Case Study: Travel and Hospitality

Streamlining reservations, improving quality, and reducing abandon rates for an airline

HGS supports the entire air passenger journey – from sales and customer service to flight cancellations and follow up

Overview

The client, a domestic discount airline, wanted to optimize interactions with passengers on multiple levels to reduce costs and improve the customer experience. By leveraging HGS’s high caliber workforce, automation capabilities, and quality assurance program, the client was able to consolidate and streamline discreet portions of the customer service lifecycle, add new back-end tools to assist both HGS and client employees, proactively keep passengers informed of flight changes, and ultimately make more customers feel connected, valued, and informed.

23%improvement in AHT overall

94%service level achievement

134%improvement in call quality

Client background

The client is one of the major low-cost airlines in India.

Business challenge

In 2017, the client wanted a BPO partner to provide support and tackle issues they were facing with end customers:

Reduce attrition and backfilling of employees
Reduce abandon rate
Reduce average handle time (AHT)
Improve call quality
Improve process knowledge

The solution

Facilitating the full customer journey

HGS facilitates comfortable travel and a better customer experience. HGS helps customers in making reservations, rebooking flights, cancelling flight bookings, providing options in event of flight schedule disruptions, adding and removing extra available amenities, explaining policies, sending text messages and placing outbound calls to customers during flight schedule disruptions, load-balancing for overbooking, PNR validation with outbound calls, click to call, and retargeting. Using a CRM widely accepted in the aviation industry helps HGS deliver quality services. We also use a ticker, which is linked to the client’s knowledgebase on the floor, to update agents about situations like local bad weather and changes in flight timings. We developed a new IVR tree aimed at identifying, resolving, and recording calls received pertaining to different travel agencies. This helps to distribute staffing evenly. HGS has also developed a dashboard for the client that tracks and records data on the customers who have been informed of flight cancellations. We source data on flight schedules from all major airports in India and inform customers using the client’s platform. Any omission or incorrect processing of these schedules will cause inconvenience to customers, negatively impacting customer experience and leading to loss of revenue for the client. Since the client is a low-cost domestic airline, there are some services that are charged, unlike international flights. We cross-sell and upsell add-on services such as in-flight meals, extra baggage payment options, and seats with extra leg space. Providing multi-area support has helped us significantly improve overall service levels and productivity for the client. The dashboard usage has led to reductions in the instances of customers complaining that they were not informed about the flight cancellation after they reached the airport and asking to be booked on the next flight. This has contributed to better customer experience and satisfaction.

High-quality hiring and specialized training programs

The client has stringent hiring requirements in terms of skill levels and scores. The Versant English proficiency test is widely acknowledged and extensively used as a credible test of linguistic abilities. We only hire agents who have reached Versant’s Level 4 or higher. We also test agent analytical skills and run mandatory checks during interviews.

Since the client is from the aviation industry, the cost of services — compared to other modes of transport — is higher, and any mistake can result in significant loss. This translates into a comprehensive training program, and HGS zeroed in on a training program that includes classroom training, simulation training, and new-to-production training.

Along with extensive classroom training, the simulation stage involves guided, mock activities on every client process. The simulation training tackles core training and operational challenges based on scenarios so that new hires gain skills and process knowledge. HGS also develops software-training modules based on the top call drivers and issues.

Only those agents who clear the assessment minimums and client-approved training program are allowed to work on the contact center floor.

Emphasis on quality monitoring and achievement

With call quality being one of the major client requirements, we attach immense importance to call quality training and monitoring/auditing exercises. These efforts include using a proprietary OneView tool, training software, and more external and internal quality and best practice initiatives to ensure accuracy in all processes executed. We apply risk mitigation and weekly quality governance processes to stave off associated risks and meet quality targets. We listen to customer feedback, trace complaints back to the causes, and then remedy the causes.

Automation to improve processes

HGS applied automation technology to improve the existing processes for refunds, cancellations, and general enquiries. The aim was to reduce AHT for these calls with automation while improving the customer experience. HGS used front-office automation to provide agents with bots that can assist them in completing the transaction and generating results faster than manual processing. HGS used non-invasive technology for bots to ensure client systems are minimally affected.

As a result of the automation efforts, there was a noticeable improvement. The automation resulted in the reduction of AHT at the query level.