Author: Andrew

4 Digital FNOL Strategies to Improve the Online Customer Experience

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December 14th, 2021

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Customers have high expectations of their insurance company. Providing a good customer experience hinges on how well providers understand these expectations. Quality service and competitive product prices are still important, but customers aren’t willing to tolerate friction to get them. Customers need to know they are more than a file to their insurer, and they expect frustration-free interactions. Half of the customers will seek a new insurance provider after a single negative interaction. That number skyrockets to 80% with repeat bad experiences.

Here are several strategies to improve the online customer experience:

  1. Find their pain points. Companies that identify bottlenecks or common frustration points for their customers can take steps to remove as much of this irritation as possible from digital customer service. Live chat is a great way to facilitate these conversations with insureds and allows agents to resolve customer problems in real-time.
  2. Optimize for mobile and accessibility. Customers need to have access to their provider on any browser or device. Having a responsive website for all devices is an established standard, but it’s useless if the webpage can’t function properly on certain browsers. Customers won’t bother to download or switch to another browser. With every abandoned interaction, insurance providers lose some of that customer’s loyalty.
  3. Let them help themselves. Customers are tech-savvy and often want to find solutions on their own time. Some popular self-service options include knowledge bases, frequently asked questions, and community forums.
  4. Offer omnichannel communication. Customers have diverse preferences for how they engage with their insurance provider. Some prefer traditional communication methods, such as the phone or submitting a ticket through their portal. However, others want to reach out over social media, text message, or chat. Many use a mix of different channels depending on the complexity of their problem.

Insurance companies need to provide high-quality service during every customer interaction. Engaging with customers when and how they prefer is a significant step to meeting their expectations. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about implementing text and chat support.

4 Ways Nearshore Call Centers Avoid Cross-Cultural Miscommunication

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December 7th, 2021

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Call centers are a boon to growing businesses. A dedicated call center can handle all incoming calls, answer common customer questions, and allow employees to focus on their primary tasks instead of working the phones. However, many offshore call centers struggle to bridge cultural divides, which makes it difficult to provide high-quality customer service.

Nearshore call center agents have enough geographic proximity to understand the customer’s needs, frustrations, and expectations. The following are several ways nearshore call centers improve communication and the customer experience:

  1. Language. Customers expect agents to speak their language fluently. However, call center agents need a nuanced understanding of the language as well. Agents that don’t comprehend common idioms or struggle to understand local accents will run into repeated frustrations.
  2. Culture. Greetings vary between cultures. Some cultures prefer friendly exchanges, while others expect direct and professional communication. Nearshore call center agents understand the customer’s culture, which facilitates better communication.
  3. Time zones. Many companies turn to offshore call centers because they can provide coverage outside of regular business hours. Nearshore call centers can provide extended coverage too, and their closer proximity makes it much easier to communicate business concerns. If a company wants to discuss changes to the call center or review KPIs, nearshore call centers are better equipped to meet during regular business hours.
  4. Communication channel. Customers have several options for communicating with a business. Some prefer to speak to a live person, while others may prefer to send a text or a message. Cultural divides can make it difficult for offshore call center agents to pivot from the phone to a chatbox. What sounds friendly with verbal inflection can seem cold over text.

Customer loyalty is hard-won and easily lost. One poor support experience is enough to make a customer consider finding a new service provider. Customers are also much more likely to leave reviews after a negative experience, which can harm the company’s reputation. Companies need call centers that can resolve their customers’ needs and exceed their expectations without stumbling over cultural miscommunications. Contact Actec to learn more about the benefits of nearshore call centers.

The Number 1 Reason Companies Struggle with Employee Retention Issues

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November 23rd, 2021

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The pandemic forced many employees to reconsider their work situation. More time at home allowed people to view their career through a different lens, and many workers decided they’ve had enough of the stress of their job. However, a high rate of burnout isn’t the primary cause of the sudden deluge of employee turnover. Companies that are struggling to retain their workforce need to focus their efforts on the right place to reduce the number of resignations.

