Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc.

Claims Alert Contact Center

Company Description

Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Crawford & Company.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Crawford & Company is the world's largest independent provider of claims management solutions to the risk management and insurance industry as well as self-insured entities, with an expansive global network serving clients in more than 70 countries. The Crawford System of Claims SolutionsSM offers comprehensive, integrated claims services, business process outsourcing, and consulting services for major product lines including property and casualty claims management, workers compensation claims and medical management, and legal settlement administration. The Company's shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbols CRDA and CRDB.

Contact Center Description

Crawford Canada's CLAIMSALERT^® main Contact Centre is located in Waterloo, Ontario, with a satellite branch in Montreal, Quebec; the hours of operation are 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. They have over 100 contact centre support and administration representatives handling over 220,000 calls per year.

Agents and support functions are co-located. Ergonomic workstations are arranged in rows to be well spaced and roomy, and are set up with high quality ergonomic chairs, flat screen monitors, and computer terminals. Employees can set up their own laptop computer at their desk if they wish, and can listen to their own music between calls if they like. Each workstation has its own lighting. Glass walls on the perimeter offices allow lots natural of light. Full-time employees have their own workstation and part-time employees share a workstation with one other coworker. Dedicated, fully equipped training rooms are available for training and coaching.

It's a pleasant, neutral décor with many live plants throughout the office. LCD screens are set up within the centre to provide employees a visual break, with the latest news and employee information displayed. Queue information is also highly visible to all employees on LCD screens throughout the centre. Employees have access to a fully equipped lunch area, with satellite television, appliances, vending machines, and even a pinball machine.

78% of employees are part time and 44% are Bilingual. Employees include extremely bright students and graduates of some of Canada's top colleges and universities including University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier, Conestoga College, McGill University, University of Montreal, Concordia University, and University of Quebec.

Channels of communication include: phone, web, chat, email and fax. Typical calls include: claims intake, claims-related questions, ethics and compliance inquiries, healthcare claims, emergency dispatch, surveys, class action administration, reservations, and technical support.

Clients include large and midmarket P&C Insurers, Mutual Insurance Companies, P&C brokers from across Canada, as well as corporations and organizations for both P&C insurance claims and ethics reporting.

Crawford Canada remains the first insurance based outsourced call centre operation to achieve the CCEOC designation. This is the third time they have participated in the CCEOC program. This is an outstanding accomplishment.

Through the Contact Center Employer of Choice^® certification program, Crawford will be able to address key areas for improvement that will have sustained impact on culture, morale and performance. Being independently recognized as a Contact Center Employer of Choice^® will create positive brand recognition and heightened awareness of their people focused status.

Specific areas of focus for Crawford include:

• Gain industry-wide recognition as a great place to work
• Improve ability to attract, retain and engage the best talent
• Identify areas of opportunity to improve employee satisfaction
• Build pride and engagement

Participating in the Contact Center Employer of Choice^® program allows Crawford to access leading edge contact centre resources such as: CCEOC Advisors, Peer 2 Peer Tele-education events and the Annual CCEOC Best Practices Report. These resources will help in the development of targeted action plans for effective continuous improvement programs.

Key Performance Measures

• Service level: 80% of calls to be answered in 20 seconds or less
• 4% abandon rate
• 90% quality results
• Shop penetration 60%
• Absence 4 days per year
• Errors
• Average communication time

Resource Optimization

This team balances the needs of three groups in the Contact Centre: Employees for scheduling needs, clients for KPI results, and Management for cost control.

Forecasting is completed in 15 minute intervals with IEX software. They practice real time queue monitoring observing call patterns and adjusting staffing as needed if volumes are higher or lower than expected. By demonstrating a strong commitment to employee work/life balance they are able to be very flexible with scheduling while maintaining business needs. Finally, the team has "Best in Class" processes to deliver when the Contact Centre is in CAT (Catastrophe Mode) due to adverse weather conditions.

Technology

Crawford uses a combination of Avaya ACD Technology and Volcalcom Hermes.NET Integrated Software. The system allows allows real-time changes to agent skills so the team can quickly respond as training levels, call volumes, or client needs change. Agents work in a mult-media blended environment managing inbound calls, outbound calls, emails, and web chats from a single interface. Customized script development enables employees to deliver best in class customer service.

