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Tag: 2022

Driving Better Outcomes in Workers’ Compensation

Posted on by SmartComm

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

By: Ruth Fisk, VP Insurance Strategy at Smart Communications

Reimagining communications is critical to controlling costs and improving business outcomes 

For many years, digital transformation has been a common strategic initiative, spanning just about every industry. But unfortunately, insurance has been slow to the game. At the same time, increasing costs, complexity and regulations are making insurance processes more complicated and compliance more critical, while consumer expectations for seamless digital experiences are extending into more traditional businesses like insurance. More than being compared simply to one another, today’s insurers are competing with every customer’s last, best experience with digital-first companies like Uber, Instacart, Waze and others. The time is now for the industry as a whole to take a more innovative approach.

When it comes to workers’ compensation insurance, insurers need to look for new, more digitally-driven ways to manage claims and control costs. In addition to supporting better life outcomes for injured workers, processing claims in a more efficient, timely manner enables insurers to drive better business outcomes—for both the injured worker and the employer.

There are a number of areas within workers’ compensation where insurers can streamline processes, including:

  • Accelerating initial reporting processes
  • Increasing claimant responsibility through self-determination programs
  • Enhancing information and analytics for treatment plans
  • Focusing on rehabilitation, as well as more preventative measures, and increased loss control

Every facet of this forward-thinking approach centers on one key aspect of the interaction: interactive, two-way conversations. In workers’ compensation, every customer touch point is critical. In this high-stakes, emotional and stressful situation, insurers have an opportunity to build trust and make processes smooth, efficient, fast and empathetic.

Let’s look at how improved, digital-first interactions drive better outcomes for everyone involved in a workers’ compensation claim.

Supporting the Injured Worker

Being injured on the job creates difficulties on multiple fronts. In addition to dealing with the stress of a medical situation and all that entails, including pain, discomfort, appointments, recovery time and more, injured workers are worried about the impact the incident will have on their lives. Will they have the ability to support their family? When will they be able to return to work? How will they manage a short- or long-term loss of income?

To minimize stress for the injured worker and help them achieve the best possible personal outcomes as swiftly as possible, claims processes need to be simplified and decisions must be expedited. Digitizing processes and turning static, manual tasks into dynamic, two-way interactions simplifies every step of the claims process and accelerates the path to decisions and settlement, as well as rehabilitation and recovery.

If an injured worker has the right support from their employer and insurer, they can rest easy knowing their income stability will not be jeopardized while they recover from their injury. Digital-first, interactive conversations help to establish this faster, reducing stress during an already stressful time. The medical support they receive will also help them return to work faster—which is ultimately what they want to do.

Improving communications between the injured worker and recommended healthcare providers makes it easier for them to get the care they need to recover. Injured workers should be able to make their own choices about care. This puts them in control of planning their path to rehabilitation and taking responsibility for the return-to-work plan. Opening the pathways of communication between the insurer, the injured worker and the care team empowers claimants and allows them to take this vital control.

Enabling Greater Efficiency for Employers

When a workplace injury occurs, time is of the essence. Employers must report the injury quickly to maintain compliance with regulatory bodies, and also to minimize the costs. Rapid response helps mitigate additional medical costs as well as potential litigation. And delayed reporting can significantly increase workers’ compensation claims costs. Expediting the claim also helps to get the injured worker back to work faster, minimizing productivity and operational continuity losses.

workers compensation insurance claim cost reduction

Employers should have the ability to report a claim easily and securely. They should be able to actively participate in reporting the claim as well as in the worker’s rehabilitation and eventual return-to-work plan. Giving employers this ability calls for a reimagining of processes, systems and technology. It requires new solutions that replace outdated, paper-based processes with dynamic, digital interactions.

When employers have the right solutions, they can play an active role in rehabilitation and recovery, helping to improve outcomes for their valued employees as well as for the business as a whole. Workers’ compensation claims management processes are highly regulated and when employers lack solutions that ensure those processes are strictly adhered to, the regulatory cost can be extremely high. Choosing a system that optimizes and simplifies the complexity of communications between all involved parties is critical to success—and to avoiding regulatory fines and expenses.

Improved communications also help employers close claims more quickly. More than half of claims that are reported within the first two weeks close within 18 months. However, only 29% of claims that are reported more than a month after the accident close within the same timeframe.

 

 

Empowering Medical Providers for Improved Care

In any workers’ compensation claim, the medical provider plays a key role in recommending what rehabilitation must take place for the worker to return to the job. To expedite claim resolution—and recovery/return to work for the injured employee—medical providers must be able to share information more efficiently and securely.

Improving communications between medical providers and the injured worker, the employer and the case manager all help to expedite claim resolution/return to work and produce better results for all. Replacing manual, analog modes of communication, such as telephone and paper-based forms, with a digital-first approach allows medical providers and case managers to share information quickly, easily and securely. The insurance company’s chief medical officer should be able to seamlessly collaborate with providers to ensure adherence to best practices and facilitate optimal care for the injured worker.

Evidence-based medicine is the cornerstone of the information flow that enables all involved parties to accelerate claim resolution. Being able to share data-driven information with the physician about the most effective treatment plan for similar historical injuries can help providers make an evidence-based recommendation.

A digital-forward solution makes it easy for the physician to upload key information like Certificate of Capacity, medical records, x-ray images and other documents automatically during a guided interview. This information can then be pushed to the claim system (such as Guidewire ClaimCenter) to expedite resolution. Being able to automatically send information to the injured worker’s mobile device as they are leaving the doctor’s office can also help keep their recovery on track and get them back to work sooner. Whether treatment plans, expected return to work data, possible community meetings for similar injuries, or other information, medical providers can serve as a powerful resource encouraging patient progress.

Improving the Options for Case Managers

Case managers are key in streamlining the end-to-end claims management effort. Having access to the right information at the right time can greatly impact the overall process, experience, and outcomes—for both the worker and the employer. Seamless communications between all sources of information (employer, injured worker, care team) and the case manager results in faster claims resolution and happier customers. From collecting initial injury and claim information, to sharing evidence-based medical information with the provider, to keeping the employer in the loop about the expected return-to-work date so they can plan accordingly, an effective case manager can expedite resolution and minimize costs for the insurer.

In addition to improving communications, digitizing processes can help case managers get ahead of potential complications, further mitigating costs and risk. Predictive analytics allow claim managers to identify potential complicating factors about an individual’s condition up front. This enables case managers to take these risks into account from the beginning and create a more proactive approach to the injured party’s ongoing treatment plans.

New technology solutions that are purpose-built for today’s world can transform case management. By automating and digitizing outdated processes, empowering case managers to get the information they need, when they need it, streamlining claims management at every stage and enabling them to drive improved outcomes for all, technology will be instrumental in improving effectiveness.

