CUSTOMER PROFILE
SKYGEN, which provides contact center solutions for a variety of dental, vision, and health benefit providers, reinvented its performance management practices at the same time it retired a number of on-premise, inflexible, and end-of-life systems by moving to NICE CXone. A redesigned gamification program and a more agent-friendly marketplace were keys to quick wins and overall long-term success.
01 THE BEFORE
An underperforming “Frankenstein”
With multiple vendors providing IVR, ACD, call recording, and digital wallboards, SKYGEN professionals describe their previous call center environment as a classic “Frankenstein.” Real-time insights were completely out of reach—supervisors had to content themselves with twice-monthly access to reporting, and those reports were labor- intensive to generate.
To support performance goals, SKYGEN introduced an incentive program. Unfortunately, the reporting delays negatively impacted engagement with the games. “It was difficult to provide timely payouts and, in some cases, payouts would be missed because of the delays,” said Jonathon Fluckey, Contact Center Implementation Specialist at SKYGEN. “Agents were quick to lose interest in the games and would disengage from the incentives.”
02 DESIRE TO CHANGE
Restoring focus and empowerment
SKYGEN recognized that the previous environment limited its abilities to emphasize performance and efficiency. The gamification program was losing steam and had become rote, with predictable rewards and diminishing enthusiasm. In turn, this slowed progress toward efficiency gains in key performance metrics such as average handle time and after-call work time. “We wanted a way to be more deliberate, to create targets that make people stretch a little while still being attainable so they don’t disengage,” Fluckey said.
The failure of the incumbent IVR brought other limitations into focus. The system was heavily customized to meet SKYGEN’s needs but was so complex that it was unable to make any meaningful alterations on its own. The company wanted to modernize its environment and gain more control over key contact center capabilities to better engage with insurance industry clients and their policyholders.
03 THE SOLUTION
Fun for agents, powerful for leadership
SKYGEN replaced its multi-vendor systems with NICE CXone and integrated capabilities for recording, performance management, gamification, quality, and workforce management. The consolidation immediately benefitted agents by allowing them to stay properly logged in without having to juggle multiple credentials across different systems. Better support for role-based access ensures that all personnel have the tools and real-time dashboards they need to conduct business. Agent dashboards guide with metrics and select details, including queue status and quick links to current contests.
The gamification program was overhauled with journey mapping to guide new hires through months of structured engagement, with escalating rewards. Incumbent agents also enjoy a refreshed game experience through the CXone Marketplace. Rewards are structured based on agent surveys about preferred redemption prizes and now range from small gift cards to high-end personal electronics, PTO hours, and breaks.
Games and incentives are reevaluated monthly using both qualitative agent feedback and a wide variety of performance and engagement metrics. Game-based rewards are now complemented by surveys launched from inside CXone to spot-check agent understanding of policies and procedures, and offer targeted coaching. The integrated CXone solution gives SKYGEN direct ownership of the scripts controlling IVR flow and messaging. It also upgraded the quality and depth of information provided on contact center wallboards and expanded its potential as an intra-office communication platform.
04 THE RESULTS
Targeted engagement delivers tangible returns
Combining the powerful CXone cloud contact center solution with a refined employee engagement strategy has paid off in several dimensions for SKYGEN.
Productivity metrics are trending strongly positive:
- Average hold time down 46%
- After-call work time down 24%
- Average talk time down 2%
These productivity gains allow SKYGEN to pursue new clients with the expectation that new call volume can be handled with current staffing levels. Combined with a projected 5% drop in agent attrition, SKYGEN expects to save $67,500 annually on attrition-related charges and $50,000 annually for each FTE hire averted.
Agent acceptance of the new gamification program is strong. After conducting an internal survey, 92% of agents agree that their performance is higher because of the new programs. The same proportion of agents says they engage with the performance modules at least a few times each week, with half of the agent pool engaging daily. “Today we can consistently communicate contact center results and game results via email and wallboards, and the fact that over 90% of agents engage with the games a few times a week is a huge win,” Fluckey said.
Oversight of the games themselves has evolved since CXone pilots in 2022. Supervisors were initially encouraged to run their own team games, but SKYGEN found that the number of games offered and the amount of incentives earned varied widely from team to team. Planning was brought back to a central steering committee to promote greater consistency and level out earning opportunities. The committee adjusts game structures regularly and monitors metrics to ensure that behaviors boosted by past games remain at new, higher performance levels.
05 THE FUTURE
Reaping the rewards
With higher-performing agents, lower attrition, and a more configurable contact center environment, SKYGEN is looking ahead to greater success in onboarding new clients.
As confidence in the new solution grows, SKYGEN is considering returning more control of game structure and implementation to individual supervisors. “We’ve started to transition that responsibility back to the supervisors, this time with specific guidelines to help them be successful with the games,” Fluckey said.
