Building a One-of-a-Kind Insurance Experience

One of Japan’s leading and largest medical and cancer insurance companies.

CHALLENGE

The client’s 242 FTEs were already providing contact center (35%) and back-office support (65%), from 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays. But with an ever-growing customer base and:

300,000 inbound calls a year, as well as
1,000,000 documents

A strong, long-term partner was needed, to deliver timely support for inquiries from its policyholders, along with back-office support for its conservation unit.

SOLUTION

Aligning workflow for maximum efficiency, we consolidated contact center and back-office functions, resulting in quicker response times and improved overall quality of operations. We provided timely service with accurate information, through email, calls, and back-office support.

To manage the inbound calls volume, we enacted ongoing back-end support for payout/benefits claims, and had agents initiate calls to cover overall policy conservation support, including:

lapse prevention,
reinstatement/premium payment reminders, and
confirmation calls in support of policy finalization.

We also identified different peak times — daily, hourly, and monthly — for 20 lines of business (LOBs). With the help of multi-skilled agents, workload was allocated to peaked LOBs, which further streamlined operations and contributed to improved efficiencies and cost reduction.

RESULTS

Costs were reduced by 20%, since we turned policy conservation efforts into a one-stop shop, from handling inquiries to data encoding and validation to documents dispatch.
Documentation errors went down to a mere 0.004%, through streamlined operations.
With error rate down, other KPIs were achieved, including handling 13 cases per hour.

Healing Pain Points in Medical Insurance

Challenge

The Philippine arm of one of Europe’s leading insurers was struggling with a high abandonment rate, despite their substantial agent headcount. They also faced limited opportunities for further growth, due to the manpower cost of hiring employees with experience in the medical field.

Solutions

Inspiro hired qualified agents who had completed units in Allied Health courses, resulting in a team of 31 full-time employees, backed by 24/7 inbound customer support for service inquiries and medical availment assistance. Agents underwent intensive training to support seamless transition in handling different service splits, while team leaders received daily coaching. All of this balanced manpower cost-efficiency with the need to provide round-the-clock domain knowledge and quality service.

Streamlining digital operations — with email and mobile app processing of availment requests — addressed numerous issues, including average handling time (AHT), abandonment rate, quality, reliability, service level, and productivity. We created templates and generated reports, enabling the client to track all contact center metrics and performance, optimizing decision-making and mitigating abandonment.

Results

Inspiro met or surpassed all key metrics for the project, as follow:

Service level went up, from 40-45% to consistently above the 80% goal, averaging 97%.
Overall quality score likewise consistently exceeded its 90% target.
AHT was within target, despite additional agent tasks and skill complexity.
Abandonment went from 15% to the goal of 5% – down to a third of the previous distressing rate.
Reliability also exceeded its 95% goal, coming in at a perfect 100%.

Inspiro’s customer experience solutions help healthcare providers manage their pain points, so they can focus on what matters most – their patients and members. Let’s discuss how Inspiro can handle your headaches today!

Winning with a New Viewpoint

Challenge

With most people staying home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the US’s leading satellite TV providers needed to make sure support was on point, if not better than ever, to sustain existing and prospective customers through the quarantine effectively.

But with their customer relationship agents likewise confined to quarters, service was in a state of transition, just when consumers’ volatile emotional status was making substantial customer and opportunity loss a very real threat.

Solutions

The client put particular emphasis on their quarterly CORE 4 site-versus-site competition, focused on driving key metrics: close, prequalification, move, and save rates. CORE 4 primarily targeted the client’s US domestic sites, to the point that vendors were not informed the competition was ongoing, as vendor sites were simply not expected to win.

Meanwhile, Inspiro, like most other companies, was struggling through the transformation to a blended onsite/offsite operations model, in the process experiencing a mild but alarming dip in performance.

This was quickly addressed by our Operations and Synergy group and our agents themselves, with team and individual coaching sessions to ensure adaptation to the new normal, 100% leadership engagement from end to end of shifts, and constant forecasts and follow-throughs, including webcam monitoring throughout shifts.

