TMCnews Featured Article

October 17, 2011

Knowlagent Training Implementation Improves Call Center Operations Performance, Customer Loyalty

By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor

A number of global markets are surprisingly commoditized, making it increasingly difficult for companies to achieve a specific differentiation and competitive advantage. As a result, there is an increased demand for superior customer service and personalized care to attract the quality customer and secure long-term loyalty. This focus demands the optimization of the assets within call center operations and one healthcare provider set out to ensure new staffing models did not undercut customer loyalty.

This Knowlagent case study took a deeper glance into the activities of this healthcare provider and how it ensured quality across agent populations within its call center operations. A key initiative for this company was the staffing of the call center operations with a combination of on-premise and at-home agents, as well as offshore outsourced agents. The total customer service representative population was 3,000, and cost savings as a result of the new staffing model were significant.

The challenge for this healthcare provider, however, was the threat to quality performance. The new approach to staffing its call center operations threatened the consistency of quality service, delivery and customer loyalty. Constant agent training and coaching is a necessity in the complex healthcare industry. Additionally, agents need to develop techniques and problem-solving skills that would successfully address a variety of customer types, including doctors, customers and administrators.

This healthcare provider needed a better call center operations solution to address training and coaching to ensure quality service consistency. The implementation of classroom training for a global workforce was out of the question as it would be costly, logistically difficult and a complete drain of staff productivity. The healthcare provider instead selected a solution that could be directly delivered to the desktop of each employee within call center operations, irrespective of their physical location.

The implementation provided customized training modules delivered automatically to agents during low call volume periods or regularly scheduled training intervals. The training content was tailored specifically to the needs of each individual agent based upon his or her performance, quality monitoring systems and supervisor input. As a result, agents gained access to short, albeit engaging, learning breaks to drive up quality metrics without affecting productivity.

With this Knowlagent implementation, the call center operations for this healthcare provider were globally consistent and higher overall quality was achieved to improve customer loyalty. The company also experienced higher new employee retention, a flattened learning curve and higher new employee quality scores. Claims processing accuracy increased across the board, while overall processing time was reduced.

And, most importantly, labor costs and customer loyalty for this healthcare provider have more of an inverse relationship, demonstrating the power of appropriately managed call center operations.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jamie Epstein

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Knowlagent Training Implementation Improves Call Center Operations Performance, Customer Loyalty

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