Tag: Low NPS CSAT

iQor’s Concierge Program Boosts NPS 105% for US Airline

Posted on by Celeste Roberts

Why iQor?

With a proven track record of success, strategic analytical insights, and a commitment to regulatory compliance, iQor was well positioned to help a major U.S. airline design and implement a concierge program to significantly improve customer experience and operational efficiency. 

iQor stands out as a trusted advisor with a strong reputation for integrating technology and fostering a customer-centric culture. Our expertise in rapidly deploying digital solutions, providing multilingual customer support, and delivering comprehensive service models makes us an ideal partner for ambitious CX optimization goals for the airline industry and beyond.

Success Snapshot

Unstoppable Performance 

  • Customer loyalty initiatives. 
  • Operational efficiency. 
  • Regulatory compliance. 
  • Digital and voice support. 
  • Dual-channel inbound call handling. 
  • Outbound callback support. 

Irresistible Outcomes 

  • 105% NPS improvement. 
  • 18% reduction in employee attrition.  
  • 4% reduction in AHT. 

Read on for the story that led to these exceptional results. 

Background 

To optimize resources, boost performance, and address evolving customer preferences, a leading U.S. airline initially phased out voice as a customer experience channel across all its platforms. In 2023, the airline achieved its chat deferral target of over 50% five months ahead of schedule, demonstrating the implemented system’s efficiency. The transition included 2:1 chat concurrency during steady state and 3:1 during ramps. Following the successful implementation of widespread chat, the airline, in partnership with iQor, planned to refine their customer experience strategy to specifically address the needs of loyalty program customers and those with imminent travel up to the next two days. 

Business Opportunity

This proactive approach led to the development of a concierge program prioritizing customers with upcoming travel within 24 to 48 hours and those holding a priority flyer number. iQor leveraged its expertise and strategic collaboration with its technology partners to develop a hybrid omnichannel CX model with inbound and outbound communications tailored for the airline client. 

Solution

 iQor’s comprehensive customer experience management solution integrates various tools for contact center operations, offering features such as omnichannel inbound and outbound routing, workforce optimization, analytics, and automation. iQor’s deep integration with the client’s systems facilitate collaboration between our CX applications and the airline’s CRM, IVR and chatbot systems, enabling real-time data exchange and process automation. This tight integration ensures smooth, reliable, and scalable operations, allowing the airline client to deliver personalized and efficient customer service across multiple communication channels, achieving a 105% jump in NPS.

Inbound Call Handling

Inbound callers are first screened to identify customers with flights within 24 to 48 hours or those holding a priority flyer number. They are provided two options to resolve their issue through IVR and chatbot. This prioritization ensures customers with urgent travel needs or who are members of the airline’s customer loyalty program receive prompt voice interaction, helping mitigate potential travel disruptions and reinforcing their value to the airline. Inbound calls are serviced in both English and Spanish based on the airline’s customer base, accommodating a wider range of customers and broadening service inclusivity. 

Outbound Callback Requests

iQor’s CX applications work with the airline’s chatbot and IVR systems to set up outbound callback requests, ensuring these callbacks are made within 24 hours. This feature provides flexibility and convenience, giving customers an option that best fits their schedule and provides expeditious assistance.  

Coaching Agents for Concierge Services

Agents are coached to provide top-tier concierge services, focusing on empathy, quick problem-solving, and personalized service. Regular role-playing exercises and real-time feedback sessions help agents improve their customer interactions, while advanced training on the airline’s systems and policies enable them to navigate complex issues efficiently. Integrating iQor’s omnichannel CX applications facilitate:

  • Real-time data exchange. Facilitating instant data transfer between the IVR, chatbot, and agent systems ensures seamless customer experiences by providing accurate and up-to-date information, maximizing overall efficiency. 
  • Automated call routing. Efficient call routing and callback requests for priority customers ensure high-value clients receive prompt and personalized service, leading to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty. 
  • Customizable workflows. Tailored interaction workflows meet the airline’s specific customer needs to deliver personalized and relevant service.  

