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This case study is reprinted with permission from How Technology Enables Profitability, by Jon Anton, Ph.D. and Scott Davis, published by BenchmarkPortal. The focus of the book is how powerful new technology solutions specifically designed for call centers allow imaginative executives to initiate sales and service strategies that could not have been successfully implemented until now. Dr. Jon Anton has selected specific best-of-breed solutions, and documented the before and after impact of these solutions on such important business elements as revenue generation, cost savings, return on investment, and ultimately, earnings per share. The goal of the research team that Dr. Anton heads at Purdue Universitys Center for Customer-Driven Quality and BenchmarkPortal is to help operating managers improve the performance of their centers, and to provide the tools to help them measure that improvement. From Cost Center to Profit Center is the first-ever compendium of product validation case studies. It promises to be an important source of fact-based information that will be used by many managers to assess and acquire the solutions they need to excel in the future.
Purdue Research Foundation, West Lafayette, IN 47907 Used pursuant to license. All rights reserved. Copyright 2003, BenchmarkPortal, Inc.
This report may not be copied, scanned or reproduced without the written permission of BenchmarkPortal, Inc. Additional copies may be purchased at a reasonable price by e-mailing Information@BenchmarkPortal.com or by calling (805) 614-0123, ext. 10.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 4 Introduction to Our Product Validation Research .......................................................................................... 5 Ideal Components of an Integrated CSR Monitoring and Coaching System for Call Centers ................... 6 Research Project Background ........................................................................................................................... 9 Research Project Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 10 Brief Background of Bank of Oklahoma .......................................................................................................... 11 General Business Conditions that Prompted a New Strategy ................................................................... 12 The Monitoring Process Was Time Consuming .............................................................................. 12 The Monitoring Process Was Incomplete ........................................................................................ 12 The Monitoring Process Was Subjective .......................................................................................... 12 The Coaching Process Had Limited Options ................................................................................... 13 KPIs Before Implementation of the Click2Coach System ............................................................................ 14 Specific Features of the Click2Coach System ................................................................................................ 15 Effects of the Enabling Technologies ............................................................................................................. 16 Effect of the Click2Coach System on Call Workflow Processes .................................................. 16 Effect of the Click2Coach System on Key Constituencies ........................................................... 17 KPIs After Implementation of the Click2Coach System ............................................................................. 19 Financial Analysis of the Economic Impact ..................................................................................................20 Economic Value Realized From the Improvements in Call Center Performance Metrics .......20 Financial Impact on Net Operating Income ................................................................................20 Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 22 About the Sponsor ........................................................................................................................................... 23 Glossary of Terms ............................................................................................................................................ 25 Authors Biographies ....................................................................................................................................... 26
List of Figures
Figure 1. Primary methods used to monitor live CSR call handling ........................................................ 7 Figure 2. Answers to the question: What percentage of your customers give you a perfect score for caller satisfaction? ........................................................................................................................... 7 Figure 3. Correlation of CSR monitoring with CSR turnover ........................................................................ 8
List of Tables
Table 1. Financial Impact of Click2Coach System ........................................................................................ 21 Table 2. Impact of Click2Coach Program on Shareholder Value ................................................................. 21
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank the BOK Financial Corporation, whose story appears in this study, and thank their managers and staff whose cooperation and support enabled us to produce our findings. We also want to express our gratitude to Envision Telephony, Inc. for their sponsorship of this landmark research study.
Executive Summary
The goal of our research was to evaluate the impact that the BOK Financial Corporation (hereinafter, the Bank) experienced following their implementation of Click2Coach (hereinafter, the Click2Coach System). The Click2Coach System is an integrated monitoring, coaching, and e-learning system for customer service representatives (hereinafter, CSRs) developed by Envision Telephony, Inc. (hereinafter, the Sponsor). Specifically, we wanted to determine if CSR monitoring and coaching, followed by e-learning training delivered directly to the CSR desktop, positively affected his/her skill-set and performance. Our objective was to measure and quantify the improved performance levels that CSRs realized after using the Click2Coach System, and calculate the corresponding financial benefit to the Bank. The highlights of our research findings are summarized below. The background and details of this executive summary form the basis of the remainder of this case study.
