Success Stories
Valencia Tribitt – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
I would like to nominate Valencia Tribitt for Agent CX Improvements. Valencia has shown true dedication and focus on improving herself as a person, but more importantly, as an agent. Valencia started with Blue in January 2020 amid the pandemic. As if learning a new organization and skillset didn’t already present its challenges, having to learn while providing great customer service to members who were truly hurting was difficult. Valencia had some struggles making positive connections with the members; however, it was her dedication, consistency, and willingness to improve that has afforded Valencia with this nomination.
Customer service is not only an advocate’s title or department name, but also a way of life. To become a successful and impactful customer service representative, you must possess a specific set of skills. Blue KC is not the traditional call center environment where the focus is on handling time and/or talk time. Our members are so much more than a transaction or a situation. I mention this because advocates such as Valencia were groomed from environments such as this, and it’s quite a culture shock when coming to BlueKC and fully understanding the true meaning of customer service.
Valencia spent the first 2 years with Blue working to adapt to this new way of service, and at times, she couldn’t understand why she was not as successful as her peers. During a one-on-one meeting, I asked Valencia, “What is the difference between other call centers you have worked at previously and Blue KC?” Valencia stated, “We care about our members, not saying the other companies didn’t, but Blue has taught me how to show empathy, and working here has helped me grow as a person outside of work. Especially being a call center that doesn’t have a handle time, I was used to getting people off the phone instead of relating and connecting to them. It makes you appreciate the members when they call, even if it’s just for a payment. Health insurance is very important in the times we live in, so I like to leave a good impression with our members, so they know we care about their needs.”
It was at this moment that I began to see the change in Valencia’s work. Valencia began to focus on perfecting her call flow by utilizing our Call Resolution Delivery Model (CRDM), which helped her organize the call from start to finish. Valencia stayed engaged during her monthly coaching sessions and was always willing to review the non-WCC as well as WCC to identify the areas of improvement. Performing weekly and monthly call calibrations, Valencia began to correct all areas of improvement one by one.
Valencia is a very shy woman in her normal day-to-day life; however, Valencia has worked diligently to be more open and inviting during each interaction, as well as resolving every issue of the members. Immediately, I began to see a difference in the outcomes of her surveys and monthly metrics. SQM 2022, Valencia ended the year at 90% with 47 out of 52 surveys completed. This was Valencia’s first time becoming SQM certified. Since then, Valencia has remained consistent, understanding the importance of not just resolving the issue at hand but understanding the impact she has on those she interacts with. Valencia rearranged how she addresses her calls by using the suggested words and phrases provided in the World Class Guide and incorporated that with CRDM. As of December 31, 2023, Valencia ended the year with 100% certification.
I am nominating Valencia because she is a true example of what hard work, dedication, and customer service should be. Understanding the importance of how we make others feel by displaying empathy, patience, and understanding not only helped Valencia with our customers, but it also helped Valencia as a person. Valencia has fully adopted the “Blue Way” and has transformed into a valuable asset not only to my team but to the organization as a whole.
Brittany Alston – Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina
Brittany Alston goes beyond customer expectations, helping to ensure our members are happy and find value in our products and services. Brittany takes her job very seriously and does whatever is necessary to ensure all her customers' concerns are resolved at the end of the contact.
Brittany remains flexible and meets her customers where they are! Customers often leave positive feedback because of her efficiency. Brittany had a World Class Call certification percentage increase of 18.63% from 2022 to 2023, from 66.67% in 2022 to 85.29% in 2023.
Brittany adopted the mindset that truly addressing a customer’s concern is more important than simply being efficient. Calls may last longer; however, as long as we can truly address the issue and fully resolve it, it is worth it. Brittany makes sure to educate her customers and set expectations. She is consistent in sharing details of self-service tools available to our members while still letting them know we are always here to assist via a call as well.
