I think with the ever changing health care industry, products are going to continue to become more and more complex. In the past, often times call centers would have, people who’ve been there for a while and they had the stored knowledge in their head. So we needed something that the answer would stay consistent so that the customer would get the correct and accurate answer every single time.

We’re in the business of pleasing people and if we don’t we lose membership which would also infect brand loyalty. The tool itself, if you actually do a cost analysis, pays for itself very quickly. Every call we can actually quantify to a dollar amount.

By being able to give the answer quickly and effectively the first time, it actually helps cut down on the load of calls and repeat callers.

I think in the past, call centers would really focus on almost a kam kaze style training approach.

We had really tried to cram in a lot of information as fast, and as much as you could in a short period of time in order to get, new representatives up and on the phones.

What would end up happening was reps would not be confident coming out of training class and therefore they would not feel very secure those first few months on the job. What Penviva has done has helped us shift the focus from really learning everything to learning core soft skills, general insurance information, and also how to use the tool.

I think taking this pressure off the reps having to know everything has really helped us, grow a stronger, more confident team, and it has helped take some of the pressure off the trainers to have them more focus on things like soft skills, problem solving, de escalation techniques, classic skills that often get overlooked in the need to get new people up on the phones.

Since putting in the tool, our engagement scores have actually gone up twenty five percent. Companies with good intentions may think they’re setting this folks up for success when in fact they haven’t given them the right tools. You have the tool, so let’s deliver on it.

I think that as long as we monitor the tool and make sure that people are using it consistently, there is no excuse for your handling time not to come down. We’ve given guidelines to the staff of how to navigate, how to find the answer, how to deliver that answer, and how to then document accordingly. Additionally, when things change, it’s very easy to make those changes. We, like every other company, goes through ups and downs with business and makes changes based on business needs. When we find a problem or a policy or a practice that we wanna change, the tool makes it very easy to just cascade down such changes.

Our satisfaction scores as well as, the questions relating to accuracy of answers have gone up significantly. By having the tool and driving home a habit that they have to use the tool, reps are delivering that consistent answer every time. It builds confidence in both the members and the reps. Our repeat calls have gone down, grievances have gone down because the information is being relayed consistently throughout the floor. Whether the member calls once, whether they call three times to ask the same question, they’re getting the same answer.

I think that it just helps us all work smarter. I think the tool is really great for anyone in any sort of operational setting that really needs to rely on answers that could possibly change at a time. The tool gives the flexibility to the administrator to deliver those changes. The tool gives the flexibility that whether the person is in the office or remote, the ability to receive those answers and those updates in real time. And one thing we haven’t really talked about here is from a manager perspective, there’s tools that help us know who’s using the tool and who is not. So therefore, if one of your staff person isn’t improving, you have a tool to see, well are they using the tool? And therefore, if they’re not using the tool, that’s just that’s your coaching moment.

You can get better, use the resources you provide, or then it becomes a different discussion. So I think it gives a lot of important management tools besides just the knowledge base. It gives, peace of mind to the customer. I think it takes some of the administrative burden off the the the manager. And then from a cost perspective, it does help really, eliminate some of the waste that exist today.

I would say that you can invest in all the technology you want. Faster, broadband, a better IVR, a much improved portal. But if you’re not giving out accurate information, it’s all for nothing. So I think that it really has to be one of your top priorities to say, “How can I ensure my customers are getting the right answer every time?” So my answer is, it should be on the shortlist.