Driving to Digital with the Conversation Cloud™

The Smart Communications Conversation Cloud™ allows workers’ compensation insurers to turn static forms and disjointed communications into dynamic, on-demand conversations across the entire claims lifecycle. At every stage, improving communications between all involved parties helps to minimize expenses, accelerate resolution and recovery and improve both business and life outcomes.

With pure cloud solutions that integrate with existing systems and infuse intelligence into every step, insurers can dramatically simplify processes to expedite decisions, facilitate faster resolution and make the experience better for everyone. The Conversation Cloud makes it easy to prepopulate forms for more personalized interactions and use automation to boost case manager productivity, while also keeping recovery on track. By harnessing the power of automation to improve communications, maintain compliance and enhance the claims experience and outcomes, insurers have a powerful opportunity for improving workers’ compensation outcomes.

A Time for Progress

The insurance industry has been weighed down by slow, paper-based, disjointed processes for too long. Now is the time for insurers to embrace innovation and take a new approach to workers’ compensation claims management and resolution. For workers’ compensation claims, interactive conversations are the key to creating a better experience, reducing stress and improving the end result for everyone involved.

SMART technology accelerates resolution and minimizes losses for the insured. It has the power to help expedite recovery and improve life outcomes for the injured worker. And the bottom-line benefits of streamlining processes, maintaining compliance and minimizing expenses for the insurer are unmistakable. Adopting a digital-first solution and replacing one-way interactions with dynamic, two-way conversations helps workers’ compensation insurers improve interactions at every step and deliver better results for everyone.

Find out what the Smart Communications Conversation Cloud can do for your business and contact us today.

Reimagining the Workers’ Compensation Process for Today’s Digital World

Posted on by SmartComm

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

By: Ruth Fisk, VP Insurance Strategy at Smart Communications

Most insurance professionals don’t just happen into the industry—they’re here because they want to give back, be part of something bigger and contribute to the greater good. But in an industry that’s been around for centuries, creating real change can be challenging.

When it comes to the workers’ compensation process, change has been especially difficult. Strict regulations, manual efforts and a “we’ve always done it this way” mentality are all barriers. But with the advances in cloud technology, insurers now have the necessary resources at their fingertips to create fundamental change.

With a purpose-built conversational platform, a digital-first workers’ compensation process puts the injured worker at the center of every stage of claims management and makes a positive impact on the people it serves.

The modern workers’ compensation service model is built around empowerment, person centricity and empathy—and it’s driven by long-overdue digital transformation.

Setting the New Standard in the Workers Compensation Process

Communications are at the heart of the claims management process, from the first report of injury (FROI) through settlement and closure. All involved parties have to communicate and collaborate to ensure a swift recovery and speedy return to work. This includes the injured worker, the employer representative, the insurer’s case manager and medical officer, not to mention physicians, physical therapists and other medical providers. And, key documentation must also be communicated to regulatory bodies.

By streamlining communications and making it easy and convenient for the entire ecosystem to exchange information, insurers can empower injured workers and help them achieve the best possible life outcomes. At the same time, increasing efficiency with intelligent automation and systems integration helps to minimize financial implications for both the employer and the insurer.

A cloud-based conversational platform keeps the lines of communication open, while transforming processes with automation, form pre-population and omnichannel access for consistency. The modern workers’ compensation process is all about reducing the hassle factor for everyone involved—bringing the ease and convenience we expect in other areas of our life into a stressful situation, to everyone’s benefit.

A More Complex World Demands Simpler Solutions

Our world is changing faster than ever, and complexity will continue to rise. As jobs evolve, so do hazards and exposures that increase the risk of injury. In fact, according to the International Labour Organization, 270 million accidents and 160 million work-related diseases are reported around the world annually, with more than two million lives lost from workplace accidents. In addition to the human cost, the financial cost of workplace accident, injury and death exceeds $1.25 trillion worldwide.

The good news is, that helping an injured employee return to the workplace even just one day earlier can reduce costs significantly while also – most importantly – improving life outcomes. This makes adopting a modern service model and digitally transforming the claims management process critical for insurers, who share the burden of these costs with employers. 

Change the Conversation in Workers’ Compensation

Smart Communications enables the top workers’ compensation insurers to embrace change and engage SMARTER across the entire claims management lifecycle. With the Conversation CloudTM insurers can turn today’s tedious workers’ compensation process into easy, effortless conversations – streamlining and simplifying the experience from start to finish.

Below are how the key capabilities of the Conversation Cloud empower a reimagined workers’ compensation process:

Collect

Accelerate the claims intake process with dynamic digital forms for initial injury reporting, witness statements and material evidence gathering, and add photos easily to enhance the investigation stage. Prepopulating forms with policy information saves time and effort and omnichannel access lets case managers guide stakeholders to the most appropriate channel while maintaining consistency.

Communicate

Automatically generate and share key documentation to maintain compliance with government regulatory bodies. Examples include an FROI acknowledgment letter, occupational safety review reports, accident summary, medical treatment plan, certificate of capacity and return-to-work authorizations. Making communications more dynamic throughout the claims management process helps to keep the injured worker’s recovery on track and optimize outcomes for everyone.

Collaborate

Successful claims resolution requires collaboration between a wide range of individuals. With the Conversation Cloud, insurers can easily connect the case manager to the injured worker, employer, medical officer, physicians and physical therapists, support groups and anyone else with a vested interest in getting the employee back to work quickly.

Coordinate

Easily orchestrate communications between involved parties with a cloud-based platform powering end-to-end claims management workflows. Create a single source of truth to mitigate version control issues, drive faster resolution and support a speedy recovery.

Integration

To further streamline and simplify case manager workloads, the Conversation Cloud integrates seamlessly with core back-end systems such as Guidewire ClaimCenter, Duck Creek Claims and Sapiens ClaimsPro. Automatic updates enable straight-through processing so insurers can easily determine the best next step at any stage.

Intelligence

Engage with all involved parties by infusing intelligence into every conversation. Take advantage of automation to pre-populate forms and ensure compliance. Turn static, one-way interactions into dynamic, two-way experiences. Personalize at scale and maintain the proper tone to help alleviate anxiety and stress.

Transform the Workers’ Compensation Claims Process

Being injured on the job can be stressful on many levels—physically, emotionally and financially. Piling a whole lot of paperwork on top of that certainly doesn’t help. Anything insurers can do to alleviate stress will also help to facilitate recovery, which is the ultimate goal.

With a modern conversational platform at the core of the workers’ compensation service model, insurers can get back to what they care about most: making a difference,  giving back and putting people, not process, at the center.

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To learn more about how Smart Communications supports modernizing the workers’ compensation process, check out The Future of Workers’ Compensation. 

