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OppenheimerFunds

How to EnterCompany: OppenheimerFunds, Englewood, CO
Company Description: OppenheimerFunds, founded in 1960, with $186.42 Billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2012, is a financial services company that provides mutual fund products to help our shareholders reach their investment and retirement goals. We couple these fund products with our world-class customer service, creating a desirable and enjoyable customer experience.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Team Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Customer Service Complaints Team of the Year

Nomination Title: OppenheimerFunds' World Class Complaint Response 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:

Oppenheimer Funds, like many larger organizations, has a Correspondence Team, which is responsible for addressing written requests from customers; this includes letters, emails, chats, and providing additional instructions for requests received that are not in “Good Order”.

Less than 1% of our correspondence volumes are complaints, or about 700 items each year. While 1% may be considered acceptable to most organizations, we find the time spent responding to complaints from our customers could and should be used partnering and advocating on their behalf.

“Missing the Connection”

In 2012, we surveyed customers who had previously complained to find out what we could do to improve our service and interactions. Based on their feedback we realized that we had:

•Responded to correspondence in writing when we could have attempted to make a telephone call.
•Used “canned” language that was impersonal, did not include personal contact information, and appeared to be generic.
•Used internal and industry-specific technical jargon when it was not needed.
•Focused on grammar and disclosure rather than language that was clear, concise, and consistent.

“Making the Connection”

We developed a new quality model that focuses on our mission and passion, making a commitment to communicate in a clear, concise, and consistent manner while accomplishing the following:

•Provide targeted, meaningful information based on the request.
•Address all written complaints with a telephone call when possible.
•Eliminate use of unnecessary disclosures.
•Match each customer’s communication style and respond in an easy-to-read fashion.
•Begin each letter by addressing our customer personally (See attached greeting examples.)
•Restate the complaint at the beginning of the letter.
•Provide contact name and direct telephone number for further clarification.
•Use bullet points for complex letter to provide step by step instructions.

“Connecting the Dots”

Changing to our new quality model and advocating for our customers has resulted in the following:

•Handled 40% of all written complaints via a telephone call to our customer.
•Reduced complaint volume by 30% (ended December 2012 with 476 compared to 700 in the previous year).
•Reduced complex letter instructions (average length of letter and paperwork went from 15 pages to 2 pages).
•Increased compliment volumes over 150% (ended December 2012 with 150 compared to 54 in the previous year). (See attached compliment examples.)

“Continuing the Connection”

We value customer feedback and focus our efforts on ways to exceed their expectations. Through caring, responsive listening and by demonstrating a passion for excellence we are making the right changes and building lifelong partnerships with our customers.

 

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

Lori Taylor began working with OppenheimerFunds 14 years ago and currently acts as VP of Client Relations at our Denver Campus. Her leadership philosophy is to be transparent and approachable. She believes a leader should be able to take risks, and be willing to encourage a healthy environment of celebrating attempts to make a difference. In addition to her leadership strides within OppenheimerFunds, Lori has served as Co-Chair of the National Investment Company Service Association (NICSA) Midwest Committee and the Chair of the College Savings Plan Network (CSPN) Operations Sub-Committee.