When a CEO says, “I don’t see the value of my contact center,” who’s fault is that?
I was at an event yesterday speaking with a couple of CEOs from medium‑sized organisations. I asked: “Does your customer service center bring value to your business?” It’s a question I always ask C-level or board members I meet.
One CEO said something that stuck with me: “Not as much as I think it could. My CS leader doesn’t show me results that give me confidence to invest more — especially when finances are tight.”
That comment has been echoing in my mind and it made me wonder: Is this a CEO problem or a CS leadership problem?
Here’s the uncomfortable truth many won’t say out loud: CEOs don’t invest in what they can’t see.
Too many CS leaders still talk in activity — not value.
|
They report ACTIVITY:
- Interaction volumes
- SLAs
- handle times
- staffing challenges
- customer complaints
- lots of numbers from dashboards
|
But CEOs want to see VALUE:
- revenue protected
- cost avoided
- customer lifetime value
- risk reduced
- brand trust
- digital adoption uplift
- ·operational resilience
- linking CS outcomes to business outcomes
- citizen / ratepayer gains
- investment cases
- demonstrated maturity
- benchmarking performance
This is the language of the business. This is the language CEOs understand.
|
So, is this a CEO failure not to see value in the service center? Not really. The CEO’s “failure” is secondary:
- not probing deeply enough
- not setting expectations
- not demanding a value narrative
But CEOs can only work with what is put in front of them.
If the CS leader cannot translate operational metrics into business outcomes, the CEO simply cannot justify investment or feel any confidence or enthusiasm.
This applies equally in the public sector. Some BPOs have figured this out; many still haven’t, sticking rigidly to contractual reporting rather than demonstrating true value.
A Value Visibility Gap
The center may be delivering value, but if the CEO can’t see it, it doesn’t exist.
In the CEO’s eyes: no business outcome = no value.
In a tight economic climate, “invisible value” is the first thing to be cut. This is why so many centers remain underfunded, under-recognized and underused. (Hopefully this is not the case in your center.)
Leaders do want to make value visible, but lack the proper frameworks, measurement discipline, storytelling capability and business fluency.
Curious to hear from others: Are we facing a leadership capability gap in CS or a strategic blind spot at the executive level? Reach if you like to have a conversation!