Results

The concierge program significantly impacted the client’s key service metrics and delivered broader benefits:

105% NPS improvement.

Customer satisfaction soared with a dramatic rise in net promoter scores (NPS), influencing strong sales growth. 

18% reduction in employee attrition.

Employee attrition plummeted while headcount doubled, due to iQor’s machine-learning-based attrition prediction, coupled with our CheQin process.

4% reduction in AHT.

Streamlined processes led to a significant reduction in AHT, ensuring faster resolution times.

iQor’s Expertise in Integrating Digital Solutions 

iQor architected the concierge program for this airline client, seamlessly integrating an optional digital self-service option for the customer. Through analysis and innovative design, iQor developed workflows that strategically reenable a combined digital and voice concierge solution.  

Our approach is grounded in a deep understanding of the balance between automation for efficiency and quick issue resolution while providing access to live voice support when the customer needs it. Leveraging our accumulated process knowledge, we efficiently and cost-effectively design digital self-service and voice customer support systems, ensuring an optimal blend of automation and human expertise to enhance the customer experience.

Broader Benefits to the Airline 

In addition to the results listed above, the concierge program has yielded several broader benefits that significantly impact the airline’s overall performance. Strengthened relationships with key customer segments have resulted in increased loyalty and repeat business. iQor’s proactive adjustments to capacity in response to chat volume declines ensure optimal resource efficiency. Furthermore, aligning with regulatory expectations for customer care enhances the airline’s standing with regulators.

Auto Finance Provider Transforms Loan Servicing Through Strategic BPO Partnership

Posted on by Nicole Gobbo

Why iQor?

A prominent auto finance company, as a subsidiary of a well-established financial services corporation, ranks among the top auto lenders in the nation. It offers innovative, technology-driven solutions that simplify loan applications and account management, providing competitive rates and robust customer support. With strategic partnerships across numerous dealerships, it delivers exclusive financing deals, enhancing its market position. The company’s commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction has earned it numerous accolades and a strong industry reputation. 

For over 15 years, iQor has been the trusted partner of this leading U.S.-based automotive finance organization, working together to streamline customer service operations for efficiency and satisfaction. This case study explores the key factors that have solidified iQor’s position as our client’s preferred BPO for CX process management, a role that directly integrates iQor’s CX experts into their internal teams.

Strategic Outsourcing With iQor for Auto Finance Process Optimization

iQor delivers comprehensive back office support and training for the auto lender’s vast customer service network, encompassing both internal and external teams. The auto lender recognized iQor’s dedication to continuous improvement and proactive thought leadership that maximizes the auto finance lender’s business initiatives. 

This trust led to an additional strategic outsourcing role for iQor. Based on our extensive track record of success, the auto finance provider requested we serve in a consultative capacity, designing process management strategies to elevate customer feedback tracking and facilitate improvements to loan servicing CX.  

Read on to discover how iQor’s deep understanding of our client’s auto finance business, unwavering commitment to performance excellence, and agility in adapting to evolving needs have fueled a successful partnership with an ever-expanding scope.

Success Snapshot

Unstoppable Performance 

  • Unmatched tenure with our client. 
  • Purposeful CX automation insights.  
  • Data-driven strategy & execution. 
  • Auto finance process expertise. 

Irresistible Outcomes

  • 34.5% NPS improvement.  
  • 7.5% perfection rate increase.  
  • 72% error reduction. 
  • Seamless loan workflows. 

Read on for the story that led to these exceptional results.

Background

Rapid growth after 2021 led the auto lender to outsource 95% of their entire CX operations to BPO partners like iQor. While efficient, this shift meant less direct access to customer feedback previously gathered by their internal process managers, resulting in service quality requiring realignment with customer sentiment.  

Recognizing the importance of delivering irresistible auto loan customer service to borrowers, our client selected iQor to become an integrated member of their internal process management team and execute their high standards for customer-centric care and operational process optimization.

