Honorable Mention - 1998 EPSS Design Contest
Nations Bank
A.C.E.
- the Associates' Center of Expertise EPSS
Purpose
NationsBank is launching a web-based electronic performance support system called A.C.E.—the Associates’ Center of Expertise—within its Telephone Banking Centers.
A.C.E. allows customer service associates to quickly reference procedural information on their PC Desktops while serving customers. A.C.E. also provides coaching support for complex or infrequent tasks as required. Currently A.C.E. is piloting in one 1300-associate call center, with expansion across Florida scheduled this fall. In the future ACE will expand to support sales associates and rollout to all call centers nationally.
A.C.E. enhances performance by addressing two main business issues:
- Eliminates multiple references,
- Provides timely access to accurate, consistent Information.
Solution
A.C.E. is a web-based, extrinsic EPSS that runs in tandem with transactional business systems. It provides synthesized and chunked information at the desktop, so that associates need not remember facts from multiple manuals and can focus on the customer instead.
The following sample screens illustrate some of the key design features of A.C.E. Rounding out ACE is a built in communications tool for providing feedback to the best practices team to foster continuous improvement.
The home page
tells associates "What’s New." A.C.E. provides accurate and up-to-date information that is created and maintained on a central server that replicates to local servers in each call center, removing the need for daily bulletins and e-mails.
Phone numbers
for specialized banking functions are one of the most frequently accessed parts of A.C.E. Similarly, a Glossary of banking terms puts key reference information together in once place.Quick Coaches help associates with complex or infrequently performed tasks. Such troubleshooting and problem-solving information amassed over time is usually only available by consulting with experienced employees. Quick Coaches save referring the call to a specialist and improve customer satisfaction.
Typical Procedural Reference
. Task-based information follows the flow of the associate’s work—mimicking the organization of associates’ self-made manuals.Prior State
Before A.C.E., Associates referenced 13 primary and 8 secondary sources to do their jobs (e.g., manuals, PC and legacy systems, job aids, bulletins, etc.). Associates were also encouraged to have "self-created" manuals. These were often voluminous, and not always updated, current, or easy to search. The best aspect of the "self-made" manuals was that they were organized relative to how the associates think and do their work. By contrast, other manuals were more oriented to how a transaction flows through the standard transactional application screens.
As a result of the old environment:
- New Hire classroom training requires 2-6 weeks.
- Associates can take to 6 months to reach even a basic level of expertise, 18 months or more to become a full Consumer Banker
- There is high turnover of Service Associates
- Incomplete information for the associate can mean a lack of first-call resolution of customer problems which provides a poor customer and associate experience
- The rate of customer call abandonment was high.
User Profile
The associate population at the Tampa call center was found to have the following characteristics:
- An age range from recent high school graduates to senior citizen
- Education level varying from high school graduate to four-year college degree with various major fields of study represented
- Computer expertise ranging from novice to proficient.
- Approximately one third hired within the past year, mostly with limited knowledge of banking.
The primary users of the EPSS are the in a call center and include the following incremental levels of service representatives:
- Customer Service Associates (50%)
- Borrowing Associates (15%)
- Investment Associates (10%)
- Consumer Bankers (20%)
- Help Desk Associates (5%)
Future Telephone Banking center users will include:
- Associates performing sales functions
- Business Bankers
- Fulfillment Associates
Results
While it is too early to cite specific results, the following key measures and data collection plan has been adopted for the A.C.E.performance support system.
|
Metric Description |
Baseline Data |
How Measured |
Timing |
Sample Size |
Benefits |
|
Increased associate confidence |
No current data |
Associate survey focusing on their perceptions of their own skills, knowledge and level of performance |
Administered on paper in April and August and on Website after October |
60 associates each time |
Improved confidence should correlate with: reduced one-ups, improves job satisfaction and retention. |
|
Reduction in "one-ups" to PAL and /or supervisor. |
Need to establish baseline |
Help Desk, PAL and supervisor log reports |
Periodic reports- possible quarterly |
All Tampa Associates |
Improved first call resolution. Reduced customer handle time. |
|
Time to proficiency |
Use of quality and productivity measures |
Quality and productivity measures and team leader identified measures |
Trend analysis based on quarterly data |
All Tampa Associates |
Faster reaching call center average call handle time. Improved first call resolution. |
|
Customer satisfaction |
VRU measure Periodic customer survey |
Same |
Ongoing |
All Tampa Associates |
Customer retention. |
|
Effect on the New Hire Curriculum |
Current training days as documented in New Hire Curriculum |
Interview training staff to determine effects |
After implementation |
N/A |
Improved time to proficiency. Opportunity to focus training time on customer interaction skills. |
For More Information Contact:
Paul Barber
(704) 388-1329
paul.barber@nationsbank.com
Shelley Lotti
(704) 386-5620
shelley.lotti@nationsbank.com
Emily Stevens
(704) 386-5321
emily.stevens@nationsbank.com