Why Efficient Service Is Failing Your Business with Sean Keane, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Service Economics.

Sean Keane, Co-Founder of Service Economics, joins Michelle Ansell on The Impact Room to discuss why many organisations are unintentionally designing inefficient service systems, and how this is impacting cost, customer experience and operational performance.

Drawing on extensive experience in regulated industries, Sean introduces the concept of service effectiveness, challenging traditional approaches focused purely on efficiency, automation and cost reduction.

Key themes include:

Understanding value demand vs failure demand

Why up to 80% of customer contact can be avoidable

The financial and operational impact of “service waste”

The limitations of traditional metrics such as Average Handle Time and First Contact Resolution

How organisations overspend on technology by solving the wrong problems

The importance of leadership curiosity and operational visibility

Practical steps for new COOs and Customer Leaders in their first 100 days

Sean highlights a critical shift in thinking:

“If you chase quality, the cost takes care of itself.”