Ideal Components of an Integrated CSR Monitoring and Coaching System For Call Centers
An ideal integrated CSR monitoring and coaching system should: 1. Provide timely and accurate performance feedback to the CSRs 2. Develop a CSR performance improvement plan, including individualized reinforcement training for each CSR 3. Conduct digital call recording on a scheduled basis, and store the calls for easy playback and scoring 4. Connect with the automatic call distributor (hereinafter, ACD) to identify when a CSR is logged in and available for recording 5. Integrate with the workforce management systems to schedule call recording during times when CSRs are handling calls 6. Ensure that a pre-determined number of calls are recorded for each CSR each month 7. Capture CSR desktop screen displays associated with each call for later playback of the conversation between the CSR and the caller, and the CSRs navigation of the desktop screen 8. Provide on-screen performance evaluation forms, which allow the supervisor or quality assurance professional to score the call and enter comments and suggestions 9. Send recorded calls and performance evaluations to the CSR desktop electronically, allowing the CSR to self-coach, as well as to prepare for an upcoming coaching session 10. Support the creation of on-line, computer-based, e-learning vignettes that can be accessed by CSRs from their desktops, allowing for personalized e-learning to be delivered in quick training bites 11. Provide a management reporting system that tracks individual CSR performance, and e-leaning vignette utilization Todays astute call center managers understand the importance of CSR monitoring and coaching. According to our latest research statistics, the vast majority of call centers (over 95%) are monitoring calls, in some fashion, to measure call quality. Figure 1 shows the different types of monitoring and their percent utilization.
Figure 2. Answers to the question: What percentage of your customers give you a perfect score for caller satisfaction? In a recent survey of call center managers with and without monitoring systems in place, we asked the question, What percentage of your customers give you a perfect score for caller satisfaction? Our research shows a strong correlation between CSR monitoring and caller satisfaction as shown in figure 2.
Ideal Components of an Integrated CSR Monitoring and Coaching System for Call Centers
Figure 3. Correlation of CSR monitoring with CSR turnover Figure 3 shows the results of our research into differences in CSR turnover between call centers with monitoring systems, and those without. The results clearly show a positive impact of CSR monitoring and coaching on turnover. Other key performance indicators (hereinafter, KPIs) that CSR monitoring and coaching systems should positively impact include: 1. First call resolution rates 2. Up-sell and cross-sell conversion rates 3. Cost per call 4. Average call talk time 5. Average after-call work time 6. CSR utilization 7. Training costs
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3. If supervisors were uncertain that they had interpreted the call correctly, they had no opportunity to listen to the call again, since it was not recorded. 4. If a CSR disagreed with or didnt understand their supervisors evaluation of a call, there was no process in place for the supervisor to replay the call or provide backup support. This had the effect of reducing both the credibility of the evaluation and the value of the coaching. 5. In a typical workday, a CSR would handle close to 120 calls. The likelihood that the CSR would remember the four calls their supervisor monitored was effectively zero. 6. Some CSRs worked for supervisors with tougher standards than other supervisors, giving the CSRs a sense that the process was unfair.
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f. communications skills g. role-playing Because of the Click2Coach System, Mr. Morris needed no additional staff to develop and support the e-learning vignettes. One of the first e-learning vignettes developed was a refresher course on handling IRS 1099 calls. Every January, Morris had required each CSR to attend a 30-minute refresher training class. Now they get their refresher training via a nine-minute e-learning session at their desktop. By reducing the amount of CSR time to take the training, Mr. Morriss created enough capacity to handle an additional 412 calls.
4. Supervisors and Managers: The addition of a quality assurance specialist in the fall of 2001 eliminated the 30 hours per month supervisors were spending listening to and evaluating calls. Mr. Morris wanted his supervisors to use this excess time to better organize and plan their coaching activities. In the past, they had to fit in coaching when they could find the time. To help them manage this newly found time, Mr. Morris established standards for coaching activities.