The Unique Advantage of an Outsourced Process Management Partnership for Auto Lenders

Building on our strong 15+ year partnership and deep understanding of the auto finance industry, iQor collaborated closely with the auto lender to develop their requested process management role. The role is designed to seamlessly integrate iQor’s process manager within the auto lender’s team.  

By incorporating our program experts into our client’s internal team, we contribute iQor’s decades of accumulated CX process knowledge toward achieving the auto lender’s CX goals. This capability differentiates iQor from traditional managed service providers. Impressed by iQor’s commitment to CX excellence, which mirrors their own high standards, the client has requested our expertise in optimizing their entire customer service operation.

Business Opportunity

Initial success with this consultative role set the stage for a promising future. Given the dozens of business lines outsourced by the auto lender, a well-oiled process manager program had the potential to significantly optimize their processes from a CX standpoint.

This expansion is designed to provide invaluable insights into the diverse needs of each program, ultimately safeguarding our automotive finance client’s customer service quality. By proactively addressing potential inefficiencies and optimizing processes across all outsourced operations, iQor positioned itself as a vital partner in comprehensively improving their CX. 

Solution

iQor recognized the unique opportunity presented by the client’s situation. Utilizing our extensive experience managing a significant portion of the auto lender’s outsourced operations, we proposed a strategic solution for process optimization.

iQor’s CX Strategy for Accelerating Auto Loan Net Promoter Scores and Supercharging Lien Holder Rate Improvements

Our plan involved integrating a dedicated iQor process manager within the client’s internal team as a subject matter expert. This pilot program, initially focused on the client’s primary offshore location, aimed to identify program opportunities and pinpoint loan processing and servicing gaps.  

iQor consulted with our automotive finance client to identify performance goals, such as driving significant improvements to lien holder rates and setting net promoter scores (NPS) and customer satisfaction (CSAT) on a skyward trajectory. 

The program yielded compelling results. Here’s a breakdown of iQor’s contributions. 

Streamlining Auto Loan Servicing Workflows With iQor’s Automation Expertise

A review of critical processes uncovered over 30 loan servicing workflows where automation can drive continuous improvement and efficiency. iQor’s process manager advised the auto lender on best practices for automation informed by our digital transformation expertise, paving the way for increased agent productivity and happier customers. 

Improving Borrower Satisfaction Through Collaboration and Process Optimization

Operating seamlessly alongside the auto lender’s existing process management team, iQor’s process manager played a key role in the pilot’s outcomes. This success ultimately resulted in over a dozen additions to iQor’s process management solutions to support the auto lender’s high-volume needs.  

These collaborative efforts between iQor and our client resulted in documented processes, visualized loan servicing workflows, and proposed optimization strategies. All changes were meticulously crafted to adhere to the client’s regulatory requirements, improving CX while maintaining compliance. Specific examples include:

  • Streamlining the vehicle titling process for agents and customers.  
  • Implementing call analysis that ensures more accurate call routing. 
  • Equipping automotive agents with timely knowledge base updates. 

Results

iQor’s initial process management pilot was a resounding success. Our automotive finance customer was pleased with the loan servicing improvements, resulting in the expansion of the program to other business lines.

These achievements increase the auto lender’s confidence in iQor’s ability to achieve their process optimization goals through consistent and sustainable performance excellence. This reflects our commitment to continuous improvement facilitated by open communication, a core value in our iQorian identity and critical for exceptional automotive finance CX.

Key Outcomes of the Strategic Outsourcing Partnership

34.5% NPS improvement.

Customer satisfaction soared, reflected in a dramatic rise in net promoter scores that indicates strong future sales growth. 

7.5% perfection rate increase.

The client achieved a significant increase in their receival rate for documents necessary for swift borrower approval. 

72% error reduction.

The client benefited from a substantial year to date (YTD) decrease in loan servicing errors since launching the program. 