The Future of Workers’ Compensation

Posted on by SmartComm

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

By: Ruth Fisk, VP Insurance Strategy at Smart Communications

A digital-first approach streamlines every stage of the claims lifecycle and leads to improved outcomes for all.

Introduction: Digitizing the Workers’ Compensation Claims Experience

When a worker is injured on the job, the employer’s first concern is their well-being. Additional considerations include ensuring the employee has a swift recovery, minimizing the personal fallout and mitigating future risks. Beyond that, employers also have to take into consideration the wider impact of workers’ compensation claims, to the business as a whole as well as to the ecosystem of involved parties that can be affected when an injured worker is unable to do their job. In addition to medical expenses and employee compensation, disruptions to productivity and continuity can strain resources within the company and impact the bottom line. The ripple effects can even reach the wider economy and society, making it all the more critical to focus on facilitating a rapid recovery. Employers have a vested interest in ensuring the employee regains their health and returns to work as soon as is feasible.

Workers’ compensation insurers are equally focused on supporting a timely and complete recovery for any claimant who is injured on the job. Resolving claims as quickly and efficiently as possible not only helps to minimize long-term impacts on the individual, it also helps the insurer minimize the financial impact. Reporting delays can increase costs as well as increasing anxiety and confusion for the claimant. In some cases, it can even lead to unnecessary litigation—an outcome all involved parties would prefer to avoid.

workers' compensation claims statistics

In today’s world, digitizing the workers’ compensation claims experience plays a crucial role in improving processes and outcomes for insurers, employers and injured workers. By automating manual, paper-based tasks, insurers can streamline every step of the claims management lifecycle and engage smarter with everyone from the injured employee to the rehabilitation specialist. But, this requires the right cloud-first solution.

To transform processes and deliver better outcomes, insurance organizations must adopt digital-first solutions and take a conversation-based approach. Moving to a dynamic, cloud-based customer communications platform makes every step of the workers’ compensation claims management process more efficient, from initial reporting through final payout and case closure. And with a single platform facilitating the multitude of forms and documents required in this highly-regulated space, case managers can keep both the recovery and resolution on track for faster results.

Let’s look at how the right solution can streamline and improve each stage of the workers’ compensation claims lifecycle, bringing outdated processes into the future.

workers' compensation claims lifecycle

Stage 1: Reporting the Injury

The first step of any workers’ compensation injury claim is reporting. During this critical stage, time is of the essence. It’s important for insurers to educate employees about their responsibility to report an injury as soon as possible. Faster reporting helps to accelerate the return-to-work process, reducing costs for both insurer and employer. In addition, injury reporting may be subject to government regulation, depending on the location. Failure to report an injury within a set timeframe may result in fines and other liabilities. A cloud-based solution can accelerate reporting by streamlining communications between the injured employee, the insurer and the employer.

Collect

A digital-first solution makes the claims intake process frictionless by collecting information using intelligent, adaptive forms, which are much more efficient than traditional paper-based processes. Integrating with core systems of record, insurers can pre-populate forms with company and policy information, making it easier for the employer to report the injury in a timely manner. The insurer can also use guided interactive forms to kick off the initial First Report of an Injury (FROI) assessment by guiding the employer through all of the initial claims data required related to the injury, ultimately providing a frictionless experience and expediting reporting.

Communicate

A modern solution should automatically generate any communications required by regulatory bodies, ensuring compliance. This includes exchanges between the injured worker, employer, case worker, medical provider and rehabilitation specialist, all of which are managed by the insurer. For example, an intelligent solution can create the FROI acknowledgment letter and provide the injured worker with a list of approved or preferred medical providers. It can facilitate more efficient occupational safety reviews.

Stage 2: Investigating the Claim

Next, claims are assigned to a case manager inside the insurance company. This person is responsible for gathering details from multiple involved parties, creating an accident summary, reviewing the material and photographic evidence and recommending preventative measures to reduce future loss. All of this needs to be done as efficiently and effectively as possible. An intelligent digital platform makes it easier for the case manager to carry out their responsibilities in a timely manner while also maintaining compliance.

RELATED READING | ‘Modernizing the Workers’ Compensation Claims Process’

Collect

Gathering additional material evidence from witnesses can be expedited by using adaptive forms that also allow for the easy inclusion of photographic evidence. Dynamic forms that are available on-demand allow for convenience and can even guide witnesses through the process.

Coordinate

If insurers don’t have an individual’s channel preference on record already, this is information they can collect early on. It’s important to ensure all future interactions are delivered on the user’s channel of choice, whether that’s email, mobile app, SMS or something else entirely. An omnichannel experience – where the individual can move from one channel to another without losing any historical context – is only possible with a cloud-native solution. Ultimately, an omnichannel experience helps to expedite the claims process and also provides a frictionless experience.

Collaborate

In a workers’ compensation claim, there are multiple stakeholders – both within and outside the insurance organization. As the case manager quarterbacks the end-to-end claims experience, working within a centralized, online environment makes it easier to get everyone to agree on what happened so the case can move forward. Plus, it mitigates version control issues and ensures all parties are working from the most recent documentation. Most importantly, however, digitized collaboration among all parties mitigates running into the regulatory or compliance issues that analog, manual processes can create.

Communicate

The case manager is also responsible for creating key documentation to be put into the case file and shared with involved parties. A smart solution streamlines and automates these critical processes, such as creating the accident summary after reviewing all the collected evidence. Case documentation is also subject to strict government body regulation, and automation can help to ensure compliance—unlike manual communications, which are tedious and error-prone.

Stage 3: Medical Management

In this stage of a claim, the medical provider is assessing the injury and establishing a treatment plan to facilitate the worker’s recovery. This includes things like evaluating if they need in-home help, rehabilitation and/or physical therapy. Depending on the details of the claim and the nature of the injury, medical management can involve any number of parties, making collaboration and communication vital.

Collaborate

Workers’ compensation insurers often have a medical officer who is responsible for liaising with physicians, rehabilitation specialists and other medical providers to determine the best possible treatment plan. The medical officer will review the injured employee’s medical records and may use evidence-based medicine to recommend procedures. For example, in the case of a slip-and-fall injury, they could review the insurer’s data for similar injuries to see where the insurer has had the most success expediting the return-to-work process.

The case worker, medical officer and providers must work together to establish a treatment plan and return-to-work date as soon as is feasible for the injured worker. Streamlining collaboration through a centralized, online hub helps to expedite this process to the benefit of the worker, the employer and the insurer.

Communicate

The medical officer and case manager also need to be able to easily and clearly share information with all involved parties. Injury details and medical records must be shared with the physician. Once established, the treatment plan needs to be shared with the injured worker so they can follow the prescribed treatment. A certificate of capacity may be issued, allowing the employee to return to work with certain restrictions.

