickly and communicating more.
Talking to the customer
DTCC communicates with customers through a variety of mechanisms, including its Website, Development Agenda, annual report, Important Notices and customer newsletters, as well as via meetings, industry forums and committees.
This year, the customer satisfaction rating with DTCC’s communications was 86% (vs. 85% in 2006). “Regardless of whether communication is focused on new products/services or information on the current array, customers feel adequately informed by DTCC, with actual dissatisfaction at 2% or less,” said The Melior Group.
Customer comments include: “They are very good communicators;” “Good communications with problems and general information;” “Clear communications.”
What’s more, in a key communications-related category, satisfaction with DTCC being proactive in letting customers know when problems arise increased to 84%, up 6 points from last year.
Notwithstanding overall satisfaction with communications, many customers cited the desire for more. Suggestions for improvement included, “DTCC needs to communicate its benefits more frequently and formally;” “More communications about their strategy;” and “More information regarding new products and training on those products.”
Another theme in the customer comments was the desire for more in-person contact. “Hold quarterly briefings for segmented customers,” suggested one customer. Other recommendations included: “More senior-level meetings with DTCC leadership on industry trends” and “More interpersonal and media communication.”
Leading the industry
Ratings for DTCC’s industry leadership climbed to 85% satisfaction, up 5 points from 2006. Here is one customer’s perception of DTCC on this score: “Global leaders. [We] want them to continue their customer-centered focus and embrace innovation on all levels and work to understand their customers. They work hard on this.” Another said DTCC has developed a “more entrepreneurial internal culture that looks for new markets and opportunities.”
When asked how DTCC could strengthen its leadership role, one customer said, “People have preconceived ideas of DTCC’s spaces, and DTCC needs to define spaces outside this.” Another said, “Continue to leverage their marketplace strength and position as a thought leader to combine to drive innovation in the industry and among participants.”
To gain insight into strategic issues on the minds of customers, the survey process included interviews with a group of senior executives to discuss issues related to DTCC’s current and future role in the industry. “The comments made by these respondents are an important source of feedback on what we are doing well, where we could add additional value through the expansion of our capabilities in providing new services and how we can extend and enhance the delivery of our core services,” said Tom Costa, DTCC managing director and general manager, Clearance and Settlement Group.
When asked to identify the issues of greatest concern to their firms now and for the next few years, many executives pointed to globalization and the need to address processing inefficiencies in global markets. Here are representative comments:
- “Globalization is the key issue.”
- My concerns are “international consolidation of financial services infrastructure. What is DTCC’s role in the global market?”
- “The international platform – consolidating clearance and settlement platforms across the world.”
On the topic of partnering with DTCC, 91% of executives interviewed consider DTCC as a partner, citing the organization as an integral part of their business. “They are very collaborative and interested in the success of my organization,” said one. Another summed up the partnership this way: “Without them, we have no product to offer our clients. They are an integral part of offering products in marketable fashion.” @