Virtual Hold Technology Improves Customer Service

Scottish Powerhas implemented a new all-in-one turnkey queue-management solution from Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories to offer an improved level of convenience and service to its customers during busy times.

The Genesys Virtual Hold will enable Scottish Power to eliminate long hold times and provide consistently high quality service levels to its customers.

For the first time, callers will have the option to request a straightforward callback option that allows them to hold their place in the queue and receive a call back at a time convenient for them, rather than having to wait on the line to speak to an agent.

Scottish Power undertook a rigorous benchmarking exercise that looked at potential solutions before selecting Genesys Virtual Hold solution for its 'off the shelf', easy to install capabilities, as well as its flexibility and scalability.

The energy provider worked closely with Siemens, Genesys and Virtual Hold professionals to implement the new queue-management system to meet Scottish Power's specific requirements and to ensure a fit-for-purpose solution that would complement the organisation's existing dynamic routing and IVR self-service options.

As we typically experience peaks and troughs in calls throughout the day, we wanted to map adequate and cost-effective occupancy levels to service these call demands. The catalyst to us, looking at Virtual Hold, was the Customer Experience improvement programme we embarked upon in June 2009.

We needed to be able to offer consistent, high quality service at a cost-effective level throughout the day, as well as a solution that easily integrated into the Genesys Customer Interaction Management Platform, commented Lynda Clayton, Head of Operational Planning, Customer Services, Scottish Power.

After just three months of specification, testing and the first pilot centre go-live, we were able to deploy a phased roll-out with 1-2 week intervals that ensured that all of our five main customer service centres were effectively offering Virtual Hold to inbound customer callers.

We've already seen some tangible performance improvements as a result of implementing Genesys Virtual Hold. Our service levels have considerably improved and our resource occupancy and contact center efficiency have been greatly enhanced.

We have reduced average speed-of-answer and call abandonment rates as well, continued Lynda Clayton. The feedback we have received on Genesys Virtual Hold has also been very positive from both agents and customers. Agents are enjoying a warmer and friendlier introduction to their calls where a call back is made, and customers are delighted to receive their call backs within the defined time period, avoiding the frustration of long hold times.

Genesys Virtual Hold has now become a key addition to our call routing strategies and has enabled us to dramatically improve levels of convenience and service to our customers during busy queuing times, concluded Lynda Clayton.

Virtual Hold for Genesys is an out-of-the box queue-management solution that allows customers to receive a callback at a convenient time rather than wait on hold. They can choose to be called back when their spot in the current queue comes up, or set a preferred time for callback up to seven days in advance.

This queue-management system leverages existing infrastructure, provides flexibility and easy scalability, and requires no agent intervention or training. The callback process is completely transparent to the agent. Virtual Hold for Genesys eliminates hold times, reduces costs, and has an estimated payback period of approximately six months.

About Scottish Power
Scottish Power generates electricity, operates and maintains large gas and electricity delivery networks and provides a full range of services, including maintenance, Smart Metering and billing. Info: www.scottishpower.com.

About Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc.
Genesys is the leading provider of software to manage customer interactions over the phone, Web and mobile devices. The Genesys software suite connects customers with the right resources self-service, assisted-service and proactive outreach to fulfill customer requests, optimise customer care goals and efficiently use resources. Info: www.genesyslab.com.

About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent is the trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, providing solutions to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. Info: www.alcatel-lucent.com.
 

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