Understanding how to handle customer needs and expectations is critical to success. From better service levels to lower costs to new, innovative product offerings, the pressure is on for organizations to go above and beyond. And, as consumerization continues its exponential growth, organizations need to find better ways to meet the ever-changing demands of their customers and stakeholders.

Far too often we find that the processes created to support a company’s service operations were developed to accommodate outdated, homegrown systems. Because of this, customer service representatives (CSRs) are bogged down by complex, paper-intensive processes and spend most of their time relentlessly searching for customer information within siloed systems. Though this causes frustration, many CSRs have simply accepted the fact that this is the way things have to be.

Wait – Does it really have to be this way?

According to one of our customers, Vision Service Plan (VSP), a provider of high-quality, cost-effective eye care benefits, products, and services to eye care professionals and employers, there is a better way. Like many organizations, VSP realized that most of its CSRs were wasting valuable time searching for account information vital to providing superior service to its customers at the right moment in time. This inefficient way of working was costing the company time and money and was also impacting CSR’s ability to deliver positive customer experiences. The CSR’s needed transparency. VSP recognized that it needed to integrate its processes while enabling collaboration within and across processes. Their solution? OpenText Case360 solution.

The problem (in a nutshell)

After selecting OpenText’s Case360 adaptive case management solution, VSP embarked on a journey to drastically improve operations within its Customer Care Portal and Complaints and Grievances Unit. Twenty years ago, VSP developed an in-house workflow tool to create and route research inquiries to various departments within the organization – involving claims adjustments, complaints, physician inquiries and fraudulent activity reports. Each workflow contained a different set of requirements that needed to be completed in order to process the task. Over the years, VSP’s homegrown system became barrier for innovation and success by preventing the company from servicing and processing external requests in a timely manner.

Creating a signature customer experience

According to Wendy Kimball, Director, Customer Care, VSP had an internal desire to deliver on great customer experience – regardless of the form of contact. VSP assembled a change management team to identify all workflows within the customer service and compliance and grievances groups. In order to do this successfully, they needed to collaborate with people outside these departments to ensure every aspect of the process was captured, understood and automated. Even though users were frustrated with the old system, one of VSP’s biggest challenges was getting them onboard with the new changes that were being implemented. Cautious of the users’ sensitivity to change, VSP’s change management team worked together to engage and transition front-line staff in a way that complemented their corporate culture – this not only involved extensive training, but ensured open, two-way communication between senior-level stakeholders and the end users.

Factors for success

Last week, Wendy Kimball discussed VSP’s new adaptive case management system during ACM Live. During her presentation she offered three critical factors responsible for VPS’s success.

1. Outside-in approach – Organizations need to focus on the customer. You need to put aside time to understand their wants and needs. Make sure that your process improvements enable the customers’  expectations to drive the conversation rather than force-fitting the customer  into your organization’s predefined process.
2. Deliver a signature user experience – Customers need to know that they’re not just another account number. To ensure superior customer service you must eliminate the burden on the customer. With an adaptive case management system built with the customer in mind, you can access critical information in near real-time, provide customers with multiple entry points for services requests (mobile, chat, call center, email, etc.), and give them more time back in their day. And, to provide a great experience for the customer you need to provide a great experience for all the participants in the process, especially the CSRs.
3. Be outcome driven – Metrics are critical for success. You need to know exactly where you are, where you want to be, and the delta in between.

Creating a differentiated customer-driven experience is critical to your success. As a result of implementing a case management system, VSP has already realized $700,000 in annual savings on business operations. To hear more about Vision Service Plan’s success, be sure to watch Wendy’s presentation during ACM Live. And, for additional information about how organizations leverage adaptive case management, visit our Case Management 101 resource center.

Questions? Comments? Feel free to leave a comment below!

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