L&G is utilizing Microsoft to unify its customer support know-how, making a single “pane of glass” that simplifies life for its 2,800 colleagues and greater than 12 million prospects.
For practically 200 years, UK monetary providers large L&G has helped its prospects navigate life’s largest monetary milestones – from defending their households to saving for retirement. Now, by a brand new multi-year collaboration with Microsoft, the corporate is remodeling how that assistance is delivered.
The present undertaking centres on an AI-powered customer support platform constructed with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Centre, designed to provide colleagues a whole, real-time view of every buyer’s relationship with the enterprise.
It marks the newest stage in L&G’s digital transformation over the past three years, following the launch of its extremely rated office pension app and its market-first digitised claims course of, which has already lower prospects’ declare instances by practically two weeks, L&G says.
Craig Brown, Chief Working Officer, Retail, oversees a crew of two,800 individuals who deal with greater than 20 million buyer interactions every year. The enterprise’s choice to consolidate its retail operations created a chance to evaluation the software program they had been utilizing, too.
“We’ve mixed a number of long-established operations right into a single retail enterprise, so the chance now could be to create cohesive buyer and colleague experiences throughout what had been as soon as separate methods,” he explains.
“That is about giving our folks one view of the client – a single pane of glass – that lets them concentrate on understanding, not simply processing.”
Simplifying the on a regular basis
The transfer to a unified platform was wanted, Brown emphasises. Over time, completely different product strains and enterprise models had accrued their very own instruments and databases. When Microsoft’s crew visited to see the legacy state of affairs, Brown says they had been “fairly stunned” by what they discovered.
“Our groups had been delivering unbelievable buyer experiences whereas reducing and pasting throughout a number of methods,” he says. “Dynamics brings that every one collectively. It’s a game-changer.”
Consolidation isn’t only a technical enchancment; it adjustments the rhythm of labor, he says. Colleagues will now see a buyer’s full historical past at a look.
“Our strategy to AI is at all times human-centred and ruled“
Craig Brown, L&G
That creates a greater expertise for patrons, too: fewer transferred calls, fewer repeated explanations, and extra space for real dialog.
“Decreasing complexity means colleagues can serve extra prospects, extra effectively — and concentrate on the conversations that matter most,” Brown provides.
AI with a human contact
L&G’s strategy to AI is intentionally human-centred. It’s about taking advantage of staff’ time. Dynamics 365 Contact Centre makes use of Microsoft Copilot to automate time-consuming administrative work, similar to name transcription and case summaries, releasing colleagues to concentrate on empathy and problem-solving.
“A number of the moments we take care of are deeply emotional – serving to somebody who’s misplaced a beloved one, for instance, or who’s approaching retirement,” Brown says.
“AI’s position right here is to sit down within the again – give our folks extra time to pay attention and information the client, whereas the know-how takes care of the wrap-up and admin.”
That very same know-how brings new intelligence to how L&G improves its providers. The AI can analyse the tone and sentiment of conversations, spotlight rising themes throughout hundreds of interactions, and even immediate advisers with steered subsequent steps or related merchandise.
“Previously, in case you needed to be taught from buyer calls to enhance a course of, you needed to pay attention again one after the other,” he says. “Now we will floor summarised insights throughout accross hundreds of buyer interactions seeing the place processes can enhance or the place prospects could be struggling. That steady studying loop is vastly highly effective.”
Smarter insights, safer methods
The insights will assist form product growth. By understanding why prospects name, what frustrates them and what delights them, L&G can refine communications, simplify processes and design higher experiences.
“The probabilities are virtually limitless,” Brown says. “We will overlay information to grasp the place friction exists, what’s working nicely and what’s not. It offers us extra energy to maintain enhancing.”
With delicate buyer information on the coronary heart of the system, safety stays paramount. Brown is evident that AI’s position is to reinforce, not endanger, that belief.
“We take information safety extremely significantly,” he says. “Our strategy to AI is at all times human-centred and ruled. It’s about serving to our folks have extra time to spend on what issues most and making certain each buyer interplay is safe and respectful.”
Constructing for the long run
The brand new platform sits inside L&G’s current Microsoft ecosystem, which already consists of Azure and Energy Platform. This consistency helps the corporate scale up securely as its buyer base grows.
“The potential as soon as we transfer past the primary section is sort of limitless“
Craig Brown, L&G
The collaboration will unfold over a number of years, with the primary section specializing in office financial savings schemes, retail safety insurance policies and annuities. Every stage will prolong the platform to new merchandise and groups, creating what Brown describes as a step change in how the enterprise operates.
“It seems like the beginning of one thing that can actually elevate the bar,” he says. “We have already got very sturdy buyer satisfaction scores – this simply makes it even higher. The potential as soon as we transfer past the primary section is sort of limitless.”
L&G’s goal has at all times been to assist prospects obtain higher outcomes at each stage of life, it says. By combining its sense of goal with Microsoft’s know-how, the corporate is taking a giant step in direction of making each interplay less complicated, smarter and extra private – one enhanced dialog at a time.
