Insurance company overhauls complaint resolution
Emphasis helped one of the UK’s biggest health insurance providers to write jargon-free, customer-centred letters. The company was facing particular challenges when it came to resolving complaints.
‘Denying someone cover or telling someone they need to pay for something that affects their health is hard,’ explains Customer Relations Team Manager, Kerri Bonning. ‘We needed to make sure that we were communicating as effectively as possible with our customers.’
Increasing staff confidence
Emphasis developed a course that showed the team how to deal with complaints effectively and in an appropriate style. It helped them reduce the length of their letters, spot jargon, use plain English and ultimately feel confident about resolving the complaint. Delegates became skilled in using the active rather than the passive voice and learned to punctuate correctly, making letters easy to read.
A structured approach
The course focused on:
• identifying the full factors behind complainants’ letters
• using a straightforward structure ensuring responses were appropriately detailed
• analysing the language, intentions and assumptions delegates used in their standard responses
• enabling the writer to reply in an easily accessible style
• reducing the incidence of customers sending a follow-up letter.
Six weeks after the course, one-to-one coaching made it clear how much progress individuals had made in their writing style. Each delegate worked through a second writing sample with the trainer and the whole team was amazed by the methods they had learned.
What the attendees said
‘I have changed the way I write,’ says Customer Relations Manager, Julie Cross. ‘Before, my letters were long and quite loosely structured, but now they’re much shorter and to the point. I also know how to soften the blow for customers.’
‘The SCRAP [Situation, Complication, Resolution, Action, Politeness] formula really helped me, as it was a simple way to structure my letters clearly,’ adds fellow Customer Relations Manager, Lynsey Gregory. ‘Removing meaningless words was also a vital lesson for me.’
The personal touch
The company has now brought in a firm-wide initiative that focuses on responding to the needs of individuals. But the Customer Relations Team is one step ahead. It is already doing this – thanks to Emphasis. Seven months later, the team is still writing in plain English and applying the principles learnt on the course.
‘We are far more confident in our letter writing skills,’ says Kerri. ‘We understand that effective letters are not just about accurate grammar but about personality and tone of voice. Emphasis enabled us to take a big leap in improving our complaint resolution skills.’