Legal & General Insurance (Claims Centre)
Winners, Insurance Times Awards 2014 for Insurer Claims Initiative of the Year and…. Finalists, European Contact Centre & Customer Service Awards 2015 for Customer Service Training Programme of the Year in partnership with First Impression Training Ltd.
The Need
First Impression Training were recommended to Legal and General in light of two very successful working partnerships with their Process Improvement Team, who FIT had worked with previously at AXA PLC and Lloyds Banking Group. As part of a claims transformation programme to move L&Gs Claims Centre to a case-managed model in New World, FIT designed and delivered a customer service training programme to develop the service culture, build Brand Ambassadorship on the frontline and enhance employee engagement as staff moved through the change-journey.
Having focused on the numbers for so long (those call centre metrics that reflect efficiency not effectiveness, including how quickly we could get through a call and on to the next one!) the FIT team had a challenging task to, not only to win hearts and minds about the change in culture that would arise from the transformation project, but also how frontliners would need to assume responsibility and personally manage client outcomes more effectively after the training.
The Solution
The entire Claims Team, including over 150 staff and 14 suppliers were involved in the project and it took over 500 hours of customer focused workshops to develop an approach. The first step was to agree their purpose –“When things go wrong for our customers, we put their lives back on track quickly, fairly and simply.” and overall more than 1,000 individual improvement ideas were put forward.
FIT played a key part in the overall success of this 18-month project, working closely with frontline teams and leaders to develop the skills-sets and behaviours required to move smoothly into the New World model, culminating in the seamless transition of ownership of the ‘Claiming Service Excellence’ programme to the internal training and coaching communities through our Coaching Winners and Train the Trainer Accreditation programmes.
The Results
- L&G transformed from a typical call centre to a customer-centric operation where their culture is now one of accountability and ownership, where staff act as brand Ambassadors and there is a renewed pride and engagement as a result
- Claim lifecycle has reduced by 52%
- Complaints have reduced by 40%
- Work in progress has reduced by 60%
- Positive customer verbatims have increased c40%
- Improved Net Promoter and Ease scores
- Improved Partnership customer survey scores
- L&G Case Management process means customers have a single point of contact who will own their case to conclusion, allowing them to build strong relationships with their customers
- Increased emotional intelligence and psychological insight now ensures each customer receives an individual experience driven by what is right for them and their situation – it’s no longer a ‘one size fits all’ experience
- By focusing on the RAO! factor (taking Responsibility, Accountability and Ownership) each PCM is far more proactive in progressing claims swiftly, requiring little or no effort from the customer
- Their emerging coaching culture now focuses on coaching for performance and personal development, ensuring frontliners constantly search for new ways to improve service and enhance their customers’ experience and their own level of brand engagement!
Testimonials
“The techniques taught and practised during the training are fantastic and really bring to life how everyone can influence every call to ensure it’s a positive memorable experience for our customers each and every time allowing us to create that first ‘wow’ impression”.
“I certainly think more about the words I use with my customer to ensure that it’s positive and not negative, my response is more what we can do for them and making it clear on every call the next steps are clear and understood. So phrases such as ‘certainly, is there anything I can help you with etc.’ and avoiding ‘no problem/no worries’ (negative language) and more importantly owning each claim I touch”.
“I love using the WIIFY (What’s In It For You) on all of my calls . The Tape Technique is great for claims that are partially covered. I also use the 2nd Option Technique when explaining options available. I use defining words when asking the Parameter Questions such as ‘actually’. FIT has also helped me when delivering bad news to our customers too”.