Don’t Bandage the Burnout

No company can afford to lose employees at a cyclic rate. However, the knee-jerk response to fix the perceived problem is often unhelpful. Offering better benefits or upgrading workspaces won’t sway the staggering 41% of workers considering leaving their job if their employers don’t address the root cause of their frustrations.

More often than not, a bad manager is the source of the problem. A recent study found that nearly two-thirds of employees considering a career change noted bad relations with their managers. Bad has multiple meanings for employees. They may feel that their managers don’t appreciate or value their work, that their primary boss is narcissistic, or that otherwise pleasant managers lack enough training to perform their job well.

How to Avoid Mass Resignations

The current job market is at direct odds with conventional beliefs about the employee-employer relationship. In the past, economic instability meant employers had most of the bargaining chips. Employees were often thankful to have a job at all and accepted situations they ordinarily wouldn’t to remain gainfully employed. In the pandemic era, employees are putting themselves first and refuse to remain in intolerable working conditions.

Avoiding resignations requires businesses to identify pain points, such as detrimental managers, and implement benefits that show the company cares about its employees. However, detecting toxic managers poses a significant challenge. Many employees would rather leave than face potential backlash for speaking out against their supervisors.

A simple way to find potential problems among the staff is to track attendance. Unhappy employees are more likely to arrive late, leave early, or miss work altogether. Businesses can use this information to identify troubling trends, such as an uptick in absences within a specific department. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about improving employee retention with absence reporting software.

5 Tips to Help Employees Transition Back to the Office

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November 16th, 2021

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COVID forced many businesses to transition their workforce from the office to a remote setting. Employees and employers alike had to adjust to and overcome the challenges of working virtually. With more of the country receiving the vaccine, company leadership needs to consider the difficulties of shifting their employees back to a physical office.

Most employees adapted quickly to working from home and came to embrace the benefits. They have more flexible hours, no commute, and can wear whatever they please. Working from home also gives employees peace of mind knowing they’re reducing their exposure to germs and risk of infection.

The following are several tips to help employees switch back to a traditional working environment:

  1. Plan for a staged re-entry. COVID didn’t give employees much time to adjust to remote work. Many had to assemble a workspace and purchase office equipment without notice. Others had to figure out how to work from home with the distraction of other working adults, kids attending virtual school, and so on. Employers have the luxury of time to plan a staged return to work to avoid an abrupt transition.
  2. Offer mental health support. Government studies show that 40% of adults struggle with mental health issues due to COVID. Isolation, loneliness, and anxiety cause significant stress and have a negative effect on employees’ health. Offering mental health support can give employees resources to cope with their stressors. Offering flexible schedules can reduce anxiety for employees who have children attending virtual school or have high-risk individuals living with them.
  3. Explain the benefits of returning to the office. Many businesses discovered their employees were just as productive working from home as they were when working in the office. Employees know this too and may hedge at returning to the office if they don’t see the point. However, isolation stymies creativity that flourishes when employees collaborate. If a company doesn’t differentiate from the competition or produce new ideas, it’ll lose its relevancy. Employees may find themselves out of a job as a result.
  4. Be transparent about safety protocols. It’s not enough for businesses to reassure their employees that their health and safety are top priorities. Employees need to know what steps their companies are taking for them to feel safe to return. For example, companies can share their details for advanced cleaning protocols, maintaining virtual meetings, and other strategies to limit exposure.
  5. Allow for flexibility. If employers force their employees back into the office too quickly, they’re likely to have a significant attendance problem. The fallout of COVID is still complicating employees’ lives, and they need the flexibility to manage childcare, care for elderly or sick family members, etc. Consider allowing employees to work from home a few days per week to help them balance their work and home life responsibilities as they reacclimate to a traditional office environment.

COVID forced many companies to find creative solutions to remain in business. A successful return to the workplace hinges on understanding employees’ needs and embracing flexibility during the transition. However, employers still need to track attendance and address any troubling trends. Contact the experts at Actec to learn how our absence tracking mobile app can help your business as you transition back into the office.

