How Blue Cross and Blue Shield of GA
Slashed Customer Care Agent Training by 90%
A CRI Success Story
By Ferdinand Tesoro, Director - Operations Performance Department, BCBSGA

When Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia (BCBSGA) landed a large new account - a leading bank with over 30,000 members (and the potential for over 70,000 more nationwide) - the Operations Performance Department (OPD) knew it was critical to ensure that the open enrollment process would exceed the bank's expectations. We saw this new account as a golden opportunity to partner and collaborate cross-functionally with other key areas of BCBSGA not only to set the right expectations around customer service, but to reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve work processes.

Prior to using the Criterion-Referenced Instruction (CRI) methodology, we would have trained Customer Care Agents (CCAs) on what we thought they needed or "how we used to do it when we were on the floor." This open enrollment training for a new group would have been 40 hours or more.

Instead of diving straight into training development, we followed the CRI methodology and began the training project with upfront analysis. By employing questionnaires and face-to-face interviews, the project team discovered:

• What the CCAs' current job functions and areas of expertise were
• What would be required of CCAs to support the new account
• How much of what they currently know and do would continue with the new account
• What would be required of them that they had never done before

By performing analysis to determine what the CCAs already knew, we were able to create training that targeted only the knowledge and skill gaps, not covering any redundant or irrelevant information. As an added benefit, the CCAs felt ownership and input because they had the opportunity to tell us what they thought they needed to learn.

We also determined that, instead of requiring them to memorize large volumes of complex information or search through hardcopy documents, certain information should be readily accessible to the CCAs during their calls. So we decided to create a performance support tool - called a knowledgebase - for them to use. This Web-based, "just in time" tool allows CCAs to find the information they need in a few seconds with just one or two mouse clicks. It allows them to look up benefits for a certain product, quickly access phone numbers in the event they need to transfer a caller, refer to scripts for certain call scenarios, and complete other key tasks performed while interacting with customers.

The resulting training program reduced required training time to only 4 hours - a 90% reduction! We estimate that the savings from the 36 hours of lost productivity and associated reductions in overtime costs, multiplied across all 1,200 Operations Associates in Georgia, could result in a savings of $648,000!

Of course, the real test of a training program's success is in what learners can do after being trained. The CCAs felt extremely confident on the phones. This is reflected in an improvement in first call resolution metrics, a significant reduction in open comm. logs (unresolved issues not answered or calls that have to be escalated for further research), the percentage of calls placed on hold, and work time as a percentage of total average hold time. The following table compares the results of this project with a similar group that underwent a traditional open enrollment training process.

At the same time, feedback from key stakeholders has proven extremely positive.

Director of Operations, BCBSGA
"The overwhelming majority of the comments support what I have heard from associates - the training and the materials were excellent and they felt prepared for this critical account. I appreciate all the hard work the Training area put into making this a huge success."

A supervisor from the bank's business unit
"Just know that I'm a walking advertisement for you all and the benefit you provide…. We found the new training techniques (OPD) exposed us to refreshing and like nothing we had experienced in the past. I am excited my team was one of the first to benefit from this new approach."

CCA Training Graduate
"The training allowed us to be better prepared for the calls ahead… the internet training (knowledgebase) was exceptional and very beneficial."

In addition to the positive results of this program, it should be noted that the deliverables from this project now serve as a model for servicing open enrollments for future critical accounts. Having this model allows OPD to leverage these deliverables to reduce design and development time. For example, for the four strategic projects we have engaged in OPD since the bank project, we have used this project's deliverables as templates, thereby reducing development time for the Web-based knowledgebase and training by 25-50%.

Ferdinand Tesoro is Director of Operations Performance Department, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, an independent subsidiary of WellPoint. He has a team of performance consultants, instructional designers and trainers who has started applying the CRI approach to training with positive business results.

For more information on Criterion-Referenced Instruction, click here. For information on the Criterion-Referenced Instruction Workshop, click here.