Case Study: Wescom Credit Union

With 29 branches and more than $3 billion in assets, Wescom Credit Union in Pasadena, CA is one of the largest credit unions in the country, serving more than 300,000 members in five Southern California counties. Over the last two decades, telecommunications have been a driving force in Wescom’s success. Because of staff reductions necessitated by the economic downturn, Wescom began to see a decline in its contact center performance. In early 2009, the contact centers still handled well over 100,000 calls a month but with over 30% fewer staff members. The average speed of answer for all calls rose to more than 4 minutes, a huge disparity from the previously established goals, and the abandon rate was over 30%. At the same time, there was a rapidly growing need to mount carefully planned collection campaigns.

Challenges

Manage a large inbound call volume more effectively according to strategic principles, which encourages the use of online home banking and ATMs for simpler transactions, and person-to-person interactions through the contact center for more complex issues and questions.

Plan and implement efficient, effective outbound campaigns to address the growing number of loan delinquencies.

Solutions

Avaya Voice Portal and Avaya Proactive Contact, running on an Avaya Aura™ communications platform

Results

The solution cut the number of phone lines in half, creating an annual savings of $96,000. Database information was integrated on one server, which streamlined operations. Daily collections campaigns can now be prepared in less than 30 minutes, versus the previous 4-to-8 hours, enabling staff members to begin work immediately when they arrive. “We now have the capability to provide outstanding, differentiated member service that aligns with all our strategic objectives,” said David Guilford, executive vice president of finance and technology.

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