In 2022, Brittany had a Call Resolution rate of 74% and an FCR rate of 59%. With feedback and coaching, Brittany was able to acknowledge and encourage desirable behaviors during each member interaction. Her 2023 Call Resolution rate increased by 20%, as she went from 74% to 94%, and FCR rate saw an increase of 6%, moving her to 65%. Brittany made the decision to challenge herself in 2023 to exceed performance expectations. She worked on a strategy to increase her CSAT and was successful. Brittany had a 14% increase in CSAT from 74% in 2022 to 88% in 2023.
It is with immense pleasure to see the growth and dedication that Brittany exudes. Due to the hard work and determination that Brittany displays on each member interaction, she is an ideal candidate to represent Blue Cross NC for the Most Improved Agent Award.
Dakotah Sherrod – Florida Blue, Federal Employee Program
As a customer service representative for Florida Blue, I truly believe that treating the callers in the same manner which I would like to be treated will show value and satisfaction. Whether they are active members, ex-members, providers, or other insurance agents, I start every call by listening to their concerns. Maintaining current knowledge of the services and providing the callers with exceptional customer service is something I take pride in delivering on every call.
There was one example that stood out to me from 2022, a call from a member, who is one of FEP’s ex-members. I listened to him closely as he desperately told me about his new health insurance company and how they would cancel his policy if he didn’t send in a letter showing his exit date with FEP. As I continued to listen to his concerns, it became evident that he no longer lived at the address we had on file. At this point, mailing a letter was not an option. Utilizing the tools and training I received here at Florida Blue I was able to identify his issues and I offered to contact his new health insurance directly and request their fax number. Unfortunately, I was advised they did not have a fax number for me to use. When I returned to inform him of the news, he informed me that he had set up an e-fax and I could send the letter directly to him.
After receiving the fax, the member was very pleased with my due diligence, knowledge, and time and effort I put into his issues, even though he was no longer an active member. By listening to this caller’s needs and doing what I would want someone to do for me, I showed him that even though he is no longer a member of Florida Blue it will always be our pleasure to serve him. It is my mission here at FEP, to help others and I strive every day to make a difference in someone’s life.
In response to my interaction with this member, he graciously shared his appreciation with my leadership:
“Our member Michael wanted FEP to know that Troy Ray was outstanding! he was pleasant, efficient, and knowledgeable.”
This was only one of many success stories I have had the pleasure of being a part of here at Florida Blue. Assisting members daily with respect, educating them on how to understand their benefits, and helping them understand how they can best be used to support whatever situation they may be facing is something I look forward to every day.
I remember when I first started with FEP. I found myself struggling to keep up. I made mistakes, and my work wasn’t up to par. But I knew I had potential, and I was determined to reach it. I worked very hard, taking feedback from my manager and colleagues to heart. I asked questions, sought out additional training, and put extra attention into everything I did to improve my skills. Slowly but surely, my performance started to turn around.
I will never forget the encounter I had with one particular member. By the tone in her voice at the beginning of her call, I knew I had to give it my all and try my best to resolve her ongoing issue. She left these kind words with one of my supervisors after our conversation, and it changed the whole perspective of my career: “The member wanted to let us know how pleased she was with my service that day. She said she was so upset at the situation, but my calmness came through the phone. She appreciated that I spoke clearly, how I articulated and educated her, and my professionalism while going through each claim she was concerned about. She said she was so happy with her service that day that she may even name her next grandchild Dakotah!” To know I assisted a member so well that she wanted to keep my name alive in her family really stuck with me, and I knew from that moment I had to keep rising.
My hard work started to pay off more and more, and my improvements didn’t go unnoticed. I felt like my peers also saw a change in me, and I started to receive recognition for my efforts. The most significant change was in myself. I gained confidence in my abilities and knew I could tackle any challenge thrown my way. I am so grateful to be nominated for the most improved employee because not only did my colleagues not give up on me, but I never gave up on myself. I kept pushing, striving to be better, and it paid off.
Whitney Brodhagen – Security Health Plan
When I was hired for a Customer Service position within the Security Health Plan System, my training started with learning Commercial policies. This proved to be a very challenging time for me.
