Call centre webscreens digitisation project

Emphatise

The modernisation of the call centre platform has been a long-term project at Auto & General snd one involves many stakeholders. As the software is used for the call centre consultants, the first thing I did was sit in with the consultants during their calls.

Alongside listening and taking notes to consultants I gathered information through these avenues:

Watching consultants session recording on Verint
Talking to consultants when they are not on a call
Talking to the team leaders about consultants’ experience

Define

Based on these activities, I’ve identified the pain points of the current workflows and software alongside the business rules & limitations.

Pain points

Ongoing costs from managing outdated, inconvenient software that forces consultants to use additional tools to do their job.
Inefficiency from juggling multiple software systems, complicating user flow for customers and frontline consultants.
High turnover rate among frontline consultants due to the complexity and difficulty of using current software.

Business requirements & limitations

Leveraging existing customer journey for consultants

The business requirement is to leverage the current customer journey framework for consultants

It poses a huge challenge as the existing application was not designed for consultant needs.

Component consistency & reusability

Limitations on utilising the existing components and features to reduce design and technical debt.

Meets the compliance & underwriting requirements

In creating a product for front-line consultants, numerous design restrictions are necessary to ensure compliance with legal requirements and company policies.

Problem Statement

How might we create a unified platform for consultants in order to reduced the high turnover rate?

Ideate

I consolidate all of the research that I’ve done alongside the business requirements to start ideating potential solutions. With the limitation of using an existing customer journey, I knew I had to focus on the UX journey to ensure that consultant’s needs are met.

With that, I iterated on a lot on user journeys to take into account the business rules and compliance regulations.

Prototype

Based on the user journey ideated, business requirements and utilising the existing component I started prototyping on the proposed solutions. Whilst doing so I established patterns for informing urgency of text to consultants, cues guide consultants and mid journey edits.

Original software

Updated software and designs

My impact

I act as the lead designer throughout the whole project from scoping, delivery to testing stage. I continue my role as the product rolls out to consultants and iterates on the existing product.

My knowledge and expertise has influenced the roll out of the project to cover other products and services.

Establishing the core framework for consultants’ tool.

Set the foundation and standards for the webscreens rollout, encompassing dashboard creation, component usage, and behavior guidelines.
Prioritized the intended users, tailoring the project to align with consultants' behaviors and needs while ensuring that business needs and requirements were met.

Introduce a new way of working for designers and delivery team

I integrated myself into the delivery team process and demonstrated end-to-end experience by scoping, estimating, and managing design activities.
Leveraging front-line consultants’ existing behaviors to create user requirements, outcomes and outputs.
Reduce the gap in knowledge and miscommunication by collaborating with software developers and testers directly.

Redefining the definition of done in the UX/UI team

Advancing the design handover process with the delivery team.
Introduced continuous improvement on design by reflecting on consultants’ feedback.
Elaborated on the existing documentation process for easy and seamless handover between designers.

Challenges & lessons learnt

I’ve enhanced my design skills by adhering to various brand guidelines, conducting user tests, and creating functional prototypes. Additionally, I have significantly improved my communication and soft skills, as detailed below:

Balancing user needs, business requirements and delivery goals

It was challenging to align user needs with business goals, as they often conflicted. Additionally, it was crucial to ensure that the designs did not hinder delivery goals and that the delivery teams felt empowered and supported by the provided designs.

Solution implemented:

Open communication: Establish a transparent communication channel between business stakeholders and consultant SMEs to foster collaboration and understanding.
Post-production improvement plans: Developed strategies to enhance features post-project rollout, informed by consultants’ behaviour and usage patterns.

Stakeholder management

The project spanned five different divisions with around 40 stakeholders. I worked with four different delivery teams within the same timelines, all contributing to one product. Managing consistent communication, aligning expectations, and staying in tune with stakeholders was challenging as the lead designer.