Sharing the return-to-work date with the worker will help to alleviate emotional stress and anxiety due to loss of work and income. At the same time, knowing what they are working towards can be a motivating factor on the path to recovery. From the employer’s perspective, knowing the expected return-to-work timeline will help them allocate resources and plan accordingly.

Digitizing the workers’ compensation claims experience helps to streamline and expedite investigation processes and creates consistency across stakeholders, allowing for an interactive experience. A solution that enables omnichannel conversations gives the case manager the added advantage of being able to guide any involved individual to the most appropriate channel for a specific interaction, with seamless switching to maintain consistency.

Stage 4: Case Management

Once the treatment plan has been established, the insurer is focused on creating the best possible outcomes—for both the worker and the employer. The case manager and medical officer both need to be able to communicate, collaborate and coordinate efforts across all involved parties to facilitate these desired outcomes.

Collaborate

Determining the best way forward for the injured worker requires collaboration on many levels. The case manager and medical officer work with the claimant to help them create a self-determination plan, which is empowering and improves life outcomes in both the short- and long-term. They also need to work closely with physicians, rehabilitation specialists and other medical providers to ensure the employee’s recovery stays on track so they can return to work as expected.

If a specialist is needed to train the injured worker for a new job or for their return to work, the case manager will also need to create a rehabilitation plan. Connecting the injured worker with support groups can be beneficial in aiding a full recovery and alleviating emotional stress or anxiety. A centralized, cloud-based platform makes it easy for the case manager and medical officer to fulfill all of these responsibilities and keep track of multiple moving parts without letting anything slip between the cracks.

Communicate

It’s important to keep the lines of communication open throughout the claims lifecycle. The case manager needs to be in regular contact with the injured employee to ensure they are following prescribed treatment plans. And, the injured worker needs to be able to initiate conversations with the claims manager at their convenience, to ask questions and to make sure they’re getting the support they need.

A digitized, omnichannel solution allows for easy, seamless conversations on demand. Automating appointment reminders not only saves the case manager time for improved productivity, it also helps to keep recovery on track and on schedule  – contributing to better outcomes overall.

Coordinate

During the ongoing case management stage, insurers must orchestrate communications between various involved parties and update back-end core systems, such as the claims handling system, to determine the best next steps. A purpose-built platform simplifies complexity and can even automatically update backend systems for a seamless flow of information.

Stage 5: Settlement

The final stage of the workers’ compensation claims process entails finalizing any remaining payments, establishing a return-to-work release and managing any long-term benefits. All of this needs to be completed before the insurer can close out the case.

Collaborate

The case manager must make sure all injury-related expenses are paid for, including medical invoices, drug prescriptions and other treatment costs. If the injured worker needs long-term care, payouts must be made to cover future expenses. And in the event that the injury resulted in death, the insurer is responsible for managing survivor death benefits. Centralizing all of these required steps makes it easier to close the case out in a timely manner while satisfying all policy and regulatory requirements.

Communicate

At this final stage, the ultimate goal is to establish a return-to-work authorization that determines when and where the injured employee can go back to work and share it with both the employee and employer. Digitizing communications makes this process more efficient.

Coordinate

To effectively close out the case, the case manager must orchestrate any final communications between involved parties and update the core systems. With a single, centralized hub that integrates with existing systems, the insurer has on-demand access to a comprehensive repository of all claims-related information and communications. This makes it easier to ensure regulatory compliance and helps to facilitate a complete recovery and get the claimant back to work sooner.

The Conversation CloudTM: Designed to Drive Better Outcomes

When it comes to digitizing the workers’ compensation claims experience, the Conversation Cloud™ enables insurers to turn static forms and disparate communications into dynamic, on-demand conversations across the claims management lifecycle. By using a pure cloud solution that integrates seamlessly with existing systems, insurers can dramatically simplify processes, expedite decisions, facilitate faster resolution and create better outcomes for everyone.

With the Conversation Cloud, insurers can prepopulate forms to personalize interactions and boost case manager productivity while also keeping claimant recovery on track. Additional capabilities include:

  • Harness the power of smarter automation to improve communications, maintain compliance and enhance the claims experience.
  • Integrate with core claims management systems such as Guidewire ClaimCenter, Duck Creek Claims and Sapiens ClaimsPro, enabling elements of straight-through processing and improving the user experiences for case managers.
  • Infuse intelligence into every step, from sentiment detection to built-in compliance, for SMARTER engagement from start to finish.

smart communications for workers' compensation

Digitizing the Workers’ Compensation Claims Experience Starts Now

Workers’ compensation claims can have a widespread impact—on the individual employee, the employer’s business and even the wider economy. Adopting a digital-first approach and replacing one-way interactions with intelligent, two-way conversations helps workers’ compensation insurers increase case manager productivity, reduce costs and deliver a modern experience that everyone involved will appreciate.

Expediting resolution and infusing ease and efficiency into every step of the claims management process improves outcomes for all involved parties, while also:

  • Streamlining work and managing costs for the insurer.
  • Supporting faster recovery for the injured worker, resulting in less emotional and financial stress and better life outcomes.
  • Mitigating productivity and future losses for the employer.

It’s time to digitize the workers’ compensation claims experience with a modern solution and a conversation-based approach.

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To find out how the Smart Communications Conversation Cloud can help your business drive better workers’ compensation claims outcomes, contact us today. 

Or, check out some additional resources about digitizing the workers’ compensation claims experience:

Modernizing the Workers’ Compensation Claims Process

Posted on by SmartComm

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

By: Ruth Fisk, VP Insurance Strategy at Smart Communications

Our world is rapidly changing. Technology advances across industries and all kinds of interactions have elevated the expectations for convenience, immediacy and ease for businesses and individuals, alike.  Unfortunately, the typical workers’ compensation claims process is largely manual when it comes to claims communications. The good news? There is an opportunity for insurance companies to improve efficiencies and return-to-work results by adopting a more digital-first approach.

A Proven Approach Ready for a Refresh

Workers’ compensation was first introduced in the late 19th century during the second wave of the industrial revolution – a time of rapid changes in the technology and social landscapes. A flurry of innovations reshaped the world — the steam engine, the metal detector, seismograph, telephone and the first working automobile. These innovations and others simplified and sped up work, but they also posed a higher risk of accidents and injuries.

In 1871, wanting to win the loyalty of workers, Chancellor Bismarck of Germany issued the Employers’ Liability Law. It provided limited social protections to workers in certain factories, quarries, railroads and mines.  He later expanded on these initial protections by establishing the Workers’ Accident Insurance in 1884, creating the first system of workers’ compensation.

Workers’ compensation guidelines and policies continued to evolve as new technologies and innovations were introduced. Often, these developments were created to address new and evolving risks that workers faced. Fast forward to today: while the widespread adoption of new, digital-first consumer technologies continues, workers’ compensation schemes remain complex and highly manual. There is a clear opportunity to modernize the worker’s compensation claims process.

