Category: Case Studies

Why iQor  

This case study spotlights iQor’s partnership with a financial services client that led to the addition of complex back office support services to improve efficiency and quality in their auto finance division. 

With deep product knowledge; a strong understanding of the brand; comprehensive training; and ongoing QA, compliance, and efficiency monitoring, iQor delivers fast and accurate back office support to help achieve the client’s strategic objectives. 

Our team of dedicated CX professionals delivers task QA scores at 99.3%, consistently above the client’s target with efficiency and accuracy. This results in faster turnaround times to advance the lender’s competitive advantage in the auto loan industry. 

Background

Our client is a nationwide lender of new and used automobile purchase financing. The lender wanted to maintain its high standing and grow its market share in the competitive arena of dealership-to-consumer financing.  

The lender sought to improve the accuracy and velocity of dealer funding back office support services to achieve four outcomes: 

1. Grow its already-strong dealer network. 
2. Fund more consumer automotive loans through dealerships. 
3. Save time and money by doing the same work in less time. 
4. Improve efficiency and quality by completing the loan documents with fewer errors. 

The lender relied on an in-house team and several back office outsourcing providers to handle income pre-verification (IPV) and loan document review, two critical loan funding services. 

Results were good, but they recognized an opportunity to get even better results by adding another business process outsourcing (BPO) provider. 

They were very satisfied with the 15+ year relationship and the positive results iQor has delivered in other areas of their business as a trusted CX solutions outsourcing partner. So, they partnered with us for outsourced back office services to help them achieve the four outcomes described above.  

Our client set high standards for the velocity and accuracy of their programs; iQor’s challenge was to meet those standards of excellence.  

Business Opportunities

Buyers, dealers, and lenders each have their own priorities when it comes to automobile lending.  

From the Buyer’s Perspective

Exceptional customer service throughout the buyer’s journey comes in the form of friendly and knowledgeable staff, transparent pricing and financing options, hassle-free negotiations, and comprehensive after-sales support.  A great purchasing experience can enhance customer satisfaction and build long-term brand loyalty with the car dealer, manufacturer, and lender. This relationship is made stronger through a smooth, efficient, and secure financing experience.

From the Dealer’s Perspective

Dealers want to deliver an excellent purchasing experience to every customer who walks through their doors. Lenders that offer low payments and the best combination of velocity and accuracy help make that happen.  

Lender velocity (speed and efficiency) and accuracy (quality and compliance) in processing income pre-verification (IPV) and reviewing loan documents directly impact a dealership’s ability to sell loans to buyers.  

IPV is the first step in the loan application process. It’s used to verify the applicant’s income before a formal loan application is submitted. Dealerships need quick turnaround of IPV requests from the lender’s back office support team to hold the customer’s attention and keep the sales process moving forward. 

Once the dealer has completed the paperwork and delivered the vehicle, the lender must review loan documents for accuracy. Oversights like date of birth mismatch or lack of proof that the buyer was offered insurance could put the dealership at risk. 

In some cases, a flaw in the loan documents may require the dealership to ask the customer to come back to resolve the issue, potentially prompting them to pursue financing options elsewhere.

From the Lender’s Perspective

Competition among auto lenders is fierce. Every buyer has a bank or credit union that wants their auto loan business, as does the dealership that sold them the car.  

Every dealership has multiple sources for loans:  

• Lenders aligned with the vehicle brands they sell.  
• Major national lenders (like our client).  
• Lenders seeking low-risk buyers.  
• Lenders seeking high-risk buyers.  
• Local banks with third-party lending programs aiming for local residents.  
• Local credit unions. 

Lenders count on back office support services from in-house and/or BPO teams to execute the IPV and loan document review processes and maximize their win rates. Teams must execute these processes at a level of accuracy and velocity that satisfies the buyer, dealer, and lender. 

In collaboration with our client, iQor set out to execute at the same or better rates of velocity and accuracy as the existing support providers within 90 days of launch. 

Back Office Solutions

Having partnered with this client on numerous CX programs for over 15 years, we marked an expansion of our back office support with this funding program. 

iQor leaders supporting the auto lender’s programs average eight or more years of experience with the lender, possessing extensive knowledge of the lender’s auto loan products. In fact, a common saying among the lender’s employees is, “If you don’t know the answer to a question, ask iQor.” 

This tenure results from iQor’s employee-first customer service culture anchored in our seven iQorian Values that guide our interactions.

iQor team members enjoy an excellent employee experience that translates into longer tenure, more growth, and deeper knowledge in support of the brands we serve through ongoing initiatives such as:  

• Flexible work environments. 
• Digitally enabled training, coaching, and mentoring. 
• Proactive insights powered by machine learning to improve individual employee experiences. 
• Career development and progression through programs like iQor University. 
• An inclusive culture that provides a sense of belonging through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). 
• Assistance during times of need through our iQor Qares nonprofit organization. 

With long-term program tenure, iQor’s team began from a position of deep product and brand knowledge to implement a three-prong solution to consistently meet the auto lender’s goals for velocity and accuracy. 

1. Recruit and train. 
2. Measure. 
3. Coach and motivate. 

Recruit and Train

iQor’s value-driven culture and flexible work environments in secure work-in-office and work-at-home settings powered recruiting efforts to ensure consistent delivery of staffing compliance. We recruited agents for the funding program’s back office support startup teams from a pool that included new agents as well as iQorians who had already proved their ability to produce at a high level for our client. From the start, our onboarding experience welcomed and engaged new employees through our culture, values, and policies. 

The iQor team worked in collaboration with the client from Day One to understand training requirements, become subject matter experts, and partner on facilitation methods and content to drive the best performance outcomes. 

