Hollard, South Africa`s largest independent insurer, has chosen the Quintus suite of products, supplied by eContact Solutions, to power its drive into increased electronic contacts with both business and consumers, and is expanding the solution to all parts of the business since installing the first phase in September 2000.
"Our expanding business, both B2B and B2C over both electronic and other channels, meant that we needed a contact solution which could encompass all the avenues through which a client or customer might want to contact us," says Jenny Retief, CIO of the Hollard group.
Hollard insurance and investment group offers both life and short-term cover and underwrites well known brands such as Legalwise and Petsure. It is the fourth largest short term insurance company in South Africa.
"We opted for Quintus after a broad sweep of the market," says Retief. "The first live installation was in our Direct Life operations plus a pilot run in our Employee Benefits division."
Improvements were instantaneous. Retief says, "Quintus provides us with a clear understanding of all the interactions we have with a client, and the ability to ensure that our service levels are maintained throughout."
Quintus gives Hollard`s contact agents and supervisors immediate visibility when service levels are missed with automatic escalation procedures which include mild reminders first to the operator and then to seniors, through emails, reports and even SMS messages.
"We needed an umbrella CRM platform which enables us to integrate all client details," continues Retief. In this way Hollard is able to change its processes and product offerings according to individual client needs.
"Our customer interactions vary from telephone calls, faxes, emails and web interactions, and Quintus allows us to manage our customer interactions no matter which medium they use to initiate the contact," she says.
Before installing Quintus, Hollard ran a complicated routing mechanism. Quintus is easier to maintain, configure and extend," Retief says.
For clients, there are huge time savings: it is not necessary to refer back to one specific agent each time contact is made, as all operators now have access to the complete customer interaction record.
In addition, Quintus` open-ended system leverages Hollard`s middle tier of business objects based on the company`s multi-tiered MS DNA architecture and technology platform. "The Quintus workflow engine allows us to streamline our processes through which we service our clients," Retief says.
The Hollard deal capped a successful year for eContact Solutions, which has completed no less than eleven Quintus contact centre installations in that period. "Moving into the insurance sector was an exciting step for us," says Rob Salvado, director of ECS.
"Quintus` versatility and open ended characteristics clinched the sale," Salvado says, adding that the entire project took less than three months from the first project definition workshop to when the agents were live.
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