Project KickOff

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PENNSYLVANIA STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT
SYSTEM CUSTOMER CARE PROJECT PRESENTED AT
2003 PRISM CONFERENCE PALM SPRINGS. CALIFORNIA
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Agenda

• Overview of Project
• Project Objectives
• Project Approach
• Key Findings
• Where We Are Today
• Lessons Learned

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Project Objectives
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This project was launched by SERS to

• Ensure that SERS has the infrastructure and
  capabilities in place to continuously provide the
  highest quality customer service to its members
• Provide the Office of Member Services with a road
  map for world class customer care
• Help OMS meet and exceed customer needs and
  expectations

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The project objectives were

• Review SERS processes and systems in 4 areas
• Published information
• Customer contact
• Group information programs
• Work processes

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The project objectives were

• Determine
• If the services provided are effective and
  relevant
• If the methods for providing them are efficient
  and cost effective
• How to improve them to meet current and future
  customer needs at the best cost to SERS
• How processes at regional centers relate to those
  at central office, and whether any should be
  reengineered
• Complete a gap analysis and create a plan to
  close the gap

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The four focus areas of SERS customer care
operations are defined as follows

• Address change
• Option change
• Death benefits
• Purchase of Service

Work Processes

• Forms
• Pamphlets
• Info Sheets
• Website
• Handbook

Published Information
Customer Contact
Group Information

• Problem Resolution
• General Information Requests

• Development
• Delivery
• Site Selection
• Instructor Selection/Training
• Scheduling

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SERS customer groups include not only members,
but staff and business partners
Partners
Retirees
Active Members
OMS Customer Care Recipients
Customer Care Staff
Other SERS Offices/Staff
Inactive Members
Employers
Beneficiaries/Alternate Payees
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Project Approach
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The Project Team was comprised solely of SERS
staff 23 staff from throughout the organization

• Office of Member Services (OMS) Field Offices
• 13 staff members representing six of the seven
  field offices including three Office Managers
• OMS Central Office
• 5 staff members from Bureau of Benefits
  Administration
• 2 staff members from Bureau of Retirement
  Counseling
• Legal Office
• 1 staff member
• Executive Office
• 2 staff members

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The approach for this project was to leverage the
resources and expertise of both SERS and Deloitte
Consulting

• In-house resources and experts have
• Conducted and documented as-is assessments of
  SERS processes in each of the 4 stated areas
• Developed a database of best practices
• Created guidelines and parameters for a customer
  satisfaction survey
• Refined the SERS customer care vision, mission
  and guiding principles
• Assessed the gaps that exist between the desired
  to-be customer care operations and the as-is
  state
• Developed an implementation plan to move SERS to
  the desired state

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The approach for this project has been to
leverage the resources and expertise of both SERS
and Deloitte Consulting

• Deloitte Consulting has provided knowledge and
  expertise in
• Project management
• Skills training and development
• Development of customer care strategies and
  customer relationship management programs
• Technology enablers for customer care processes
• Best practices in similar financial services and
  public sector organizations
• Transferring knowledge and capabilities to client
  staff members
• Data analysis and report development

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The project began in April, 2000 and concluded
on January 5, 2001 with a 5-year Implementation
Plan
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Seven phases of the project were completed
1. As-Is Data Collection and Process Mapping
APR2000
2. Review of Benchmarks and Best Practices in
Selected Peer Groups
3. Conduct a Customer Survey
4. Review Guiding Principles and Revise, as
needed
5. Identify Technology Enablers that Will
Facilitate To-Be Processes
6. Perform a Gap and Impact Assessment
7. Create an Implementation Plan for Change
JAN 2001
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The project included seven formal deliverables
April
Oct
May
Jan
Sept
Aug
July
June
Nov
Dec
Detailed Work Plan
Training Plan
Customer Satisfaction Survey Plan
Best Practices Benchmarking Report
As-Is Assessment Report
Primary Data Reports
Technology Enabler Briefing
Gap Impact Assessment
SERS Customer Care Implementation Plan
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Key Findings
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Benchmarking Report - Purpose

• Provide context and examples for visioning
• Provide guidance to As Is analysis via the
  types of improvement targeted by others
• Provide example technology enablers to help guide
  the Technology Enabler assessment
• Highlight benchmark data for establishing target
  performance measures
• Provide a list of best practices and
  organizations for reference during the gap and
  impact assessment as well as implementation
  planning