Our award-winning training team worked with the lender to design a curriculum to address critical program needs, integrating collaborative learning experiences that accelerated time to proficiency. 

iQor trainers undergo a four-level certification program to hone the skills needed to succeed in a fast-paced active learning environment. Equipped with these skills and the technology to deliver quality training, both in-person and virtually, iQor’s certified trainers deliver compelling and intuitive active learning facilitation at scale, guiding participants through a collaborative learning journey. Skills assessments help guide trainers to further support agents in areas of need. 

This comprehensive training experience ensures agents have the knowledge and skills to complete all the processes involved with income pre-verification and loan document reviews with efficiency and accuracy. 

New recruits receive onsite product training before beginning a nesting period. During nesting, agents spend part of the day handling calls and the rest of the day in training based on the calls they’ve handled. New agents must spend at least 90 days working onsite before they qualify to work at home (WAH).

Measure

Our client uses an internal system to assess performance in the loan document review process. This applies to their in-house team as well as outside BPO vendors. Performance appraisals comprise two categories: 

1. 80% of the performance assessment measures quality and compliance (accuracy).
2. 20% measures efficiency (velocity).  

Accuracy 

The lender checks the accuracy of the back office support team’s review of 15 specific items in loan documents. For each item, they assign a grade based on the accuracy of an agent’s review of that item. They calculate a quality assurance (QA) score—the ratio of positive grades to the total number of documents reviewed—for each of the 15 items. All 15 individual QA scores are used to calculate a composite score.

 Velocity 

Two velocity measurements are recorded: total points per hour (TPPH) and conversion percentage. 

1. Total Points Per Hour 

Agents receive points for every item they review. The number of points they receive, divided by the number of work hours for the month, equals their TPPH score.  

The average of all TPPH scores for all agents is the total TPPH score. 

2. Conversion Percentage 

Conversion percentage is the percentage of loans assigned to iQor that get funded by our client.  

Our back office operations agents focus on generating IPV (income pre-verification) approvals quickly to allow agents to go through the remaining tasks and expedite deal funding. 

Reporting

The client shares performance metrics with all loan funding back office services providers each week. A monthly business review includes the QA, TPPH, and conversion percentage for that month and the two previous months. The reporting denotes each provider’s performance in relation to the minimum score required by the client and to the stream (the average of all provider scores).  

The reported data tells each provider how well they’re doing as a unit and how well each of their agents is doing.

Coach and Motivate

iQor supervisors review the individual QA, TPPH, and conversion percentage scores. They coach agents in specific areas to help further improve their performance. 

iQor supervisors meet with the client’s QA team each week to review progress and keep lines of communication open. 

iQor launched a weekly motivational program to reward agents who score 100 on all 15 items. This program is in addition to the original agent bonus plan. 

Results

One year after the program launched, iQor, with support from the client, is helping the lender close more loans and create more loyal customers.

Since partnering with iQor as one of their back office support providers for auto loan funding, our client enjoys:  

• Higher QA scores that consistently reach or exceed their target. 
• Improved velocity that helps convert a higher percentage of qualified applicants to borrowers. 

Sometimes a client wants to bring a fresh pair of eyes and a new sense of purpose to a program. Expanding the role of a BPO they’ve come to know and trust in other CX programs may be their best course of action. That’s often the case when a client-BPO relationship is a true partnership, as our relationship with this client has been for 15+ years.   

The expansion of this partnership continues as the client adds more iQor agents to the team providing back office support to their funding program. 

Why iQor? 

For more than a decade, a global provider of business solutions has trusted iQor as a strategic outsourcing partner for third-party account recovery. Through reliable performance and innovation, the partnership has continued to expand to include several other back office lines of business (LOBs). iQor provides complex revenue management services to maintain and strengthen the client’s B2B relationships with the top global enterprises they support through multimillion-dollar contracts. 

The client partnered with iQor as their sole outsourcing partner in these LOBs to collaborate on effective strategic solutions for advancing agent performance and guiding innovations that strengthen internal processes and boost efficiency. In collaboration with the client, we identify opportunities for harnessing technology to improve processes, optimize performance, and achieve favorable outcomes. Flexible work environments that support high-performing work-at-home (WAH) agents with comprehensive endpoint security ensure excellent client experiences and safeguard critical data. iQor’s intersection of human and digital innovations provides cutting-edge workforce management (WFM) and robotic process automation (RPA) solutions the client had not previously used in these operations. This partnership approach yielded quantifiable revenue increases for the client and met all key performance indicator (KPI) deliverables. 

iQor set the bar high with strategic planning and effective implementation to present innovative solutions aimed at maintaining and strengthening this business solutions provider’s key B2B enterprise client relationships. As a result of this focus on continuous optimization, the client fully entrusts iQor to manage these critical operations as an extension of their internal team.

Background  

Our client is a leading global transportation, e-commerce, and business solutions provider with a long-standing practice of keeping back office processes in-house and in the United States. iQor’s long-standing relationship with this client began with third-party revenue recovery services and has expanded over the span of more than a decade to include first-party inbound and outbound accounts receivable management and back office support. 

Though historically committed to internal, domestic operations for these lines of business, maintaining high-integrity, high-performing B2B customer relationships is the client’s highest priority. These relationships with global enterprises are complex and governed by high-value contracts requiring experienced, high-performing agents. The client’s commitment to providing efficient resolutions led them to consider offshoring these LOBs for the first time to maintain these critical business relationships while meeting their performance standards.  

When the client visited three of iQor’s customer service facilities in the Philippines, they experienced firsthand the global reach of iQor’s value-driven customer service culture, which is at the heart of the irresistible digital and human CX solutions we provide from 10 countries around the world. This experience inspired the business solutions provider to further expand their partnership with iQor to include offshore revenue recovery services for the first time. 

Currently, we support this client from domestic, nearshore, and offshore locations. iQor earned the client’s recognition as a trusted BPO partner who understands their business, with dynamic and innovative capabilities to deliver the agent performance they need to sustain and build loyalty with their enterprise B2B customers while contributing to cost reduction. 

