Security Service Federal Credit Union Customer Spotlight

<strong>Security</strong> <strong>Service</strong> <strong>Federal</strong><br />

<strong>Credit</strong> <strong>Union</strong> <strong>Customer</strong> <strong>Spotlight</strong><br />

Avaya CRM Solutions: Individual <strong>Service</strong> Management<br />

HThe Environment<br />

How do you know that a customer has had repeatedly poor service<br />

experiences with your organization, and you’re about to lose them to<br />

one of your competitors? <strong>Security</strong> <strong>Service</strong> <strong>Federal</strong> <strong>Credit</strong> <strong>Union</strong> (SSFCU)<br />

was not willing to risk their 400,000-member base to find out. The 12th<br />

largest credit union in the United States, SSFCU boasts a worldwide<br />

customer base with assets in excess of $2 billion.<br />

Call volumes average 200,000 per month with<br />

agents responsible for service, sales and assisting<br />

members with transactions. The wide variety of<br />

inquiries demand an extensive knowledge from call<br />

center agents such as credit union procedures, promotional<br />

activities, loan information, and assisting<br />

members in problem solving and balancing account<br />

information.<br />

In addition, the call center is operating twenty-four<br />

hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year<br />

and services a varied member base. SSFCU realized<br />

that call center staffing posed a significant<br />

challenge because volumes were tied to several<br />

factors: military pay dates, civilian pay dates, the<br />

promotions offered during certain periods and<br />

new product offerings.<br />

The Focus on <strong>Customer</strong><br />

<strong>Service</strong><br />

Averaging over 2000 calls per month per agent,<br />

SSFCU decided that exceptional service would be<br />

one of their highest priorities. They determined<br />

that their current member base could be sustained<br />

if they could provide efficient and consistent service<br />

to all members. They also wanted to be able to<br />

identify whether a caller had a previous bad experience<br />

and ensure that their next interaction would be<br />

a favorable one. With that in mind, business managers<br />

set out to understand how technology could<br />

positively impact the level of service for all members.<br />

Each of these factors combined to further challenge<br />

SSFCU to create an efficient and customer focused<br />

call center.<br />

Communication without boundaries

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The Solution<br />

The goal to improve service using technology is<br />

realistic with a solution from Avaya. SSFCU realized<br />

the balance between improved service and<br />

technology when they implemented Individual<br />

<strong>Service</strong> Management (ISM), part of Avaya CRM<br />

Central Solutions suite of products.<br />

“ISM gave us the tools we needed to immediately<br />

improve the level of service to our members,” said<br />

Gayle Graham, Senior Vice President, Global<br />

Contact Center.<br />

Part of a client’s overall strategy of customer relationship<br />

management, ISM is tailored to the needs<br />

of the organization.<br />

ISM provides clients unique identifiers or “tasks”<br />

to segment various behaviors or classify members<br />

into specific categories. As a result, call center staff<br />

can determine the best, most appropriate approach<br />

to service when a specific item occurs or a member<br />

calls.<br />

Efficiencies gained through segmentation translate<br />

into personnel savings and improved service<br />

levels. Increased customer satisfaction through<br />

better customer experiences enables the call center<br />

to capture sales that would otherwise be lost and<br />

thus improve customer retention.<br />

“Member retention is one of the key factors to our<br />

growth,” said Graham. ISM provides companies<br />

the ability to collect meaningful data regarding<br />

their service experiences. “The product allows us<br />

to “code” a caller to receive preferential treatment<br />

if their previous experience has been poor. Since<br />

most of our callers are repeat callers, we determined<br />

that making their next call a good experience<br />

would enable us to “rebuild” satisfaction.”<br />

Graham continues, “The caller is not only brought<br />

to the front of the line, but is also connected with<br />

the most experienced agents in the center.” This is<br />

accomplished using skills based routing, which is<br />

key functionality provided by the tight integration<br />

between Avaya DEFINITY® Enterprise<br />

Communications Server (ECS) and ISM.<br />

The Ease of Implementation<br />

Installed in November 2000, ISM provided <strong>Security</strong><br />

<strong>Service</strong> <strong>Federal</strong> <strong>Credit</strong> <strong>Union</strong> with immediate<br />

results in service levels. In the case of SSFCU,<br />

step one in the process was to identify specific<br />

thresholds which constituted “poor prior service.”<br />

SSFCU identified the areas, listed below, where<br />

they felt immediate improvement could be realized.<br />

• Hold time was too long<br />

• Members hang up while in hold queue<br />

• Members were transferred more than 2 times<br />

during call<br />

• Members were placed on hold more than 2<br />

times during call.<br />

“We have the ability, through ISM, to add different<br />

customer service levels to our routing. For example,<br />

with our President’s Club members, we will be<br />

looking to provide them “one stop shopping”<br />

alternatives,” noted Graham. “It’s an added benefit<br />

for a segment of our business. We can make each<br />

experience a positive one and that makes a difference<br />

to the bottom line.”

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“Member retention is one of the key factors to our growth. The product allows us to “code” a<br />

”<br />

caller to receive preferential treatment if their previous experience has been poor. Since most<br />

of our callers are repeat callers, we determined that making their next call a good experience<br />

would enable us to “rebuild” satisfaction. The caller is not only brought to the front of the<br />

line, but is also connected with the most experienced agents in the center.<br />

Gayle Graham, Senior Vice President - Global Contact Center<br />

Results that Matter<br />

Individual <strong>Service</strong> Management can make a difference<br />

in your call center in less than a month. It fits<br />

seamlessly into your call center infrastructure and,<br />

as noted above, can be tailored to meet a client’s<br />

specific needs, because the client defines their own<br />

criteria.<br />

Another result relies on the data gathered through<br />

management reports. Data collected via ISM can<br />

be immediately used to target new training<br />

programs for call center agents. As trend data is<br />

collected, a company can respond to a specific<br />

problem and develop the necessary programs to<br />

ensure all call center agents respond appropriately<br />

and within the desired thresholds.<br />

Gayle Graham noted “we feel that the expenses we<br />

encountered have already been paid back in better<br />

member service. Realizing our intended goal in as<br />

little as one month was impressive.”<br />

A Phased in Approach<br />

“By investing in ISM, we had an opportunity to<br />

step lightly into the CRM program,” added<br />

Graham. “When we make our final CRM decision,<br />

we will already understand the ACD (Automatic<br />

Call Distribution) statistics which we feel are<br />

important and have a better understanding of how<br />

to design a relationship management solution. We<br />

realize a comprehensive CRM system will help us<br />

provide better service to our members, but ISM has<br />

paved the road in a very positive way.”<br />

Contact Avaya<br />

To find out how Avaya CRM Solutions can<br />

enhance your call center experience, contact your<br />

Avaya sales representative or your Avaya<br />

BusinessPartner. Or visit our website<br />

avaya.com/solutions. You can also contact Avaya<br />

directly at 1-866-GO-AVAYA (1-866-462-8292).<br />

Note: Individual <strong>Service</strong> Management is an integral part of an<br />

enterprise solution package including CRM Central, CentreVu®<br />

CMS, and DEFINITY® ECS.<br />

© 2001 Avaya Inc.<br />

All rights reserved.<br />

Printed in the U.S.A.<br />

03/01 • EF-GCC1350<br />

Communication without boundaries