The Evolving Role of Process Automation and the Customer Service Experience

Transcription

1 The Evolving Role of Process Automation and the Customer Service Experience Kyle Lyons Managing Director Ponvia Technology Gina Clarkin Product Manager Interactive Intelligence

2 Table of Contents Executive Summary... 3 The Customer Service Chain... 4 Process Automation: Applying a Solution, Not Just a Product... 7 Impact on our Knowledge Workers... 9 Measuring and Monitoring Corporate Technology Strategy The Authors Copyright Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. All rights reserved. Brand and product names referred to in this document are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Interactive Intelligence Group Inc Interactive Way Indianapolis, IN Telephone/Fax (317) Rev , version 1 Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. 2 The Evolving Role of Process Automation and the Customer Service Experience

3 Executive Summary Over the past 20 years, contact center organizations have made significant investments in technology and people in an effort to improve service and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of how that service is provided. While contact center automation has enabled many organizations to achieve great improvements in these areas, the pressure for continued cost reduction and improved service has not subsided. As a result, many companies are being forced to more closely examine those areas of the customer service chain that indirectly serve the customer, but that still have direct impact on the cost and service outcome. With the contact center serving as the front line of the customer service experience, resources increasingly involved in service delivery and problem resolution often include subject matter experts, back office support staff, and knowledge workers or field service teams. Fortunately, companies that have been able to reap the rewards of an intelligent technology investment in contact center automation can now look to extend that investment to enhance customer-centric processes at any touch-point in the organization. When evaluating a technology strategy, consider whether your contact center automation can extend to process automation and increase the effectiveness of all employees involved in providing service to the customer. Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. 3 The Evolving Role of Process Automation and the Customer Service Experience

4 The Customer Service Chain The customer service chain is the set of steps taken and activities performed by a company to satisfy the service needs of its customers. In many instances, these activities start in the contact center upon initial delivery of the interaction to either a self-service platform, such as an interactive voice response (IVR) application, or to a customer service agent. When and how this occurs is generally based on a set of servicing objectives (e.g., Service Level) and operational criteria enforced through routing, queuing and delivery logic. In almost all cases, this logic is carried out through the use of technology. Once the interaction is delivered, the servicing entity (i.e., IVR or Agent) follows a set of interaction handling steps to guide the agent or the customer through the process of identifying the need and taking the necessary actions to fulfill that need. However, not all of the necessary actions can be completed during the course of that interaction and, as a result, may require post interaction work to be performed by the agent or a back office resource/knowledge worker. This post interaction work generally occurs when additional research is necessary, approval is needed, or fulfillment is required. These conditions are very common in most industries and as such, represent a large portion of the interactions that occur. Many contact centers have implemented processes, based on best practices and deployed technology, that have helped them realize much of the benefit for the initial handling of the interaction. This includes the integration of the workflow regardless of channel or service target, delivery of information gathered during the previous steps of the interaction flow, the use of business rules in the delivery of the interaction to the best target, the use of interaction handling procedures by agents to guide the servicing of the interaction, etc. However, post interaction work often uses silo ed workflow processes that rely on the agent to provide the required information and interaction history, that provide little insight to the status of the request, and that are submitted to a pool of knowledge workers based on a broadly defined request type (e.g., Medical Claim Question), which often determines the next request to service. By extending the well-defined and proven best practices from the contact center to the back office, organizations can achieve the same level of gains in cost reduction and service improvement that have been, and continue to be, achieved inside the contact center. As an example, one of the most impactful best practices that has been implemented in the contact center is the process of Interaction Delivery. As previously described, this involves the rules, methods and technologies for delivery of an interaction to the best servicing entity, and has allowed contact centers to achieve their service objectives while maximizing resource utilization. Within the contact center, the best servicing entity, is determined based on a set of criteria that may include who initiated the interaction, why the interaction was initiated, the channel used, and operational parameters such as hours of operation, service objectives, and resource availability. Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. 4 The Evolving Role of Process Automation and the Customer Service Experience