The iQorian Values of open communication, innovation, and accountability empower iQor’s alignment with the client’s goals for maintaining these relationships with efficient processes. iQor enjoys an excellent relationship with the client’s leadership team. Quarterly meetings facilitate consistent collaboration and information exchange across all aspects of the program. This collaborative approach enables us to continually meet the client’s needs as operational processes evolve across several complex back office lines of business (LOB). We work in concert with the client to quickly identify the right tools for performance optimization in support of the client’s growth and success. 

Business Opportunities 

The lines of business for this global provider of business solutions involve high-volume queues for high-priority, million-dollar B2B accounts with some of the world’s top enterprises. Keeping these valued relationships current on revenue recovery is one of the client’s key goals. The training and upskilling process for frontline agents to meet the performance and quality standards necessary to manage these accounts requires a minimum of six weeks for back office support and even longer to advance to more complex levels of account management responsibility.  

The client’s partnership with iQor provides strategic outsourcing solutions such as RPA, WFM, and offshoring to streamline training and deliver consistently high agent performance and overall CX. Since COVID, the back office workforce transitioned rapidly to 90% work at home (WAH) and 10% work in office (WIO). iQor is committed to excellent agent performance and comprehensive endpoint security that safeguards client data in this environment.  

The client had not previously outsourced or offshored these B2B revenue recovery LOBs. iQor partnered with the client to build the program and implement it expeditiously across all functions, including recruiting, hiring, training, coaching, upskilling, and workforce management. iQor collaborated with the client to build the complex program to meet the exceptionally high standards for agent performance required to keep their high-value B2B accounts current on revenue recovery. 

Solution  

Strategic Outsourcing in Domestic, Nearshore, and Offshore Locations 

The first offshore launch was in the Philippines, with large teams onboarded within 45 days. iQor met the client’s need for a rapid launch through strategic planning and close collaboration between the recruiting and operations teams. The Philippines team met or exceeded the client’s KPI goals. This included surpassing the client’s aging goal for reducing the length of overdue accounts by 7%—helping their valued customers recover quickly to maintain a strong relationship with the business solutions provider. 

This initial offshore launch included complex inbound voice, outbound voice, and non-voice programs. iQor also continued to support this client through domestic teams in the U.S. and nearshored teams in Canada and Mexico with hundreds of agents across these diverse geolocations. 

Digital + Human Innovation for Outsourced and Internal Processes 

iQor invests in high-performing teams supported by comprehensive training and quality management tools with detailed audit processes. The results inspired the client to adopt these processes in their own internal operations. iQor’s customer service culture includes fun incentives at every level that motivate frontline agents to meet and exceed KPIs. Moreover, program leadership shares knowledge gained over decades-long vertical and program tenure that further supports the team. 

The client’s partnership with iQor has continued to expand, now including six LOBs for this program at scale. In collaboration with the client, iQor continues to demonstrate the capability to rapidly launch new LOBs and ramp and scale wherever needed while meeting high performance standards. This commitment to excellent employee and customer experiences is proudly reflected in iQor Philippines’ “Great Place to Work” certification. 

Through ongoing collaboration, iQor partners with the client to harness technology and continually identify the best tools to deliver performance optimization at scale. Driving the optimal mix between the human element and CX automation, iQor is collaborating with the client on a personalized three-phase RPA strategy to identify areas of expense and resource reduction to maximize efficiency. The client provides guidance every step of the way to identify processes that can be streamlined through automation and redeploy agents to more complex tasks, effectively capping headcount and resulting in a net positive for the client.  

• Phase One – The RPA moved nearly a third of the average 5,000 weekly cases to billing disputes, redeploying team members to more complex tasks.  
• Phase Two – The RPA deleted duplicate cases and disputes, redeploying team members to focus on more critical tasks requiring their expertise.  
• Phase Three – The RPA will assign and manage cases to further maximize productivity and workflow efficiency across the entire outbound non-voice line of business.  

iQor’s proprietary interaction analytics platform, VALDI, improves the quality and volume of audits by extracting data from every customer interaction for actionable insights. iQor uses VALDI to automate responses to common customer questions, such as inquiries about the implementation of a new policy charging fees for late payments. It also provides measurable data on the impact of the automated areas on quality assurance (QA), average handling time (AHT), and other metrics important to the client. Insights gained from VALDI helped reduce AHT on the complex inbound voice line of business by 8% within the first six months of implementation.  

Another proprietary iQor tool, sQan, assists with scoring, coaching, and follow-up management. It enables multi-faceted support for agents and supervisors to boost performance and identify areas of improvement. This data-driven, personalized coaching system elevates the employee experience and results in better CX with high levels of customer satisfaction (CSAT).  

iQor uses sQan’s coaching and call monitoring to analyze top behaviors to meet client expectations. We identify where new hires need support navigating the system and follow up on resolution steps with tenured agents. iQor collaborated with the client to apply these insights to modifications that streamlined the client’s processes, elevated KPIs, and improved the employee experience. 

sQan also serves as the source of iQor’s quality reporting for the client. iQor worked closely with the client’s back office leaders to refine these reports, providing a high level of detail down to the agent level. This methodology proved so effective that the client applied these auditing methods for monitoring agent performance to their own internal processes. 

Results  

Since adding these six back office lines of business, the client has experienced significant returns. The business solutions provider values our collaborative partnership approach to managing complex LOBs with custom implementation programs tailored to their needs. iQor’s workforce and tech-enablement solutions meet the client’s goals for keeping their business relationships current on revenue recovery goals with excellent outcomes across all KPIs. 

Since the start of this long-standing partnership, the client has remained confident in our ability to develop strategic outsourcing solutions tailored to their unique business needs and to implement them quickly and effectively at scale from diverse geolocations. When considering other internal processes to outsource, iQor is their first choice. The client trusts iQor as a strategic partner they can turn to for innovation in critical areas, with plans to expand RPA and other strategic CX solutions as our relationship continues to grow.  

