The Challenge

A new health insurance company needed support to handle inbound calls regarding Medicare enrollment. But because the client was new to the industry, call volume was hard to predict.

Our Insights

Our workforce management team relied on our experience with previous insurance clients to forecast inbound call volume, predict call arrival patterns and determine staffing numbers. Ë®ÏÉÖ±²¥â€™ deep expertise in this area allowed us to quickly recruit knowledgeable, licensed agents.

Our Approach

Although hired to handle only inbound calls, we recognized the importance of keeping our agents productive and challenged during anticipated downtimes. Due to their high level of knowledge, and because they were already licensed to sell, we recommended allowing our agents to make outbound calls to upsell existing customers. The added work provided a level of challenge for agents, which helped to stave off boredom and possible attrition.

Agent work schedules are adjusted daily based on inbound call volume and arrival. This flexibility ensures we are able to meet Service Levels and maximize the agents’ time.

Using our Teams Chat platform, agents experiencing downtime can request switching to outbound to make necessary callbacks. However, supervisors continuously monitor the inbound call queue and agent availability, allowing them to suspend outbound calls to maintain Service Levels.

The Results

We leverage agents’ knowledge by easily pivoting to outbound calls during downtime. It’s a significant benefit to our client because they are not paying for idle resources. As a result, client satisfaction is exceptional, job satisfaction is high among agents and attrition is minimal. The Ë®ÏÉÖ±²¥ team has exceeded Service Levels for nine consecutive months.

Our managers really support our agents. We have the tools we need and the constant encouragement to do our jobs well. The ability to work from home has significantly improved work/life balance and reduced daily stress. I know they care about me as a person as well as an employee.

- Ë®ÏÉÖ±²¥ Customer Care Agent