Future Roadmap for Auto Lending CX Process Management

iQor’s footprint with the auto lender has expanded to include seven process managers across various lines of business, with plans for further growth. This expansion reflects the strategic value this program delivers, strengthening our BPO services across the client’s entire CX operation. 

iQor’s process manager program facilitated the design of a comprehensive knowledge base, empowering agents with faster and more accurate information access. A unified call flow and specialized routing profile accelerated new hire proficiency across both internal and BPO teams, boosting overall efficiency while exceeding key performance indicators.   

These improvements solidify the strength of our longstanding strategic outsourcing partnership with the automotive finance provider. Our customer’s continued trust reflects our proven track record of successfully optimizing customer service operations through high quality standards and effective CX strategies.

Culture of Innovation Inspires Strategic Outsourcing Partnership to Meet Top Global Retailer’s Commitment to Excellent CX

Posted on by Nicole Gobbo

Why iQor? 

At iQor, we place a strong emphasis on maintaining a customer-centric culture that motivates our entire team—from frontline workers to management—to strive towards meeting and exceeding the key performance indicators (KPIs) that our clients value most. We believe that our success stems from a combination of innovative thinking and open communication, two of our iQorian Values. As a strategic outsourcing partner, our goal is to fully understand the unique business needs of each of our clients and proactively suggest ways to leverage personnel and technology to achieve their objectives. Heart

We recognize that our success depends on building strong partnerships between our clients and our teams of frontline agents and supervisors, who work together as a cohesive unit to provide exceptional customer experiences. We value the contributions of all our team members and ensure that our work environments are flexible enough to accommodate both in-office and work-at-home employees, providing scalability and comprehensive endpoint security that safeguards our clients’ data and operations. 

Background   

Our client, one of the world’s largest retailers and online shopping experience providers, engages a rich network of BPOs to provide customer support services. iQor’s first assignment with this client was to provide customer care through omnichannel voice and chat. 

Our client manages all their BPO relationships based on multiple performance criteria. Their standards for customer experience are consistently high to sustain their global brand reputation.  

iQor’s emphasis on maintaining a strong customer service culture provided the inspiration to embrace our client’s CX standards. From our perspective, this was an opportunity to understand their unique business needs and proactively assume a leadership role as an innovative strategic partner within their BPO network of those providing omnichannel customer support services. Notably, several of the client’s other BPOs are Gartner Magic Quadrant leaders for Customer Service. 

Business Challenges  

As a leading global retail and e-commerce company, an extensive customer service staff—operating from work-in-office and work-at-home environments—is required to support our client’s millions of customers. Even with a robust network of BPOs, meeting the client’s staffing requirements throughout the year—and ramping during the holiday shopping season—was a challenge. 

Starting in Q3 2022, the retailer made clear to its BPO constituents the high priority it placed on meeting 95% compliance with their staffing requirement, measured in 30-minute intervals each week. Meeting these staffing levels would enable their BPO network to consistently service their customers in a timely manner, providing the foundation for excellent customer satisfaction scores that were essential components of the retailer’s ethos. 

At the time that iQor became one of the client’s BPOs, only one of them had previously met the client’s staffing requirement. This set the stage for us to aim high in our relationship with this client to leverage personnel and technology to achieve their objectives. 

Solution 

The Summit 

In September of 2022, iQor operations leaders convened a summit to evaluate our overall performance to date, predict our results if we continued to operate with no change, and determine specific actions that would move the performance needle the most for our client. 

Our objectives were to become our client’s strategic outsourcing partner by helping them reach their goals, and as a result, become their #1 BPO based on performance. This summit would be the event of consequence for iQor to achieve these objectives. 

The client participated in the summit and was enthusiastic about one of their BPOs proactively taking action to improve the probability of meeting their 95% staffing requirement. In concert with feedback from the client, iQor drafted and implemented a plan to meet staffing compliance. Additionally, discussions with our Workforce Management leadership team laid the groundwork for a new staffing plan. iQor kept the client informed every step of the way. 