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. 

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. 

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. 

Why iQor 

In this case study you will discover the benefits of iQor’s strategic solution expertise that, in collaboration with the client, employs a proven framework for the transition of omnichannel support to ensure long-term success.  

The strategy first looks at the opportunity to optimize automation and human support. Once identified, the solution prioritizes and allocates resources effectively. New program implementation (NPI) team members—experts in cloud-based omnichannel solutions, automation, process, proficiency, and security—script a plan to ensure resources are used in the most efficient manner possible. The digital-first mindset promotes better decision-making, optimizes resource allocation, and aligns with the client’s overall goals and objectives. In this solution, the goal was to increase competitiveness, improve customer satisfaction, and increase our client’s profitability.  

Background 

A U.S. utility with a strong commitment to customer satisfaction divides its inbound customer service operation evenly between their in-house team and iQor, their first and only business process outsourcing (BPO) partner.  

The utility selected iQor after conducting a rigorous evaluation and due diligence process that included several BPOs recognized as Leaders in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Customer Service. 

Business Challenge  

Initially, all of the client’s in-house and iQor customer service agents worked in the United States. When salaries and attrition in the U.S. rose substantially during the pandemic, the utility faced significant cost increases across the board. 

Our client views iQor as a strategic partner. As such, they asked us to offer recommendations to reduce the cost of service delivery. We reviewed various strategic options, including automation, offshoring, and nearshoring. The utility preferred to maintain their contact center as a domestic operation. After discussing the benefits of transferring business processes to a nearby country, and looking at ways to automate service, they agreed to consider nearshoring part of their contact center operations to Trinidad. 

Solution 

Why Trinidad 

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is a single nation comprised of two Caribbean islands. Trinidad is an increasingly popular nearshoring location for BPOs and their U.S. clients for very good reasons.

• English is the official language. 
• Skilled bilingual agents are available to support both English and Spanish speakers. 
• The workforce is digitally savvy.
• The government provides free elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education. The educated workforce has the requisite technical and communication skills and infrastructure to support BPOs like iQor. 
• Trinidad is below the hurricane belt, a strategic advantage over other Caribbean islands that are at a higher risk of severe storms. 
• An agency of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, InvesTT, provides guidance to companies considering expansion into Trinidad that plan to employ a sizable number of Trinidadian workers. 

iQor employs more than 2,000 FTEs in Trinidad during peak seasonal support. 

Strategic Plan to Successful Nearshoring in Trinidad 

iQor managers developed and presented a strategic plan for the gradual transition of part of our client’s contact center to Trinidad. The plan spelled out how the utility would save millions of dollars each year while continuing to provide their customers exceptional customer experiences. The utility signed off on the plan and iQor began to execute it. 

Our client’s commitment to providing excellent customer service was the guiding principle throughout the methodical transition process. 

iQor invested in training and automation tools that were focused on establishing a competitive advantage: 

• Five weeks of classroom training.  
• Three weeks of nesting—a period when agents handle calls part of the day and receive training based on a recorded sampling of their customer interactions the rest of the day. 
• Workflow automation that streamlined call center processes by automating manual tasks such as call logging, data entry, and status updates. 
• iQor’s proprietary interaction analytics tool, VALDI, uses artificial intelligence to analyze call recordings and extract insights that can improve call center operations and customer service. 

iQor is exploring options to introduce self-service portals that provide customers with a secure, convenient way to access information and resolve issues without the need to interact with a call center agent. 

iQor tracked automation opportunities and maintained quality throughout the nearshoring transition process. Managers designed the digital-first roadmap with generous time intervals between one team’s nesting and the beginning of the next team’s training to make sure each team received as much training and coaching as they needed.  

As the business transitioned, iQor invested in automation tools and talent, while aggressively looking for opportunities to minimize a 1:1 transition of resources to enhance our client’s profitability.  

Results 

In One Year  

Client Reaction 

The utility is so satisfied with the work of iQor’s Trinidad digital technology, agents, supervisors, and leadership team, they’ve expanded the scope of our partnership to include revenue recovery and back office support, with a similar focus on strategic solutioning.  

“The addition of iQor Trinidad has provided a positive impact as they offer redundancy from our weather pattern when we need additional staffing. They also provide a lower cost per resource at a nearshore location and offer Spanish-speaking representatives, reducing our dependency on our translation service. Their management is very hands-on and quick to respond to our questions and needs.”

– Client Customer Service Vendor Manager

Why iQor 

In this case study you will discover the benefits of iQor’s strategic solution expertise, in collaboration with the client, with a specific emphasis on building a strong sales culture within the contact center in an offshore operation. 

In each engagement, iQor’s new program implementation (NPI) team looks for opportunities to optimize automation and people. The CX integration professionals—who are experts in cloud-based omnichannel solutions, automation, process, proficiency, and security—focused on best practices and digital tools that would assist in the identification, training, and ongoing development of a world-class sales culture.  

The team looked to prioritize sources that would identify individuals with the right skills and attitude to succeed in sales and provide them with ongoing training and development. These new team members would set the foundation for future sales leaders, looking to model behaviors and attitudes that reinforced the importance of sales and a great customer experience. 

The project plan identified techniques and tools to foster an environment where team members support and motivate each other to reach their sales goals. iQor’s digital Recognize platform offers incentives and recognition assets to reward high-performing individuals and teams, creating a sense of friendly competition.  

Furthermore, the team introduced automation and AI technology to listen for opportunities to improve interactions with customers and close sales effectively. 

A scripted playbook set measurable targets for individuals and teams that communicated the definition of success based on the client’s expectations regarding sales performance while maintaining a customer-centric culture. 

