CHALLENGES

The executive team was concerned about the level of service provided by multiple call centers across the organization.  Preliminary evaluations showed that the level of service was inconsistent and hurting their image in the marketplace.

ZELUS APPROACH

A detailed needs analysis by the Zelus team revealed that performance standards differed from call center to call center as did level of training between these groups.

It was also discovered that each group had different practices for handling exceptions and executing work that was not metrically measured but important to service level.

RESULTS

• Consolidation of smaller call centers into a larger central team to improve key performance metrics by increasing the staff pool available.
• Revised set of organizational effectiveness measures aimed at ensuring all aspects of the customer experience are viewed with equal importance.
• Development of a comprehensive training curriculum for the call center that focuses on functional knowledge and expertise while creating a career path for representatives.
• The team also executed a comprehensive and aggressive re-training plan addressing individual and department deficiencies without sacrificing overall performance
• Execution of a rigorous quality program that monitored individual quality across three dimensions.
• Creation of area specific performance standard expectations for each distinct work product including development of reporting automation, exception handling, and guidelines for non-measurable work in the department.
• Development of a corresponding self-funding incentive plan and roll-out strategy to support the quality and performance measures.

CHALLENGES

The insurer was not meeting its key performance targets in the customer service, claims, and correspondence areas including:

• Inquiry Timeliness
• Inquiry Accuracy
• Average Speed to Answer
• Abandonment Rate
• Claims Timeliness
• Claims Accuracy

ZELUS APPROACH

Zelus worked with the insurer to determine the root cause of the issues and implemented customized solutions including:

• Designed and implemented workflow improvements resulting in removing 4 days from the claims cycle.
• Designed and implemented a comprehensive skills assessment for all areas.
• Developed a comprehensive Customer Service Training Program.
• Developed a comprehensive Claims Training Program.
• Developed a comprehensive Correspondence Training Program.
• Assisted struggling trainers by delivering components of the training as needed, often with little to no notice.
• Evaluated team leader and manager capabilities via Zelus-developed calibration process and developed coaching program that upgraded leadership skills significantly.

RESULTS

• Improved performance score results by 17% in six months.
• Improved performance score results by an additional 23% in the next 12 months.
• Performance score improvement earned the client significant incentive dollars.
• Improvements led to national recognition for the insurer.