5 Extending Interaction Delivery best practices to post interaction work would deliver requests to the best servicing entity (e.g., knowledge worker) based on business rules that may include operational criteria such as servicing objectives (e.g., Response Time), and resource availability. The best knowledge workers to service the request is determined based on a set of criteria that may include the customer for which the request is submitted and the reason for the request. In almost all cases, this delivery logic is carried out through the use of technology. Criteria such as the reason for the request are used to select the best knowledge workers to service post interaction work requests. This identifies the knowledge or skills required to service the request, which are matched to the skills of the knowledge worker to identify possible servicing targets for the request. Selecting the knowledge worker who has the required skills to service the request will reduce the need for multiple resources (e.g., supervisors or peers) to support the servicing of the request. It also reduces the need to transfer requests, and increases the likelihood of accurate results being provided to the customer. Consequently, this reduces the direct cost to service the request, as well as indirect cost, by eliminating additional interactions from the customer to request a status or follow up on inaccurate information. In addition, the risk of not meeting servicing objectives such as Response Time and First Call Resolution decrease, providing a positive customer experience. After identifying the possible servicing targets, the best target is selected based on operational criteria such as the knowledge worker s availability to service the request. Delivering the request to the knowledge worker regardless of their availability (e.g., servicing another request, on break, at lunch, absent from work) results in the request sitting in the knowledge worker s queue. In this case, the queue is a stack of requests on the knowledge worker s desk, delivered via messages, or provided by a system developed in-house, or a CRM system, etc. that will require the redistribution of requests when the knowledge worker is absent. In addition, all knowledge workers do not work at the same pace, which results in the redistribution of requests to ensure that servicing objectives are met. In other cases, the queue may be serviced by multiple knowledge workers (e.g., a group queue). Although this group approach would eliminate the need to manually redistribute requests, it increases the monitoring required to ensure that all requests are worked in order to maintain servicing objectives. Using Interaction Delivery best practices decreases the cost of servicing requests by eliminating the redistribution of work; increases productivity by eliminating the down time incurred while waiting on the distribution of work; ensures that requests are serviced in the correct order; and reduces the risk of knowledge worker morale issues due to uneven workload distribution. Also, operational criteria such as servicing objectives are used to ensure that the correct request is being serviced at the correct time. This is accomplished through the use of business rules, established servicing objective thresholds, and the prioritization of requests. The order in which requests are delivered for servicing is based on the priority of the request, which is set by business rules. This permits control over the order in which requests are delivered for servicing. For example, servicing objectives can be Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. 5 The Evolving Role of Process Automation and the Customer Service Experience

6 monitored for each request. As a servicing objective s threshold is exceeded, the priority of the request could be adjusted to ensure it is delivered prior to a request that has not exceeded the threshold. Providing for effective operations management In addition to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of servicing requests, an Interaction Delivery best practice provides information required to effectively manage operations. First, a more granular view of requests is provided that includes the volume and the effort or handle time for each request. This provides the elements to calculate average handle time ( AHT ) at a level that will provide better insight into the organization s workload. For example, request type A has a volume of 100 requests and an AHT of 27 minutes. Based on the skills required to service request type A, there are four levels of complexity. Level 1 is the simplest and requires the least effort to service each request (i.e., 5 minutes on average) while Level 4 is the most complex, requiring the most effort to service a request (51 minutes on average). Interaction Delivery best practices provide the volume and AHT for each level. Using the same 100 requests, the volume and AHT for each level are: Level Volume AHT This results in a more accurate view of the organization s workload, which is the product of the volume and AHT. The increase in workload accuracy will drive an increase in the forecasted workload accuracy and workforce scheduling. This results in optimized utilization of the organization s resources to support the required workload. Second, schedule conformance can be monitored. Schedule conformance is similar to schedule adherence. The difference is schedule adherence manages to the when, while schedule conformance manages to the daily total time. For example, adherence monitors when an agent actually started a break and returned from a break, compared to the scheduled time for the agent to start and then return from their break. Conformance monitors the amount of time the knowledge worker spent performing the work compared to the amount of time scheduled to perform the work. For example, a knowledge worker is scheduled to service requests for 7.5 hours, have 30 minutes of break time (two breaks at 15 minutes each) and take a 1-hour lunch break. Schedule conformance will compare the actual time the knowledge worker spent in each of these categories to the scheduled time for each category. The reason for the different management approach is the immediacy of the work. In the contact center, real time interactions such as inbound phone calls are being delivered, requiring the right number of appropriately skilled agents to be available and driving the focus on adherence to the schedule. With post interaction work, the requests do not carry the same level of Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. 6 The Evolving Role of Process Automation and the Customer Service Experience