Background   

This case study documents how a retailer saved nearly $5 million in order entry costs in one year while surpassing sales goals and maintaining their high customer experience standards through a strategic partnership with iQor. After a competitive process, the retailer selected iQor over a leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Customer Service. 

A U.S.-based fashion retailer has sold high-quality products at affordable prices from multiple brands for generations. The products they sell through their online marketplace and retail catalog testify to their extensive industry experience and understanding of their customers. They continually strive to meet their customer’s needs and exceed their expectations. 

This retailer offers products from more than a dozen brands through their catalogs and e-commerce website. Customers can buy online—even from a catalog—but most prefer to place orders by phone and speak with a live agent. Agents strive to make callers feel like they are more than just customers in each voice conversation. They listen to callers’ preferences and make related product recommendations that customers appreciate. 

More than 10% of this retailer’s revenue comes from inbound voice upselling and cross-selling, which takes time on each call. Agents establish rapport with each customer interaction, enter the order, and then offer several other purchase options. Even for experienced agents, average handle time (AHT) exceeded more traditional timeframes. Most of that time is spent selling. While the job title is order entry, agents must be able to upsell or cross-sell. 

Because this retailer prioritizes exceptional customer support, they earn high levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty. They have a lot of repeat customers. With customers increasingly shopping online at any hour of the day or night, agents need to be available whenever their customers want to interact with them. 

The e-commerce retailer relied on in-house teams to create an excellent customer experience, but they faced multiple challenges: 

1. A lean labor market of qualified agents. 

2. Access to the latest digital technology.  

3. Staffing the phones 24/7. 

4. The need to recruit and onboard quickly for critical spring and holiday shopping seasons.  

5. A dropped call rate of 10%-15% due to long AHT. 

6. The need for more agents proficient in order entry and upselling. 

The retailer recognized their need for a reliable outsourcing partner that would meet their high standards for processing orders, cross-selling, upselling, and consistently providing customers with the excellent customer service they’d come to expect. 

They researched business process outsourcing (BPO) companies and conducted a formal request for information (RFI) process with three BPOs. After reviewing the submissions and performing due diligence, they selected iQor as their first and only BPO partner. The initial contract called for iQor to handle 10% of their order entry volume. 

Business Challenges  

Our client engaged iQor to support their commitment to superior customer service and raise their inbound sales head count to handle increased call volume while staffing, training, and managing teams with four specific requirements. 

Challenge 1: Staff, Train, and Coach Order Entry Agents to Sell 

This retailer’s order entry agents spend as much or more time selling as they do taking orders. Share of wallet is important for our client. Considerably more than 10% of all revenue comes from sales made after the initial order is entered. Agents must be able to think on their feet and navigate the website and product catalogs quickly to suggest related products the customer might buy. 

On each call, agents establish rapport, enter the customer’s order, and offer the customer another product to complement their purchase. If the customer isn’t interested in the suggested product, the agent—with help from AI tools—suggests an alternate product, with a high probability of interest, from a different catalog or a volume-based discount (i.e., customers who purchase more than a certain amount receive a percentage discount off their total purchase). 

Additionally, agents invite eligible customers to apply for the retailer’s branded credit card. 

Challenge 2: Maintain High Customer Satisfaction Levels 

Our client’s business depends on loyal customers who shop with them regularly and recommend them to friends and family. Customers call for a personal touch, and it’s up to the agent to provide it. Calls can be complex and exceed traditional handle times. Throughout the call, agents always keep the customer’s satisfaction top of mind. 

Challenge 3: Excel in Key Performance Areas 

The client specified three performance areas, and iQor added one internal goal: 

• Cross-sell complementary products.  
• Upsell volume-based pricing.
• Sign up eligible customers to their branded credit card. 
• Reduce AHT while maintaining exceptional quality. 

Challenge 4: Ramp Up Quickly for Peak Seasons 

The average order-entry agent head count remained stable for most of the year and ramped up with 25% more agents for the spring and holiday busy seasons. 

With changes in their local labor market, the retailer encountered challenges finding the short-term contact center staffing overflow they needed. In response to this need, iQor was tasked with making seamless head count additions and subtractions as seasons changed. 

In addition to prioritizing these four production-related requirements, the company’s new CEO sought to increase profitability. He viewed partnering with a BPO as part of that solution. One of the reasons the client chose to partner with iQor was our track record of exceeding strategic sourcing goals while meeting or exceeding sales production goals and providing exceptional customer service. 

Solutions 

Designing and executing meticulous staffing criteria, customized training, technologically aided coaching, and a strong partnership with the client was critical to solving these challenges. 

Highly Selective Staffing 

To meet our client’s contact center staffing needs, iQor recruits experienced agents with a positive sales track record. During the recruitment process, hiring managers evaluate agents for their ability to tailor their sales approach to the customer, develop the need in the customer, and, when appropriate, think outside the box to earn the sale.  

Recognized for our skill executing fast and large seasonal inbound sales staffing ramp-ups, iQor consistently handles our client’s seasonal head count needs with great efficiency. Globally, iQor ramps for seasonal staffing by more than 400% annually.  

The positive employee experience seasonal staffers enjoy increases our pool of potential new permanent sales-savvy employees. 

Customized Training With Innovative Training Techniques 

The first week is focused on product-specific training. Agents learn about products from more than a dozen brands, how to navigate the website to access products fast, and how to take orders quickly and accurately. 

With the basics under their belts, agents are then trained to increase share of wallet by cross-selling complementary products, upselling volume-based discounts, and selling the retailer’s branded credit card. 

Agents then begin nesting: on-the-job training with half the day spent on the phones with customers and the other half in debriefing sessions with training focused on specific areas where they can optimize their performance. 

Training is detailed and rigorous. Once fully trained, agents are ready to work full time to meet and exceed our client’s goals. 

Proprietary Interaction Analytics Informs Coaching 

VALDI, iQor’s proprietary speech and interaction analysis platform, uses cloud computing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to mine every available recorded interaction between agents and customers in search of opportunities to improve the customer experience through agent coaching. Multiple types of opportunities are revealed. 

