Business Problem
Blue Cross Blue Shield of GA (BCBSGA), part of Wellpoint Health Networks, landed a new contract that potentially could bring tremendous increases in both profits and new accounts.   However, the terms of the contract dictated several performance requirements that, if met, could mean additional compensation and, if not met, financial penalties.  The requirements called for 1,200 customer care agents to reduce the number of calls placed on hold, the time they spent accessing needed information, and the number of issues that required additional follow up.  At the same time, the company would need to increase agent availability by reducing call waiting time and the number of busy call signals.  To ensure the requirements of the contract were met, BCBS enlisted the help of CEP, the industry leader in solving workforce performance problems.

Action Taken
To achieve the goals, BCBSGA applied Criterion Referenced Instruction (CRI), CEP’s methodology that is used to analyze, diagnose and resolve training and performance deficiencies.  Beginning with up-front analysis, consisting of questionnaires and face-to-face interviews, the agents’ current job functions and areas of expertise were reviewed to determine how much of what they currently did would continue with the new account, and what would be required of them that they had never done before.  By performing the analysis, the training targeted only the knowledge and skill gaps, rather than covering redundant or irrelevant information.

Through the analysis, BCBSGA also determined that, instead of requiring learners to memorize large volumes of complex information or search through paper documents, certain information should be readily accessible to the agents during their calls.  To accomplish this, BCBSGA created Knowledgebase, a Web-based performance support tool that enables agents to find information quickly.  The tool allows them to look up benefits for a certain product, quickly access phone numbers when they need to transfer a call, refer to scripts for certain call scenarios, and complete other key tasks while still interacting with customers.

Results
The CRI-based training program had the following impressive results:

Metric	Before CRI	After CRI	Improvement
% of calls placed on hold	40%	27%	13%
% of work time vs. average hold time	13%	4%	9%
Unresolved Issues per Agent per week	50	1	98%
Training Time	40 hours	4 hours	90%
Information Access Time	60 – 120 seconds	35 seconds	25-85 seconds less

BCBSGA experienced tremendous financial benefits from the implementation of the CEP-recommended training.  Based on the savings of agent’s time both in training and on the job and the improvements in job performance, BCBSGA calculated the total benefits of the program to be close to $2 million, representing a 3,275% return on their investment.

CEP can help you bring these impressive improvements to your organization.  Please call Paula Alsher at 770.458.4080 for information.  To see more success stories, please visit http://www.cepworkforceperformance.com/success.html.