Results

Although unaware that we were gaining points for hitting metrics and conceptually losing points for failing, Inspiro achieved goals week after week, consistently earning bonuses — for close and prequalification close rates — and zero penalties.

Finishing the quarter with a 117% performance index, Inspiro won CORE 4, overtaking seven US domestic and four other vendor sites – an unprecedented accomplishment, demonstrating our ability to deliver on our commitment to excellence, and provide unparalleled customer experience, contest or no contest.

Shifting Gears to Rev Up Customer Satisfaction

CHALLENGE

A leading Japanese automobile manufacturer wanted to improve its overall call center experience, with the concept of ‘customer service beyond expectations, to deliver satisfaction and loyalty’.

From general inquiries and suggestions to escalating complaint calls to reporting call center performance, the client was looking for a complete transition from their in-house operation to an outside vendor. They also wanted to extend service hours to 24/7 availability, while ensuring their brand name wasn’t compromised.

SOLUTION

With an initial ten FTEs in place to handle operations, incoming calls were managed via a tiered approach, wherein general inquiries/complaints were handled by Tier 1 Technical Support, while more complex issues were streamlined to the client through a ticket system, escalating the matter to Tier 2 Technical Support. This was in stark contrast to the in-house inbound and outbound call system – juggled internally without any managed technical support group.

Also, an after-sales support system was established, to continue the legacy of customer satisfaction with the help of outbound calls. With the new system in place, it became easier to gauge the quality of calls on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis for performance monitoring.

RESULTS

Due to the tiered technical support, answer rate was recorded at 99.7% vs. the agreed target of 96.5%. Since calls were managed by personnel with the required technical know-how, average speed of answer went up to 97.3% vs. the 90% target. Customer satisfaction was likewise recorded at 93.8% vs. the 90% target. The service-level agreement of 15 seconds or under per call was met, while exceeding all these other specified metrics.

Uninterrupted CX with Inspiro’s At-Home Solutions

CHALLENGE

Following consecutive announcements of state-wide and country lockdowns due to COVID-19, we have to immediately mobilize a work-at-home solution to minimize disruptions to client operations without compromising security.

SOLUTION

To facilitate rapid deployment, we categorized accounts based on connection requirements. Priority was given to campaigns that require connection to our network. To minimize risks, company PCs were configured with secure VPN access prior to deployment to employees’ homes. For campaigns utilizing web- or cloud-based apps, VPN access was installed on employees’ personal PCs for added security.

RESULTS

Successfully transitioned 1,000 employees to work-at-home setup in 5 days.
Commendation from a long-standing client for being the first vendor to fully implement a work-at-home solution for affected onshore and offshore operations.
Consistent service levels for both on-site and at-home agents as per clients.

Business is (Still) Blooming

CHALLENGE

With one of their busiest times of the year approaching, a leading United States-based floral and gourmet gift retailer needed to perform their usual Mother’s Day ramp-up — hiring and training, through outsourcing partners such as Inspiro, 1,600 agents — amid the far-from-usual challenges posed by the coronavirus lockdown.

The scenario meant a complete change in recruitment and delivery strategy, along with a massive shift from an 11-year brick-and-mortar delivery model to a 75% work-from-home (WFH) and 25% work-from-site (WFS) scenario.

SOLUTION

To spread the news on hiring social media was used, which resulted in 15,000 applications for 1,600 positions. The seasonal Talent Acquisition team was tripled, to screen applicants one-on-one and identify the top tier.

Computer setups were then installed at each agent’s home, with the Training group adjusting their process to prepare and teach the team using digital collaboration tools, including Webex, Microsoft Teams, Skype, and Google Hangouts. IT created a website to further provide agents with software and hardware setup and troubleshooting help.

Standards were meticulously maintained via hourly performance updates on the WFH agents, while a buddy system paired new hires with seasoned agents, for consistent guidance.

