L&G is utilizing Microsoft to unify its customer support expertise, making a single “pane of glass” that simplifies life for its 2,800 colleagues and greater than 12 million clients.
For practically 200 years, UK monetary providers large L&G has helped its clients navigate life’s largest monetary milestones – from defending their households to saving for retirement. Now, by means of a brand new multi-year collaboration with Microsoft, the corporate is reworking how that assistance is delivered.
The present venture centres on an AI-powered customer support platform constructed with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Centre, designed to offer colleagues a whole, real-time view of every buyer’s relationship with the enterprise.
It marks the most recent stage in L&G’s digital transformation over the past three years, following the launch of its extremely rated office pension app and its market-first digitised claims course of, which has already reduce clients’ declare instances by practically two weeks, L&G says.
Craig Brown, Chief Working Officer, Retail, oversees a crew of two,800 individuals who deal with greater than 20 million buyer interactions every year. The enterprise’s resolution to consolidate its retail operations created a possibility to assessment the software program they had been utilizing, too.
“We’ve mixed a number of long-established operations right into a single retail enterprise, so the chance now could be to create cohesive buyer and colleague experiences throughout what had been as soon as separate methods,” he explains.
“That is about giving our folks one view of the client – a single pane of glass – that lets them concentrate on understanding, not simply processing.”
Simplifying the on a regular basis
The transfer to a unified platform was wanted, Brown emphasises. Over time, totally different product traces and enterprise models had gathered their very own instruments and databases. When Microsoft’s crew visited to see the legacy scenario, Brown says they had been “fairly stunned” by what they discovered.
“Our groups had been delivering implausible buyer experiences whereas slicing and pasting throughout a number of methods,” he says. “Dynamics brings that every one collectively. It’s a game-changer.”
Consolidation isn’t only a technical enchancment; it adjustments the rhythm of labor, he says. Colleagues will now see a buyer’s full historical past at a look.
“Our strategy to AI is at all times human-centred and ruled“
Craig Brown, L&G
That creates a greater expertise for patrons, too: fewer transferred calls, fewer repeated explanations, and more room for real dialog.
“Decreasing complexity means colleagues can serve extra clients, extra effectively — and concentrate on the conversations that matter most,” Brown provides.
AI with a human contact
L&G’s strategy to AI is intentionally human-centred. It’s about profiting from staff’ time. Dynamics 365 Contact Centre makes use of Microsoft Copilot to automate time-consuming administrative work, reminiscent of name transcription and case summaries, liberating colleagues to concentrate on empathy and problem-solving.
“Among the moments we cope with are deeply emotional – serving to somebody who’s misplaced a cherished one, for instance, or who’s approaching retirement,” Brown says.
“AI’s function right here is to sit down within the again – give our folks extra time to hear and information the client, whereas the expertise takes care of the wrap-up and admin.”
That very same expertise brings new intelligence to how L&G improves its providers. The AI can analyse the tone and sentiment of conversations, spotlight rising themes throughout hundreds of interactions, and even immediate advisers with prompt subsequent steps or related merchandise.
“Previously, when you needed to study from buyer calls to enhance a course of, you needed to hear again one after the other,” he says. “Now we are able to floor summarised insights throughout accross hundreds of buyer interactions seeing the place processes can enhance or the place clients is perhaps struggling. That steady studying loop is massively highly effective.”
Smarter insights, safer methods
The insights will assist form product improvement. By understanding why clients name, what frustrates them and what delights them, L&G can refine communications, simplify processes and design higher experiences.
“The probabilities are nearly infinite,” Brown says. “We are able to overlay knowledge to know the place friction exists, what’s working properly and what’s not. It offers us extra energy to maintain enhancing.”
With delicate buyer knowledge on the coronary heart of the system, safety stays paramount. Brown is obvious that AI’s function is to reinforce, not endanger, that belief.
“We take knowledge safety extremely critically,” he says. “Our strategy to AI is at all times human-centred and ruled. It’s about serving to our folks have extra time to spend on what issues most and guaranteeing each buyer interplay is safe and respectful.”
Constructing for the long run
The brand new platform sits inside L&G’s present Microsoft ecosystem, which already contains Azure and Energy Platform. This consistency helps the corporate scale up securely as its buyer base grows.
“The potential as soon as we transfer past the primary part is nearly limitless“
Craig Brown, L&G
The collaboration will unfold over a number of years, with the primary part specializing in office financial savings schemes, retail safety insurance policies and annuities. Every stage will lengthen the platform to new merchandise and groups, creating what Brown describes as a step change in how the enterprise operates.
“It looks like the beginning of one thing that can actually increase the bar,” he says. “We have already got very robust buyer satisfaction scores – this simply makes it even higher. The potential as soon as we transfer past the primary part is nearly limitless.”
L&G’s goal has at all times been to assist clients obtain higher outcomes at each stage of life, it says. By combining its sense of goal with Microsoft’s expertise, the corporate is taking an enormous step in the direction of making each interplay less complicated, smarter and extra private – one enhanced dialog at a time.