How to Transform the Customer Service Experience with Technology

Posted on

November 9th, 2021

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The insurance industry has made significant strides toward improving the customer experience in recent years. Many have updated customer documents to reduce industry jargon and increased engagement with their customer base. While these are promising first steps, insurance companies need to harness new technology to deliver the experience their customers want. Some examples include:

Show Customers the Value of Data Sharing

Today’s customers expect services tailored to their needs, but meeting that expectation relies on having accurate data. Insurers that collect customer information during every interaction can provide personalized policies and other product recommendations that align with their customers’ lifestyles, risk profiles, and more. Encouraging customers to share these details also gives insurers an opportunity to demonstrate their transparency by explaining how they use that information.

Implement AI at Every Stage of the Customer’s Journey

Insurance providers have started dabbling in AI integrations. Some use AI chatbots to provide answers to customers’ simple questions regarding their coverage or claims. Insurers also use AI to automate certain aspects of the claims process, while others use the technology to detect fraud. Applying AI technology to all customer interactions expedites claims processing, resolves customer questions quickly, and provides an overall better experience.

Offer Omnichannel Communication

Customers hate waiting on hold, waiting for email responses, and waiting for claims updates. In short, they hate waiting, and it erodes their satisfaction and loyalty. Offering omnichannel communication allows customers to engage with their insurance provider when and how they prefer. Insurers should aim to expand upon the typical communication channels like phone and email to include social media, text, and chat.

Customers expect a personalized experience when they interact with their insurance provider. They also want convenience and rapid solutions to their problems. Text and chat communication offers insurance providers a chance to use a more personal communication method to improve the customer’s experience and exceed their expectations. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about implementing chat and text communication.

5 Surprising Advantages of a Four-Day Workweek

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November 2nd, 2021

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Everyone loves a three-day weekend. Employees chat excitedly about their plans for their extra day off, and they often return to the office with more energy and vigor for their work than usual. With employee burnout worse than ever, many businesses are looking for new and creative ways to combat the problem. For most organizations, the four-day workweek yielded impressive and unexpected benefits.

Why a Four-Day Workweek?

Advancements in technology expedited how quickly employees can complete tasks. However, this doesn’t mean employees can necessarily perform more work without suffering from burnout. There are only so many tasks, processes, and projects a single person can juggle each workweek. Many are questioning the validity of a five-day workweek, as long hours don’t always translate to better productivity in the modern workforce.

Benefits of a Shorter Workweek

Companies may worry that productivity will suffer or that they’ll struggle to meet deadlines if they reduce employee hours to four days a week while still providing a five-day workweek salary. However, numerous countries around the world are giving the four-day workweek a try and report the following benefits:

  1. Happier employees. Many employees spend their two days off running errands, attending appointments, and tending to their life responsibilities that have to wait during the workweek. They have little time for leisure, and it tanks their productivity. The additional day off allows employees to do the things they love so they can recharge.
  2. Reduced costs for businesses and their employees. Utility bills drop significantly for companies, as employees are in the office less. Employees use less water, less electricity, and produce less trash, which yields direct savings. Employees also save money on gas, coffee, and going out to lunch.
  3. Increased loyalty. Employees value workplace flexibility, and a four-day workweek is a significant perk to dangle. It improves their motivation, job satisfaction, and loyalty to their employer.
  4. Better productivity. Unhappy employees are less likely to give their full focus to their work, and they are more likely to have attendance problems. They may arrive late, duck out early, take long breaks, or chat with their coworkers instead of doing their work. With a shorter workweek, productivity rises as employees are less prone to these attendance issues. Employees that work a four-day workweek are also more creative and use their work hours much more effectively.
  5. Fewer health-related absences. Employees suffering from burnout are more likely to call out of work due to their mental health. Mental health problems can affect physical health as well, leading to more infections and illnesses. Many employees reported an improvement in their wellbeing when working a four-day workweek compared to a five-day one.

Some businesses adopting a four-day workweek model split their employees so that some work Monday through Thursday while the others work Tuesday through Friday. This approach ensures companies are still available to their customers five days a week while maintaining a reduced workweek for all employees. Flexible work hours are just one of the ways to improve employees’ health, productivity, and attendance. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more ways to reduce absenteeism.