Inspiro is more than an outsource partner – we have created a relationship where our customers are theirs…

RESULTS

Out of three vendors, Inspiro was able to meet the client’s FTE requirements and was therefore awarded more than 50% of the work volume, from the initial agreement of ~35%.

Even with the increased workload — as well as the out-of-the-box solutions necessitated by the pandemic — transactions increased by ~40% for the client compared with the previous year, leading to an extension for two to three weeks’ additional work due to excellent performance.

Inspiro was acclaimed the best vendor for the May seasonal ramp, with the client enthusiastically stating, “Inspiro is more than an outsource partner – we have created a relationship where our customers are theirs, and they work diligently to meet and exceed all processes and KPIs. Every year, we introduce more business and challenges to this team, and they take them on with much gusto and always deliver results. The entire team at Inspiro is a pleasure to work with.”

Inspiro Drives Sales Improvements for a Retailer

The client is a US-based floral and gift retailer. Its product line consists of many leading brands of gourmet foods, flowers and plants, and gift items.

CHALLENGE

The retail business, especially in the floral and gift space, has many spikes in demand during holiday seasons such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Christmas. Demand can increase by tens of thousands of calls per day with erratic arrival patterns. The client needs to significantly scale up in capacity and sought an outsourcing partner that could source and retain the right talent while maintaining consistently high quality of customer service.

SOLUTION

The client chose Inspiro in 2009 for its skill in inbound sales and customer care. Over the seven years of partnership, Inspiro has delivered an omnichannel solution with innovative ramps and retention measures.

As a pioneering leader in customer relationship management outsourcing in the Philippines and one of the best-known in the country, Inspiro has built a reputation as an outstanding place to work. Inspiro recruiters form partnerships with local schools and businesses in sourcing for talent. Local businesses advertize Inspiro job fairs, and the company has set up kiosks at fast-food restaurants for onsite interviews to augment interviewing conducted on company premises.

Over the nine years of partnership, Inspiro has delivered an omnichannel solution with innovative ramps and retention measures.

The interview process includes an innovative post-offer screening prior to the employee’s start date. This screening ensures that the agent understands the work to be done while enabling the interviewee to confirm the fit. Pre-screening has an additional benefit in substantially reducing attrition to approximately 4% per month. Average tenure of the core group is two years.

Inspiro has developed a successful employee referral plan. More than 40% of the hiring on the client engagement comes from referrals. And the new agents stay with the company to return after the ramp down.

RESULTS

The recruitment mix enables the company to ramp the team from around 180 to 1,100+ FTEs at multiple sites within six weeks to prepare for the biggest ramp, which is the Mother’s Day seasonal ramp. Not only is the company able to provide people in a short time, these are the right people to achieve sustainable customer satisfaction. Inspiro was the first partner to break the client’s CSAT sales score of 9 and has received the BPO Partner of the Year Award for three consecutive years.

Inspiro Reduces Average Handle Time for Voice Tech Support

The client is a satellite television provider. Their digital video recorder is said to be the most complicated in the industry. Inspiro provides the client Tier 1 through Tier 3 technical support.

CHALLENGE

Technical support calls traditionally have a longer Average Handle Time (AHT) than customer care calls. Issues take longer to explain, diagnose, and resolve. AHT on technical support calls for this client average 803 seconds, which exceeds the target of 660 seconds.

SOLUTION

By analyzing call recordings, entries into the CRM system, and personally observing agent activities on the floor, Inspiro’s quality team identified the root causes of high AHT: Agents are multitasking on many devices and not focused on the call, lack of product and promotion-specific training, and limited agent familiarity with cables and input sources. All of these causes were quickly addressed.

Site leadership enacted a stricter Code of Discipline for unauthorized access of restricted websites, personal internet mail, chat, and social media networks. Agents would therefore only have the call on which to focus their undivided attention. This was also reinforced with call audits and continued personal observance of the call floor. To address training issues, agents were given more interactive and frequent training, which included hands-on exercises with cabling and hardware. Articles in the knowledge base and agent login screens described the latest promotions.

