MOVING MONEY
AROUND THE
WORLD IN
ONE IVR
INTERACTIVE SERVICES
CASE STUDY
Western Union teamed up with West to help
customers worldwide self-serve, and saved
millions of dollars along the way.
INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE
Western Union is an industry leader in international money transfer,
supporting well over 250 million consumer-to-consumer
transactions and moving $85 billion in a year.
Recognizing that 25 percent of annual volumes originated outside
of North America and each call with an agent costs the company $2
on average, Western Union saw an opportunity to expand the global
capabilities of its interactive voice response (IVR) technology and
create a consistent, automated self-service experience.
Maintenance of multiple, regionalized IVR platforms is overwhelming,
time-consuming and expensive; Western Union sought to improve
efficiency and lower overhead costs, while supporting customers
anywhere in the world.
11X Growth
in international
IVR volumes
4+ Point
Increase
in automated
self-service
have increased four points
“We
of automation in one year,
which is significant ROI. Those
numbers get my attention. …
Other vendors’ infrastructure is
regionalized; all routing and callflows are individually maintained.
[West] helped me simplify the IVR
architecture and level of effort to
support it. We expanded services
and functionality internationally,
[so I can deliver to my customers],
and reduced overhead.
”
ROB MUNGER, JR.,
WESTERN UNION DIRECTOR OF WORKFORCE,
QUALITY & PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Western Union completed 255 million consumer-to-consumer transactions (moving $85 billion of principal between consumers) and 484 million business payments in 2014. http://corporate.westernunion.com/Global_Organization.html
1
Experience Connected at west.com/interactive | 800.841.9000
• MOVING MONEY AROUND THE WORLD IN ONE IVR
STATE-OF-THE-ART
SOLUTION
PROLIFERATING ROI
At the outset, Western Union had 74 percent
customer volume on the IVR, and 33.7 percent gross
containment. A year later, those figures rose to 84
percent and 37 percent, respectively – reflecting an
increase in international calls from 50K to 570K.
West proposed a phased approach to consolidate
all automated voice channels, strategize callflows, introduce international capacity, and use
predictive modeling to drive self-service, efficiency
and containment.
Successful integration of CRM and the West
Interaction Database (WIDB) has helped to identify 4
million of 60 million callers in the IVR – climbing by
88 percent month over month in the first year, and
equating to multimillion dollar annual savings.
A team of nine West experts was dedicated to
design, management and continuous improvement
of Western Union’s IVR. Within six months, all
applications had a single entry-point and a new
dimension of language – decreasing maintenance,
delivering a seamless multi-lingual user-experience,
and paving the way for expansion.
Company and customer effort are significantly
reduced. The average length of each call
decreased by 6 percent, first-call resolution
improved by 12 percent and customer
satisfaction increased by 13 percent. Forthcoming
upgrades to Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
infrastructure, in collaboration with Verizon, will
increase cost efficiency by reducing the physical
bandwidth necessary to handle numerous calls.
The smart IVR supports 25 languages and
dynamically changes the call-flow based on
geographic location, call history, recent behavior
and predictive analytics. Callers are greeted by
more sophisticated understanding of their individual
information and intent, for quicker task resolution and
less frequent need for agent support.
Worldwide reach, cost
savings and a better
customer experience
Listen to your customers, wherever
they are. Partner with West.
Western Union projects 92 percent of volumes and
40 percent overall containment in the IVR by the
close of year two.
• Simplified IVR architecture and greater assurance
• Increased automated self-service and first-call resolution
• Robust data connections using CRM and WIDB software
• Support for 25 languages, and counting
• Customer context and predictive analytics
• Single entry-point, smaller footprint and greater capacity
• Continuous improvement with less effort
ABOUT WEST
West delivers communication solutions that help brands create connected customer experiences. We have 30 years of
experience strategically improving customer interaction, enhancing productivity and increasing profitability, with clients in
healthcare, education, utilities and diverse commercial industries. West Interactive Services solutions include IVR & SelfService, Proactive Notifications & Mobility, Cloud Contact Center and Professional Services.
Experience Connected at west.com/interactive
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