What You Don’t Know about Case Management
Could be Hurting Your Business
By Paul Szemplinski, Co-Founder and CEO,
CAPSYS Technologies.
Today,
only a mouse click separates you from a problem your customer may be
experiencing. And usually that click is
an email message – the preferred method of communicating.
A
customer email is a signal for help and an opportunity to build your
relationship. If your response exceeds
expectations, chances are you have retained the customer and increased loyalty. If email messages are not responded to promptly,
or in a way that exposes your company as inefficient, your reputation is at
risk.
In
an era where customer satisfaction is expressed on social media, how your
business processes email must reflect this new reality.
Enter
Case Management – something that exists at every company that interacts with
customers over email – whether it’s called ‘case management,’ customer service
or incident management.
Email
systems by themselves are not an effective tool for managing customer service. Here’s why:
- Emails that go into one Inbox are only
visible to the employee with access to that Inbox.
- Decision-makers may not know about the email
and the issues contained within, how or if it was responded to.
“Case Management
software acts as a workflow engine, automating
cases more efficiently than emails.”
- A single employee or manager can’t get a
holistic look at the totality of interactions the client might have had with
the various segregated departments within the organization.
Senior
managers now face the question of how to reconfigure the enterprise to
efficiently and effectively respond to the growing volume of customer emails,
and their service expectations. Increasing server capacity is a common
solution. Yet the inherent open-ended
nature of email requires more than adding capacity and better “managing” the Inbox.
The Case for Case Management Software
Case
Management is a software module added on top of an existing enterprise content
management (ECM) system that is also integrated with an organization’s main
line of business system (such as SAP, JD Edwards, Microsoft Dynamics, etc.). It
acts as a workflow engine that automates and moves each ‘case’ throughout an
organization in a more efficient and effective manner than can be accomplished
through individual emails.
Before
the module is added, current steps taken by staff, and the systems for handling
incoming emails, are reviewed in detail.
These interactions are then mapped to the Case
Management software:
- Who is responsible for various types of
incoming ‘cases’ – this may be an Inbox, or a reply to a “Contact Us’” link on
your website
- How your company is now managing these
inputs
-
How different issues are categorized
- What action staff members take for each
category, such as a new order, a compliant; checking the status of an order, etc.
- How they are monitored, measured and
held accountable to ensure proper handling
An
important part of any ECM system, especially with a Case Management module, is
how data and documents are captured. Most companies deal with multiple document
types: Word, Excel, PDFs, and TIFF files. Disparate file types can, however,
present a problem to ECM systems.
“Everything related
to a case is automatically assembled, providing
a complete, 360 degree view of the incident or case."
Some
document capture systems, such as CAPSYS CAPTURE ONLINE,
will ‘normalize’ or standardize the content into one consistent format (PDFs
only, for example) as well as extract pertinent meta-data and content
applicable to the case issuer. Having a standard format enables all data to be
more easily handled.
Without
normalizing content, you can imagine the inefficiencies: Say a customer sends multiple file formats
with an email. Staff must either save or
print out each file and tie them to a customer record, then pass all of this on
to the appropriate person to handle.
This process likely will also require users to log into other line of
business systems to research transactions, such as order history, credit
information, returns, purchase orders, packing slips, etc.
By
contrast, with normalized content, the files move seamlessly to the Case
Management module, and are ready to be acted upon. All the prior case history is automatically
pre-fetched and assembled in a logical manner, giving the case manager a
complete, 360 degree view of the incident or case.
Once
all the files are standardized and the Case Management module is up and
running:
·
- As soon as an email hits the Inbox, it
is taken out of the email box and placed into the Case Management software
- A ticket or case management tracking number
is automatically assigned, and used thereafter throughout the process
- The email and its associated attachments
are automatically converted or normalized (into perhaps PDF form) so the ‘case’
and its associated attachments are completely visible to the entire group that
handles inquiries
- The proper workflow for each type of
‘case’ is then initiated by the case management automation software
- Users can now easily access all the
related data and any attachments, then interact with different internal systems
(orders, credits, shipping, etc.) to take the appropriate action -- all with
supervision and oversight to ensure quality customer service is maintained
Integration
between internal systems in one place empowers staff to work smarter, providing
a 360 degree view into all the information needed to make decisions.
“Unlike
email, Case Management software gives management a
dashboard tool with a graphical view of staff actions, processes,
systems and outcomes.”
Email Can’t Provide Operational Metrics,
and Other Benefits
Unlike
email, Case Management software gives management a dashboard tool with a
graphical view of staff actions, processes, systems and outcomes. For instance, the software can report how
many complaints were received; the number of customer issues employees handled;
and the metrics on completed cases.
Overall,
the software becomes a performance measurement tool, enabling your company to offer
the right level of service, targeted to the right areas, in the most
cost-efficient manner.
Through
an ECM system configured with document capture that normalizes all content and
a Case Management module, business managers can create competitive advantage on
a number of fronts:
- Simplified process for handling emails. Customers experience a speedy response by an
empowered staff that says, “We care”
- Fast and easy access to all the
documents, data and process events required for accurate decision making. It is all there on one screen, creating a truly
holistic approach to customer service
- Faster incident resolution and more
comprehensive investigation of complaints
- Rapidly resolve issues, track customer
information and manage relationships
- Significant enhancement of customer
satisfaction and your company’s reputation for service
All in
all, adding Case Management software means you’ve got a better way to get work
done. Integrated with other internal
systems, it’s a fast and simple approach to enhancing service.
# # #
Contact CAPSYS Technologies or Integrated Document Technologies, Inc. today to learn how Case Management solutions can help your business.
Learn more at www.capsystech.com or www.idt-inc.com
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