Training and Development

Training and development is crucial to the ongoing success of Crawford Contact Centre operations. Extensive new hire and ongoing training programs support employees through all levels of skill development. Various teaching methods are used including in-class sessions, self-directed courses, online learning, and client/industry partnerships.

Leadership training opportunities are provided through 360 Feedback, On-site Franklin Covey Training, and In-house Manager School and Claims School.

Crawford will cover the cost of most authorized programs including courses taken at the Insurance Institute. They also encourage employees to get their CIP accreditation.

Each team has an assigned mentor to assist employees in maintaining focus and reaching performance targets.

Growth Opportunities

CLAIMSALERT^® is the starting point to a career with Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc. for many professionals. Contact centre agents have gone on to positions within the organization such as Field Adjuster, Branch Manager, Assistant Vice President, and Vice President. Progression and development plans are designed for each employee, and reviewed on a regular basis to ensure employees reach their maximum potential.

CCEOC Attributes

Overall, the Crawford Contact Centre operation displays many positive Contact Centre Employer of Choice^® attributes.

• Competitive salaries/hourly rate
• Commitment to work/life balance
• Supportive team culture
• Career progression and development opportunities
• Customer service excellence
• Reward and Recognition Program
• Employee Satisfaction Committee

Employee Culture

At Crawford, we help people, and our employees are the heart and soul of the operation. When speaking about culture, they indicate that it's hard to describe, but you feel and sense it when you walk in. Here, employees speak to their supervisors and co-workers on a personal level, everyone knows everyone, and the management team cares about their employees and their lives outside of work. We laugh with our co-workers who have become our friends, and are proud of our culture which has become our signature.

Work/life Balance

An employee and family assistance program is offered to all staff through Ceridian. Employees can call a 24/7, bilingual help line if they need confidential assistance regarding: personal counseling, daycare, financial assistance, stress management, eldercare etc. Standard Life provides an EAP program for Managers called Expert Care.

The HR department provides tremendous support to the contact centre operation through recruiting and selection, new employee orientation, compensation & benefits information, corporate policies and procedures, health and wellness and work/life balance.

Employee personal commitments are taken into consideration for scheduling and availability.

A Health and Safety Committee implements solutions that will help improve the safety and security of employees at work.

Crawford offers their employees a discounted rate on memberships at GoodLife fitness clubs across Canada.

Rewards and Recongnition

The theme for the contact centre's recognition program is "Essential Piece" because it embodies the diversity of the centre and recognizes that we need all the pieces of our puzzle in order to make our team complete.

The program awards achievements and accomplishments, recognizes an employee of the month, and allows employees and supervisors to nominate team members who go above and beyond expectations. Each award is associated with a collectible pin and meaningful story. These pins can be displayed proudly by our employees on our Essential Piece Ribbons.

Employees earn points throughout the year, and each December, the top 5 employees with the most points will be presented to the Contact Centre Management Team in consideration for the Employee of the Year Award. The Employee of the Year receives a letter from the CEO, a commemorative trophy, and a significant prize or cash award.

All employees are also eligible to receive nominations for corporate awards. A committee comprised of members of the Senior Management Team review nominations and give recognition based on merit and the magnitude of the contribution, there are 9 different awards in the program.

Community Support

Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc. regularly gives back to the community and supports local charities through their "Crawford Cares" program. In 2011, $89,787 was raised through employee contributions, fundraising, and corporate "matching". $61,855 of that was specifically from funraising for the Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life events throughout Canada. The fundraising in 2011 primarily supported the Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade (WICC) and the SickKids Foundation. Local branches also collect donations for local foodbanks, participate in Blood Drives, or support local charities through additional fundraising.

Above and Beyond Factors

Above and Beyond refers to the little (or big) extras that differentiates Crawford Canada from all the rest.

Here is a list of some of those attributes:

• Senior management supports and promotes the call center
• Focused on balancing employee satisfaction with customer satisfaction
• Young enthusiastic, staff – lots of new ideas
• Call centre feeds other departments with highly skilled employees
• Open communication
• High level of trust
• Education fee reimbursement