Case Studies for Inbound Contact Centre Services in UK
We are justifiably proud of the inbound contact centre work we undertake on behalf of our clients across a wide range of vertical sectors. Our inbound call handling staff is dedicated, specially trained and adaptable. We take great care to ensure that our contact centre services including all the systems and procedures we initiate are rigourously audited to ensure they fulfill the customer requirement. Here is a selection of case histories detailing the varied work we have undertaken to date.
Background:
This unusual brief required a team to respond to initial funding enquiries and filter out the unsuitable projects. With projects
that met the complex criteria set, we were required to follow up the contact to acquire business plans and management structures. A secondary part of the brief required that we act as their general enquiries bureau, handling all calls made to their public access number.
Our Approach:
Involving a complex call management system, an important factor in this was the need for mid call divert. (The associate
had to be able to transfer the caller where necessary to the appropriate nationwide office). The system was tested for 4 days in coordination with associate training. The associates were also sent to the client for a 7-day training program
involving in-depth company training.
In order to process calls and track the results a complete call monitoring system and automated tracking service was installed. All the results were sent via FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to the client's main locations around Europe, enabling us to automate data transfer and enhance security on the often-sensitive data.
Results:
- Due to the success of this approach a short-term
project is now ongoing. - We now also handle all the calls and marketing for their twice-yearly initiative competition.
- The increased screening has improved the quality of applicants and proposals the client receives.
- Only the best applications are sent to executives allowing them to more effectively plan strategies and focus on trends within the relevant sectors.
- The number of people making initial contact has grown by over 70% from the start of the project.
- Although the number of applicants that meet the requirements is low, the increased presence has increased the number people the executives meet.
Background:
Our client a subsidiary of one of the largest Insurance companies in the world required a Contact Centre to handle their impending Direct Response Television campaign in the UK.
Targeting a more mature audience with a Life Assurance plan that would guarantee to pay out a fixed sum on death the advertisements would run across various SKY channels and on regional terrestrial channels as well.
The brief was to explain the benefits of the policy, provide a quotation based upon age, gender and monthly premium, with a view to assuring the caller they would receive all the relevant documentation in the post.
Due to FSA regulation we were not allowed to actually ask for the business at the point of call, as the guidelines state a television advertisement did not give the caller sufficient time to evaluate and understand the policy. It was also a necessity for all calls to be recorded for this particular campaign.
Our Approach:
With only 2 weeks before the campaign was due to go live it was important to get things moving quickly.
In the initial meeting scripts were agreed for sign off and a Service Level agreement was put in place alongside specific targets.
Our IT department commenced work on the scripts which involved building a quoting algorithm allowing our staff to provide an accurate sum assured figure to the caller.
Once complete, we hosted the script on the web so our client could have a look and test it remotely, thus ensuring complete client satisfaction.
Our company trainer put together a training plan which was signed off by the client before training commenced.
It was important our staff understood the policy inside out but also that they followed a regimented call structure so as to remain within the confines of FSA regulation.
Results:
Our client was pleased at how quickly we set things up but also were assured they had chosen an agency who had the experience and sufficient capacity to handle a DRTV campaign.
NB: If you are about to undertake a DRTV campaign and would like more information on our experience in this field, please do not hesitate to give us a call on 0800 074 0595
Background:
Our client a worldwide Building Services Company, required a 24hr emergency/kidnap line.
Due to the nature of their business and the fact that their staff are working in certain areas of the world where kidnap is a real threat, it was felt that setting up an international number whereby calls could be centralised, logged and escalated accordingly, was an important step.
Our Approach:
Due to the potential sensitivity of incoming calls but also due to the fact that calls were likely to be sporadic at best, there were 2 essential steps in ensuring a smooth implementation.
Firstly it was important to automate as much of the scripting as possible therefore pushing our agent down a certain route.
For example if a call had come in from a certain part of the world, it would be important through gentle questioning to ascertain exactly what had occurred and then to escalate the call to their management team in the relevant country, whilst also reporting the incident immediately to the on call person in the UK head office.