How to Overcome Chat Customer Service Support Challenges

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October 26th, 2021

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Customers expect businesses to offer several channels of communication, including through social media, email, phone calls, and chat support. Chat support is particularly effective in securing customer satisfaction and loyalty when done well. However, chat customer service has unique communication challenges that can damage the customer’s experience and perception of the company.

The following are the most common challenges that can trip up customer service agents while chatting with a customer:

Misunderstandings

Whether the customer doesn’t understand the message or the service rep fails to grasp the problem, misunderstandings can occur on both sides of the conversation. Agents should always ask for clarification rather than making assumptions about the situation. Agents that ask specific questions and use active listening techniques can get the conversation back on track.

Impersonal Interactions

Personalization plays a critical role in customer satisfaction, but it’s easy to lose in chat communication. Compounding the problem, customers can tell when an agent gives them a scripted answer to their inquiry. Using friendly greetings, referring to the customer by name, and engaging in the conversation all show the customer they are more than a ticket number.

Tone Issues

People rely on inflection, gestures, and facial expressions to interpret the tone of a conversation. Without these social cues, chat communication can come across as blunt, cold, or outright hostile. Establishing a company-wide tone for customer communication can help alleviate the issue. For example, a company that brands itself as energetic and friendly can use language to reflect that while chatting with customers.

Empathy and efficiency are critical for successful chat communication. Customers expect agents to be knowledgeable, friendly, and fast problem solvers. Effective chat customer service can meet all these needs. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about implementing chat services.

Top 4 Ways the Pandemic Reshaped Absence Management

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October 19th, 2021

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The pandemic has had an undeniable effect on absences and how companies manage them. More people called out of work in 2020 than they ever have in the past twenty years. Most of these absences have direct ties to COVID-19. Illness- and other medical-related absences rose by 45%, while absences related to childcare difficulties skyrocketed by 250%. Experts also speculate that extreme stress has led to higher-than-normal rates of burnout, which also lead to absences.

The shifting attendance landscape forced many businesses to reconsider their absence management strategies. Here are the most notable absences management trends of 2021:

  1. A rise in telehealth. The concept of virtual doctor appointments isn’t new, but the pandemic accelerated its acceptance as the norm. Virtual appointments allow employees to receive care and prescriptions for some ailments without exposing themselves to contagion-filled waiting rooms. Telehealth also provides greater access to much-needed mental health services.
  2. Mental health challenges. Although employees have greater access to virtual mental health services, there is still a stigma around receiving them. However, the mental stress of the pandemic is sending a surge of anxiety and depression through employees. Employers need to spread awareness and reduce the negative association with mental health services to help prevent a widespread mental health crisis in the workplace.
  3. Accommodation requests. Barring undue hardship, employers must provide reasonable accommodations to federally protected groups. However, prior to the pandemic, this usually applied to the location the employee worked (i.e., in the office). With so many employees still working from home, employers need to consider what employees need to do their job rather than where the work occurs.
  4. Transitional difficulties. Many companies are transitioning some of their employees back to the workplace due to the COVID-19 vaccine. However, this shift won’t be easy for many employees. They may have musculoskeletal problems from prolonged use of non-ergonomic furniture (i.e., working at the kitchen table or from the couch). Employees may also struggle with a traditional eight-hour shift, as remote work allows them greater flexibility with their work hours.

The pandemic radically transformed business as usual for most organizations. Companies need to understand how these changes contribute to employees’ ongoing mental health and wellbeing. Failing to keep up with these trends will result in burnout and significant absenteeism. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about absence management in the wake of COVID-19.

4 Proven Ways for Insurance Companies to Deliver a Positive Customer Experience

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October 13th, 2021

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Positive customer experiences drive the success of all insurance companies. A recent survey from Microsoft found that the overwhelming majority (95%) of customers base their loyalty on the quality of service they receive. Other surveys report similar statistics across all industries, which underscore the importance of providing an excellent experience during every customer interaction.

