New Call Centre Management System Goes Live At Europ Assistance

With the push of a button the first part of a new call centre management system went live at Europ Assistance (EA). The new system, called ICE (In Case of Emergency), provides better service delivery and instant access to relevant information.

EA's services include international travel emergency assistance, emergency roadside assistance and legal assistance. They contracted business solution provider QBCon to develop a customised call centre management system. After months of preparation and a smooth implementation, ICE went live on 1 August 2009.

ICE has been in full force for just over a month, and it's been smooth sailing at EA. According to EA's Johanna Dehning, more than 80% of EA's call centre agents find ICE user-friendly and easy to operate.

The system was customised to include integration with business intelligence (BI) tool EasyAsk and a web-based management system that was developed to act as an Avaya interface. EasyAsk allows agents and management to gain access to relevant information by typing a question in natural English. EasyAsk then queries all databases to provide comprehensive information relating to the question. The program even suggests related questions that might aid the agent in resolving the query.

The integration of ICE and Avaya means information captured on either system is immediately and automatically updated throughout the business. Agents can access up to the minute information and get notifications of incoming calls.

“We have reached the first milestone in this phase, with 43 EA agents operating the system," said QBCon business analyst Johan Mostert.

“In September 2009 the amount of ICE users will increase when the new funeral product will be added to EA's services,” he said

To improve service delivery, EA agents can access a caller's account information by simply typing the caller's name and telephone number. ICE automatically informs the agent of the type of services the client is entitled to according to their account. The agent is further guided by a dynamic questionnaire to ensure that the client receives the best possible service.

At the end of September ICE will integrate all of EA's clients.

“The final ICE product at the end of September will be the result of intensive planning, design and development. ICE serves as a testimony of QBCon’s ability to understand our clients’ needs and implement solutions that are a perfect fit,” concluded Mostert.