- Improvement of Customer Satisfaction
Feedback from our customers is the origin of all our ideas. In order to increase customer satisfaction (CS), all Toshiba Group employees operate from a customer perspective. This applies not just to those who work in direct contact with customers, such as those in sales and after-sales services, but in all divisions, from development, design, manufacturing, product quality, corporate staff, and so on.
FY2024 Key Achievements
- We conducted an e-learning program for Toshiba Group employees on the importance of improving customer satisfaction.
Toshiba Group Customer Satisfaction Policy
The Customer Satisfaction Policy of Toshiba Group is to make the voice of customers the starting point for all ideas and provide products, systems and services that deliver customer satisfaction.
Toshiba Group Customer Satisfaction Policy
We make the voice of customers the starting point for all ideas and provide products, systems and services that deliver customer satisfaction.
- We provide products, systems and services that are safe and reliable.
- We respond to requests and inquiries from customers sincerely, promptly and appropriately.
- We value the voice of customers and endeavor to develop and improve products, systems and services to deliver customer satisfaction.
- We provide appropriate information to customers.
- We protect personal information provided by customers.
Sharing and Utilization of Voice of Customers
Toshiba Group has set up call centers for different product groups and services. We share complaints, opinions, and requests regarding our products and services received through our daily sales, repair, and service activities, as well as by telephone and the internet, with relevant departments, and we use this information to improve product quality and repair services.
We also respond to customer inquiries concerning the products and services offered by Group companies, both in Japan and overseas, through the Toshiba Customer Information Center. It provides cross-divisional services to our customers, such as by guiding them to our specialized call centers and forwarding calls to the division in charge.
Toshiba Group Call Center Structure in Japan
Activity Example: Connecting Directly with Customers to Provide Security and Peace of Mind
Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation has established Service Information Centers in Tokyo and Osaka. These Centers serve as command centers for maintenance services by collecting and sharing information on approximately 110,000 elevators and buildings facilities nationwide, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The system we have established enables the Centers to provide full backup even in the event of a failure or disaster, in cooperation and collaboration with the Company’s branches nationwide. As part of its CS activities, Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation has set up a booth where customers can experience the Service Information Centers and learn about their initiatives in areas such as operations, monitoring, and disaster response. In FY2024, about 2,100 people visited the Centers.
Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation
East Japan Service Information Center
Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation
West Japan Service Information Center
Activity Example: Providing Various Services around the Clock throughout the Year
Toshiba Automation Systems Service Co., Ltd. provides maintenance services for social infrastructure system equipment, such as banknote processing equipment, ID issuing equipment, railway station equipment, and logistics and postal equipment, and supports customers in around 20 countries, including Japan, with a 24/7 support service network. The call center has many service experts and features a layout that gives consideration to operators’ work environment. There are enrolled and striving to improve the quality of daily operations by leveraging their experience to improve customer satisfaction.
Toshiba Automation Systems Service Co., Ltd.
Call Center, Field Engineering Headquarters
Activity Example: Aiming to be the Contact Center of Choice through Visualization
In January 2022, Toshiba IT-Services Corporation relocated its contact center functions from Fuchu City in Tokyo to Shinkoyasu in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture. In order to provide support that meets the needs of our customers in their business environment, we created a single point of contact for general inquiries and a point of contact for issues and offer support for a wide variety of products, including business systems, storage, networks, and servers. To facilitate smooth service, we brought together engineers involved in after-sales support at the Shinkoyasu office and made it a base for technical support. Furthermore, during tours, we provide demonstrations utilizing tools to introduce aspects from telephone service to dispatching maintenance personnel and providing on-site technical support as a visualization of our services. We aim to be the contact center of choice by sharing value with our customers.
Toshiba IT-Services Corporation
Shinkoyasu office
Improvement of Support to Customers
Toshiba Group is working to develop human resources and improve customer support by providing various types of training for employees involved in inspection, repair, and service activities, as well as by holding a CS Competition, where employees compete in showcasing technical abilities and customer support capabilities.
Activity Example: Human Resource Development Activities of Toshiba Elevator
To provide customers with more reliable and higher quality services, Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation has installed a large number of elevators and escalators at its Field Training Center in the Fuchu Complex. The Company is focusing on providing training to specialized engineers to familiarize them with the equipment through its own unique training programs, including training on maintenance work, learning how to use measuring instruments, safety training, and passing on know-how that has been accumulated through many years of experience. In FY2024, approximately 4,500 people have been working to improve their skills by taking courses in specialized technical training and management training.
Field Training Center
Training
Activity Example: Strengthening Customer Support Capabilities through the CS Competition
Toshiba IT Services Corporation holds a CS Competition in which employees compete to demonstrate their task competence, manners, and skills in various service activities. This competition is derived from the “Maintenance Technology Contest,” which was held starting in 1987 and later revived in 2007 with the aim of “bringing back the good culture of the past and realizing a cheerful, energetic company” as well as “realizing a company that customers and their families can be proud of.” It has become a place both to demonstrate advanced technical skills and to take the next step forward for young engineers.