7 immediacy, and the focus is on productivity. Because the Interaction Delivery approach requires an understanding of the knowledge worker s availability, the status of the knowledge worker (e.g., available, busy servicing a request, on break) and the length of time set at the status is known providing the required information to monitor schedule conformance and the workforce s productivity. Third, performance targets can be established, providing better insight into the performance of knowledge workers. Using the example above regarding AHT, performance targets can be set based on the handle time for each level of a request type providing better insight to the knowledge worker s actual performance. When Interaction Delivery best practices are not used, the available information would provide the volume of type A requests completed and possibly the AHT for those requests. However, knowing a knowledge worker s AHT for request type A was 35 minutes versus the average of 27 minutes does not provide a lot of insight to their performance because the knowledge worker could have completed more Level 4 requests, which would increase their AHT. On the other hand, knowing a knowledge worker s AHT for Level 1 requests was 10 minutes compared to a 5-minute average indicates that an issue may exist. This would drive additional research to understand the cause for the difference, along with applicable coaching or additional training. This results in the knowledge worker s AHT meeting the performance target and increasing their productivity. Though company s contact centers have made great improvements in providing efficient and effective service, companies are examining other areas to reduce the cost while improving services. One area being examined is post interaction work that generally resides in back office functions or support departments. Extending Interaction Delivery best practices to post interaction work decreases the cost and improves service through the delivery of the request to the best knowledge worker using business rules that ensure the correct request is serviced at the correct time. Also, this enables an increased accuracy in the forecasted workload and workforce scheduling, driving optimized resource utilization. Overall, extending contact center best practices to post interaction work will achieve the same level of gains in cost reduction and service improvement that have been, and continue to be, achieved in the contact center. Process Automation: Applying a Solution, Not Just a Product As we ve already established, the communications infrastructure is a key part of any process. Interactions of many different media types are initiated, routed, delivered and processed efficiently in the contact center, and in many cases, it s the hand-off of certain activities outside the center that cause processes to break down. Identifying which processes an organization needs to improve is sometimes easier than trying to identify the technology or specific product that needs to be in place to provide the most benefit. Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. 7 The Evolving Role of Process Automation and the Customer Service Experience