Effects of the Enabling Technologies 17
Supervisors continue to monitor calls, but for specific reasons requiring performance feedback more frequently than once each month. Examples include: a. b. when an individual CSRs performance is below acceptable standards; and when a new marketing campaign or call center contest is in progress.
5. Trainers: Because of the Click2Coach System, the e-learning training modules Mr. Morris and his team developed have reduced the training preparation required, both in time and effort, and have improved training consistency.
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Table 1. Financial Impact of Click2Coach System Financial Impact to the Bank of the Click2Coach System
Value of one additional new account per 1000 calls Value of two additional calls per logged-in hour Total annual value created Initial cost of the Click2Coach System Value created in first year First year ROI Payback in months Ongoing annual expense Annual increase in net income Year 1 $ $ $ $ $ 378,000 110,000 488,000 100,000 388,000 388% 2.5 388,000 Subsequent Years $ 378,000 $ 10,000 $ 488,000
$ $
$ $
70,000 418,000
The Click2Coach System yielded a payback on the initial investment in two and one-half months. Going forward, it will add over four times its initial investment to the Banks net annual income each year. While $418,000 is only a small percentage of the Banks $10 billion dollars in assets, it has a rather interesting impact on shareholder value as the following chart demonstrates. The numbers used in this analysis include the total number of shares outstanding at the end of 2001, based upon the Banks annual report and the price earnings multiple of the Banks stock at 10/31/02. Table 2. Impact of Click2Coach Program on Shareholder Value
Impact of the Click2Coach System on the Banks Shareholder Value Year 1 Subsequent Years $ 388,000 35% $ 137,365 $ 250,635 52,731,791 $ 0.005 11.3 $ 0.54 $ 2,832,176
Annual increase in net income Effective Tax Rate Estimated Taxes Increase in net income Fully diluted outstanding shares @ 12/31/01 Increase in earnings per share Price Earnings @ 10/31/02 Project impact on share price Project impact on shareholder value
$ $ $ $ $ $
We calculated that Banks investment in the Click2Coach System has added approximately $3,000,000 to its overall shareholder value.
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messaging products for Active Voice, a leading manufacturer of voice processing systems. The product has since received several industry awards, including Product of the Year and Editors Choice distinctions, and provides the technology behind some of the most customer-focused call centers in the nation. In addition to providing companies with effective and innovative contact center solutions, Envision strives to align itself with technologically advanced partners who will improve the performance, experience and implementation of solutions for the entire contact center. Forming strategic alliances with leading companies, such as Aspect, Edify, and Cisco, allows Envision to set new performance standards for the contact center industry and create new ways to improve the effectiveness of agentcustomer interactions. Click2Coach is certified for Aspect, Intecom, Rockwell, Avaya, Nortel, Concerto, and Siemens platforms. In addition, Envision supports standard hardware manufacturers such as Compaq, HewlettPackard, Dell, and IBM.
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Glossary of Terms
ACD: Automatic Call Distributor. A device that forwards incoming calls to the next available TSR or answering position. : After Tax Net Income (Earnings): Net Income before taxes minus income taxes. Automated Self-Service Options: Refers to system features that permit a caller to obtain service response without being connected to a live CSR; For example, request a Fax, obtain account information, place an order, etc. through an automated system. Automated Voice Recognition: Technology that enables a caller to verbally speak to an automated voice response system (IVR) instead of using a phone keypad; for instance, to ask questions, make requests, respond to questions, etc. CTI: Computer-Telephony Integration refers to the linkage of a telephone switch (ACD, PBX) and computer systems to enhance call processing. Common applications include screen pop, simultaneous voice and data transfer, and IVR. Earnings Per Share: After Tax Net Income (Earnings) divided by the total number of shares outstanding. Gross Margin: Revenue minus the cost of goods and services sold (also known as gross profit). Integrated CSR Desktop: Refers to a CSR workstation that is configured to provide ease of navigation to CSRs across multiple application screens and windows as part of a CTI system. IVR: Interactive Voice Response. Technology that allows a caller making an inbound call to interact with the data systems by responding to a menu of options. Responses are typically entered by pressing the keys on the telephone keypad; however, voice recognition is becoming more commonly integrated into the process, thus providing a more useful tool. Net Income (Earnings) Before Taxes: Net Operating Income minus interest and other non-operating expenses. Net Operating Income (NOI): Income before deducting non-operating expenses such as interest and : income taxes. To calculate Net Operating Income, subtract operating expenses (sales and marketing expenses + research and development expenses + administrative expenses + other operating expenses) from Gross Margin. Revenue: The total dollar amount collected for goods and services provided. Skills-Based Routing: A feature of an ACD permitting incoming calls to be routed to specially skilled CSRs based upon the type of call, type of caller, type of product or service, etc. Web Chat: A Web site feature that allows for interactive keyboard communication with another person or persons, i.e., an interactive written correspondence.
