CRM - February 2008 - (Page 43)

generating the large number of required documents. Other vendors leveraged Adobe’s document-generation engine, but that system was too technologically cumbersome for Origen’s needs. The last enterprise content management vendor that Galaspie talked to was FileNet, now part of IBM. Like the other ECM systems, FileNet’s P8 was primarily for content and document management and workflow, rather than generation, but FileNet had a partner: Thunderhead, which has a content generation application that produces documents in a variety of formats, including faxes, wordprocessing documents, and Adobe’s popular print document format (PDF). “That became the critical piece of the [FileNet] application for us,” Galaspie says. In fact, the Thunderhead application was installed first, in early 2006, followed by FileNet and the eventual linkage of the two systems. Three months later, Origen was able to sharply reduce the amount of time needed to make document changes. With the old system, a full-time employee had spent his entire time making those changes; the new arrangement requires just 20 hours a month, Galaspie says. Origen has not only been able to clear up the previous bottleneck, but has also expanded to handle similar needs for other lenders. In the year since implementation, loan volume increased 6 percent, despite a 13 percent drop in the number of applications. Galaspie expects the system will encompass all servicing work for Origen’s own loans and those it handles for other lenders, and foresees documents in different languages and electronic versions of documents that won’t need to be printed at all. “That’s the story that has yet to be written,” he says. —Phillip Britt With the document-generation application working in conjunction with enteprise content management software, Origen Financial has been able to: increase loan volume 6 percent despite a 13 percent drop in applications; reduce from 40 hours to five hours the time required each week to make document changes; and expand operations to handle document generation services for other lenders, resulting in additional fee income. Sunny Skies for Knology Impact 360 helps to forecast warmer service for a southeastern telecom’s ‘snowballing’ contact center nology, a telecommunications to training. Previously, Knology had to provider, supplies interactive pull agents from their phones. Now, communications services to e-learning clips are delivered directly to the sunny southeastern United each agent’s desktop, increasing weekly States. Dark storm clouds, however, were work time by 10,000 minutes. Better trainlooming over the company’s contact cen- ing and an incentive structure helped cut ter in Augusta, Ga. Knology’s commitment attrition by 55 percent. Also, schedule adto customers had led to impressive growth herence is now a nearly perfect 94 percent. But the real wins are customer-facing. since the company’s mid-1990s birth, but with new business comes new problems: First-call resolution was only 63 percent; Call volume had ramped up dramatically, now it’s 82 percent. The answer rate has gone up significantly, as well— while the contact center’s basic from 69 percent to a nearly practices hadn’t budged an inch. Before, first-call flawless 96 percent. This helped “We were constantly stuck in resolution was drop call volume by 22 percent. the ‘poor performance’ world,” And customers are happy: In says Scott Evenson, Knology’s di- only 63 percent; a periodic email survey, feedrector of call center operations. now it’s 82 percent. back now runs 95 percent to With only manual practices for agent scheduling, and tape recorders for 100 percent favorable, Evenson says, quality monitoring, Knology began to suf- adding that, even though Knology’s use of fer low answer rate as well as agent attri- the email survey is fairly new, he knows the tion. “We didn’t have a tool to find where prior customer-satisfaction level “wasn’t the calls were coming from and to make there,” and that “customers can absolutely staff recommendations,” Evenson says. “If see [the improvement] and feel it.” After targeting agent performance and you can’t get that right, it causes your call customer service, the company impleline to snowball.” For fairer skies, Knology deployed Im- mented the Impact 360 system with its dispact 360 Workforce Optimization from patch group, and 2008 will see the launch Verint Witness Actionable Solutions of a new interactive voice response system, (VWAS). Evenson admits that the price voice recognition, and chat technologies. was “not an easy pill to swallow.” Getting Knology is now beginning to implement the go-ahead meant promising payback the system in a new South Dakota contact through staff reduction and lower em- center, and to connect that location with ployee turnover. Today, Evenson says, Augusta. “We’re taking our first crack at having a virtual call center,” Evenson says. “We’ve paid it back tenfold, easily.” Alban only partly credits the system: Oscar Alban, principal global market consultant for VWAS, calls Knology a Knology’s sunny success is due to effort great example of a successful workforce and a clear roadmap, and because “they optimization initiative: After only two did more than just look to technology to months—during which the single road solve their problems.” —Jessica Sebor bump was ensuring data flow—Impact Since implementing Impact 360, 360 was off and running. As with any new Knology has been able to: business practice, agents displayed early decrease agent attrition by 55 percent; resistance, but as soon as the company improve first-call resolution by began to see some success the implemen19 percent; tation found some fair-weather friends. increase its answer rate by 27 percent; Knology used key performance indicaeffect a 22 percent drop in call volume; and tors for both agents and supervisors to realize a savings of 10,000 minutes in measure accuracy and progress. Perforweekly work time. mance is aided by a streamlined approach CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | FEBRUARY 2008 K www.destinationCRM.com 43 http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - February 2008

CRM - February 2008 Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point The Loyalty Riddle CRM Drives Down-Market Out of the Gate: Marketers Rate ’08 Traits The Pulse Consultants Adapt to CRM’s Changing Landscape Required Reading Cover Story: CRM Gets Serious Contact Center Solutions Always On Rumble in the Office The Smallest Slice Tying Up Cable’s Loose Ends Burning Up the Paper Trail Sunny Skies for Knology No More Bumps for BlueRoads Secret of My Success Re:Tooling Scouting Report Pint of View

CRM - February 2008

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