Meet one of the teams helping to improve our customers’ homes

At E.ON, we’re on a mission to make new energy work for everyone, and that means improving our customers’ homes and helping to lower their energy use and bills now, while also looking at solutions that can help permanently address issues around energy affordability and fuel poverty in the longer term.

Our Energy Efficiency Advice Centre team is made up of specialist advisors who are trained to advise customers on energy efficiency and the personalised steps they can take to make their energy go further, without compromising on comfort at home.

We spoke to Rachel O’Brien, Head of the Energy Efficiency Advice Centre at E.ON Next, to find out more about how we’re helping customers to become more energy efficient at home and the benefits this can bring. 

Can you please explain what the Energy Efficiency Advice Centre is?

The Energy Efficiency Advice Centre (EEAC) is made up of a fantastic customer service team that offer bespoke, tailored energy efficiency advice to every customer we speak to. We manage customer applications for energy efficiency grants and schemes such as ECO4 (Energy Company Obligation), GBIS (Great British Insulation Scheme) and Warm Homes.

We promote our schemes and solutions and provide hands on support to customers going through the installation journey. Everyone in the team has personalised conversations with each customer to truly understand their individual requirements and provide the right support.

Our main objective is to install appropriate energy efficiency measures tailored to the specific needs of each customer. I lead our team to support the delivery of our obligation activities and I’m also the voice of our customers and colleagues into our senior leadership team.   

Are our colleagues trained to give energy efficiency advice?

Everyone in the team completes a NVQ Level 3 Energy Advice Qualification which ensures that our team has a solid understanding of energy efficiency advice and the ability to deliver that advice to our customers, particularly those who are more vulnerable.

From understanding how to best use heating and hot water appliances to identifying the causes of condensation and damp, our team can give expert advice in the ways our customers can reduce their energy use and improve the energy efficiency of our customers’ homes.

Our dedicated team members ask various questions about the customer’s property, they utilise Energy Performance Certificate data and online maps/street view to determine if the property could benefit from having energy saving measures installed. The team also talk to the customer to understand whether they qualify for funding to receive free or part-funded energy efficiency measures such as improved insulation, air source heat pumps and solar panels.

How does this work in practice?

Our experienced advisors listen and act on any prompts or questions they may hear from our customers and are on hand to give energy efficiency advice and support customers with their funding applications or installation journey. We also signpost other charities and support available such as, Turn2us, Age UK, Citizens Advice and our E.ON Next Energy Fund, to help our customers in any way we can.

One key tool we use in the team is Supplier Flex which allows us to support even more of our customers. Supplier Flex helps us to work closely with customers to address their specific energy-related issues and by identifying early signs of debt, we can take preventative steps to mitigate the risk of them falling into fuel poverty.

It’s essentially an eligibility route where we can support fuel poor customers who wouldn’t usually qualify for the government funded schemes to access funded solutions and have energy efficiency saving measures installed.

What are the main benefits the centre has delivered for customers? And what impact has the team had? 

We have supported thousands of customers through our schemes and solutions by accessing funded schemes, directing to non-funded solutions or with expert energy efficiency advice. We continue to hear how the work our team has done has meant customers are either reducing their energy use and bills or are simply now able to turn the heating on, following the advice we’ve provided. It’s great to know that these customers are now living in warm, dry homes.

The feedback we receive from customers is incredible. The most popular word we hear is “helpful”, often referencing the advice and support customers have received from our team and how we’ve helped to improve the quality of their lives.

What about feedback from colleagues?

Our colleague feedback is just as incredible. Our teams have a huge sense of pride in what they do and how they help struggling customers.

Our teams are really passionate about the work they do. We have dedicated “Energy efficiency heroes” that take a lead on any changes or new ways to save energy. Our colleague feedback is consistently positive, highlighting that even though the conversations can be difficult, with vulnerable fuel poor customers, they’re happy with the work they do and feel that they make a difference.

One of our advisors, Alison Derbyshire, shared how she finds working in the team: “I'm incredibly proud of our work in the Energy Efficiency Advice Centre. The more we can reach out to people and insulate their properties, the more likely they are to turn down their thermostats and reduce the amount of fossil fuels the nation is consuming. That gives me lovely fuzzy feelings to think that I'm having that tiny part in helping improve our customers’ lives and save the planet.”

What do you think makes this programme so special?

It’s a fantastic opportunity to really help and make a difference. At E.ON Next, we have a critical role to play in addressing societal challenges. Having the opportunity to work with other organisations, sharing best practice and ideas, working together to break down barriers to opportunity is really exciting.

Sometimes it’s important just to take a sit back and reflect on what we actually do as there are loads of examples of the great work we do across the company. It’s so important to understand how we can help and support with the challenges people are facing across society. 

There genuinely is a belief across the team that the work we do improves lives, helping customers to reduce their energy use and bills.

What have been your key highlights leading the advice centre?

Bringing the EEAC together and building an operation from scratch was a big achievement. We grew the team to manage applications across various government funded schemes for energy saving measures, and to address the need for energy saving expert advice, all whilst managing existing applications and making sure we were there for our customers.

We also have a huge focus on people and culture, creating a space where colleagues can thrive and develop. To see the us in the place we are now is fantastic, and a huge testament to the great team we have. We have such a great diverse range of employees across the EEAC, they all come with various experience both in work and life. I love to see everyone working together, supporting each other and putting our customers at the heart of everything we do.

Any challenges you’ve had to overcome?

Government schemes can be incredibly complicated to navigate, and restrictions may mean a property isn’t suitable so we can’t help in the way we want to. We always provide customers with energy efficiency advice and explore any non-funded solutions, but unfortunately these can sometimes be too expensive to justify.

We also have a challenge at times with recruitment. It’s vital that our colleagues understand how to manage bills and outgoings and how maintain a property in some way when working in the EEAC as this ensures that we can relate to all our customers and the advice we’re giving is impactful. But as an entry level contact centre role, it traditionally appeals to younger people, likely still living with parents and not paying the utilities bill. We take this into consideration when recruiting and we’re really proud of the diverse workforce we have.

Are there any plans to scale the Energy Efficiency Advice Centre?

It feels as though we’re in the right space, but we still have plenty to do. We’re working with teams across E.ON to ensure that our customers can access the support we provide in the EEAC, and we’re also reaching out across The Purpose Coalition to promote what we do and learn from each other.

We’re in a culture of continuous improvement and are always looking for ways to make things even better. 

If you had to describe what working in the Energy Efficiency Advice Centre is like in three words, what would they be?

Proud, exciting, opportunities.