Improving Life Outcomes with SMARTER Conversations

Since innovations and workers’ compensation policies have long developed in tandem, the opportunity to reimagine the approach is appropriate at this time. For insurers, their clients and injured workers, modernizing workers’ compensation claims communications can improve outcomes across the board.

When an employee gets hurt on the job, it has large-scale impacts on the individual, company productivity and even the broader GDP. For everyone involved, it is an emotional and stressful process. By optimizing orchestration, personalization and timing of communications through a unified customer conversations management platform, everyone benefits.

The primary objective of workers’ compensation is to get people back to work and resume productivity as quickly as possible. The Smart Communications Conversation CloudTM provides a seamless approach from policy inquiry, reporting of First Notice of Injury and managing claims to coordinating care and billing communications. By digitizing the effort, insurers can improve the process for everyone. And most importantly, better, more regular communications have been shown to improve life outcomes for the injured worker.

The Conversation Cloud provides a seamless experience for all. It is fully compatible and can be integrated with common core systems such as Guidewire ClaimCenter, Duck Creek Claims and Sapiens ClaimsPro. It is easy and fast to deploy and can quickly and positively impact the process. Instead of manual, siloed communications, Smart Communications unifies them under one solution.

Creating a Workers’ Compensation Claims Process for the Future

From emails and chatbots, to social media platforms and more—there are endless ways to interact with individuals today. Instead of the traditional one-way communications of the past, now case managers have the opportunity to start conversations with injured workers, company representatives and even care providers. By deepening the level of personalization and improving the immediacy of communications, insurers have a powerful opportunity to meet today’s expectations and advance workers’ compensation approaches for everyone.

When communications are conversational, personalized and SMART, everyone is more willing to engage. Think of it as the latest improvement to what has been a revolutionary approach from its earliest days. By transforming the approach to the workers’ compensation claims process, insurance companies have the opportunity to literally change lives.

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Interested in learning more about how modernizing the workers’ compensation claims process will impact the case manager? Download “The Case Manager of Tomorrow” to learn how a cloud-first approach enables case managers to work SMARTER. 

Download the white paper now! 

New Research Reveals Which Digital Customer Experience Trends to Watch

Posted on by SmartComm

Image: Hands typing on a laptop with a screen that shows a chatbot asking 'how can we help?'

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

By: Leigh Segall, Chief Strategy Officer at Smart Communications

As customer expectations change faster than ever, it may feel difficult to pin down which key digital customer experience trends should be priorities for businesses. Even in this continuously shifting environment, it’s possible to identify the major forces shaping the customer experience (CX) and establish plans and processes to meet these ever-increasing expectations.  

To better understand customers’ changing preferences, Smart Communications recently surveyed business leaders and consumers from around the globe. As we dug into their thinking about communications practices in the financial services, insurance and healthcare industries, interesting patterns began to emerge. In this post, we highlight a few of the key findings, plus how Smart Communications can help enterprises tackle these digital customer experience trends head-on. 

Trend #1: Businesses Will Try to Close the Communications Satisfaction Gap 

Communications are at the heart of a great digital customer experience. So much so that how enterprises communicate with their customers can determine their level of satisfaction with a business overall. Aside from offering effective products and services, there are few areas of business more essential than customer satisfaction.  

The challenge is that across the financial services, insurance and healthcare industries, there’s a disconnect between how well businesses think they communicate versus how customers feel about it. That gap — up to a 20-percentage points difference — represents a big opportunity to rethink customer engagement.  

By ensuring communications are timely, personalized and digital-first, businesses can ensure the end-to-end customer experience builds trust and loyalty.  

How Smart Communications Can Help 

By investing in a technology platform that empowers interactive, two-way conversations, businesses can ensure an exceptional experience across channels and devices. Businesses who operate across geographies and multiple brands can benefit from the Conversation Cloud™: the only scalable, pure cloud customer communications management platform. It’s specifically designed to take away the pain of template management while enhancing the ability to collect information, all while making it easy for customers to initiate conversations, regardless of channel.  

Trend #2: Businesses Will Take Customer Channel Preferences More Seriously to Avoid Negative Impacts to the Digital Customer Experience 

Today, customers are increasingly willing to speak up and share exactly how they want businesses to interact with them. And for enterprises, it’s more important than ever to ensure customers’ preferences are taken into account.  

According to our research, 61% of consumers said that information being provided through an inappropriate channel was a major source of frustration. And yet unfortunately, our research suggests that on average, only around half of communications are distributed to customers based on the channel they prefer.  

A key digital customer experience trend moving forward will be revamping communications efforts to ensure greater alignment with customer wants and needs. Enterprises must adopt interactive, omnichannel conversations to succeed.  

How Smart Communications Can Help 

It’s one thing to know how customers want to be communicated with – and quite another to deliver on that – especially as the complexity of communications grows just as new channels continue to proliferate. It’s important to partner with a technology provider with the right solutions and real-world expertise to deliver on the “right channel, right place, right time” promise. Our experience working with the world’s most sophisticated businesses across financial services, insurance and healthcare gives us the necessary resources to provide amazing digital customer experiences via orchestrated, omnichannel interactions at scale.  

Trend #3: Businesses Will Continue Migrating to the Cloud 

Customer expectations around digital are greater than ever. And while interactions across healthcare, insurance and financial services are very different from impulse buying on Amazon, consumers are comparing every interaction to their last best digital experience. 

That’s why it’s more important than ever to have the infrastructure in place, allowing enterprises to compete with companies that deliver incredible digital experiences day-in and day-out. Unfortunately, legacy systems simply aren’t built this way and struggle to keep up with the pace of change.  

While not a new trend, leading firms will continue their migration to the cloud. Our research shows that on average, 57% of business’ core systems will be cloud-based within the next 12 months.  

How Smart Communications Can Help 

We get it – the idea of moving systems that serve as the foundation of your business can be scary but  it doesn’t have to be. The benefit of partnering with Smart Communications is that you can quickly go “pure cloud” for your customer conversations – or ease into it over time by starting with our powerful integrations that connect with your legacy systems. The world is moving to cloud – there’s no doubt about that. But, you can control how it happens in your business with tools like Migration Studio. The important thing is to remain focused on the customer – and Smart Communications is the leader in enabling incredible end-to-end customer experiences.  

What’s Next?  

When change is the only constant, it’s nearly impossible to predict what might come next. But, investing in the customer will always pay dividends. We hope that knowing these digital customer experience trends will help your business achieve greater success today and in the days and months that follow. To learn more about each trend, and how you can prepare for it, download the full report, The State of Customer Conversations. 