VALDI can mine calls for specific trends or hot topics that call for additional coaching. For example, if customers consistently mention one of the retailer’s products, VALDI can quickly uncover all conversations in which the product is mentioned and analyze customer sentiment toward the product. Supervisors can then coach agents on how best to respond to customer comments about the product in a way that satisfies customers and supports the brand. 

Similarly, if the retailer doesn’t want specific subjects discussed during calls, VALDI can instantly search for every conversation that includes those subjects and bring them to the supervisor’s attention. Subsequent coaching helps significantly reduce or eliminate discussions of those subjects in the future. 

VALDI can monitor agent compliance with KPIs and recommend to supervisors those agents who could most improve with additional coaching. KPIs to be monitored can be tailored to customer needs. Three examples of the many KPIs that can be monitored include: 

• Average handle time (AHT). 
• Potential call avoidance (PCA). 
• Script adherence. 

Additional proprietary interaction analytics supporting tools we use for the client include Qatch and sQan. All calls and screen activities are recorded and uploaded to a searchable database with Qatch. VALDI mines the database to uncover deep insights and coachable moments. sQan displays all agents’ quality performance reviews for voice, e-mail, and chat communications with customers and documents coaching sessions. 

Strong Partnership 

Through mutual respect, open communication, and a shared commitment to delivering excellent customer experiences, we’ve built a strong partnership with our client. In a joint quest for continuous improvement, the client’s CFO and the iQor VP overseeing the program are true partners, meeting every two weeks to discuss the latest progress and future steps.  

Results 

Since they began working with iQor in 2020, our client has enjoyed significant returns. 

According to a member of our client’s senior leadership team, iQor is “mission critical” for their success. And that gives us both—and their customers—reason to smile. 

Background   

Our client, with thousands of high-volume fast-food restaurants in the U.S., knows that in their highly competitive field, providing exceptional customer experiences can make a big difference in revenue and profitability—especially during the Big Game, one of their busiest sales days of the year. Every year it sets a strategic goal to make that year’s Big Game experience even better than the year before. 

iQor’s partnership with them includes providing phone customer care (voice and digital non-voice) services. Together, we explore, plan, and execute digital CX solutions that speed up service, improve accuracy, and reduce customer wait times on the brand’s channels of support. 

They asked iQor to help them improve two aspects of their phone customer service. 

1. When customers call for assistance, an interactive voice response (IVR) greets them. The IVR instructs them to press “1” to place an order, press “2” to check the status of an order, and so on.  

One team of iQor agents takes orders, while another team handles order status calls. Order status agents check the system database and update customers whether their order is: 

• In process. 
• Ready for pickup. 
• Out for delivery. 
• Reported delivered.  

Finding the order in the system can take a minute or so, during which time the customer waits on hold. 

2. For our client, their goal is to ensure that all customers enjoy a uniformly excellent customer experience when placing an order or checking its status, while also improving efficiency in their restaurants. Routing eligible callers to an IVR to answer their order status question allows restaurant employees to focus on their in-restaurant customers, completing orders efficiently while also mitigating the need for employees to answer customer service inquiries.  

Our client wanted to reduce customer effort and wait times wherever possible. 

Challenge  

Our client knows that hungry fans who watch the Big Game don’t want to wait on hold and miss the action while an agent checks the status of their food order.  

Months before the 2023 Big Game, they asked iQor to create a strategic CX solution to improve the customer experience by significantly reducing the wait time for receiving order status details. They knew their customers would appreciate not having to wait on hold for their order status during the game.  

After discussing a potential digital non-voice solution recommended by iQor, they invited us to create, implement, and operate it for them. The new digital CX solution would address all aspects of the experience that our client wanted to achieve. Of course, they needed it operational, tested, and fully functional for the Big Game.  

Solution 

iQor reviewed what was then the current system and worked through every possible event that would need to be considered in the new non-voice digital solution.  

Now, when customers who call the central phone line press “2” for order status, they’re routed out of the live agent queue into a new self-service branch of the IVR. The self-service branch is integrated into the client’s digital systems. With the touch of a few buttons, the customer quickly learns the status of their order. This reduces customer wait time and the number of agents needed to speak with customers. 

The IVR is programmed with responses for all possible circumstances: 

• If the system doesn’t find an order associated with the provided phone number, the customer can enter a different phone number or speak with someone who can assist them. 
• If the system can’t find the order status, the IVR transfers their call to someone who can help. 
• If the customer status is “delivered” and the customer has not received their order, the IVR can transfer the call to someone at the restaurant. 

With every possible circumstance considered, the digital non-voice IVR resolves customers’ calls much faster. And in the vast majority of cases, the customer doesn’t need to speak with (and wait for) an agent. 

Results 

One month before the Big Game, iQor met its deadline. The new IVR system with automated non-voice order status lookup was rolled out in time for the conference championship games to make customers smile. 

By the day of the Big Game, the IVR will:

Why iQor   

In this story, you’ll discover how iQor’s industry-savvy new program implementation (NPI) team provided a focused approach to launching a new outsourced customer service program for a U.S.-based Fortune 500 energy company. Tasks were divided and delegated to team members, who are experts in cloud-based omnichannel solutions, automation, process, proficiency, and security.  

In collaboration with the client, these specialized skills enabled iQor to identify the optimal mix of resources—CX automation and people—to ensure the success of the support transition. The implementation quickly optimized and scaled program performance KPIs and reduced the overall service cost. This program implementation strategy yielded $14 million annualized savings in customer service while exceeding CSAT goals. 

