KANSAS CITY, Missouri--The Dental Claims Call Center of Assurant Employee Benefits recently was named first runner-up from a field of more than 30 entries in the 2006 "Best in Class" competition of Call Center IQ's Call Center Excellence Awards.
Aligned with Assurant Employee Benefits' corporate strategy of being easy to do business with, the Dental Claims Call Center has adopted several tactics that have set it apart from competitors, such as cross-training all employees to meet a variety of customer needs, and melding work from three individual call centers into one pool to provide more rapid and consistent customer service.
"Dental coverage is a benefit valued by most people in the workforce and used significantly by both employees and their family members," said Sue Lundberg, vice president of dental claims at Assurant Employee Benefits. "We're committed to providing service beyond the expected level to make using our coverage easy for our members and providers."
The Dental Claims Call Center was recognized for significant achievements in customer service. The call center call abandonment rate is 61.5 percent lower than the industry average, based on number of calls received and the average speed to answer a call is 1.5 percent lower than the industry average, based on number of calls received.
In addition, the call center employee turnover rate is 10 percentage points lower than the industry average.
Call Center IQ, a division of the International Quality and Productivity Center, established the Call Center Excellence Awards in 2005 to recognize and promote call centers that demonstrate true best practices.
Each entrant was evaluated on the following:
*Call center strategy and how it contributes to the overall success of the organization
*Strategic plan for future development of the call center
*Cost and process efficiencies gained, return on investment, changes to culture and overall call center success
*Key leadership support and involvement in the call center and customer service strategy
*What differentiates the call center from others