How to Streamline Health Insurance Policy Renewals

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By: John Zimmerer, VP Healthcare Marketing at Smart Communications

Health payers are always looking for ways to streamline health insurance policy renewals. That’s because the process of renewing a health insurance policy varies widely by line of business. Everything from the set of communications and documents required to how a plan is offered differs from Medicaid to Medicare to ACA-compliant to group plans.

In this post, we look at ways health payers can streamline health insurance policy renewals, saving substantial time and money in the process.

Complying with Rules and Regulations

Some elements of the renewal process are dictated by federal and state governments. For example, in the U.S., Congress, CMS and HHS have a lot of influence on Medicare and ACA-compliant individual plans and supporting materials. And each state puts its own seal, so to speak, on Medicaid offerings. Payers can expend a lot of effort and spend a lot of money each year updating thousands of Medicare and Medicaid templates due to regulatory changes.

Regardless of market or plan type, health insurers need solutions for building and maintaining policy documents and plan communications that:

  • Enable business users to create and update templates without relying on IT
  • Leverage reusable content across plan types wherever possible to minimize overhead
  • Use conditional logic and variables to drive the inclusion of words, paragraphs or sections
  • Separate brand and style elements from content to make managing multiple brands easier
  • Include review, commenting and approval capabilities to accelerate workflows
  • Can evaluate content and recommend changes based on readability, tone and more
  • Include regression testing to ensure all possible iterations are generated
  • Provide delivery channel (digital and print) flexibility in the design process
  • Can orchestrate delivery across channels, including providing fail-over capabilities
  • Can be deployed entirely in the cloud or in a hybrid model

Speed and agility are essential to health insurers. Getting new plans through regulatory reviews and out to market quickly means processing more renewals, keeping more customers, maintaining underwriting margins and meeting mandated enrollment deadlines. This is especially important for Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans which have seen enrollments surge in recent years.

In order to operationalize this speed and agility, it’s imperative for insurers to understand their content and where it lives. A visual relationship map of their content can help to accomplish this as well as manage risk. The relationship map helps template administrators understand the shared content objects that make up their templates. When a shared object needs to be updated (e.g., a logo, a signature, a disclaimer, a snippet of text), the changes are automatically applied to all templates that use that object. Using a visual relationship map, template administrators will know in advance which templates will need to be reviewed and approved.

Payers also want to minimize the risks inherent in the renewal process. Missed delivery dates can result in fines and penalties. Errors that creep into the documents can increase print and postage expenses. And enough bad experiences for members can and do translate into lower STAR ratings.

Solutions Trusted by Leading Health Insurers

Our solutions, professional services and partners have already helped dozens of health insurers simplify the task of creating and maintaining the full array of policy renewal assets, including:

  • Annual Notice of Change (ANOC)
  • Evidence of Coverage (EOC)
  • Pre-Enrollment Checklist (PECL)
  • Notices (e.g., Notice of Privacy Practices, Disenrollment Notices, Non-Renewal Notices)
  • Provider and Pharmacy Directories
  • Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SB and SBC)
  • Summary Plan Description (SPD)

These materials are often based on model documents for each plan type. Insurers need a solution that can import model documents in Microsoft Word or PDF to use as a starting point.

Insurers often need to support multiple brands. Modern customer communications management (CCM) solutions employ a layered model that separates content from styling and branding and maximizes the use of reusable objects. This allows the same content to be created once then used across multiple plan documents. This also simplifies translation efforts and minimizes the effort to comply with accessibility standards.

Plan documents frequently need to go through multiple levels of internal and external reviews. Modern CCM solutions incorporate workflow functionality that can bring internal and external stakeholders together to review, comment on and quickly revise plan documents to get them to market quickly.

Streamline Health Insurance Policy Renewals

Smart Communications has helped to streamline health insurance policy renewals for leading insurers that rely on its ISO-certified and HIPAA-compliant Conversation Cloud™ platform. We have helped to increase their efficiency as much as 80% and lower the cost to produce renewal-related materials by 50% on average.

Contact us to request a demo to see how we can simplify health insurance policy renewals for you.

Investing in Empathy: 4 Ways Financial Services Firms Are Improving Customer Experience

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By: Marc DeCastro, Research Director, Consumer Banking, IDC, Guest Blogger

If you ask most financial services executives if being empathetic is part of their collective DNA, most will surely tell you that is the case. And no doubt they are sincere. However, asking an executive if they run an empathetic organization is akin to asking someone if they are a nice person. Most people feel they are nice but may not fully understand what it really means to be nice.

The same is true with empathy in financial services. Delivering an empathetic financial experience involves keeping the customer at the center while engaging the customer using both available data and technology on their channel of choice. Data is really the key here when trying to deliver empathy in financial services, as data provides the insight required before, during, and even after the engagement has happened.

As consumers shift to digital-first interactions, and in some cases digital-only engagement, with their financial institutions, this empathetic experience must be able to be delivered seamlessly across both digital and physical channels. If your customers find that they have a better experience when dealing with a bank employee on a particular issue or question, they will likely continue to use that channel while avoiding digital options. This is probably not what most institutions want; they want to be able to deliver the best experience possible on the channel of preference and deliver this at scale.

An example of this might be a customer who asks a question about a new product or feature using SMS text messaging. Engaging with that customer across SMS might make sense up to a certain point. However, the customer may eventually need to be directed to a website, mobile app, or bank employee if the conversation becomes too complex.

Delivering this empathetic experience boils down to two main themes. First, provide predictable communications that are personalized and are contextually aware of current and previous engagements. Communication is at the foundation of every interaction and engagement during all steps of the customer’s financial journey. Allow customers the flexibility of choosing their channel, then provide a continual flow of conversations without the need for customers to repeat information. These communications need to be capable of producing results in real time, both during customer acquisition and account servicing.

The second theme is about loyalty and building lifetime value. Achieving this requires the financial institution to focus less on pushing a transaction through from point A to point B and focus more on providing more personalized experiences and advice using contextual guidance provided by the customer and obtained through existing data points. Loyalty is something that is built over time as the institution shows not only that they care about the financial needs of their customer, but that they are able to guide them to either a different service or a resolution to an issue that makes sense and provides real-time actionable advice, like “Click here to accept” or “Select a time for one of our employees to reach out to you.”

