How NAB improved customer service using the cloud

Internal call centre calls dropped from 20,000 to 2,000 per month

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National Australia Bank (NAB) has reduced call centre inquiries following the implementation of Oracle Service Cloud in 2012.

The platform combines Web, social and call centre functions. It can also be used to access information from one database.

Speaking at Oracle’s CloudWorld conference in Melbourne, NAB product knowledge manager Anthony Micomonaco said that prior to the implementation, customers were sometimes not receiving the right answers from call centre staff or branch workers.

For example, the information it was providing to people in call centres was full of legal terms or what he referred to as “bank speak”.

Another problem was that information to help front-line staff resolve problems was located in separate repositories rather than one database.

“We had an internal call centre that provided customer product support to front-line staff. That call centre was receiving 20,000 calls a month,” Micomonaco said.

Within six weeks of the rollout of the Service Cloud platform, the call rate dropped down to 2,000 calls per month.

Now when a customer comes into a branch or phones a call centre, they can ask their question such as "I need a new chequebook".

“The agent can use the natural language function [in the platform] and type in 'new chequebook' and what will come back is three process forms.”

The agent can use the form to ask the customer if their old chequebook was stolen or if they want one reissued. This information is logged into the system.

“We didn’t need to teach our customers or call centre workers to speak bank speak,” he said. “Our employees now have one place to go to for information. They’re not confused, they are empowered.”