Employees of the KlantContactCenter (KCC) for bpfBOUW are able to predict the questions of participants since a few weeks ago. And no, they do not use a crystal ball to do so. The questions are handed to them by Next Best Question (NBQ), an experiment of the GroeiFabriek that became a working reality.
The GroeiFabriek
The GroeiFabriek, the innovation lab of APG, conducts experiments with concepts helping us to serve the participant the best way we can. Using the word “experiment” already indicates that an idea sometimes is not good enough to take into production. But the ideas also include some gems that truly help us progress. NBQ is one of those ideas.
Next Best Question
The same as Netflix is able to predict our viewing behavior, NBQ predicts the reason why a participant is contacting us. Following an analysis of data, such as personal information, previous conversations, mail, e-mail messages and life events, an algorithm shows a top 5 of most probable questions when an employee of the KCC assists a customer by telephone, chat or email. This means the employee concerned is able to help the participant faster and better by proactively asking and responding to questions. This way, the participant gets a more comprehensive answer and it is less likely for him or her to call us back with a follow-up question. And for the employees it is very convenient to have the information handy as early as possible.
Edo Westerveen, employee of the KCC, definitely sees the advantages. “This is a great start, an additional service to help the participants even better. This instrument is especially beneficial for the customer contact specialists who are just starting. And once the algorithm becomes even better, it can really be an important resource for outstanding service provision.”
Only bpfBOUW?
The experiment was developed by the GroeiFabriek for bpfBOUW. That is why Next Best Question initially went live for this fund. But other funds are showing interest as well. The first test results are very promising.