Where to Invest in Customer Experience

Improving customer experience is a top priority for financial services executives. In fact, IDC surveyed 116 financial service executives in Feb 2021 and the top three priorities were revenue growth, improving customer experience and satisfaction, and improving operational efficiencies. There are four areas of focus that should drive investment in technology solutions to help improve customer experience. They are:

  1. Customer Intelligence. Investments here need to be able to capture as many points of data as possible, both data generated within the institution as well as third-party data sources. In order to build or provide solutions that can personalize experiences based on the context of the engagement, there must be a foundational layer of intelligence to draw from, otherwise personalization becomes difficult, if not impossible. With the right amount of customer intelligence, it leads itself nicely into the next strategic initiative, product innovation.
  2. Product Innovation. Innovation on traditional bank products and services can often be more about policy, and less about technology. Instant access to deposited checks as opposed to putting legal, but inconvenient holds for customers is simply a decision in policy based on risk of fraud. However, other innovation can leverage modern technology that provides some level of innovation. For example, a small but growing number of institutions have provided their deposit account customers with access to their direct deposit payroll a few days prior to the funds being deposited into the account. Seeing repetitive deposits of a certain amount and cadence can provide a level of comfort that the funds will be there on a specific day, thus minimizing the risk to the institution. The innovation here is in the analytics that identifies the customers that would benefit from such a product and determines when and where this makes sense.
  3. Orchestrating Customer Intelligence and Product Innovation. Now that customer intelligence and data collection have been prioritized and innovation solutions are being developed, it will be important to combine the two into tangible customer improvements. Solutions like virtual agents, next-generation chatbots, and true omnichannel engagement can result from successful implementations of new products built on top of modern architecture. Having an agile environment in place will continue to foster innovation and improve overall efficiencies.
  4. Growing Role of AI. AI solutions in financial services have begun to evolve way beyond robotic process automation and have reached the level of providing true value back to the customer and the financial institution’s employees. AI can be used to monitor text, voice, sentiment, and emotion in a way that can deliver that empathetic experience many individuals are looking for from their institution. AI solutions will not only engage with the customer directly but can identify and reimagine legacy workflows and create improved processes.

Providing a truly hyper-personalized and empathetic banking experience will require that we truly put the customer in the center of everything and view products and services not through the lens of the financial institution, but rather through the lens of the customer. To build trust, we need to think less about providing financial transactions and more about helping customers achieve their financial goals. We also need to provide employees with the same level of modernized solutions and interfaces that we provide to customers, which will create that common and fulfilling experiences.

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Interested in learning more about empathy in financial services? Download this insightful, custom POV to understand how to adjust your technology strategy to meet the changing digital-first expectations of your customers. Or, check out this infographic that explores 4 Keys to Delivering Empathy in Financial Services. 

These Women Are Driving Innovation at Smart Communications

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By: Jo Sweet, Chief Human Resources Officer at Smart Communications

As Group HR Director for Smart Communications, I have the privilege of encouraging a diverse group of people to be the best they can be. Supporting our global team and cultivating a culture that provides the best service to our customers is immensely rewarding. I believe that when people work together toward a common goal—like strategically solving complex business challenges for a number of industries—it promotes both career and personal growth.

When this growth is encouraged throughout the business, it can spark enthusiasm and drive long-term innovation from every employee whether individually or collectively with their teams.

At Smart Communications, we believe that building and nurturing a rewarding employee experience positively impacts our business and, most importantly, our customers’ experiences. We especially strive to create an inclusive workplace, so on this International Women’s Day, we are spotlighting some of the women in our business who drive innovation day-in and day-out:

Sally Schulte, Product Marketing Director, Atlanta, Ga.
What does your role at Smart Communications entail?

As the Product Marketing Director, it is my responsibility to educate existing and prospective customers as well as industry analysts about our most recent software enhancements and product roadmap This means collaborating internally with nearly every part of our organization – from web design, content development and demand generation to pre-sales, solution architects, customer support and product development.

What’s your favorite thing about working at Smart Communications?

The people. I’ve been very fortunate to work for some wonderful companies, some with enormous workforces. The professionalism and skillset of the people here continue to impress me, especially for a mid-sized company. Smart Communications has assembled a team comprised of true experts in their respective roles, which helps us all rise to the occasion and perform at a higher level.

What’s been something you’ve learned as a woman in tech that you want to share?

If you’re changing industries and coming to tech or just starting out, take the time to dive deep into the software and technology to better understand how it works at a user level rather than only focusing on the high-level benefits. This will help you tremendously as you engage with a diverse set of stakeholders.

 

Debbie Andrews, VP Sales North America, Jupiter, Fla.

What does your role at Smart Communications entail?

I am a leader within the North American sales organization, primarily focusing on our SmartIQ solution and healthcare industry vertical.

What are you up to when you’re not at your desk?

Spending time with my family. I have four children, all in the entertainment world and I am their “momager” of sorts.  I read their scripts, books and treatments (lots of zombies and vampires). My favorite thing to do is to listen to their stories–their world is so different than when I was in my 20s. My husband and I like to travel and cook. This works well as we visit our children in Los Angeles and Virginia.

What’s your favorite thing about working at Smart Communications?

The culture. The people are so positive and engaging. Everyone is rowing in the same direction and working to make a difference.

What’s been something you’ve learned as a woman in tech that you want to share?

Be yourself.  Women have unique viewpoints because of the way we process information, and it lends itself to our ability to have new approaches to business challenges.

 

Mina Smolej, Head of Demand Generation, DACH, Munich, Germany
What does your role at Smart Communications entail?

Generating interest in our product throughout the DACH region using programs such as advertising, events, account-based marketing and more.

What skills have helped you grow in this role?

For demand and lead generation, it’s key to be analytical. I’m not afraid of numbers – I use them to make informed decisions every day!

I’m results-driven. I track campaign performance daily to keep a pulse on what’s working and where we can improve.

I also think I am pragmatic and recognize that striving for perfection can sometimes hinder innovation and execution. Sometimes you need to pilot a campaign and then optimize based on performance.

What are you up to when you’re not at your desk?

I like hiking. I try to be in the mountains two times per month. I also like cooking. I try a new recipe every week. A recent favorite was a dish with fusilli pasta, spinach, walnuts, chickpeas and eggplant.  And, I like reading. I love that moment when you get a perfect book and after the first chapter, you’re hooked.

What’s been something you’ve learned as a woman in tech that you want to share?

Believe in yourself, work to grow your skills and everything else will happen. If a company doesn’t recognize your contributions, it is probably not the right company for you.

 

Saliha Karaman, Senior Customer Success Manager, Sydney, Australia
What does your role at Smart Communications entail?

I am responsible for developing strong customer relationships and ensuring our customers are achieving success using Smart Communications solutions and services.

What are you up to when you’re not at your desk?

When not at my desk, my pandemic-compatible hobbies have included becoming best buddies with Netflix, stimulating the mind with a great book and working on perfecting the perfect dumpling recipe.

What’s been something you’ve learned as a woman in tech that you want to share?

Something I’ve learned as a woman in tech is that being a woman is not a barrier to success. With the right support and leadership, women are empowered to achieve their dreams. I feel lucky to be part of a culture where fantastic female professionals are recognized and celebrated.

 

Courtney Richmond, Senior Legal Counsel, CIPP/E, London, England
What does your role at Smart Communications entail?