Intelligent point and click scripting was programmed to carefully take our agents through each stage of the call process, thus ensuring that call escalation could be delivered by simply clicking on the contacts name in whichever country we were calling to engage conversation, as oppose to searching and dialing manually.
Secondly careful training was extremely important as calls needed to be handled with empathy and care, as quite naturally the caller if reporting a kidnap could be quite distressed.
Results:
Our client can rest assured that we will handle any call that materialises whatever the time of day or night, 365 days of the year.
Also they are delighted in how the call flow structure was implemented, leaving them confident they had chosen the best company to do the job.
NB: If you would like further information on our 24/7 emergency call out services, please do not hesitate to give us a call on 0800 074 0595
Background:
We were approached by a well known Political Party to handle the response to a short Party Political Broadcast with the main topic centred on crime.
Callers would be requesting further information and asking questions in relation to the broadcast.
The Political Party wanted to handle the first tranch of calls at their campaign headquarters and then overspill additional calls to Converso.
Our Approach:
Converso recommended a combination of live agent and automated response (IVR) as it was felt that the volumes could be too high to handle purely with live agents.
A quotation providing the most cost effective method of successfully handling the response was put forward to the client and duly accepted.
Careful planning and consideration was taken to ensure the call routing plan was set up correctly ensuring calls would divert to the relevant channels as proposed.
Scripts were programmed and a message recorded for the IVR back up and we were ready after training to go live.
Results:
A 100% successful call answer rate, resulting in an extremely well handled campaign.
Background:
The client has a very busy Dealership, which generates a large volume of calls at peak periods during the day. During these peak periods, it is not always possible for the client to answer all of the calls generated. This causes their customers an inconvenience and the client wished to eliminate this problem.
The client had no way of recording how many calls were being lost and indeed how long their callers had to wait before their call was answered. Their telephone lines were only manned during normal working hours.
We implemented a solution allowing calls that could not be handled by the client to divert directly into Converso. Converso answer the call and route it back into the business where necessary. Overspill calls are dealt with by Converso and routed back into the client to various departments or individuals allowing the client more time to deal with their customers personally, thus ensuring their callers were speaking to a receptionist immediately.
Our Approach:
From previous experience in this field and taking into account the status of the client’s customers, we recognised the need for a dedicated team to answer any calls that could not be answered by the client within their time frame. This dedicated team are supported by our bureau service, thus ensuring that the client will never miss a call again. All of our staff undertook comprehensive training in order to understand the client’s business thus ensuring a seamless service to our customer. The client’s staff also spent time at Converso getting to know our team and explaining the intricacies of their business.
A complex script was created to cater for every type of call and each eventuality. This allows comprehensive reports to be written and sent to the client on a daily basis.
Results:
Each call to the client that is not answered within 8 seconds is diverted to our dedicated virtual receptionists. Whilst the call is being transferred, the customer hears the client’s hold music, thus creating a seamless service for the caller.
If the caller cannot be put through to someone who can help them straight away, a structured message is sent to the client in order for them to carry out any investigation necessary before returning the call.
All incoming and outgoing calls are measured and monitored to ensure the most effective route is used. This also allows us to keep the client informed of their estimated bill each day of the month.
Background:
This household name ‘Pet Products Company’ approached Converso to set up a customer service help line to handle enquiries in relation to their products. Products are sold nationwide through supermarkets and major pet stores. Communication channels included telephone, email and white mail and they also required us to have the ability to handle refunds.
Our Approach:
For this particular account we have been careful to select a certain type of individual. Firstly we have ensured that the chosen staff are actually pet owners but also that they have the ability to impart empathy. In the main this is because occasionally some of the callers can be quite distressed especially if their pet has had an adverse reaction to a particular product. The chosen team underwent a solid 2 weeks worth of training in order to ensure a sound knowledge of all products. We also worked hard to understand our clients ethos and culture in order to best replicate internal practice. A bank account was set up specifically for us to handle any refunds and a comprehensive reporting system was implemented so that our client can analyse the outcome of every call. This is a well run account that is expanding on a monthly basis.
