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Company: CSA Travel Protection, San Diego, CA
Company Description: CSA Travel Protection, a Europ Assistance company, is dedicated to providing affordable travel insurance and emergency assistance services to protect travelers’ valuable investments and provide the peace of mind one deserves while traveling. For 20 years CSA has developed a reputation for standing behind its customers and by offering products and services to meet their needs.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Team Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Customer Service Management Team of the Year

Nomination Title: CSA Travel Protection – Claims And Customer Service Management Team

Tell the story about what this nominated team achieved since the beginning of July 2011 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

In October of 2011, CSA conducted a company-wide work environment survey, with the goal to determine how CSA’s department management teams were handling employee workflow, process and motivation.

Survey data showed low morale among employees working in CSA’s claims and customer service teams, with nearly every item discussed rated as “needing improvement.”

Questions included, among others:

•Are there enough people in your department to handle the existing workload?
•Is CSA effective in putting the right people in the right jobs?
•Are you fairly paid for the job you perform?
•Does communication between departments occur on a regular and effective basis?

The CSA customer service team’s motto is “happy employees = happy customers.”

The management team was alarmed to see a decline in the morale of its employees and took immediate action. The management team responsible for both claims and customer service created an action plan, as a result of roundtable discussions with the vice president of operations and key department members, with a goal to touch as much as possible on every element impacting morale. The plan is reviewed monthly by the team and is composed of five overarching themes:

•Recognition
O Formalized customer compliments (customer service representatives receive certificates for each)
o A wall of compliments
o Team competitions centered around quality
o Created incentive program for quality, efficiency and attendance (incentives include comp time, which greatly impacted morale)

•Development
O Cross-departmental familiarization (shadowing with other departments)
O Quality assurance: Allowing representatives to learn about the QA process and departmental QA calibration sessions
o Purchased an e-learning program: Representatives schedule time off “the queue: to take web-based courses to enhance their skills

•Hiring
O Located and implemented a pre-hire testing system that matches job candidates to an ideal profile for each primary position; Goal is to hire employees best suited to each job profile, therefore decreasing turnover and improving morale by hiring better candidates
o Worked with the marketing department to create informational sheets for potential operations employees
o Developed a new-hire packet specifically for operations employees
o Involving the customer service leads department in the interview process
o Posted job openings at local colleges

•Communication
O Operations employees attend a monthly brunch with the VP of operations to discuss ideas, concerns, etc.
o Increased time for Q&A at team meetings

•Employee buy-in
O "CSA in the News" section on the company Intranet
o Shared with all employees news articles and other public kudos of CSA and Europ Assistance (CSA’s sister company)

•Compensation
O Conducted salary survey; made significant adjustment to starting pay
o Revamped career paths for many existing positions

By July of 2012, when the survey was taken again, the average score on all 13 categories was a rating equal to “doing well.” That means the management team improved morale and survey responses dramatically in just 9 months, with an average rating change increase of 19 percent. An astounding achievement.

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated team:

Scott Crabtree and Lupe Zepeda, leaders of the CSA Claims and Customer Service teams focus on service, quality, productivity and work environment. They believe that a positive attitude from team leaders cascades down through representatives to customers.

Mr. Crabtree spent the first half of his 10+-year claims management career at Progressive Insurance and is a licensed independent adjuster.

Ms. Zepeda’s more than a decade of experience led to notable successes in managing outbound and inbound contact centers. She previously provided top-notch service for Ford Motor Company and Rhino Linings.

Both are also trained non-medical escorts.