ANNUITY SERVICE EVALUATION (ASE)

Transcription

1 ANNUITY SERVICE EVALUATION (ASE) PURPOSE The ASE program is designed to support companies selling and servicing annuity contracts that recognize the importance of the telephone service provided to annuity contract owners. ASE is appropriate for those companies that are committed to growth and retention through quality service to customers. ASE is the independent external measurement of contract owner telephone service quality that is essential to a successful customer focused business strategy for a company selling and servicing annuity contracts. BENEFITS ASE is grounded in a system that has been refined for over two decades to measure the contract owner experience. Companies selling variable and fixed annuity contracts have adopted the ASE measurements for evaluating service performance and managing the business. This depth of experience provides a source for addressing and solving most of the challenges to the service operation. USES ASE supports the customer focused business model by enhancing the quality of services provided to annuity contract owners in a number of ways. The ASE Program: Identifies strengths and provides the tools for recognition. Identifies weaknesses and details actions to improve. Gives a view of the quality of service provided by competitors. Supports the training and coaching of staff. Provides a framework for internal management. Permits objectives to be set for the desired level of service. Provides a basis for incentive compensation for service quality. 1

2 METHOD Central to the ASE program is capturing and evaluating the contract owner experience. Evaluations point out strengths, weaknesses and inconsistencies in call center service. A uniform system of computer-based measurements is used to evaluate quantitative and qualitative elements of the service experience. Results of the evaluation are reported in detail and aggregated over time to provide a reliable measure of the quality of the experience. DALBAR s proprietary system is used to provide a consistent evaluation, thus removing the variable of human judgment. The results of evaluations can then be compared across companies and across time. The metrics used for evaluation are: Criteria that consist of human factors that have been analyzed and coded into the computer. Examples include Expertise and Attitude. Criteria are the metrics that are the key measures of quality. Criteria exist for all measures. Attributes are the building blocks for criteria. Each attribute is a defined behavior that is given a specific weight within the context of each activity. An example of an attribute is Acknowledged Caller within the Attitude criterion of a representative. DALBAR analysts are guided by the computer system to make choices based on the recorded experiences. Capture the Contract Owner Experience The method used to capture the contract owner experience is random sampling. Random sampling involves selection of a representative sample of activities drawn from the daily call center activity at the financial service institutions. The advantages of this method are: v Reliability through larger samples v Customer reaction v Rep productivity (personal calls, dead air time) v Ability to easily expand outside the scope of the program to include individual rep and specialized group reporting 2

3 DELIVERABLES Reporting consists of four detailed reports (available in any frequency), including: A Performance Overview Report Results of the call center as a whole including detail on how the call center performed in each of the criteria, recommended focuses, and executive summary. A Ranking Report Details on the call center s overall ranking as well as the call center s ranking by criteria. A Call Detail Report Information on each telephone service experience tested including details by type of call, security errors, timing details, accolades A Rep Report (Optional) Provides additional detail by call center rep to assist in training and coaching efforts Detailed reporting of service performance shows the results of evaluations performed and includes: Summary of the financial service company s standing Scoring of each evaluation criteria Ranking of financial service companies in each major category Exceptionally good experiences Exceptionally poor experiences Details of where quality points were gained and lost The reports are supported by a member only website that allows users to listen to call recordings as well as create their own dynamic reports. In addition, members are provided with up to two hours of analysis by DALBAR representatives per reporting period. This may be used to develop recommendations, provide examples of industry practices, answer questions and provide explanations or supplemental materials. Annuity companies that participate in the ASE program meet annually to discuss and exchange ideas. These user group meetings typically include: Trends and new innovations Suggestions and proposals from participants 3

4 Problem solving where participants seek the advice and counsel of other attendees. Plans from DALBAR for changes and enhancements to the program Open forums to discuss issues that face the industry, from a service perspective In the ASE Program, awards are made to annuity companies that consistently maintain a level of service throughout the preceding calendar year. There are two levels of awards: The Service Award for excellence is issued to companies that exceed the norm in each key component in telephone activity. The Key Honors Award is issued to those companies that achieve an average or better score in each key component. Participants in the program have the right to use the Service Tested by DALBAR image internally and for promotion. Reliability The goal for reliability is +/- 5% error margin in one year of evaluations. Results are screened and observations that fall outside of one standard deviation are considered outliers and removed from the result base. The large sample ensures that the removal of outliers does not affect the integrity of the data. Tests cover the mix of transactions encountered at each service delivery point. The large sample normalizes differences across differing service delivery points. 4

5 COST Several cost alternatives are available, depending on the specific need of the annuity company. Menu Pricing is provided to permit flexibility in situations when a Standard Package is not the best solution: Standard Packages Monthly Reporting $45,000 Quarterly Reporting $34,200 If quarterly reporting is selected, travel related expenses are billed separately. Additional evaluations $55 per call Menu Pricing Engagement Fee $2,500 Standard Evaluation $24,000 Standard Reporting (per report cycle) $850 per Report Period User Group Meeting $2,300 Client Service Support (Hourly Fee. Minimum of 2 hours per report cycle) $250 Note: This is a product description that is intended to illustrate a product that will be delivered to a subscriber. This is not a proposal and is subject to revision without notice. Until an invoice is issued and paid, DALBAR is under no obligation to produce the goods or services as described here. 5