Glossary of Terms
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Authors Biographies
Dr. Dr. Jon Anton (also known as Dr. Jon) is the director of benchmark research at Purdue Universitys Center for Customer-Driven Quality. He specializes in enhancing customer service strategy through inbound call centers, and ebusiness centers, using the latest in telecommunications (voice), and computer (digital) technology. He also focuses on using the Internet for external customer access, as well as Intranets and middleware. Since 1995, Dr. Jon has been the principal investigator of the Purdue University Call Center Benchmark Research. This data is now collected at the BenchmarkPortal.com Web site, where it is placed into a data warehouse that currently contains over ten million data points on call center performance. Based on the analysis of this data, Dr. Jon authors the following monthly publications: The Purdue Page in Call Center Magazine, Dr. Jons Benchmarks in Call Center News, Dr. Jons Industry Statistics in Customer Interface Magazine, and Dr. Jons Business Intelligence in the Call Center Managers Report. Dr. Jon has assisted over 400 companies in improving their customer service strategy/delivery by the design and implementation of inbound and outbound call centers, as well as in the decision-making process of using teleservice providers for maximizing service levels while minimizing costs per call. In August of 1996, Call Center Magazine honored Dr. Jon by selecting him as an Original Pioneer of the emerging call center industry. In October of 2000, Dr. Jon was named to the Call Center Hall of Fame. In January of 2001, Dr. Jon was selected for the industrys Leaders and Legends Award by Help Desk 2000. Dr. Jon is also a member of the National Committee for Quality Assurance. Dr. Jon has guided corporate executives in strategically re-positioning their call centers as robust customer access centers through a combination of benchmarking, re-engineering, consolidation, outsourcing, and Web-enablement. The resulting single point of contact for the customer allows business to be conducted anywhere, anytime, and in any form. By better understanding the customer lifetime value, Dr. Jon has developed techniques for calculating the ROI for customer service initiatives. Dr. Jon has published 96 papers on customer service and call center methods in industry journals. In 1997, one of his papers on self-service was awarded the best article of the year by Customer Relationship Management Magazine. Dr. Jon has published eighteen professional books: Offshore Outsourcing Opportunities, The Anton Press, 2002 Optimizing Outbound Calling: The Strategic Use of Predictive Dialers, The Anton Press, 2002 Customer Relationship Management Technology: Building the Infrastructure for Customer Collaboration, The Anton Press, 2002 Customer Obsession: Your Roadmap to Profitable CRM, The Anton Press, 2002 Integrating People with Processes and CRM Technology, The Anton Press, 2002 Selecting a Teleservices Partner, The Anton Press, 2002 How to Conduct a Call Center Performance Audit: A to Z, The Anton Press, 2002
26 Improving Agent Performance through Monitoring, Coaching, and Just-in-Time Training
20:20 CRM A Visionary Insight into Unique Customer Contact, The Anton Press, 2001 Minimizing Agent Turnover, The Anton Press, 2001 e-Business Customer Service, The Anton Press, 2001 Customer Relationship Management, The Bottom Line to Optimizing Your ROI, Prentice Hall, 2nd Edition, 2001 Call Center Performance Enhancement Using Simulation and Modeling, Purdue University Press, 2000 Call Center Benchmarking: How Good is Good Enough, Purdue University Press, 1999 Listening to the Voice of the Customer, Alexander Communications, 1997 Contact Center Management by the Numbers, Purdue University Press, 1997 Customer Relationship Management: Making Hard Decisions with Soft Numbers, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1996 Inbound Customer Contact Center Design, Dame Publishers, Inc., 1994 Computer-Assisted Learning, Hafner Publishing, Inc., 1985 Dr. Jon is the editor for a series of professional books entitled Customer Access Management, published by the Purdue University Press. Dr. Jons formal education was in technology, including a Doctorate of Science and a Master of Science from Harvard University, a Master of Science from the University of Connecticut, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Notre Dame. He also completed a three-summer intensive Executive Education program in Business at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. Dr. Jon can be reached at (765) 494-8357 or at DrJonAnton@BenchmarkPortal.com.