Using iQor’s customer- and employee-focused framework as a guidepost, iQorians reviewed the client’s CX goals and determined actions for each of the client’s key metrics to meet those goals by specific dates. 

Post-Summit 

Twice each week during peak season, the retailer conducted round-robin calls with their entire network of BPOs to monitor performance. Achieving target staffing goals was always a priority topic. 

iQor took a leadership position in the round-robin calls by: 

  • Explaining how we regularly meet with agents to understand what’s working and what can be improved. 
  • Presenting how we use intelligent performance management tools to engage employees, leading to effective coaching and employee satisfaction. 
  • Proactively responding to client questions openly and transparently, without waiting to be called upon. 
  • Sharing new ideas and coaching strategies that could potentially benefit all the other BPOs, demonstrating our commitment to the client’s overall success. 

Most important of all, we followed through on all the commitments we made in those calls.  

Recognizing that our shared success stems from strong partnerships, iQor and our client developed and nurtured 1:1 collaborative relationships at the director, associate director, and senior manager levels. These relationships are based on open communication, earned trust, and sustained performance of key metrics.  

For example, when the iQor team noticed that our client was receiving more chat requests for customer service than they could handle, we informed them that we had 100 customer service agents already providing voice support who had been trained in chat as well. We recommended transferring them to chat to handle this unmet demand. It turned out to be the perfect solution. 

The retailer knows they have a strategic outsourcing partner they can count on with proactive CX solutions consistently offered in the best interest of their business. 

Results 

iQor’s proactive approach, flexibility, creative problem-solving skills, and outstanding performance put our client’s inspiring customer experience goals within reach and set new standards for the retailer. Additionally, iQor demonstrated that our custom CX solutions capabilities go far beyond omnichannel customer voice support and chat to meet the unique needs of our client. Heart

In each week’s round-robin calls, iQor’s workforce management solution received positive feedback from the retailer.  

The client recognized our accomplishments, commitment to their success, and entrepreneurial passion. Consequently, the client awarded iQor additional lines of business, requiring the deployment of additional customer service staff. 

100% Staffing Compliance During Ramps 

iQor achieved nearly 100% staffing compliance for in-office and work-at-home environments during the peak holiday season, outpacing the other BPOs in their network.

Increased Headcount 

  • 145% increase in nonpeak headcount from 2021 to 2023. 
  • 37% increase in peak headcount from 2021 to 2023. 

KPI Leader 

iQor became the leader in the client’s BPO network in achieving significant KPIs, including: 

  • Customer satisfaction (CSAT) voice and chat. 
  • Repeat contact rate (RCR) voice and chat. 

New Lines of Business 

Our client has entrusted iQor with two new lines of business: 

  1. Back office support for handling refund payment requests, which had a multi-thousand account backlog that iQor completely resolved. 
  2. Application assistance for delivery driver position candidates.

How iQor Harnesses Performance Enablement Technology to Replicate Top Performers at Scale

Posted on by Nicole Gobbo

Background 

This client is a U.S. wireless provider. They offer an array of mobile communications products and services to millions of subscribers. These include smartphones, accessories, monthly plans, music, video, ringtones, directory assistance, and mobile applications. They were one of the earliest companies to offer unlimited data plans to customers. 

The Challenge 

The mobile products and services that consumers purchase today are more technologically advanced than ever before. As a result, the frequency of consumers needing technical customer support has increased substantially, sometimes producing longer customer resolution times (CRT) in order to provide complete solutions to customer inquiries. Committed to addressing customer service needs with accuracy and speed, the telecom client partnered with iQor to develop strategies to improve performance metrics throughout the customer experience.

