Top 5 Agent CX Improvement Stories
Outstanding Compassion
“Turn a negative situation into a positive experience.”
Lori showed an impressive 16% increase in her World Class Calls from 2013 to 2014. In addition, Lori’s dedication in servicing her members can be seen in her other servicing attributes for 2014. Through Lori’s use of the Eight Step Process, coaching, focus feedbacks, service mentor and the desire to do the best for her members, she worked to improve her overall percentage of World Class Calls and her First Call Resolution rate. Throughout Lori’s tenure at our company, in her role as a Member Service Representative, she has shown outstanding compassion in servicing the member population. Lori takes her time to ensure that each member she services leaves the call with the assurance that their issue has been heard and resolved. To support that, Lori was nominated by a satisfied member and recognized through our employee recognition program in 2014.
Below are a few comments from satisfied members provided via SQM surveys: “Lori took care of my problem and made sure it was fixed with great patience and respect. She answered my question, she even gave me some additional information that I hadn’t thought of but I was grateful for that. I was satisfied because she was very professional and handled everything I asked for and did everything she said she would do. She was prompt, polite, she resolved my issue and she had great patience explaining something to me.” Lori also displays great ability to turn a negative situation into a positive experience. “She handled all my questions professionally. The rep analyzed the claim and is resubmitting it for any adjustment. Because she solved my problem, very simply.” Due to Lori’s hard work and devotion to servicing our members to the fullest, she was recently promoted to a new role as a Quality Reviewer. In this role, she is able to share her servicing passion and skills to help CSRs build upon their strengths and learn from their weaknesses as we continued to focus on “the member experience.”
Lori Guy-Robinson – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
From all Business to Outstanding
“Imagine the feeling when I realized I was actually the worst representative.”
Working in a World Class call center is amazing, until you realize you are not one of those World Class representatives. As if not being a World Class representative wasn’t bad enough, imagine the feeling when I realized I was actually the worst representative in the department. This was me at the end of 2013, the bottom of the list at 71%, not a good feeling. I was disappointed in myself and felt I let my team and the call center down. Instead of feeling down in the dumps, I used this opportunity to take a look at what was setting me apart from my peers and challenged myself to meet the goal of becoming a World Class Certified CSR in 2014. I pushed myself to discover what I was doing wrong, and what I could do better. That being said, it wasn’t easy for me.
Week after week, I was disappointed with another bad survey. Most of the time they appeared to like me, but something was still not connecting. So I asked for extra help not only from my Team Lead, but another representative who was performing well in this area. I would reach out to them and ask “what would you have done on this call?” and “what could I have done differently?” I received one on one coaching sessions from my Team Lead focusing on analyzing my calls to hear and find those opportunities. Week after week, I was given new ideas from my Team Lead to try, such as different phrasing options, focusing on tone of voice, and how to connect with the caller. I tried each one, but one day something clicked when my Team Lead said to me, “you sound like a robot” and “you are all business”. While this was hard for me to hear, she was absolutely correct, I did sound like a robot. This was the aha moment for me. I did care about my customers, but you could not feel that connection when listening to my calls.
After working in this call center for almost eight years, I was all business. While I was focused on ensuring first call resolution, I was jumping right to the solution and not listening to the customer’s emotional side or being where the customer needed me to be. I had thought that I was showing my caring by getting right to the solution, but this did not have the intended impact. I was missing the acknowledgements such as, “congratulations on your new baby” or, “I’m so sorry for the loss of your father”. My Team Lead reminded me that while I may have taken the same type of call with the same type of issue multiple times that day, this was the first time the customer was encountering this issue and I needed to take them through that journey and earn their trust. So I took that advice and week after week my surveys were improving and coming back with resolved, World Class, and even with outstanding feedback. Because of the help and guidance of my Team Lead, who I truly owe this turn around to, I went from being at the bottom of the World Class percentage ranking to one of the top representatives. I was able to increase my World Class percentage from 71% to 91%. I feel that this was my greatest accomplishment in 2014.
Amy Duhamel – BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont
Dig a Little Deeper
“Peter went the extra mile to ensure our customer’s needs are met..”
When we think of customer service we often refer to “soft skills”, an incredibly important part of any customer service role, but has anyone thought about “Peter skills”? Achieving a 31% World Class improvement in 2014 is no easy feat, and certainly not done without a little creative thinking. Peter’s style on the phone is often something the leadership team jokes about wishing we could bottle, adding his creative thinking to our ICBC brand. In this particular situation Peter received a call for a claims history letter. Upon review of the requested letter, Peter and the customer became involved in a conversation regarding multiple at fault claims which came as a surprise to the customer and a frustration towards Peter. Although frustrated by the surprising outcome, our customer had received their initial request and the call could have ended with a standard closing remark – putting himself in the customers shoes Peter decided to dig a little deeper.
