Seeking a solution

Business growth and the increasing complexity of increasing complexity of insurance coverage led to peak call volumes for BlueCross' call center, which was handling thousands of incoming phone calls every day.

The company realised its callers were facing queue times of up to 50 minutes as they waited to speak to a Provider Services Representative (PSR). Call abandon rates, in which callers discontinue the call before reaching a PSR, were highest in the hold queue. Despite the need for change, budget limitations prohibited BlueCross from adequately staffing its call center for those peaks.

Boucher was certain there were more efficient and effective ways to do business that would result in wins for Providers, Members and BlueCross.

Self-service becomes paramount

Boucher knew that a portion of the inquiries to the call center were routine and straightforward. If these issues were handled via a self-help channel, the telephone logjam within the call center would be alleviated, and callers would be spared long times in the queue.

Therefore, the establishment of multiple service channels, some of which would allow Providers to serve themselves, became the overarching goal. Boucher and his team began by evaluating the current communications options available.

First, the company's existing self-service channel, a speech-enabled Voice Response Unit (VRU), was reviewed. BlueCross ensured that Providers with routine and straightforward inquiries were able to serve themselves and resolve 50 to 60% of their routine inquiries within their firs t call to the automated system.

Next, Boucher set his sights on offering an alternate channel: the SouthCarolinaBlues.com Web site, which was modeled after the successful self-service VRU channel. The secure application in SouthCarolinaBlues.com is aptly named My Insurance Manager. Today, when South Carolina Providers call BlueCross, they hear a recorded message directing them to the Web site for faster answers to their inquiries. The BlueCross education team encouraged Providers to first try calling the toll-free line.

Providers who could not find the answers they sought at the Web site had the option of sending secure e-mail messages to BlueCross directly from the site.

The good news is, someone on the staff responds to those e-mail messages within 24 hours, and even within four hours in many cases. In addition, fewer than 4% of Providers chose to opt out of their Web experience to send BlueCross and e-mail inquiry.

The less-than good news (from Boucher's persepective) was that so many more Providers would be receiving better service via the Web site if only they would take the first step to use this new channel.

Taking self-service a step further :

Enter CrystalVoice® and Click-to-Talk

And so, convinced of the value of information on BlueCross' My Insurance Manager. Web site-and the benefits of having more Providers migrate to the site-Boucher sought help with his increased migration goal from Crystal Voice® Communications. He believed the company's Click-to-Talk technology would offer Providers the incentive they needed to migrate to the Web and minimise any chance of failing to complete their self-service transactions.

Click-to-Talk, branded STATchat for BlueCross users, is a technology product that enables Web users to click on a strategically placed icon on a Web page and be connected to a contact center agent for a voice conversation via their PC. Therefore, when Providers log onto the secure section of BlueCross' Web site and enter basic data in required fields, but cannot find resolution to their inquiry there, they can click on the STATchat icon to be instantly connected over the Internet to the agent they need, when they need help. The icon eliminates the need for the Provider staff member to pick up the phone and call for help.

Here's how STATchat works:

l A Provider clicks on the STATchatSM Manager. Within My Insurance Manager. Within seconds, the Click-to-Talk client application is downloaded to their computer and the call is initiated over the Internet. l The Click-to-Talk software communicates with the CrystalVoice® server to route the call over the Internet to the call center l The CrystalVoice® client software and server software work together to ensure that the call is connected quickly, securely, and with the highest audio quality. l The phone system within the call center recognises that the call originated from STATchat and routes the call to the next available agent within seconds, bypassing the standard toll-free call queues and the tedium of voice response units (VRUs).