My role is diverse and interesting as on any given day, I’m working proactively on the creation and negotiation of a broad range of commercial agreements and/or serving as a primary advisor on global data protection and privacy across the business. I also collaborate cross-functionally with sales, customer support, product, engineering, finance and other departments to provide both strategic and legal direction on the development of new business opportunities.

What are you up to when you’re not at your desk?

I love being active and outdoors whether it be running, walking, cycling or swimming.

What’s your favorite thing about working at Smart Communications?

I love working with the Smart Communications team. No day is ever the same and I love the problem-solving element each day brings.

What’s been something you’ve learned as a woman in tech that you want to share?

I think it’s so important that you play to your strengths as a woman. Women bring diversity and a valuable perspective to the table.

Like what you’ve read about working at Smart Communications?

If you’re in the market for a new position and want to work alongside these impressive women and more innovators in the tech industry, have a look at our open roles.

Omnichannel vs. Multichannel Experiences: Who is at the Center of Your Universe?

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By: Chris Murphy, VP Product Marketing at Smart Communications

In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus published a crazy theory he had been working on for over 30 years. He proposed that the Sun was the center of the universe. Why was this considered crazy? Because the prevailing wisdom of the day was that it was the Earth, not the Sun, that everything revolved around. And while that difference may not seem massive to us today, at the time, the “Copernican Revolution” propelled scientific thinking forward, influencing thinkers from Galileo to Isaac Newton.

At this point, it’s fair to ask – what does this have to do with omnichannel vs. multichannel customer experiences? As the title of this post suggests, it’s really all about deciding at a strategic level: who is at the center of your universe? You, or your customer?

This post will examine the key differences between omnichannel and multichannel customer conversations, revealing the best strategy for leading enterprises going forward. And if you find this discussion interesting, you’ll want to review our ebook, The Omnichannel Advantage, which provides even more insights.

Because every customer interaction is an opportunity to shape their overall experience, there is more pressure on enterprises than ever to orchestrate interactive, two-way conversations. As we review omnichannel vs. multichannel experiences below, you will uncover the benefits of omnichannel conversations and why this approach delivers more engaging, personalized customer interactions.

Multichannel Approach: Your Business at the Center 

Just as with thinking that everything revolved around the Earth, a multichannel customer communications strategy starts with a somewhat business-first (opposed to customer-first) approach. In most instances, a business has something it wants or needs to communicate out to customers, whether that’s marketing messages, transactional notifications or responses to individual customer queries. 

It’s pretty simple and straightforward. Messages are distributed out by the company, and customers separately reach out with questions. Unfortunately, both are one-way streets and the customer is caught watching from the sidelines. This approach also assumes that customers fall neatly into a single channel – whether that’s “email customers” or “print customers.” Unfortunately, that’s not the reality we live in. Today’s customer moves between channels throughout their journey with a company and expects interactions to carry over seamlessly from one channel to the next.

In a multichannel approach, there are disadvantages that affect some of the most important aspects of the customer experience. When the business is at the center, communications often are missing personalization, mostly because the business may lack the data and technology infrastructure needed to execute on individualized interactions.

Ultimately – and perhaps most importantly – a multichannel communications strategy severely limits how and where a customer can interact with a business. This approach makes it very difficult for customers to initiate conversations from their preferred channels because the business is at the center. 

Omnichannel Approach: The Customer is the Center 

An omnichannel customer communications strategy represents a paradigm shift as big as the one Copernicus set forth. While every business claims the customer is the center of all they do, the ones who organize their entire communications processes and infrastructure around the customer prove that they mean it.

With an omnichannel approach, every touchpoint leads to a carefully curated experience. Every interaction has the potential to be a two-way conversation, and each touchpoint builds off the previous one. Omnichannel conversations provide the right information at the right time in ways that are easy to understand and act upon.

And while there are still many channels in an omnichannel approach, they’re all connected, scalable and centrally managed – and customers can move effortlessly from one channel to another. In a word, communications are orchestrated across all these channels.

In a multichannel approach, the goal is often to simply add more channels. In reality, however, it’s much more important to deliver a quality and connected experience across channels. So, it’s about how well the channels work together, not necessarily how many there are. With a powerful customer conversations platform, enterprises ensure consistent, compliant communications across brands and geographies on whichever channel the customer prefers.

And when it comes to personalization, omnichannel communications outshine multichannel here yet again. Because the customer is in the center, everything is designed around them. With the right technology partner, it’s easy to collect information from the customer in an engaging way that can then be used to shape the rest of their communications experience. When they express a channel preference for specific communication types, it’s easy to put that into practice. If it changes, it’s easy to update. Omnichannel conversations offer the possibility for truly personalized interactions that are contextually based on every other step they’ve taken – across channels and devices.

It’s important to keep in mind that as a customer moves from channel to channel, context is key. Understanding the context of specific interactions is important and further emphasizes the importance of personalization. Getting context right lends itself to ensuring a company is choosing the right content – the right tone, the right language, the right sentiment – to deliver an amazing customer experience. 

An omnichannel approach also helps strike the balance between managing customer support across time zones and allowing for self-service options. As chatbots and other interactive technologies become more sophisticated, a strong technology foundation will be more important than ever to ensure customer needs and expectations are met.

Dive Deeper 

It’s clear that omnichannel conversations are the path forward for leading companies, but getting it right requires the proper technology. For a more in-depth look at omnichannel vs. multichannel experiences, strategies and information on how Smart Communications can help, we invite you to download our ebook, The Omnichannel Advantage.

For Life Insurers, A Scalable Approach to New Business

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By: Ruth Fisk, VP Insurance Marketing at Smart Communications

The life insurance industry as a whole has been slow to adopt new technologies, but recently has had to place more of a focus – and investment – on digital-first customer experiences. The global pandemic forced many life insurers to condense multiyear digital transformation strategies into a short timeframe. The industry is now at an inflection point where they should refine and tweak the processes that were implemented quickly to ensure they are secure and built to scale, as well as identify new ways to innovate for the future.

Today, many customers not only expect a more fluid experience, but also the ability to purchase multiple products at once, including life insurance, long-term care coverage and/or disability coverage, for example.  With innovative products emerging to reflect shifting customer behaviors, there is no better time for life insurers to rethink processes surrounding new business.

The siloed technology stacks of the past lead to internal inefficiencies, compliance risks and an inconsistent, disjointed customer experience. However, every interaction an insurer has with a customer is an opportunity to shape the overall experience – and the multiple touchpoints throughout acquisition, onboarding and policy issuance must be automated and optimized.

In the infographic below, we provide life insurers with one view of all of the unique interactions that span across the entire new business process. We also highlight how a modern customer communications platform like the Smart Communications Conversation CloudTM enables life insurers to seamlessly work throughout the new business process.