Reducing Call Centre Costs in Retail Banking via FAST Enterprise Search

We’ve talked in earlier posts about search-as-a-strategy instead of as-a-feature.  In the feature world, there are several low-cost options.  Install a Google Search Appliance.  Fire up a Microsoft Search Server.  Both options can deploy with an extensive audience for under $30,000.  Box checked.

With an increasing shift towards search-as-a-strategy, however, there isn’t a box to check.  Instead, an exercise is required to identify tangible business pain that a line-of-business system can address.  It is not unfamiliar territory – what is new is the idea that search-based solutions can and must fall into that category as well.

Consider the example of getting procedure information to front-line retail banking staff.  Timely and accurate information increases customer satisfaction because the job gets done right and quickly.  It reduces costs, because employees do not need to contact internal call centres to have their questions answered, and because it reduces rework in the back office.  This is a search problem at its core, and one that FAST is very well suited for.  However, the solution is more than $30,000.  How do you get started?

An envisioning process determines a business case (see our process for customer facing scenarios).  The business opportunity needs to be defined and quantified, the solution outlined at a high-level and costs determined, and an understanding for how the solution will fit into your business and taken to market is required.  From there, a business case is defined.  That puts tangible go/no-go decision information into your hands.

How do you know if a search solution is even worthy of that exercise?  Consider some back-of-the-napkin math to validate the opportunity.  Looking back at the branch staff scenario, here is an example.  Consider the following assumptions:

• We can divert 20% of calls from your existing internal call centre
• A frontline employee makes 1 call a day on average
• Each call is 5 minutes long while a self-service request can be fulfilled in 2 minutes
• a FTE fully loaded is $75,000

If we only factor in reducing internal call centre size (hard cost savings) and value time liberation at cost, what kind of result does this drive?  Here is a summary of the outcome:

The three year opportunity varies from $9,000,000 to $21,000,000 depending on the size.  Targeting roughly a 10x ROI, that puts the all-in investment range required between 1 and 2 million.  Certainly enough room to confidently start an envisioning exercise to nail down the real numbers.  This process leaves out the additional benefits of back office savings, additional efficiencies, customer satisfaction, and employee retention.  Here is a link to the spreadsheet, if you are interested.