8 Organizations will look at many options when trying to apply technology to their process issues, among them: Use what s already in place and see if they can squeeze a bit more efficiency out of it Take on the challenge of building a tool that meets their specific needs (Hint: Don t try this one) Purchase yet another piece of technology that will then integrate to the already multi-integrated communications infrastructure What many organizations, large and small, are starting to realize is that process automation needs to be a core part of their communications platform and not a separate technology or product added onto an existing system. Contact centers have actually tackled this very issue in their recent past. As call centers became contact centers, there was a need for more advanced automated functionality to provide better customer service. If the need for an IVR was shown, an IVR product was acquired and integrated to the current system. A need for after-call surveys? Sourced a product for surveys, and integrated it. Call recording? Sourced a product and integrated it. The pattern was repeated over and over, until in some cases there were so many vendor and product names in the communications room it looked like the electronics section of a department store. And, companies often focused on automation solely as a cost reduction strategy, completely overlooking opportunities for process automation to actually make people more effective at delivering exceptional service and generating revenue. But those days are mostly gone. Now, unified systems are the norm for contact centers: a single platform, built from the ground up, offering all the functionality the contact center needs to provide exceptional customer service. That evolution, initiated in the contact center, is now moving into the realm of process automation and spreading throughout entire organizations. The benefits of using the contact center technology already in place and extending that to the entire organization becomes apparent even when addressing simple processes. Using push technology, just like ACD (automatic call distributor) delivering calls, to now route and assign process work has an immediate impact. The traditional pull method that allowed employees to cherry-pick which tasks they work on is now much more intelligent and measurable. In other cases, the system may need to support complex logic operations such as parallel tasks, conditional branching, wait steps and other more advanced functions. That s where the value of a holistic approach to a solution can start to show a true return on investment. A single system that manages every touch point of an interaction, from the first time a customer initiates contact through all the agents and knowledge workers that need to be involved to provide service, and right up to the survey where the customer tells you what a great job you did! Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. 8 The Evolving Role of Process Automation and the Customer Service Experience

9 But make no mistake any sustainable process improvement involves more than just technology. Determining which process to address first can be a project all on its own. And how those processes are redesigned or modified can be affected by factors such as the industry you re in, the culture of the organization, corporate objectives, regulatory considerations, and other external influences. Only after you ve got a good handle on how you re doing things today, and how you would like (or need) to change, can you turn your attention to technology. Here are a few keys questions you should address in relation to your process automation technology: What will be the impact on our knowledge workers? Can we measure and monitor the effectiveness of this technology? How does this fit with our overall corporate technology strategy? Let s assume we have already installed the type of solution we ve been talking about, a process automation solution based on the communications system already being used, and see how that type of solution would address the above questions. Impact on our Knowledge Workers Companies are recognizing that knowledge workers essential expert resources are critical to success, but that they require better support in the way of information and process tools. According to a 2011 Forrester study on knowledge work 1, " with goaloriented process management heading a list of advanced technologies desired to improve processes, enterprises invest in knowledge workers to influence and enable specific business outcomes and payoffs (in order of ranking): 1. Up-selling and cross-selling 2. Raising service quality 3. Processing more work with fewer people 4. Better adapting to changes in the business 5. Reducing risk and increasing compliance 6. Adding new products and services Extend efficiencies and best practices from the contact center If we transfer items out of the contact center just for the sake of moving them along, it s unlikely that such a move is providing value. However, if we re extending contact center efficiencies and best practices to every employee by intelligently routing work based on prioritization, employee skill, workload, and availability, we ll start to make better use of the time our knowledge workers have to assist in customer-centric processes. And with 1 Forrester Consulting, Knowledge Worker Empowerment Is Vital To Success, Forrester Research, Inc., January 2011 Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. 9 The Evolving Role of Process Automation and the Customer Service Experience

