The 2006 Service Elite Awards

From CRM Magazine
By: Alexandra DeFelice, Editor of CRM Magazine

April 20, 2006

Talking about significant results tied to investments in contact center technologies and services is one thing. Realizing outstanding return is another. CRM magazine honors five organizations that reaped the benefits of their contact center and customer service initiatives in 2005 in the following categories: Web support services, workforce optimization, speech solutions, hosted contact center services (a new category), and agent-facing universal desktop.

Washington State Department of Information Services

Visitors to Washington State's official Web site, Access Washington, are seeking answers to everything from tax questions to snow tires. The site launched in 1998 in response to the digital government goals set by the state, and requires 24-hour online customer support. It serves as the public portal for citizens, businesses, and the general public.

In late 2004, the state's Department of Information Services (DIS) conducted an extensive usability study and it found that customers felt the layout was clunky and the menu system was ineffective. "When the Web site first launched, we knew we did the best we could with what we had and we were on the cutting edge," says Rhonda Polidori, manager of digital government Web properties for the DIS. "We were looking for an outsourced solution to help improve the site and give the citizens of Washington access to their government."

The DIS partnered with SafeHarbor Technology in January 2005 to manage the Web site in hopes of increasing self-support and improving customer service. "SafeHarbor had the bandwidth and ability to handle it statewide. We know it's important to have support, otherwise people will lose trust in the government and we're trying to gain trust," Polidori says.

SafeHarbor's SmartSupport solutions enabled the DIS to implement a user-friendly, citizen-focused self-service system that helps drive telephone support inquiries to the Web. It essentially acts as everything behind the Help button, building out the Web site so citizens can find information more easily. "We're like the 'supportal,'" says Blake Cahill, vice president of marketing and sales at SafeHarbor. "We help to get as much knowledge and content into the Web environment for consumers to consume, in an effort to keep them off the phone."

SafeHarbor's model is completely hosted; customers outsource the management and upkeep of their Web sites to the company. Then it reports back to the clients on how to make their sites better, based on data and analysis about what customers want.

Working with SafeHarbor enabled the department to keep self-help rates above 90 percent in 2005 (up from the high 70s in 2004 and far above the average 65 percent range for most of SafeHarbor's clients). Unlike many companies' sites where customers ask for information about specific products, people come to Access Washington and ask questions that span all their interests, Polidori says. "It is all over the board, so for us to keep up with answers to those questions at a 90 percent rate--that's amazing. I'm really proud of that."

Polidori estimates that the department saved $800,000 in 2005 by deflecting calls, has seen a 20 percent growth in site traffic, and has steadily increased its score on the American Customer Satisfaction Index. The site won numerous awards, including Best in Show and distinguished awards from the Society for Technical Communication, a Silver Davey Award for Best Web site, and fourth place in the state portal category for Best of the Web from the Center for Digital Government.

What's more, the site has received an "abundance" of positive user comments, Polidori says. "[The] Access Washington Web site is top-notch. It's well organized in a logical manner," one visitor comments. "This is a fantastic Web site. It makes me proud to be a Washingtonian," another says.

Despite the measurable success, improving the site is a work in progress. Unlike with software, the DIS doesn't just wait for the next version to move to the next level of sophistication, Cahill says. "We're constantly working to augment and grow the environment, and make it more useful for the kinds of questions that come up."

In late 2005, the DIS launched a live chat tool that is helping deflect even more calls. Polidori anticipates using it more in 2006. "Chat is a hand-holding tool our users appreciate," she says. "It is an iterative process. To continue to improve [the site] you have to continue to invest in it and be perceived as a leader, and that's what we're striving for in the state of Washington."

Key Results:

Washington State Department of Information Services

• saved an estimated $800,000;
• sustained a self-help rate of 90 percent; and
• saw 20 percent more Web-site traffic.

View Full Article

© 2000-2006, CRM Media, LLC.

back to top