IT upgrade leaves life insurance fund in better health

HCF, an Australian non-profit health and life insurance fund, has joined forces with IP telephony integrator NSC in a move designed to resuscitate its customer service by upgrading its call centre.

HCF is upgrading its call centre with Avaya technology, aiming to enhance customer service and improve internal efficiency.

"When we acknowledged that our current PABX hardware and software levels had reached an end of life rating, we recognised the opportunity to do a total review of our voice services," said Malcolm Middleton, operations supervisor at HCF.

In a statement, Craig Neil, chairperson of NSC, said that the new technology would improve call routing to significantly reduce wait times for HCF's customers.

"Incoming callers will be spread across a greater pool of agents and digital display phones will ensure calls are directed to the most appropriate person, reducing actual call time," Neil said.

HCF has two main sites - in Sydney and Box Hill, Victoria. A virtual call centre has also been created by NSC enabling HCF to draw on staff in both locations - a move designed to improve the handling of call traffic.

HCF said the call centre upgrade would be rolled out over the next few months.