Most banks have realised the importance of having a call center to address customer requirements. Banks do realise that servicing customers at branch can be an expensive affair for the bank and inconvenient for the customer. Many have either set up or are planning to set up a call center.
There are several basics to be kept in mind while setting up a call center and I try to capture a few of the important ones below.
1. Should ideally be accessible 24 x 7 - If not, should be available during normal working hours.
2. Should ideally be centralised but not necessary. Centralisation helps in managing costs and standardising output.
3. If centralised, should have at least 2/3 locations to manage disruptions
4. Should have adequate staff to cater to incoming calls. Optimising is required.
5. Staff well trained on
- Different products & technologies used
- Customer handling skills
- good listening / comprehension skills
6. Multi lingual staff capabilities
7. Top notch technology which can give
- On line status of accounts
- Status of deliveries
- Current offerings
- Single view of customer's various accounts
- ability to divert customer to correct desk depending on status, need etc.
- recognise the customer based on number
- authentication of customer
- speed in capturing requirements
- trail information of all past calls to / from customer
- ability to assign and track tasks till completion
- Recording calls for audit / training purposes
Banks have to take a hard look at the services that they would like to continue at the branch and those that they wish to migrate to the call center. While some essential services need to be done physically at the branch, there are many opportunities to innovate and migrate most of the activities to the call center.
Although, servicing of customers is the key activity of call centers, it is also used by banks for recovering loans, reminder management, selling products, market research activities etc. While inbound calling forms the bulk of the activities of call centers, outbound calling is also resorted to on 'need basis'.
One of the key challenges in the call center would be to ensure that customer calls are closed, to the satisfaction of the customer, with high level of speed and efficiency. In general, customers desire to have a quick resolution and an end to the call. The whole process at the call center should be designed to make this happen. For example, the IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system should follow the 'KISS' principle (Keep It Simple and Short). Customers would get irritated if there are too many options or if they are not clear. Also, there should be no loops or dead ends.
The staff capacity should be managed so as to keep the 'wait time' to the minimum. Of course, this can be adversely impacted by sudden or unexpected surges of call volumes. If the customer finds the wait time unreasonably long, it will result in dropped calls and increased 'walk ins' by irritated customers in the branches. Also, if the wait time is too long, it may result in more calls coming in during 'office hours' when customers call call from their place of work without worrying about the call duration. This results in bunching of calls and a vicious cycle of delays.
Keeping the staff energetic, enthusiastic and motivated can be a challenge esp. if they are dealing with complaints or delinquent customers. A lot of counselling and hand holding may be required with regular breaks interspersed with recreation. Staff should be encouraged to share experiences and learning. Replay of recorded conversations is a useful method of imparting and enhancing call handling skills.
Staff should also be trained to identify / prevent potential frauds. The processes should be robust to ensure this is continuously monitored and improvised. Data security is a challenge and steps must be taken to prevent data thefts. This can be done in a variety of ways like preventing data copying facilities, non-use of pen & paper in the work stations, non-use of mobile phones at work stations etc.
If managed well, a call center can enhance the bank's efficiency and profitability significantly. It can also enhance the bank's reputation and help it sell and recover more.
I would love to hear your views on this blog. Please feel free to leave a comment on the blog or send me a mail at vish.sesh@gmail.com and I will quickly respond.
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Technology readiness
As part of an earlier blog entitled "Solid Foundation", we had covered the criticality of technology in any retail banks success. Here we will dwell a little more in detail about the different aspects of technology that needs to be addressed. This is not an in depth paper on technology but is more of a general writeup on the importance, scope and benefits of technology in retail banking.
Retail business is a detail business. The volume of customers and transactions, the complexities of the calculations and the variety of products cannot be managed unless a bank has a solid technology platform having the following aspects:
1. Should preferably be a "tried and tested" software in the retail banking space
2. Should be comprehensive in terms of coverage of products, features, variants etc.
3. Should be flexible to incorporate innovations - one way to do this is to keep everything parametrised and not hard coded.
4. Should transfer data seamlessly without the need for human intervention / duplication of effort across channels, branches etc.
5. Should be secure
6. Should have capability to handle scale up in terms of increase in transactions as well as customers
7. Should be Internet enabled and as far as possible updated on near real time basis
8. Should enable customer to access, transact etc. comfortably while protecting her security.
9. Should be able to offer "one view" of all accounts / relationships of the customer with the bank
10. Should be able to provide all calculations (interest, penalties etc.)transparently to the customer.
11. Should be able to keep audit trails
12. Should have a maker / checker concept
13. Should capture / process everything from "cradle to grave" (from the time of inception till final closure)
14. Should be able to store not just data but also images
The list given above is by no means exhaustive and is only indicative of key capabilities. When it comes to use of IT, one should look at maximising the coverage in order to reap benefits of speed, error free processing etc.
