Case Study: NCFE

01 The Before

Little news but challenges

Like many storied institutions, NCFE’s contact center operation developed over time with a variety of on-premise software. As the organization sought new capabilities, different providers were brought in to supply point solutions for things like email, live chat, and comprehensive call recording. Shared folders and spreadsheets served a variety of as-needed roles. “We did not deliver best-in-class solutions, and that hindered the customer and colleague experience,” said Brian Queen, NCFE’s head of customer service.

02 Desire to change

A voice for change

When he took his position, Brian brought decades of contact center experience to NCFE and quickly recognized issues in the current operating structure. New capabilities were added in piecemeal and were frequently either incomplete or poorly supported. The disparate systems meant that data was very difficult to reconcile, clouding the ability to truly understand performance. “We had separate providers, things were old, and management information was held on large spreadsheets,” he said. “It became apparent quickly that the systems we were using weren’t an efficient or stable platform for us.”

Furthermore, NCFE’s support teams consistently reported low colleague satisfaction levels. In time, leadership connected the scores with the difficulty of working with the current technology solutions. Recognizing both the opportunity and the need to change, Brian mapped out several ambitious targets for a contact center overhaul:

• Enhanced planning and forecasting
• Instilling a high-performance culture
• Delivering value-for-money to the organization.
• Improved recording with focused quality assurance
• Improved employee experience
• Improvements across several operational and performance benchmarks.

“Every pound we spend is important, and any profits we make can be reinvested into improving the education system. And we’re really excited about implementing a platform that allows us to be future focused.”

BRIAN QUEEN

HEAD OF CUSTOMER SERVICE
NCFE

03 The Solution

New frontiers in the cloud

As part of a broader effort to modernize operations in the cloud, NCFE selected CXone to transform its customer service operations. “We embarked on a mission, and leveraged CXone technology to help us deliver a more efficient and consistent customer and colleague experience,” Brian said.

The solution addressed a number of basic shortcomings in the previous estate, including a smooth and secure transaction process plus comprehensive center performance data. Adding Interaction Analytics surfaces caller sentiment and frustration alongside other performance metrics, which helped to identify and resolve customer pain points and inefficiencies. Armed now with searchable call records, NCFE uses keyword queries and product/service-specific complaints to try to settle issues at the front lines. The goal is to find ways to improve outcomes and sentiment, not just optimize call handle times.

To replace an overburdened application being used to house knowledge articles, NCFE also adopted Expert Knowledge Management. Agents are introduced to Expert as part of their onboarding, and consistent development of the knowledge base has already reduced the burden on second-tier support. Quality assurance professionals use search patterns to identify articles to add or improve, and metrics on view time and scroll rates help validate that the content is genuinely aiding agents. “We’ve been through a cultural transformation in customer support and NiCE CXone has definitely contributed,” Brian said.

04 The Results

Dramatic improvements in performance and satisfaction

The implementation improved operational metrics across the board. “Our CXone implementation has been transformative,” Brian said, and the numbers bear out that conclusion:

• Voice service levels are up 10 percentage points, with ASA down 33 seconds.
• Chat service levels are up 17 percentage points, with average first response down five seconds.
• Email service levels are up 18 percentage points, with ASA down nearly 80%.
• Customer NPS is now +67. “Our customer feedback metrics are extremely strong, and are getting stronger,” Brian said.
• Reductions in system outages save at least 80 hours of wasted effort per year.

Employee NPS is also substantially higher since implementation, now that agents can more easily handle a wider range of inquiries with confidence and systems support. With PCI compliance in the NiCE cloud, common tasks like certificate reorder are now simple and easy for learners and agents to complete.

The new solution represents a significant investment for NCFE, and one that pays for itself. Efficiencies have produced an 8% FTS saving due to the stabilized and efficiencies of the CXone platform. “And CXone is a far superior platform,” he noted. “Every pound we spend is important, and any profits we make can be reinvested back into improving the education system.”

05 The Future

Opportunities abound for a 175+ year old institution

Freed from constraints and operational interruptions, NCFE’s contact center is now a source of opportunity and growth for the storied organization. “And we’re really excited about implementing a platform that allows us to be future focused,” Brian added. “We’ll soon be dipping our toe into the water with AI from a customer service point of view, because things like Interaction Analytics help us build confidence in AI.”