Balancing technology and regulations to improve customer service

Wisconsin Physician Services Insurance Corporation (WPS), a Healthcare Payer managed by the Wisconsin state government, handles Medicare, military and veteran care, individual and group plans and life insurance, as well as other healthcare programs. HCLTech has been working with WPS for more than five years across multiple business units. Because of government regulations, particularly those concerning patients’ sensitive personal information, WPS requires a secure system that can be configured to detailed specifications. At the same time, this system must be flexible to adopt new features as new technology, such as AI, is tested and approved for use on the government cloud.

The Challenge: WPS’ current system is inefficient, with limited capabilities that rely primarily on manual processes. This is especially challenging for workflows or cases that require information from multiple areas, as staff must pull records from separate databases when analyzing claims. This delay can frustrate customers and clutter work queues. Additionally, the existing system is rigid and can’t be modified to meet industry changes, creating scaling challenges. As workforce size and case complexity grow, WPS’ system won’t be able to adapt.

The Objective: HCLTech conducted a six-week assessment of WPS’ system in late 2023 to determine the best plan forward. The outcome: WPS would benefit from migrating its operations to a sophisticated system better suited to address its needs and enhance customer service, while adhering to strict Wisconsin government guidelines.

The Solution: HCLTech began migrating WPS’ current operations to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service in March 2024. Once completed, this new system will enhance the customer experience by increasing self-service functionalities. This will give customers more control over how and when they interact with WPS and reduce the average response time without increasing the workforce. By leveraging this new platform, WPS will gain complete visibility into customer issues through one centralized data source, facilitating comprehensive issue resolution. With this more efficient, cloud-based system, WPS will pay lower internal server maintenance fees and operating expenses.

The Impact: The key results achieved were:

• Ease of use: The new system will be more agile and better suited for adapting to changing government regulations, new technologies and best practices. It also provides members with more self-service capabilities through integrations.
• Enhanced experiences: The system will track average response times, number of customer interactions and service agent workloads to ensure an optimal customer experience.
• Improved operations: Customer service representatives will monitor self-service and automated customer interactions so they’re better able to address customers’ needs when direct interactions are necessary.
• Streamlined efficiency: WPS will be able to provide members with more self-service capabilities through integrations.

Using data analytics and real-time insights in the cloud to boost productivity and compliance

Singapore Public Utility Board (PUB) is a public sector utility agency run by the Singaporean government. The agency needed a more comprehensive platform to effectively manage operations. However, due to rules regulating the government cloud, Singapore PUB needed a secure and configurable system that would address its specific needs. Through HCLTech’s partnership, Singapore PUB chose Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service. The system is projected to go live in October 2024 and use Dynamics 365 Field Service Enforcement, Power Platform and PaaS on Azure — the first use of these products within the Singaporean government.

The Challenge: Singapore PUB was relying on disconnected systems to manage many of its functions, creating lags and inefficiencies when managing projects. For example, the current system tracks and manages enforcement data and records of offenses, but it’s lacking in other areas, such as compliance monitoring. Therefore, the new system will enhance some capabilities, while fully replacing others. The system will also need to be accessed by and fully integrated with other enterprise systems to create a streamlined data trail for upstream activities, such as surveillance and inspection. Additionally, the system must follow specific government regulations around certain technologies, such as AI.

The Objective: The primary objective is to replace the current PUB Enforcement Management System and Field Work Management System with a new and more comprehensive solution. The new system will focus on data analytics and real-time insights to enhance Singapore PUB’s ability to serve the public quickly and effectively.

The Solution: Singapore PUB’s new data-driven platform — the Surveillance, Inspection and Enforcement System (SIES) — will be integrated into the government cloud using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Dynamics 365 Field Service, Power Platform and PaaS on Azure. HCLTech’s Field Service Practice team will build the SIES, and multiple agency departments will use the system to manage and execute relevant functions. This centralized platform will enhance upstream activities and create a unified management system to effectively track multistage projects from beginning to end.

The Impact: The key results achieved were:

• Actionable insights: The system’s comprehensive data collection and analysis aims to enhance decision-making throughout the agency.
• Value-added benefits: By automating processes, Singapore PUB can increase efficiency and sustainability.
• Improved operations: By leveraging the system’s tools, Singapore PUB aims to enhance workforce performance and increase productivity by 50% without having to add additional staff.
• Increased compliance: Singapore PUB currently falls below 90% for compliance targets. The new system aims to increase its rate of compliance to 98%.

