Industry Case Studies : Financial services

Improving Client Revenue by Reducing Waiver per Call (WPC)

Background

The client is one of the world’s largest payment services providers serving more than 300 clients worldwide, including more than half of the top 20 international banks. Headquartered in the US with offices spread across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific, the client supports more than 40% of the VISA and MasterCard consumer-credit accounts in the United States.

The challenge

TELUS International was tasked by the client to reduce Waiver per Call (WPC) for their financial services customer service program. Defined as the fee waived for each customer per call, Waiver per Call is a direct loss of revenue for the client. It also adds to the cost of maintaining business with TELUS International.

Solution

Agent level intervention: agents with historically high WPC were identified and call monitoring was implemented to determine factors leading to higher WPC. Call handling skills were improved through increased coaching and feedback sessions on call types leading to waivers.

Supervisor level intervention: all supervisors were evaluated on their coaching methods and the frequency of coaching their team members on WPC. Regular team huddles were held to communicate the importance of WPC. Agents received scripts to assist them in declining waivers outside the client’s policy, without impacting customer satisfaction.

Target setting and tracking: aggressive targets were set for each team with daily and weekly reviews. A new tracking mechanism allowed WPC to be tracked on an hourly basis. Teams with high WPC received immediate support to help reduce waivers. Approved waivers were further examined to determine if they were justified and were of a controllable or uncontrollable nature.

Results

The client realized significant cost savings of over $800,000 for the quarter.

Improving Revenue by Increasing Credit Card Application Rates

Background

The client is a leading provider of prepaid card solutions that utilize the VISA, MasterCard, EFT and ATM networks. The company was looking for ways to boost customer responsiveness and increase sales by improving its credit card application process.

The challenge

Its credit card pass rates were mediocre – never above 75%, meaning that more than 25% of credit card applications were declined. While this could be attributed to poor credit rating, other factors impacted the application process including failure to capture accurate customer information upfront.

Solution

The company turned to TELUS International to improve the pass rate. One initiative involved calling previously rejected applicants to increase information accuracy. This involved reviewing each application, checking complete name, correct address, social security numbers and other details.

Results

By contacting applicants to increase information accuracy, TELUS International improved the average pass rate to 85%. TELUS International is now the exclusive outsourcer for several lines of the client’s prepaid debit card programs. We are credited by the client for helping them significantly improve their cost structure and expand their customer base. Since the program’s inception in 2005, headcount has increased by more than 200%.