Oracle (News - Alert) recently announced that it has upgraded the legacy customer care and billing system of Avista Utilities – a major provider of energy services and utilities to thousands of homes in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
The previous system that Avista used was reportedly more than 20 years old. It was time for a change, so it looked to the Oracle Customer Care and Billing software to bring it up to date. The new system appears to be most important to the call center, which handles customer concerns. Agents received training on the new system as part of the upgrade, and in-house reports show that customer satisfaction has been maintained and agents are confident in their roles.
Vicki Weber, the director of customer strategic projects at Avista, commented that her company named the transition Project Compass (News - Alert) because it would have an impact on the organization as a whole. She further noted the reasons why Oracle stood out from the crowd.
“We selected Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing because it is a utility-friendly system that supports Avista's future, strengthens the customer experience, and increases operating efficiencies while providing new opportunities to build on our excellent customer service reputation,” Weber said.
Avista selected Oracle through a process of identifying which products could meet its performance benchmarks and which could provide the necessary training to customer care agents. The focus on training led the company to a mix of Web-based courses, classroom training, self-directed practice with the new system, and company activities that would help build agents' skills. Overall, more than 300 employees engaged in more than 27,000 hours of training to get ready for the switch.
Their readiness was essential because there would be 362,000 electricity customers and 323,000 natural gas customers who could need their assistance with everything from service connections to billing. Field service agents also needed to know how to use the system so they could integrate their work in the field with the corporate-wide knowledge base.
The transition appears to be a success both with customer satisfaction and with the comfortableness of employees. Training on the new system has prepared the agents to meet the needs of the public and fulfill their daily tasks. That is what businesses ask of such a large transition, and it should only improve with time.
Edited by Maurice Nagle