With the pandemic keeping many people at home, customers are shopping online and reaching out to customer support more than ever. Whether they need help deciding on which product to purchase or need clarification on their policy, customer service representatives need to deliver the best service possible. Here are several methods customer service representatives can use to provide consistent, high-quality service:

  1. Know the products. Customers don’t often understand their policies or their coverage needs as well as they should. They need a knowledgeable agent to guide their purchasing decisions and clarify any questions they may have. Agents that recommend supplemental policies to prevent coverage gaps, bundles to help save the customer money, and tips that lower the customer’s insurance costs will be far more effective than agents that can only regurgitate a memorized script.
  2. Embrace creative problem-solving. Creative problem-solving is a much sought-after soft skill, and it requires looking beyond a quick fix. Customer service agents that thrive on finding solutions will advance customer loyalty much more than agents that focus on the customer’s policy limitations.
  3. Strive for positive communication. Customers often call their insurance providers after they experience a loss, and their emotions are running high. Agents that remain calm, friendly, and empathetic can help the customer deescalate to navigate the claim process. If a customer initiates communication through chat or text, customer service agents must remain aware that tone doesn’t always convey through these channels. Using friendly punctuation, humor, or emojis can imbue their words with warmth and compassion.
  4. Respond quickly, resolve thoroughly. Customers value their time, and they do not appreciate waiting on hold or navigating a convoluted phone tree before even broaching their problem. Agents need to respond as soon as a customer reaches out on all platforms, including calls, messages, and texts. However, customers don’t want agents to rush while resolving their problems. Respond promptly and investigate carefully to secure ongoing customer loyalty.

Customer service representatives are the first responders to customer inquiries. Insurance companies need a top-tier call center to deliver the quality of service the modern customer expects. Contact the experts at Actec to learn how our nearshore call center solutions can improve the customer experience.

Tips for Improving Employee Engagement with SMART Goals

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October 5th, 2021

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Every company has big-picture goals, but it’s not always a straightforward matter to achieve them. Managers may struggle to keep employees engaged, or employees may not understand their role in the process. Team- or company-wide goals are easy enough to grasp, but how to accomplish them becomes murky when broken down to the employee level. Using the SMART approach to setting goals can cut through this confusion and allow employees to engage with their work to the best of their ability.

Understanding SMART Goals

The SMART method isn’t a new concept, but many businesses fail to keep it in mind when setting goals. The SMART criteria are Specific, Measurable, Achievable/Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Using these elements allows companies to create measurable goals that outline what employees or teams need to accomplish on a specific timeline. The SMART approach also allows companies to provide clear markers of success, whether it’s a certain number of sales or a percentage increase in customer engagement because they can track the results.

  • S: Specific goals eliminate confusion by providing details on what the objective is, what team or employee is responsible for it, and what steps those individuals need to take next.
  • M: Measurable goals are much easier to quantify because they have data to examine. If a company sets a goal to increase social media engagement, it also needs to identify benchmarks of success. One additional customer comment compared to the month before technically constitutes an increase, but it’s not likely what the company had in mind. Setting measurable targets eliminates confusion on what counts as success.
  • A: Unrealistic goals will leave employees frustrated and destroy productivity. When companies reach this point in goal setting, they need to take a hard look at the feasibility of the goal. If the goal is too demanding or big in scale, employees will struggle to achieve it.
  • R: Employees won’t understand the point of a goal if it lacks relevancy. This part of the method explains why the goal is important to the company’s long-term success and how employees contribute to that end.
  • T: Employees need to know the timeline for achieving their goals. If they aren’t clear on when tasks are due to keep the goal on track, they’ll struggle to distribute their workload effectively. Similarly, if the timeline is too short, employees won’t be able to produce the quality of work required for true success.

When employees understand their role and tasks, why it matters, and what management expects of them, their productivity increases exponentially. Without knowing these things, they’re likely to flounder and disengage from their work. Disengaged employees don’t see the importance of what they do and are much less motivated to do their work. This kind of thinking can result in absenteeism, poor workplace morale, and lost profits. Contact the experts at Actec to learn more about improving employee engagement and attendance.