The primary means of achieving consistent customer support metrics is through an engaged and supported frontline workforce. Developing employees from within and supporting their growth and development has always been a priority for iQor. In fact, it’s essential for generating meaningful employee and customer experiences. With a hybrid mix of work-in-office and work-at-home contact center agents and various metrics to evaluate, supervisors sought ways to continually optimize efficiency for the coaching and support they provided to agents under their leadership. They explored opportunities to further increase insights into employee performance and target improvements unique to each employee.

iQor was looking to invest in an AI-powered performance enablement process that could scale and simplify supervisors’ access to information to enhance personalized coaching based on each individual agent’s behaviors. In a high-volume contact center environment, both supervisors and agents want to be accountable for performance and for growth in career development.

Additionally, supervisors wanted to leverage a tracking tool to assess agent improvements and guide relevant follow-up. This would increase efficiency and help further strengthen supervisors’ connections with their agents, resulting in improved employee engagement and customer experience, while also having the additional benefit of reducing the cost to serve.  

The Solution 

In late 2020, iQor partnered with the telecom client to pilot AmplifAI, a software as a service (SaaS) performance enablement platform to reach these goals across six contact center sites (four in the Philippines and two in the U.S.). After achieving positive results, iQor has decided to continue using the platform.

Harnessing AI-powered data to differentiate their interventions, frontline leaders provide timely, targeted, and efficient employee development and engagement across their teams. They access performance data and AI-driven recommendations through one system that prioritizes actions, key behaviors, and performance indicators scorecard metrics for the client program, empowering supervisors to help more frontline employees strengthen specific skills in less time.

For more powerful analytics, iQor pairs its proprietary speech analytics platform (VALDI) with AmplifAI’s SaaS performance enablement platform. VALDI identifies empathy, dead air, and other indicators of conversation effectiveness. So, at the click of a button supervisors can see specific reasons why an agent might need coaching in a particular area.

The platform supports frontline associates, with their leader’s guidance, by identifying a specific and measurable goal with a target date to reach it. All workflows within the platform align to that goal so coaches know what to coach, how to coach it, when to follow up, and what that follow-up action should be. Further, coaches also use employee development micro-learnings on specific topics to reinforce their coaching sessions and provide agents additional guidance.

The impact of these coaching sessions is strengthened through accountability, follow-up, and recognition. AmplifAI’s system notes the customer satisfaction score (CSAT) the day of coaching and automatically compares it three days later to check for improvement. Supervisors can see metrics alongside goals to quickly identify who meets which targets in order to inform their coaching. If the agent meets their goal, the supervisor can recognize their accomplishments; likewise, if they need more support the supervisor can offer that as well. Using AI in this way enables supervisors to coach more agents, more frequently, in less time, with more targeted development. No agent is left behind.

The performance enablement platform also has a proprietary coaching effectiveness index model that helps the organization determine where supervisors have opportunities to enhance their coaching. This effectiveness index is key to help managers determine how to develop better coaches that have the specific skills necessary to improve their agent’s performance.

Moreover, coaching sessions are recorded and automatically linked to the behavior and growth measure so supervisors can reference them, managers can use them to inform coach-the-coach sessions, and peers can access them as a resource for their own development. Built-in accountability ensures agents and supervisors receive the support they need to thrive.

The Results 

Agents enjoy more frequent and precise coaching and support while the supervisors benefit from an easily accessible format that improves efficiency and yields more time for coaching. The end result is higher employee engagement and satisfaction and an excellent customer service experience.

6x Improvement in Customer Resolution Time

Customer resolution time has improved by a factor of 6 for agents coached using AmplifAI.

Net Promoter Scores Soar

Net Promoter Score increases range by 2.5% to 13% since program launch, reflecting higher levels of customer loyalty and satisfaction.

40% More Coaching Sessions

With better coaching efficiency, leaders have more time to work with more agents to improve CX.

More effective coaching builds deeper relationships with agents, elevating the employee experience and inspiring them to perform at their optimum potential. Seeing NPS performance improvements as a result of AI-enhanced coaching capabilities, the telecom client has agreed to expand the AmplifAI dataset to include first call resolution and credit and adjustment metrics.