Background   

After testing iQor’s non-voice back office support services, this U.S. energy company conducted a rigorous evaluation and due diligence process that included several BPOs recognized as Leaders in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Customer Service. They selected iQor as their first and sole outsourced customer service BPO handling both voice and non-voice support for:  

• Credit. 
• Revenue recovery. 
• Service calls for new orders. 
• General customer care. 
• Emergency calls.  

iQor’s experience supporting the energy industry and proven track record of accelerating agent proficiency in multiple geographies were compelling differentiators that paved the way for major strategic savings while maintaining or exceeding quality benchmarks.  

Challenge  

When considering their decision to partner with a BPO for the first time, the energy company had two primary requirements: 

1. Address soaring attrition and recruiting costs that were impacting CSAT in its domestic operations, despite having already made significant investments. 

2. Select a partner with a proven track record in the energy space that could offer compelling strategic CX solutions through an efficient mix of automation and people that would also lower costs while providing a consistent and positive customer experience.  

Regulations and labor agreements limited the energy industry’s pursuit of nearshore and offshore customer service locations. The increasingly tight labor market fueled by the pandemic led the energy company to reevaluate their support model and consider geodiversity in their customer service solutions. 

Solution 

The energy company partnered with iQor to craft a strategy that would produce exceptional customer experiences and significant financial savings.  

The teams worked closely to transition much of the energy company’s support to nearshore and offshore locations that met their support criteria. Our client banked on iQor’s track record of identifying automation opportunities, accelerating agent proficiency, ensuring infrastructure stability for secure work-in-office and work-at-home solutions, providing multi-language support, and fostering a cultural affinity with the U.S. 

iQor’s NPI and operations teams worked collaboratively with the client to identify automation opportunities to accelerate proficiency and performance. iQor included the following two automation elements in the plan to address the client’s unique needs:  

Workflow Automation

iQor identified an opportunity to streamline current call center processes in the back office by automating manual tasks such as automated acknowledgements, data entry, and status updates. 

Customer Interaction Optimization

iQor leveraged VALDI, our proprietary interactions analytics and artificial intelligence platform, to analyze call recordings and extract insights that improved customer interactions and customer experience. 

Additionally, our client collaborated with iQor on all aspects of the new program integration, including:  

• Improved workflow design. 
• Reengineered process management to increase efficiency. 
• Enhanced communication and continuous improvement collaboration. 
• Modified accountability model. 
• Applied iQor’s Compliance Competency Improvement Matrix. 

The support provided by iQor’s senior leadership resulted in a smooth transition to a first-time outsourcing relationship that made the client and their end customers smile. 

Results 

Our client continues to expand its strategic use of iQor’s outsourced CX services. They are collaborating with iQor to ensure maximum performance and customer satisfaction outcomes while optimizing the right balance of automation and people for their inbound credit calls.

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.

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.

Background 

This healthcare and benefits enrollment company services clients that range from regional to national. Their solutions enable human resources departments to centralize their healthcare and benefits offerings, streamlining administration and reducing costs. Employees make benefits selections and the client registers them with individual providers.

The Challenge 

As this benefits administration provider met continued success and an expanding client base, they sought additional support to meet increased customer service needs throughout the year. Open enrollment and the significant seasonal ramps associated with it presented an immediate need for trained agents fast.

The benefits administration provider contracted with business process outsourcing (BPO) companies to help them meet their customer service needs in response to their growth in business. They had a steady state of several hundred customer service agents spread network-wide internally and throughout their customer service partners. They sought additional resources to ramp to about 1,000 agents during open enrollment peak season.

The Solution

The healthcare and benefits administration provider partnered with iQor to help them meet their expanded steady state and seasonal staffing needs during open enrollment. iQor worked with the client to quickly ramp the number of trained agents by a multiple of three during open enrollment season the first year. This exceeded the program’s full-time employee (FTE) headcount targets and bolstered the client’s ability to efficiently service their customers during peak volumes.

Through collaboration and open communication, the iQor team developed a strong relationship with the client based on trust. We partnered with the client to design recruiting and hiring strategies that enabled us to consistently meet staffing needs swiftly and securely. We expanded the recruitment search geography to accelerate the recruiting process and quickly meet headcount expectations with high-quality customer service agents. Additionally, we expedited the issuance of hardware to newly recruited agents to support an immediate work-at-home environment in a highly secure setting that emulates the security of our in-office infrastructure. In tandem, these strategies enabled us to get the program up and running faster and meet the client’s expectations.

This partnership also empowered us to work with the client to design segmented training for their regional and national accounts, tailoring customer support to the specific needs of each account. The custom-tailored virtual training program reduced the timeframe by several days, allowing agents to hit the ground running faster and with confidence.

Currently, the program supports 100% inbound calls and chat for the client with a team that is 100% work-at-home. All agents are trained and managed in secure remote work environments with outstanding results. iQor’s flexible work-at-home solutions allow the work-in-office experience to be easily mirrored at the agent’s home while boosting agent retention and customer loyalty.

With robust endpoint protection, agents access the same virtual desktop interface through iQor’s multi-factor authentication service to deliver seamless customer experiences safely and securely to customers on all of the healthcare administration provider’s accounts.

Our technology infrastructure keeps team supervisors and leaders connected with work-at-home agents so human interaction remains at the forefront.   iQor’s digital CX solutions make employee engagement and performance coaching interactive and fun so customer experiences can be as well. We track performance across virtual teams and use our propriety speech analytics solution to identify coaching opportunities in near real-time for targeted support.

These solutions, developed in partnership with the client, result in smiles and exceptional employee and customer experiences.

The Results 

The iQor team and the client worked together to produce excellent results during times of increased staffing needs. Program teams received consistently high accolades from the client as well as from representatives of the accounts they service. They appreciated iQor’s creativity, flexibility, and adaptability to shift and schedule changes. They also acknowledged the team’s understanding and responsiveness to pain points.

By working with the client to understand their program needs and expectations and partnering to develop effective solutions, we were able to exceed target key performance indicators (KPIs) and provide exceptional customer service during critical periods to support the rapid growth of their business.

