Launching a Call Center on the Right Foot

A major insurance company, well known for its customer service, was consolidating its operations into one regional call center. The shift to a centralized model would create important economies of scale; however it was a significant departure from its branch model. The head of the center wanted to ensure there weren't dips in throughput and quality - and that within a short timeframe it could surpass current levels.

Strengthening relationships key
One of the lynchpins to their success had been the close relationships of service reps and their branches. With that physical proximity now gone and reps having to service a product base rather than geographic one, they'd have to change how they built and sustained relationships. Both the head of the center and her direct reports wanted to ensure they were putting structures and processes in place to do this.

What we did:

• Created a strategic roadmap around 6 areas of critical focus for the coming year
• Helped plan initiatives that would embed relationship building skills and practices into the organization, including making it central to training and development
• Advised leaders on performance management strategies that would motivate employees to put relationships first, including making these skills a requirement for advancement
• Conducted interviews and an extensive 360 assessment for the leader in order to provide detailed feedback of where she'd need to develop to succeed in her new role
• Coached the leader around growing and developing her team to be able to excel in their new roles in this expanded operation

Increased customer satisfaction
Within six months, throughput and quality numbers were back to previous levels. Six months after that they improved. Subsequent feedback from supported branches indicated equivalent and higher degrees of satisfaction over the previous branch model.