Through an interview with our SQM Quality Assurance Supervisor I learned one of Peter’s best assets is his ability to relate to a customer’s concern, seeing situations through their eyes. Although the customer did not ask, Peter offered to review their CRS discount believing there may be a possibility to save our customer money while maintaining a positive perception of Peter, the Call Center and ICBC. Drawing upon his extensive product knowledge and thorough review, Peter noticed the customer’s discount on his current plate was in fact incorrect. The customer had Learners License history which had been mistakenly missed, improving the discount by two levels resulting in a significant financial savings. It’s of no surprise the call ended on a positive note; Peter went the extra mile to ensure our customer’s needs are met. Building trust with our customers is one of our main goals at ICBC, Peter’s consistent drive to follow through on our commitment is clear in each call which is why I am nominating Peter for this award.
Peter O’Meara – Insurance Corporation of BC
Strive for Improvement
“I’m very proud of myself for what I’ve accomplished, and I look forward to getting even better next year..”
I admit that it was a challenge for me to handle a mortgage account like Nationstar Mortgage when I started. It was a complete 360 degree turn from what I used to do as a travel agent for more than 4 years. At first, I found it difficult to adapt to this new line of business because it was a totally foreign concept to me, being in the Philippines, where we don’t have mortgages. One thing both jobs have in common was that call resolution was the key. Since realizing this, it became my primary goal, and I managed to improve my call resolution skill by mastering my product knowledge. I take the time to read communications, training tips, and the updates sent. This helped me a lot in terms of decision making, and it helped me boost the customer’s confidence towards me and the business.
As a customer service representative, I understand that we represent Nationstar Mortgage. Building the confidence of our customer is the principal goal that we need to achieve. I keep in mind that the customer sees me as Nationstar and not just a mere customer service representative. So, it’s critical that I am capable of giving appropriate assistance and reliable options to each and every call. At the end of the day, if I want to achieve call resolution, I need to know what I’m doing, which is why being an expert on the product is so important. The coaching and support that I received from my mentors, and the feedback that I got from SQM helped me improve my overall CSAT score from 43% in 2013 to 66% in 2014. Not only did my SQM scores improve, but all of my performance metrics got better. Treat your customers just like how you treat your grandmother, this was my very first lesson when I became a customer service representative. At first, it did not make any sense to me. All I knew was to resolve the customer’s concern and that’s the end of it. But eventually it gave me a wider view of being a customer service representative, to give extra care to our customer.
I noticed how it helped a lot when you try to laugh at times with the customer, or try to relate with where they are coming from. I may sound different over the phone than in my normal speaking voice, but it feels good when you help someone as if you were there beside them all the way through. Here’s what one of the customers had to say about me in a commendation e-mail they sent to my supervisor: “He gave me the information I wanted and his name was Greg. He was great, and I’d like to speak to him again. He also gave me a little insight into your business since I have not received anything from your company because you just got my mortgage without my knowledge.” I feel like I’ve made a huge improvement over the past year, I’m very proud of myself for what I’ve accomplished, and I look forward to getting even better next year.
Abraham (Greg) Muyco – Nationstar Mortgage
Raising the Bar
“I made it a priority to ensure that my callers knew that I was focused on them.”
As I reflected on my overall performance at the end of 2013, I decided to challenge myself to improve my World Class Status. The previous year, my goal was to attain World Class status, which I was able to do with 82% World Class Calls. I knew that I could do better in 2014, so I gave myself the goal of reaching a rating of 90%. I knew that this was an ambitious goal, but I was confident in my ability to attain it.
I decided that the easiest way to increase the World Class Call rating was to improve my CSR Csat and Call Center Csat ratings. If I was able to make the customer happy, I knew that this would greatly improve my chances of increasing my World Class status. I began by providing options to my callers whenever necessary. For example if an item was not covered on the plan I would check if they had the option for a health spending account, and failing that make them aware that they could also use medical expenses as a tax deduction. I would always take ownership of a situation, simply by telling a caller that I would be able to resolve their queries or concerns went a long way toward improving both my CSR Csat and Call Center Csat ratings. Taking ownership allowed my callers to be confident that I would be able to assist them. The customer satisfaction increases went hand in hand with my call resolution. By taking all of the necessary steps to ensure that I was satisfying my customers, I was also making sure that I was resolving the reason for their call. I always made sure that I was going the extra mile on each of my calls. This could have been by investigating multiple claims and having them adjusted, or by making sure I was answering all of their questions about their coverage or plan.
I made it a priority to ensure that my callers knew that I was focused on them, and that it was extremely important to me that I answered all of their questions. I really wanted them to know that they were the priority and that we are here to help them. By focusing on these areas, my World Class Calls began flooding in. As I started seeing these exciting results, I was motivated even further to continue this trend. This motivation allowed me to not only achieve my goal, but I exceeded it by finishing at 92% World Class Calls.
Lauren Balzer – Sun Life Financial