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Benchmarking Report Key Findings
Key Findings

• SERS now has a reference table of
• 32 performance measures across all indicators
• 40 general best practices across all indicators
• 14 primary technology enablers
• 12 organizational and HR best practices
• 23 interviewed organizations (15 public sector, 8
  private sector)
• SERS has identified Commonwealth benchmark
  organizations for sharing best practices in
  customer care

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Customer Survey and Report - Purpose

• Gain current customer ratings of SERS current
  products, processes and services
• Capture suggestions for improvement
• Understand preferences for potential changes in
• Technologies
• Access Channels
• Products
• Services

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Customer Survey Report Key Findings
Key Findings

• 46 response rate overall of 4560 surveyed
• 38 Active, 55 retired
• Average or above for mailed surveys
• 27-28 of respondents provided open-ended
  responses
• Customers are very satisfied overall
• Improvement areas
• Improve understanding/awareness of terminology,
  options, services
• Reduce variance between field offices
• Improve phone (live voice, limited menu) before
  improving Internet
• Be responsive to inquiries
• Reduce number and complexity of forms
• Develop different newsletters and annual
  statements for active/retired
• Provide more general information about retirement

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As-Is Assessment - Purpose

• To complete a review of the current status of OMS
  customer service and gather data related to the
  OMS services, products, performance measures, and
  customer contact environment.
• To establish a baseline of data that will be used
  to determine the gap between the as-is and the
  to-be.

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As-Is Assessment Key Findings
Key Findings

• Customer Satisfaction is high
• Data is not readily available to measure
  performance, cycle times, back logs, etc.
• There are some process variations among field
  offices
• There is an inability to access how member
  inquiries are handled
• There are major difficulties with amount and
  timeliness of communication with PEBTF
• Cycle times are too long
• There is no review process for products and the
  majority are paper-based

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Technology Enabler Report - Purpose

• Understand SERS current customer care related
  technologies
• Create common terminology and understanding of
  available technologies
• Cross-walk technology enabler types with
  performance goals
• Develop a catalogue of the prominent vendors of
  each technology

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Technology Enabler Report Major Points
Major Points

• Future technologies should hook into SERIS and
  DAWPM
• CTC initiatives may impact decisions
• SAP for ERP, Adelphia for Telecommunications,
  Microsoft Office Suite/Exchange
• Contact Management and Internet Transactions seem
  most applicable to goals
• SERS has a list of the functionalities and
  implementation requirements for each technology
• List of vendors includes
• 18 CRM/eCRM and 16 telecommunications
• To be further developed during a later formal
  vendor assessment

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Gap Impact Assessment - Purpose

• Provide a to-be straw model of SERS customer care
  processes
• Identify the gaps between the as-is and
  envisioned to-be customer care
• Analyze the root causes and potential solutions
  for closing those gaps
• Assess the impact of the gaps and closing of the
  gaps on the organization

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Gap Impact Assessment Key Findings
Key Findings

• SERS current organization structure, culture,
  staffing, internal communications and training
  practices are not aligned with the envisioned
  customer care operations.
• SERS highly effective but disparate technologies
  do not provide the integration necessary to
  ensure consistency and timeliness of customer
  care.
• Some of SERS processes and performance reporting
  practices are fragmented and/or inefficient.
• SERS member education process is fragmented and
  lacking in some information areas

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Implementation Plan
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Where Are We Today?
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As a result of the Customer Care Project we have

• Completed 5 Quick Wins, 1 started, others not
  Quick Wins
• Death Benefit Reengineering Underway
• Developed a more interactive website for active
  and retired members
• Custom Calculator
• Account Access
• Starting CRM (contact management) project
• Conducting technical and developmental training
• Better metrics available for analysis

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CRM Project

• Basic contact tracking
• SAP CRM software
• Proof of concept for the Commonwealth
• Starting project May 2003
• Projected implementation December 2003

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Lessons Learned

• Involve staff team members, visioning sessions
• Need management involvement
• Hire vendor to train and facilitate we did the
  work
• Hire vendor to do clerical work write reports
• Be sure to implement resulting suggestions and
  findings quickly
• Determine early who your customers are and
  involve them if possible

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Questions
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Contact Information

• Susan C. Hostetter, Director
• Bureau of Benefit Administration
• State Employees Retirement System
• 30 N 3rd. Street, P. O. Box 1147
• Harrisburg, PA 17108
• [phone]
• shostetter_at_state.pa.us