Background:
This well known National Retailer of Carpets wanted to provide their customers with a national number to call in order to obtain details of their nearest store.
Our Approach:
We imported all store details in our nearest software allowing our agents to be able to track stores by distance according to the callers postcode.
By double clicking on the chosen store our agents are able to give details about the products available, store directions and store contact details.
We are also capturing valuable customer data where possible for future marketing campaigns.
Results:
A uniform and consistent branch look up service for all incoming calls.
Background:
This well known government department was implementing a series of seminars to be held in village halls across the UK. The aim was to attract farmers to the events in order to relay important industry developments relevant to their business. Converso was appointed to handle both telephone and email response with a view to booking farmers into the seminars.
Our Approach:
Careful planning by Converso and the client was important to ensure accurate script set-ups. Our software had to be able to allocate the nearest venue to the farmer by postcode but also ensure that venues could not be overbooked as each seminar would only handle a maximum of 50 attendees.
Equally if venues were at capacity it was important for our agents to be able to offer an alternative venue within distance of the farmer. This campaign generated over 4000 calls and emails.
Results:
All venues completed successfully.
Background:
This rather unusual brief required us to set up a 24/7 registration booking line for a company that provides guest lists into some of London’s most exclusive nightclubs. The service would require us to capture caller details on a web-based system pre-qualifying their age. Further to registering them as customers the caller would then be able to book themselves and friends onto a guest list of their chosen venue.
Most important was the ability for our agents to be able to give out detailed information about the venues, including opening hours, dress code, type of music played etc.
Our Approach:
Converso worked closely with the client in order to deliver a system that would be technically sound. All staff completed an intensive 2-day training course within our training suite just a few days prior to the launch date. Staff were tested on their knowledge of the different venues and important information they would need to impart. Only upon successful completion did the campaign go live.
Results:
This account has been live for over two years now and we have helped out clients develop the software even further in order to significantly improve the customer experience.
Background:
This well known company allows hotels and ofter hospitality providers to offer Broadband Internet access to their guests. We were approached to set up a bureau based help desk support function offering 24/7 coverage for hotel guests not able to connect to the web from their hotel rooms.
Our Approach:
Due to the initial low volume of calls it was important from a cost perspective that these calls could be handled within the bureau as opposed to having dedicated staff, therefore it was important that our agents would be able to take the caller through a relatively simple process to try to identify any connection problems. With this in mind our client developed the Support Call Wizard Software whereby our agents can check the callers operating system, web browser connection method and the exact nature of the problem. Our agents were then trained to take the caller through a series of commands in order to ensure a connection could be made. Quite often the caller need only make a few simple adjustments to their settings but anything we cannot rectify is immediately escalated.
Results:
68% of all calls are now dealt with as a first call resolution.
Background:
This household name passenger travel group approached us to handle the response to a national campaign for the recruitment of bus drivers. This was to be an ongoing national campaign though handling regions on a consecutive basis.
The Brief:
- Capture caller details and lead them through a series of screening questions.(Upon completion of the screening the caller will either pass or fail the initial criteria).
- If applicant passes the first stage screening process proceed to book them into an interview at one of 4 bus depots of their choice.
- If applicant has email send a pdf straight from screen with the interview details or if not laser a letter to be sent to their home address.
- Send instantaneous email to both the bus depot and the company head office confirming the interview.
- Provide detailed reporting to include successful outcomes but also at what stage of the screening process do applicants fail when they do not proceed.
Our Approach:
This particular campaign involved intensive set up as the script and questioning we use to screen applicants is long and involved. (these calls are roughly 10 minutes in duration) Equally it was extremely important for our client to be assured that the applicant was aware of the interview location, date and time and that no interviews could be double-booked . With crystal reports we produced a comprehensive automated report template allowing our client to carefully log the success criteria of all calls.
Results:
This is an ongoing campaign and our client is only interviewing staff that have been pre-qualified therefore saving a lot of unnecessary interviewing time.
NB: Converso has many of years of experience in handling complex recruitment campaigns on behalf of government agencies and blue chip companies.