Background

This healthcare provider operates multiple locations in a diverse community in the United States. It is committed to providing excellent, culturally responsive, comprehensive primary care that is accessible to all of its members. Dedicated to patient-centered care, the provider strives to create excellent customer experiences.

The client has a gifted customer support team committed to providing responsive and empathetic customer care to their patients. But when the global pandemic increased the demand for healthcare services, the healthcare provider sought to make additional investments to achieve their objectives and take their CX journey to the next level. Although they had always provided their own internal customer care services, they now sought an outsourcing partner they could trust with their most important asset—their patients.

This client’s highly skilled leadership team had specific requirements to ensure their patients received the best customer experience. They conducted methodical due diligence to ensure they selected the right outsourcing partner for their healthcare brand and patients. Through a consultative approach, iQor’s teams maintained an open dialogue and worked closely with the healthcare provider to understand their needs, build trust, and address their objectives to best serve their patients.

The Challenge 

For the first time, this healthcare provider was looking for an external partner to boost the speed of response to inbound support calls and harness technology in their CX journey to gain efficiencies. In order for the partnership to be successful, they needed to select a business process outsourcing (BPO) partner that shared similar values and that they could trust. Throughout the selection process, iQor’s teams demonstrated the optimal environment to deliver the CX solution the client needed—details that were important to them were important to us.

These details included a capacity for empathy and emotional intelligence, characteristics of our iQorian Values that guide all that we do. From our first interactions with the healthcare provider, we built rapport through empathy and open dialogue. By cultivating human connections with the healthcare provider, we demonstrated that their patients would be in good hands.

To enhance their patients’ customer experience, this healthcare provider sought workforce management insights, advanced analytics, and a collaborative relationship to improve some of their key performance indicators (KPIs) such as average handle time (AHT). They wanted more than a typical outsourced customer service solution—they wanted a partner they could trust. They wanted a partner who could relate to their patients and sustain the trust this healthcare brand already established with its patients through human connections.

Given the nature of the calls, this needed to be done in response to a complexity of sensitive patient issues while also maintaining compliance standards. The healthcare provider selected iQor as their first and only BPO and iQor has worked closely with them every step of the way to elevate their customer service and build rewarding experiences for their patients.

The Solution 

From the outset, we listened intently to the healthcare provider’s needs and expectations and partnered with them through a consultative approach. We offered the trusting environment they sought, while also ensuring the capability to meet their outsourcing timelines with speed without sacrificing quality. This approach entailed collaborating with sales, operations, human resources, legal, project management, and IT to ensure a successful new customer program implementation.

Empathy permeated these interactions as well as all other aspects of the program, from recruiting to training to coaching, driving excellent experiences for the healthcare provider’s patients. Through transparent and responsive ongoing communication, we worked with the healthcare provider to partner the human element with technology. Utilizing workforce management solutions, speech and sentiment analytics, artificial intelligence, and intuitive digital platforms rooted in shared values, digital technology further enhanced the patient experience.

Throughout the process, we made doing business with us easy. We worked to understand the healthcare provider’s needs and expectations to develop effective customer care solutions. We offered a frictionless statement of work and contracting process, provided seamless compliance and security, and delivered excellent customer service as part of a holistic approach in line with the healthcare provider’s brand.

Learned the Client’s Culture and Earned Their Trust

Through open dialogue, frequent communication, and insightful data-backed recommendations, iQor earned the client’s trust as we embarked on this CX journey together. iQor teams learned the client’s culture and built human connections with patients while delivering consistent, reliable, and responsive customer experiences.

Designed Training and Coaching Programs to Build Empathy

iQor’s award-winning corporate training team and instructional designers worked with the client to provide innovative and creative learning solutions designed to address root behavioral needs aligned to specific outcomes.

In addition to cultivating deep program knowledge with agents, our team worked closely with the client to create a non-traditional approach to develop agents’ cognitive empathy as well. The training was designed to strengthen each agent’s ability to understand what the patient is feeling or thinking and then respond with a genuine sense of caring.

Instead of telling and showing agents how to speak clearly and demonstrate patience, iQor’s training team designed an immersive, real-world learning experience where agents could practice the various skills needed to build human connections, make mistakes along the way, receive feedback from peers and facilitators, and then try again. As a result, agents did not merely know how to establish an authentic human connection, they could actually do it.

Harnessing AI-powered digital technology and speech analytics, we consistently monitor agent interactions and provide ongoing real-time support to help agents refine specific skills as needs arise.

Developed Workforce Management Insights

Upon program launch, we used the client’s volume forecast and historical arrival patterns to schedule agents, subsequently using our own workforce management data as the program progressed. This continually improves forecasting and scheduling accuracy.

Our workforce management team follows standard processes and reviews them with the client on a weekly basis. Coaching sessions are scheduled in real-time to provide the most responsive feedback. Our team also follows the standard real-time adherence (RTA) process to efficiently coordinate requests with operations.

Enhanced Customer Care for Patients

The program scope began with inbound voice customer care for general healthcare services and later expanded to an additional line of business dedicated to voice customer care for dental patients.

We harness workforce management technology and speech analytics expertise to ensure consistent, easy, and enjoyable experiences for patients. Our operations and data analytics teams provide ongoing CX reporting to inform strategies with comprehensive insights and compliance monitoring. Open communication and follow-through have continued throughout our relationship with the client, highlighting areas of opportunity with related action plans. We work in close collaboration with the client to deliver customer experience solutions for patients at the intersection of effectiveness and empathy.

The Results 

iQor’s customer care solutions, ongoing collaboration, and transparent interactions with the healthcare provider built trust while adding value to their operation.

Agents are engaged as they interact with patients. Through open communication and partnership, the program celebrates human connections where patients benefit from compassionate support. The client knows they have a partner that truly cares about their greatest asset, their patients.