Leading private health insurance provider
Here’s how Emphasis helped a leading private health insurance provider to write jargon-free, customer-centred letters.
The problem
“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 effectively with our customers.”
Emphasis solution
Emphasis developed a course that showed the team how to deal with complaints effectively, 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. The delegates have now become skilled in using the active rather than the passive voice and can punctuate effectively to make their letters more readable.
How Emphasis did it
The course focused on:
- identifying the full facts behind the complainants’ letters
- using a straightforward structure: the SCRAP formula
- 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 ‘bite back’.
Six weeks after the one-day course, a series of one-to-one coaching sessions made it apparent just how much progress individuals had made in their writing structure and style. Each delegate worked through a second writing sample analysis with the trainer. And the whole team was very enthusiastic about the methods they had learnt.
What the attendees said
“I have changed the way I write. Before, my letters were long and quite loosely structured but now they’re much shorter and to the point because I know how to take out the meaningless words,” says Customer Relations Manager, Julie Cross. “But I also know how to soften the blow for the customers.”
“The SCRAP formula really helped me, as it was a simple way to clearly structure my letters,” adds fellow Customer Relations Manager, Lynsey Gregory. “Removing the meaningless words was also a vital lesson for me. I now don’t have to write two-page letters.”
The lasting effects
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 has already been implementing these techniques through its letters – thanks to Emphasis. Seven months later, the team is still writing in plain English and consistently applies the principles learnt on the course.
“We are far more confident in our letter-writing skills,” explains Kerri. “We understand now that effective letters are not just about accurate grammar and punctuation but about personality and tone of voice. This has helped to transform our written communication. Emphasis enabled us to take a big leap in improving our complaint resolution skills.”