Pub. 7 2019 Issue 1

Issue 1. 2019 17 Delivering on the Promise via Outsourcing As the role of the contact center evolves and becomes more sophisticated, outsourcing becomes a competitive advantage. More than a short-term staffing fix (not that there’s anything wrong with that!) using an outside contact center resource becomes an extension of your business and brand. The key to outsourcing is, of course, choosing the right supplier. A strong outsourcing supplier can provide benefits beyond just staffing and capacity, including customer satisfaction must-haves such as: Quick issue resolution: 365 days a year, during and after hours, an industry-specialized, experienced and dedicated frontline team can anticipate account holder questions and swiftly solve problems. This is what your account holders want. High-touch service: Credit card activation and online and mobile conversions are two instances when personal contact smooths change. Loan acquisition and lead generation are other areas where a human touch makes a big difference in response. Account holders like hearing from you with offers that meet their needs. Quality assurance: Customer satisfaction is optimized when best practices are followed and key learnings are continuously incorporated to meet performance standards. Look for a resource that includes call quality monitoring and feedback to ensure consistency and performance calibration. Maintain Control of the Customer Experience It is understandable that financial institutions want to maintain control of the customer experience. Before hiring Harland Clarke, many of our clients ask three questions to clarify how this can happen with an outsourced contact center supplier: Aren’t our own personnel better suited than an outsourced resource to handle this type of inbound or outbound calling? It’s a great question, and at its core reflects fear about turning over the brand to non-employees — a reasonable concern. The answer comes down to two things: time and focus. Your in-house teams, whether they are your own contact center employees or your branch personnel, are already fully occupied with their day-to-day jobs. Trying to make outbound calls — or handling an influx of inbound calls due to a conversion, for example — results in frustration and sub-par service. Contracting with an outside resource allows your in-house personnel to focus on what they do best. More and more, we’re seeing our clients moving various types of transactions to us — specifically, outreach that aligns with their strategic growth initiatives. By using an outsourced resource, you benefit from focus that delivers the best opportunity for success. How can you, a third-party contact center supplier, accurately and consistently represent my brand? The answer here is about experience and training. If you choose a supplier with a long history in managing the way financial institutions do business and market to customers, there won’t be any messaging problems. They’ll get it. Plus, if your outsourced supplier is focused on financial services, as we are at Harland Clarke, its executives and managers will have valuable insights and proven strategies that can only come from years of experience serving your industry. Financial institutions also worry about security. Choosing a reputable contact center supplier that specializes in financial services means sharing your sensitivity around customer data. Security must be a core competency, especially today. 1. 2. 4