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Prescription Solutions by Optum Rx

How to EnterCompany: Prescription Solutions by Optum Rx
Company Description: Prescription Solutions is strongly committed to hearing the voice of the customer and applying that input not only into system and process changes, but company culture change as well. The company listens to the voice of the customer by evaluating more than 400,000 after-call customer surveys each year. This information is supplemented by regularly distributed mail surveys of customer satisfaction
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Team Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Customer Service Training Team of the Year

Nomination Title: OptumRx Customer Service Training Team

Tell the story about what this nominated team achieved since the beginning of July 2010 (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:

OptumRx maintains an ongoing and dedicated commitment to continuous
improvement in customer service training. Through our 3D Learning Department,
new hires receive over 160 hours of training and the company devotes more than
50 hours of continuing education for each advocate annually, covering system
enhancements, new processes, procedures and guidelines.

The most critical issue facing the company is an explosive growth and meeting
the demands of a rapidly expanding work force. The operations department needs
new hires fully functional in a short amount of time. The existing curriculum
was cumbersome and not getting the results we wanted. This meant a complete
overhaul of the curriculum. Thus, project “Phoenix” was created,
metaphorically from the ashes of the old curriculum a new curriculum would
arise.

In this effort, 3D Learning developed a series of curriculum modules, using
the latest research in adult learning theory, of chunking, metacognition, and
sequencing that focused on hands on (learning by doing) activities as well as
more than 70 one minute resets, to hold attention and ensure the adult
learner’s retention. By focusing on skilling the advocates in one skill at a
time, we gain automaticity in that function (thus increasing their job
confidence) before learning the next skill. As a result of project “Phoenix,
we are able to train advocates in an astonishing 5 weeks. This is a major
reduction from the original thirteen weeks. Our focus on mastering crucial
skills before moving on to the next skill, implementing the aforementioned
adult learning techniques and most importantly developing automaticity in
their jobs, we had impressive results; new hire quality scores were the
highest ever recorded, new hire surveys indicated their job confidence was
also the highest we had ever recorded and our retention rate of new hires
dramatically increased.

In addition to the traditional instructor lead classroom, 3D Learning
developed in house videos to reinforce concepts and to allow the visual
learners to easily engage the concepts. One of the issues facing the learning
team was how do you get a large call center to watch a short video while
maintaining calls. It would be nearly impossible to use sound in the call
center since most advocates would be unable to hear and would most likely be
on the phone. The Creative Learning team created short “SILENT” videos with
subtitle played on media boards and repeated them throughout the day so you
could easily get a chance to look up in-between calls. This creative thinking
of a learning team’s delivery method proved very effective and the employees
indicated they enjoyed the change of pace.

Training to exceed the expectations of our customers is a defining value for
our company. Recognition by the 2009 and 2011 ASTD BEST Award for Training and
Development, the 2011 Learning Elite Award from the Chief Learning Officer
Journal and Achievers Fifty Most Engaged Workplaces 2011 reinforces to us that
we are on the right track as we constantly work to improve our training.

List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

Prescription Solutions by OptumRx Receives J.D. Power and Associates Call
Center Certification 2011
https://consumer-stage.prescriptionsolutions.com/RxSolWeb/mvc/cmsContent.do?
pageUrl=/CHP/AboutUs/News/2011&pageName=09082011NewsReleaseJDPower

Learning Elite Award 2011 (Chief Learning Officer)
https://www.prescriptionsolutions.com/RxSolWeb/mvc/cmsContent.do?pageUrl=/
CHP/AboutUs/News/2011&pageName=20110325NewsRelease

ASTD BEST Award 2011
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/prescription-solutions-by-optumrx-wins-astd-best-
award-for-the-second-time-2011-10-07

Contact Center Awards 2011
http://www.contactcenterworld.com/worldawards/regional-winners.aspx?id=FEC727
40-03BC-4FC4-AC61-755C5C550404

Achievers Fifty Most Engaged Workplaces 2011
http://www.achievers.com/engaged/winners-2011.php

 

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

William Garrick, MA, currently serves as Senior Director 3D Learning.

Will came into the health care industry at Providence Healthcare Systems,
where he gained his Six Sigma Black Belt qualification. He joined PacifiCare
at Cypress as Learning Manager in 2004 and moved on to be manager of
Instructional Design with Uniprise after the merger with United Health.
In 2006, Will joined OptumRx in his current role of Director of 3D Learning.

Will received his Bachelor’s degree in Education and earned his Master’s
degree in Organizational Development.