Use of applications like Microsoft office programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.), although useful, should not be confused with the IT needed. I have seen lots of organisations where they take pride in storing and processing data in rudimentary programs like Excel without realising the risks involved like data security.
It would be useful to restrict the core system to cover only the critical functionalities. For example, one need not have a single system covering all IT needs of a bank. One can break up the systems as follows:
1. Core system to track customer financial transactions for various products (liabilities and assets)
2. Support systems which talk to the core system on a needs basis as follows:
(a) For resolving servicing needs, call center
(b) For managing documentation
(c) For sales process
(d) For underwriting
(e) For analytics
(f) For marketing campaigns, media spends management
(g) For vendor payments
(h) For payroll management
(i) For statement printing, tracking outbound and inbound mails
(j) For collection and repayment management
(k) For accounting and drawing up financial statements
When there is an extensive use of IT in a bank, there is a need to make sure that the personnel is well trained on all aspects of use with special emphasis on safety and security. Taking periodical back ups, having a strong disaster recovery process, having multiple sites with data, strong password processes etc. all need to be built in place. Discipline is to be inculcated as a core value in the handling of data and all processing must be done based on preset procedures / time plans.
Banks should be vigilant and take periodic stock to ensure that non-secure methods are not used to process data. The IT system, its output etc. need to be periodically audited to confirm that quality is not compromised. Review of controls and data security should be done regularly.
When a bank is thus comprehensively ready with technology solutions to meets its data processing needs, customers will experience error free and high quality service. This will result in attracting more customers to the bank as well as help the bank increase the share of wallet of the customer.
I would love to hear your views on this blog. Please feel free to leave a comment on the blog or send me a mail at vish.sesh@gmail.com and I will quickly respond.
Retail business is a detail business. The volume of customers and transactions, the complexities of the calculations and the variety of products cannot be managed unless a bank has a solid technology platform having the following aspects:
1. Should preferably be a "tried and tested" software in the retail banking space
2. Should be comprehensive in terms of coverage of products, features, variants etc.
3. Should be flexible to incorporate innovations - one way to do this is to keep everything parametrised and not hard coded.
4. Should transfer data seamlessly without the need for human intervention / duplication of effort across channels, branches etc.
5. Should be secure
6. Should have capability to handle scale up in terms of increase in transactions as well as customers
7. Should be Internet enabled and as far as possible updated on near real time basis
8. Should enable customer to access, transact etc. comfortably while protecting her security.
9. Should be able to offer "one view" of all accounts / relationships of the customer with the bank
10. Should be able to provide all calculations (interest, penalties etc.)transparently to the customer.
11. Should be able to keep audit trails
12. Should have a maker / checker concept
13. Should capture / process everything from "cradle to grave" (from the time of inception till final closure)
14. Should be able to store not just data but also images
The list given above is by no means exhaustive and is only indicative of key capabilities. When it comes to use of IT, one should look at maximising the coverage in order to reap benefits of speed, error free processing etc.
Use of applications like Microsoft office programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.), although useful, should not be confused with the IT needed. I have seen lots of organisations where they take pride in storing and processing data in rudimentary programs like Excel without realising the risks involved like data security.
It would be useful to restrict the core system to cover only the critical functionalities. For example, one need not have a single system covering all IT needs of a bank. One can break up the systems as follows:
1. Core system to track customer financial transactions for various products (liabilities and assets)
2. Support systems which talk to the core system on a needs basis as follows:
(a) For resolving servicing needs, call center
(b) For managing documentation
(c) For sales process
(d) For underwriting
(e) For analytics
(f) For marketing campaigns, media spends management
(g) For vendor payments
(h) For payroll management
(i) For statement printing, tracking outbound and inbound mails
(j) For collection and repayment management
(k) For accounting and drawing up financial statements
When there is an extensive use of IT in a bank, there is a need to make sure that the personnel is well trained on all aspects of use with special emphasis on safety and security. Taking periodical back ups, having a strong disaster recovery process, having multiple sites with data, strong password processes etc. all need to be built in place. Discipline is to be inculcated as a core value in the handling of data and all processing must be done based on preset procedures / time plans.
Banks should be vigilant and take periodic stock to ensure that non-secure methods are not used to process data. The IT system, its output etc. need to be periodically audited to confirm that quality is not compromised. Review of controls and data security should be done regularly.
When a bank is thus comprehensively ready with technology solutions to meets its data processing needs, customers will experience error free and high quality service. This will result in attracting more customers to the bank as well as help the bank increase the share of wallet of the customer.
I would love to hear your views on this blog. Please feel free to leave a comment on the blog or send me a mail at vish.sesh@gmail.com and I will quickly respond.
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