In FY2024 (the 31st event), 32 people competed in 4 categories*, with 558 people attending, including customers and employees from Toshiba Group companies.
By sharing the competence of the competitors, we are working to improve Employee Satisfaction (ES) and thus Customer Satisfaction (CS).
- “Business negotiations,” “system operation,” “telephone answering,” and “maintenance techniques.”
CS Competition
The “telephone answering” competitions
The “maintenance techniques” competitions
Improvement of Customer Satisfaction (CS) Mind of Employees
Customer Satisfaction Improvement Month
Each year, Toshiba Group designates November as Customer Satisfaction Improvement Month and rolls out various initiatives. The goal is to deepen employees’ understanding and awareness of the importance of customer satisfaction.
Message from the President
To mark Customer Satisfaction Improvement Month, a message from the President is distributed to all Toshiba Group employees. This message thoroughly communicates the importance of acting from the customer’s perspective and the overall significance of customer satisfaction.
E-learning to Improve Customer Satisfaction
We provide e-learning for Toshiba Group employees to improve customer satisfaction. In FY2024, 67,320 Toshiba Group employees in Japan (representing 99% of all employees) attended the e-learning sessions and learned about the importance of enhancing customer satisfaction.
Training of Employees on Supporting Customers
Toshiba Group offers various training programs for its employees to help them understand the importance of customer satisfaction and acquire the skills necessary to provide good customer support services.
In FY2024, we distributed training videos on “the basics of business communication” and “the basics of writing business e-mails” to improve skills.
Policy on Customer Information Protection
Toshiba was quick to recognize the importance of protection of personal data, and in 2000 established the Toshiba Personal Data Protection Program based on its Privacy Policy. The Company strives for continual improvement in its management system.
Toshiba clearly states the purpose while using customers’ personal data and, in principle, obtains such information directly based on the consent of customers. The majority of the information is basic personal data essential for contacting customers or providing services, such as name, address, telephone number, and email address. Toshiba appropriately handles personal data in accordance with internal regulations and rigorously controls personal data using a framework integrated with the data security management structure. When outsourcing operations that involve the handling of personal information, we select and manage contractors in accordance with our internal standards.
The principal purposes of use of personal data held by Toshiba are published on the following website.
Please refer to the Cyber Security Report for details on personal information protection.
Universal Design
In our society, there are people of different ages, genders, races, and religions, as well as persons with disabilities.
Toshiba Group is promoting universal design (UD) in order to contribute to the realization of a society where everyone can live at ease and in comfort, regardless of these differences.
Toshiba Group will further deepen each employee's understanding of the concept of universal design, and will create UD products and services that incorporate user feedback and ideas. We will also promote UD in the workplace.
For details on our initiatives, refer to the Universal Design section on the Toshiba website.
Internal Education
In FY2024, as part of our in-house education on universal design, we conducted a senior simulation program that allowed designers who joined the Company in FY2024 to experience what it is like to be a senior citizen. Experiencing body movements and physical states similar to those experienced by seniors was an opportunity for people to become aware of various physical and psychological aspects of senior life. They realized that the everyday items they casually use have been carefully designed for user-friendliness. They also noticed that as their sensory functions declined, they became less sensitive to other people’s presence, and they grew quieter. We will provide the viewpoints required for design, and connect these to our future activities.
Communication with Outside Organizations
To spread and promote the use of universal design, Toshiba Group provides information on its own initiatives and the results of its activities and also actively collaborates with outside companies and organizations.
Activity Example: Provided Free Online Seminars on Ergonomics
Ergonomics is an academic field that forms the foundation of universal design. The free online seminar series, “Ergonomics – Learn from a Designer” which began in FY2021, released three new installments in FY2024. The series provides easy-to-understand explanations of the knowledge needed to design user-friendly products and services. Around 100 participants attended each session, and we received positive feedback in the form of comments such as “This can be applied to all kinds of work,” and “I want to recommend it to my colleagues.” We have also seen significant traffic to our YouTube channel, which features all ten seminar videos released to date. We will continue to share information related to universal design in the future.
Activity Example: Interview on Universal Design by a Student from Ritsumeikan Moriyama Senior High School
As part of their “Period for Integrated Studies” class, a student at Ritsumeikan Moriyama Senior High School is conducting research on universal design. We welcomed a third-year student from the school to our corporate headquarters, where a representative from our design department participated in an interview. We received questions about topics such as our Company’s universal design initiatives and our Universal Design Advisor System, through which employees with disabilities and non-Japanese employees within Toshiba Group can participate in the development and evaluation of our universal design products. In addition to explaining the fundamental concepts of universal design, we also introduced its application in the social infrastructure field. Furthermore, we gave a demonstration of the simulation tools that our designers use in their daily work, helping to deepen the student’s understanding of the subject.