I struggled with the Commercial training. While learning the Commercial lines, my confidence was low, and I was very timid on the phone, but with the Security Health Plan training team by my side, I finally completed my Commercial training. I then started my Medicare Advantage training, that’s when everything clicked for me; all the puzzle pieces finally fit together. My member calls started to flow smoothly. I was able to answer member calls with increased confidence and could assist them more efficiently. Learning Medicare Advantage has helped with all my member phone calls, including the Commercial calls. I could not have improved without help from the phenomenal training team at Security Health Plan.
Background Written by Katie Johansson – Workforce Analyst:
Whitney Brodhagen has been with Security Health Plan since March 2022. She has been trained on all of our product lines and has really grown in her position. She had a great year in 2023: She finished the year with a quality average of 93.20%; above our dept goal of 92%. Whitney had 57 surveys completed in 2023. She saw amazing improvement across the board from 2022, when she was a new agent. She finished 2023 with an FCR of 88%, a 17% increase from 2022. She had a Contact Resolution of 95%, a 11% increase from 2022. Whitney had a CSR CSAT of 98% in 2023, which was an 11% increase over 2022. Whitney’s World Class of 95% in 2023 was a 13% increase over 2022. These stats speak for themselves and showcase the hard work and dedication Whitney has made for herself and for our members. She will be coming up on her 2-year anniversary with Security Health Plan and has shown tremendous growth in her short time here.
Whitney has had several outstanding feedback comments as well. A few examples from last year:
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Whitney was fantastic.
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CSR was the best!
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She was very positive from the time she answered my call. Did not rush the call and was very happy to help me understand what my plan covers. She also helped me find doctors who are in-network for my needs.
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I believe her name is Whitney. Extremely nice and efficient.
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It's just the kindness. We're going through kind of a rough time. She was very sympathetic to what we had going on. I felt very comfortable talking to her, and she took care of exactly what I needed in a timely fashion. So, I just greatly appreciated it.
From Whitney’s Team Lead/Coach Dakota Opelt:
Whitney is great with our members and treats them all the same. The biggest thing that was holding Whitney back was her confidence, but she is becoming more and more confident each day and it’s incredible to watch.
From Whitney’s Manager Wendy Rindfleisch (Director of Member Experience):
Whitney uses coaching feedback as an opportunity to learn and grow. Whitney is always very receptive to feedback from her Team Lead, Call Coach, and Manager. She is honest and takes ownership of areas she can improve. Whitney is also willing to learn, adapt, and implement changes that produce accurate and complete resolutions for members.
Lashon Cage — VSP Vision Care
Lashon joined my team as a transfer from another leader in July of 2023. In our first meeting, Lashon self-identified an opportunity to consistently provide a World Class experience to her callers. Since I was less familiar with her call handling, we began to review calls together, and I would provide specific feedback on ways to improve the customer experience. We would discuss how an action could be interpreted by a member and share strategies on how to intentionally drive the interaction positively. Lashon always eagerly accepted the feedback and immediately applied it to her calls. Lashon has become more comfortable with her resources and confident in the way she delivers information. She is always professional, polite, and focused on her callers’ needs.
Lashon was able to positively drive her performance, ending the year with an 88% World Class Call average. She was able to improve her CSAT by 13% (from 83% in 2022 to 96% in 2023) and her Resolution rate by 10% (from 81% in 2022 to 91% in 2023). This speaks volumes about Lashon’s determination!
Feedback shared from members:
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“Like I said, it was a confusing situation. And so, they kind of went out of their way to make sure to double-check everything and give me a clear answer on the situation.”
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“Addressed my issue, and she explained how the reimbursement process has worked, which I was not familiar with because this was the first time that I had to call about a claim.”
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“I was very satisfied because she explained things well and was patient throughout the process.”
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“She was very pleasant. She waited. She answers my questions clearly. We didn't waste time. It was a pleasure, and her own up neat and fast. I got my information. So, I was very, very pleased.”
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“I just got off the phone with your representative, Lashon, and I was super impressed with how helpful and how nice she was. She was patient with me. I had a lot of questions for her, and she just really knocked it out of the park. I was very impressed, and I would love for every customer service call I make to be to be her, the one helping me. Excellent job, Lashon!”