Insurer Integrates Workforce Optimization Solutions to Gain Productivity, Improve Service

A Melville, N.Y.-based workforce optimization management solutions provider has helped a Chicago-based insurer upgrade its capabilities and create a unified workforce management (WFM) platform, according to a case study detailed in InsuranceTech.com.

Combined Insurance, a supplemental insurance carrier, implemented Verint's (News - Alert) ULTRA call recording application two years ago. The insurer has now integrated workforce optimization solutions into the call recording application to add a greater degree of transparency into its operations.

Brian Coleman, VP of operational control and risk management at Combined Insurance, said, “With the WFM tools we were able to determine the effectiveness of a particular worker, but we also discovered that there were work activities on that person's desk that previously hadn't been accounted for.”

Workforce optimization is often part of an insurer’s larger strategic maturity path, according to Evan McDonnell, VP of solutions at Appian, a provider of business process management solutions. He described workforce optimization as a “secret weapon” for carving out competitive advantage through greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Combining the ULTRA call recording application and other WFM tools was key to the carrier making the most of its workforce optimization capabilities. The implementation has helped the insurer identify new use cases. In 2011, the company decided to upgrade the call recording tool to unify the workforce-related data into a single toolkit, so they chose the workforce optimization solution.

The initiative to integrate the call recording application with the latest version of the vendor's WFM capabilities began in November 2011. The integrated capabilities now increase managers' visibility into processes and additional coaching opportunities. It also brings about "equitable discussions" that fully appreciate the personal contributions and concerns of employees.

Before the 2011 upgrade, the ULTRA call recording tool had to be accessed separately, so managers had to go to two different places to monitor performance, according to Coleman. The upgrade has now helped the company centralize the access. The 360 suite also provided a dashboard view, which brought a new level of ease of use over the multiple, separate spreadsheets Combined had relied on in the past.

Further, by pulling the two databases together into one environment, the insurer's management could go to a single source for metrics-driven performance monitoring and quality assessment, according to Coleman.

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