Tapping into automation and AI to empower customer self-service

HP, a global leader in computers, accessories and peripherals, needed to improve its customer service beyond the capabilities of its older version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. This system predated social media’s role as a critical part of customer service and pushed every customer contact through the same, one-size-fits-all workflow. This system also struggled with subscription management, a growing aspect of HP’s service department. HCLTech worked with HP to develop a new system, called the Flexible Agent Workspace, to better serve customers and customer service agents alike. The project went live in October 2023.

The Challenge: HP’s customer interactions cover diverse tasks, including supply ordering, subscription management and troubleshooting. The previous customer engagement strategy funneled all requests, including calls, texts, emails and social media posts, through a singular workflow. Customer agents would then cull through these requests without the aid of a detailed system that could sort claims or assist agents before customer contact. This process contributed to slow response times while requests bounced among departments before finding an appropriate agent. The system also lacked automated responses, tying up agents’ time with simple requests that could be answered by phone trees, chatbots or automated emails.

The Objective: HP’s new system will leverage automation and AI to expand customer interactions, empowering customers to manage their accounts and solve issues without a service representative. When agent intervention becomes necessary, this omnichannel system will send the issue to the appropriate expert and inform them in real time of all necessary information and subscriptions before customer interaction begins.

The Solution: The Flexible Agent Workspace (FAW) is built on the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics 365 and leverages Power Platform, including Power Automate, Power Apps and Power Virtual Agents, to begin automated conversations with customers and offer suggestions. This includes speech-to-text transcription and translation technology to serve customers calling or writing HP in their preferred language. When requests are forwarded to live agents, the system automatically directs them to qualified customer service representatives with the training and certification required to effectively solve the problem. FAW is supported by HP One, a searchable subscription management platform with UI design from Microsoft Fluent UI, React and PCF Controls. With HP One, agents can access subscription history, supply requests, remote devices and more. Agents also use automated technology, such as the macro-based functionality Smart Assist, to provide enhanced service and reduced wait times. And after calls, customers can see real-time updates on their requested service, keeping them, as well as any relevant staff, informed on status and any issues that may arise.

The Impact: Key results include the following:

• Actionable insights: HP uses the system to track the impact of improvements through customer experiences and feedback.
• Improved experiences: The system simplifies the user experience for both customers and representatives, while expanding available customer service options and functionality.
• Enhanced productivity: Through tailored interfaces, agents and customers can customize their preferred channels to spotlight specific accounts and any information they need.
• Centralized processes: The system leverages automation to enhance data integration and knowledge bases, streamlining operations and unifying processes.

Leveraging Microsoft technology to manage public services and serve constituents

The City of Joondalup’s city council, located in Western Australia, accommodates over 160,000 residents. The council was looking to replace an inefficient and outdated 20-year-old ERP/CRM system. The city council began its digital transformation in 2018, eventually leading to a partnership with HCLTech in July 2022 to create a unified Microsoft CRM/ERP system with an agile rollout scheduled to go live in April 2024. This system is a unique success for Microsoft and HCLTech, as it’s the first end-to-end Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement/Finance & Supply Chain Management solution for city councils in the APAC region. The rollout has been so successful thus far that the Joondalup city council has begun moving critical workloads to the Dynamics 365 platform, as well as Microsoft’s Azure cloud infrastructure.

The Challenge: The Joondalup city council’s outdated ERP/CRM system was struggling to integrate with more than 20 other critical systems, including rate management, waste management, request processes and roads. Because of these disjointed systems, the city council lacked a central view of residents, creating a disconnect between citizens and their government. The city needed a more effective way to manage public services, implement city upgrades and communicate with its constituents.

The Objective: HCLTech ran a detailed analysis through eight workshops to get a handle on Joondalop’s existing technology. This analysis included a plan to replace the outdated system with Microsoft technology to close the gaps between current and desired capabilities. The two-year consultative sales process included a viable licensing structure, roadmap plan and special support partnership to ensure that the city council remained confident in this first-in-the-region project.

The Solution: The new system is resident-centric and includes customer portals for transparency and engagement. By using the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform, including Finance and Supply Chain Management, Customer Service and Field Service, the system replaces more than 22 core modules and integrates with 16 platforms and solutions. Through these integrations, as well as augmentations through HCLTech’s Power Rates calculator module, the Joondalup city council is empowered to manage and develop its city more effectively.

The Impact: The key results achieved were:

• Enhanced experiences: The Joondalup City Council has gained increased transparency into citizen interactions, improving the user experience while also increasing the reliability and scalability of the ERP system.
• Increased usage: More users can access the system, increasing adoption and improving communication between the city council and taxpayers.
• Systems agility: With the new system, the city council can manage and complete city upgrades more quickly and efficiently than before and keep citizens informed of upcoming projects.