10 a complete solution, rather than adding yet another desktop application, we can enable employees to effectively manage work and interactions in a common interface. The desktop client they use to communicate with customers and other employees should be the same interface they use to manage their work. Further, we can streamline the process by delivering information from multiple backend applications in a single work item delivered to an employee, reducing the need to constantly jump back and forth between applications. Moreover, a unified interface can reduce training needs and the time necessary for new employees to become productive. Measuring and Monitoring Managers in the contact center expect to have a real-time view into the activity (interactions) their group is working on. That same visibility should be available when extending processes outside the contact center to the rest of the organization. Business managers need a real-time view into process status, down to specific work items on an employee s virtual desk, plus the ability to proactively manage work for service level assurance. Real-time monitoring, configurable alerts, and manual or automated reassignment of critical work to the best qualified and available employee are must-haves in today s business environment to help managers determine: How many work items are pending? Who has a work item now and how long have they had it? How long on average do work items take to complete? How many work items have been handled by the team? How can we monitor, alert, escalate and measure against service levels? Provide a historical perspective for analysis and trending The management and measurement of process effectiveness should provide an historical perspective as well, for analysis and trending. The ability to have a complete view of processes, including communications interactions, directly affects the customer experience. With separate systems to manage and report on a process, and no ability to track the process end-to-end (from initial call to final outcome), it may go unnoticed that a customer called in ten times to resolve their issue. Left unchecked, poor customer service perceptions impact the bottom line with customer defections, reduced spending, or broadcast of negative experiences in social networks. Further, many organizations don t know the true cost of a business process, because there is no way to determine all the activity involved people, time, interactions. A communications based process system solves many of these issues for management, assisting to: Identify bottlenecks, gaps in the process Reduce overall cycle time Improve overall throughput Improve work volume / staffing accuracy Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. 10 The Evolving Role of Process Automation and the Customer Service Experience

11 Corporate Technology Strategy Applying technology to influence or change a process just because it s available has caused CIOs in every industry to endure many sleepless nights. While there should be a focus on leveraging the investment in legacy systems already performing key parts of business processes, that should be balanced against the need to rapidly (and costeffectively) adapt processes to changing business requirements. At the same time, knowledge of the goals the organization expects from its technology should be a critical part of any process automation plan. According to the recent Forrester study on enterprise knowledge work, the state of organizations is such that: More than 50% lack coordination of data, content, workflow and rules between key information systems 42% report that business process changes occur at least monthly 38% report that annual process change costs are twice the cost of initial installation an additional 1/3 do not know or measure these costs Heavy IT support is still required for 57%-67% of process changes and updates A communications based process solution supports integration to other applications with simple drag-and-drop and configuration options. Ideally, these integration methods include native support for web services and selectable database actions to exchange data with third-party applications. A unified, communications-based solution will also allow organizations to easily design and deploy process changes, avoiding the typical complex, time-consuming and costly custom programming and integration issues with standalone process automation applications. Conclusion While pressures to improve cost containment and efficiencies are ever-present in today s dynamic business climate, gains in those areas need not occur at the expense of customer service and satisfaction. Advances in contact center technology offer the kind of intelligent process automation that can easily extend to make any employee involved in customer service delivery more effective. Are you well-positioned to take advantage of these process automation advances? Are you ready to assess and address potential weak links in your customer service chain? The weakest link in the chain is also the strongest. It can break the chain. 2 2 Stanisław Jerzy Lec ( ) Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. 11 The Evolving Role of Process Automation and the Customer Service Experience

12 The Authors Kyle Lyons is the Managing Director of the Customer Interaction Management practice at Ponvia. He employs his experience while providing industry leadership and strategies that drive the realization of organizational objectives. Kyle Lyons brings over 24 years of experience in Information Technology and contact centers and has delivered contact center solutions for organizations of all sizes. Prior to Ponvia, Kyle was Commercial West Professional Services District Manager for Genesys Telecommunications. In this role, Kyle was responsible for the delivery of services to Genesys clients for the installation or upgrade of Genesys products to support client s requirements. Before Genesys, Kyle led technology architecture, operations, and development to support SITEL s customer solutions. Gina Clarkin is a product manager for Interactive Intelligence, and has been with the company since With 14 years of experience in software and advanced technologies, her background includes roles in program consulting, program management, business development, and product marketing and management. Gina s current focus is on innovative technology solutions and best practices that help organizations optimize business processes and the customer experience. As a product manager at Interactive Intelligence, Gina is responsible for the product direction and marketing strategy for the company s Business Process Automation and Customer Feedback Management offerings. Gina holds a Bachelor s degree in Music from James Madison University and an MBA from The Lally School of Management & Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. 12 The Evolving Role of Process Automation and the Customer Service Experience