Company: UPMC Health Plan, Pittsburgh, PA
Company Description: UPMC Health Plan, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is owned by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), a world-renowned health care provider. An integrated health care delivery system, we are committed to providing our members better health, more financial security, and peace of mind. Our provider network includes 140 hospitals and 29,000+ physicians, serving 4M Members.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Awards Team Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Customer Service Training Team of the Year - Internal - Other Service Industries:
 Nomination Title: UPMC Health Plan Best Training Team of the year
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the achievements since July 1, 2021 of the nominated team, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions for this category, provide them in the spaces below.
- Briefly describe the nominated team: its history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 199 words used.
UPMC Health Plan, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is owned by University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, UPMC, a world-renowned health care provider. Our Member Services team is built on the foundation of providing World Class experiences to our membership of 4.1M+. Our contact center has 450+ concierges, annually answering 3M inbound calls, 58K chats, 20K web messages. and 1.6M outreach calls. Our Healthcare Concierge Service offers service beyond traditional industry standards, taking pride in ensuring our members are completely cared for each time, delivering First Call Resolution. We embrace a culture of kindness, caring, development and career building, beginning with hiring team members who display a passion for helping others. These wonderful individuals are then put in the care of our amazing Training Team.
Our Training Team of 8 professionals began their career as a concierge and have created a robust 12-week training program specific to product lines with proven results. They bring a passion to helping our new hires and existing team to be knowledgeable, successful, and create outstanding experiences. This team is committed to continuous improvement, seeking ongoing feedback. The Training Team is key to us achieving our mission; World Class Team Delivering World Class Service.
- Outline the team's achievements since July 1 2021 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
Since July 2021, our talented team implemented innovative strategies, strengthening success of our new and seasoned employees. With 37 different product lines of complex health insurance, the importance of a strong training program is vital, yet we successfully transitioned to 100% virtual training.
We implemented a Learning Management System, LMS, enhancing the training experience and onboarding process for new hires and seasoned staff. This allowed for a centralized system of information and learning resources including gamification, score and participation tracking, blended learning, and cloud-based, downloadable material. We improved our ability to cater to all generational learning styles, employee satisfaction, and employee engagement. Employee Engagement is 86% with a 97% participation in 2023, with Growth & Development index of 86%.
Revamping curriculum, elevating the knowledge, skills, and empathy needed for our concierges to provide exceptional service. The resources and tools our trainers provide ensures we consistently solve challenges/issues for our members, without constraints on handle time. Trainings include customer service best practices, effective communication strategies, UPMC value-based training, and specific product trainings amongst additional topics that contribute to World Class Call initiatives. This results in achieving a 98% Satisfaction rating, 96.1% FCR.
Upskilling, refresher, and cross-product trainings focused on building product knowledge and competences, aiding in each employees growth. Our Trainers understand the dynamic nature of the industry, showcase innovation, adaptability, and a dedication to the growth and development of our team members. This allowed us to manage 41.06% increase in calls on our government lines without adding staff.
- Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the team's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
Continuous learning, ongoing virtual training, and professional development opportunities, reflects commitment to employee retention and growth, driving reduction in new hire turnover, less than one year, 53.18% in 2021 vs. 36.24% in 2023. Overall turnover reduced from 22.89% to 14.79%, compared to SQM’s industry standard of 38% for a savings of $828K, 23K per employee.
Adopting the LMS system integrates virtual and traditional learning environments, enhances training experiences, and uses current technology. Our commitment to leveraging technology has increased productivity and improved time management, cost per contact has gone from $6.32 to $6.06. The annual Customer Service training results in Member Retention rates above industry averages according to HealthMine with 97.83% for Medicare compared to an 84% industry standard, and 94.3% for Marketplace compared to an 83% industry standard.
Our ever-evolving curriculum, focusing on UPMC Values, emphasizing active listening, creating emotional connections, executing difficult conversations, expressing empathy, and maintaining respect/concern results in moving from 4 Stars in 2022 to 5 Stars in 2023 on speech analytics quality. Focus placed on the World Class Call flow, proper hold procedures, first call resolution, and de-escalation, ensuring concierges are well-versed on health insurance specifics and equipped with soft skills. Our Trainers’ ability to cover diverse areas contributes to well-rounded and knowledgeable concierges capable of handling a variety of scenarios. We have earned a JD Powers Call Center Certification with only 15 plans earning this distinction and were rated the highest Medicare membersatisfcation with JDPowers.
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
Our Training Team is Best in Class and works diligently to ensure our training is Top-Notch!
- Slides 2-5 show range of products available, our Mission Statement, and Our Values. The featured video illustrates how we prioritize and care for our members, bringing our mission and values to life in a meaningful and impactful way.
- Slides 6-7 provide an overview of key performance metrics from the year 2023.
- Slide 8 describes our Concierge Program featuring a video with testimony of a member sharing her positive experiences with us, expressing gratitude for the sense of belonging it has provided her and the exceptional support she has received from our Concierges.
- Slides 9-11 highlight the journey of our Member Services trainers, including their photos, start dates, and quotes.
- Slides 12-16 shows training statistics for 2022/2023, an overview of our program, and a detailed training syllabus attached.
- Slides 17-19 lists sensitivity trainings integrated into every new hire's journey – covering LGBTQIA+, Ageless Wisdom, and coping with the Stress of New Job.
- Slides 20-22 highlights our methods of gathering feedback, testimonials, and ongoing process improvements.
- Slides 23-24 describe key features from our Learning Management System (LMS)
- Slide 25-26 capture engaged virtual learning and celebratory moments during graduations.
- Slides 27-29 Hear the voice of appreciation through employee testimonials praising training excellence, coupled with valuable feedback from our members.
- Slides 30-35: Reflects on the remarkable achievements and accomplishments of 2023, showcasing direct success rates attributed to our training initiatives.
- Slides 36-39: Highlight achievements and accomplishments in 2023.
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