RESULTS

These solutions enabled the team to reduce AHT from 803 seconds per call to 681 seconds per call. With a 4.7% increase in Close Rate, Activations improved by 55%. The solutions also had a positive impact on CSAT. CSAT scores (1 is the lowest, 3 is neutral, 5 is the highest possible score) increased from 4.25 at the start of the project to an average of 4.53.

QA Drives Improvements in CSAT, Sales, and NPS

The client is one of the world’s largest designers and producers of thermal imaging cameras and imaging sensors. The company sells its products through brick and mortar retail as well as online channels. Technical sales involve deep product knowledge and a lengthy consultative approach.

CHALLENGE

The client struggled with customer satisfaction and as a result experienced low Net Promoter Scores. Survey research indicated that 9 out of 10 customers said their issue was not resolved on the call (60% reported that issues were not resolved due to processes), trouble tickets were closed without resolution, and nine out of 10 said the company did not make it easy to do business. Furthermore, seven out of 10 customers said they would not recommend the client’s products to a friend. In early 2015, the client called upon Inspiro to provide inbound customer care, tech support, and sales in English, Mandarin and Japanese. Inspiro located the engagement at a facility in Metro Manila, Philippines.

SOLUTION

Inspiro’s QA team, deploying a Lean Six Sigma methodology, approached these low CSAT and NPS numbers as actionable data. Substantial opportunities existed to make lasting impacts on customer satisfaction while increasing sales. The team divided the survey results into two sets of opportunities. Customer service opportunities included responding appropriately, acknowledging customer’s concern, assuring the customer that the agent was able to help, capturing the customer’s comments into the database, and taking ownership.

Similarly, sales opportunities included responding appropriately, acknowledging customer’s concern, assuring the customer that the agent was able to help, and showing empathy. Sales calls have the added component of looking up products on a website, which degraded customer satisfaction. Measures were put into place to increase agent product knowledge, coach and counsel on empathy and taking ownership, and streamline order administration.

RESULTS

Over the course of a year, CSAT scores climbed steadily. On a scale of 100, CSAT scores for voice (customer service, sales, escalation, and tech support) increased from 83% to an average of 94%, and in some months reached 100%. CSAT scores for email improved from 90% to 94.6%. CSAT scores for chat also improved, from a low of 85% to reaching 100%.

QA Increases Sales Chat Close Ratio

The client is a satellite television provider. The client deploys an omnichannel sales process involving voice, web, email, and chat.

CHALLENGE

The Close Rate for the sales chat channel has struggled to maintain a 10% rate, which is significantly below the target of 12%. Through reviewing chat sessions and ongoing sales promotions, the Inspiro QA team uncovered the following root causes: Promotion (agents lose confidence in the promotion because they know that competitors are aggressive in offering better promotions); Blending (agents work in a blended queue that involves voice, chat and email, and have difficulty maintaining energy and drive knowing that they may stop chatting at any given time; and Tenure (agents lose momentum and motivation to close because they are also involved in customer care chat sessions). Inspiro’s QA team employs a Lean Six Sigma methodology that relies on a collaborative team effort to improve performance by systematically streamlining processes, reducing defects, identifying root causes of issues and recommending solutions.

SOLUTION

Root cause analysis provided actionable data to increase sales. Inspiro’s QA team revised the Sales Chat QA form to provide better questions and responses for the sales agents. Controls were put in place which included a daily audit of the performance dashboard, fortified by weekly calibration and verified with spot checks. The team overhauled the sales training program along with sales incentive programs.

Agent training programs were strengthened to include more information about competitive offers and how to counter them, and to reinforce the training a sales certification program was established. Increased training was provided for agents who split time in sales and care queues, making the transition less stressful for the agent. Escalation processes were also updated, to get supervisors involved more quickly and proactively to save a sale.

RESULTS

The solutions enacted by the QA team achieved positive results. Within six months, the close ratio for the sales chat channel increased to 12.59%, and within eight months reached 12.65%, beating the revenue target and increasing the client’s profitability.