Authors Biographies
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R. Scott Davis is the Director of Product Validation Studies at BenchmarkPortal. An industry pioneer, Scott first began working with call centers in 1971, when he was instrumental in the development of an operator scheduling system for McDonnell Douglas Automation Company. This system was the genesis of EDSs Visual FMS, which is still widely used today. In April 1976, Scott co-founded the Affinitec Corporation in St. Louis. Affinitec delivered the first computer-based call center management reporting system, the Force Analyzer. Under Scotts leadership, Affinitec became a major supplier of Work Force Management Systems. Among its many accomplishments, Affinitec was the first company to offer comprehensive CSR performance reporting which merged a) productivity data from the ACD with b) quality data derived from CSR monitoring and c) schedule adherence data. Affinitec was the first company to offer real time CSR adherence displays. Affinitec products were deployed in hundreds of call centers including AT&T, American Express, Wachovia Bank, Maritz, New Zealand Telephone. The products integrated with leading ACDs manufactured by Lucent, Rolm, Northern Telecom, Aspect, NEC, and Rockwell. Scotts passion is identifying and quantifying the case studies of the ROIs realized by organizations who create innovative sales and service strategies taking advantage of call center technologies and management practices. Scott often lectures at leading call center conferences on topics such as: 1. Developing a Contact Center Performance Improvement Roadmap, 2. Measuring the ROI of Contact Center Performance Improvement Initiatives, 3. Benchmarking Your Contact Center, 4. Balancing Technology and Management in Call Centers, and 5. Employee Measurement and Motivation. Scotts education includes a BA in Mathematics from Vanderbilt University, and a fast-track executive education program in Business Administration from Columbia University.
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John Chatterley is International Call Center Certification Director at BenchmarkPortal, Inc. In this capacity, he is in charge of working with multi-national companies to benchmark and improve their call center performance up to a level where they can attain the coveted Purdue University Certification as a Center of Excellence. Mr. Chatterley also specializes in benchmarking certification, best practices, facilities design, site selection, and offshore outsourcing for the customer contact community. John is a Purdue Certified Contact Center Auditor, Certified AT&T Call Center College Instructor, BenchmarkPortal Certified Benchmarking Instructor and Analyst. John has edited and published numerous research reports, customized benchmarking reports, and white papers, including a report on the power utilities industry. Mr. Chatterley is the author of a study entitled Improving Contact Center Performance through Optimized Site Selection. Mr. Chatterley is also the content editor of a recently published book entitled Selecting a Teleservices Partner, and coauthor with Dr. Jon Anton of a new book entitled Offshore Outsourcing Opportunities. Prior to joining BenchmarkPortal, Mr. Chatterley was Director of Site Development and Facilities Management and Call Center Manager for MicroAge Teleservices, a Fortune 500 call handling outsourcing company. Mr. Chatterley designed, implemented, staffed and managed three 500+ seat call center sites in Arizona, Nevada, and California, and has extensive call center operational management experience. Johns professional career spans more than 20 years of experience in call center technical customer support and service. He has first-hand experience at all levels of a call center including technical support CSR, supervisor, team lead, analyst, designer, call center manager, operations director, and facilities designer. Johns professional education was in Engineering & Computer Science at Southern Utah State University, and subsequently at the University of Utah.
Authors Biographies
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www.envisiontelephony.com