Convergys’s Paul Colangelo: Two years on, going strong

It’s his second “exciting” year at Convergys, and Paul Colangelo already has a lot to show for it. By year one, his team had established Convergys Government Solutions as a leader in relationship management through a multi-channel contact centers solutions. By year two, the U.S. General Services Administration named Convergys a preferred contact center solutions provider. Recently Colangelo sat down with ExecutiveBiz to tell us how Convergys has reached this and other milestones — and what’s next on the horizon.

Tell us about your current role as vice president of government solutions — what are some of your goals?

Paul Colangelo: I’m responsible for overall success of Convergys’ Government Solutions business and the go to market strategy for our operations to include our government programs, operational performance and client satisfaction. Regardless of the agency’s mission—healthcare, entitlement, tax and revenue, Homeland Security or simple information dissemination—our ultimate goal is to help government agencies better serve the citizens whose quality of life is directly impacted by their agency’s operation.

What goals have you set as a preferred contact center solutions provider?

Paul Colangelo: Our goal is to provide effective relationship management solutions for federal agencies that blend agent-served and automated services, whether through IVR/Speech, self-service (web, chat) or contact center staffing solutions.
Convergys is a leader in relationship management — any tech trends you’re tracking in terms of relationship management?

Paul Colangelo: There are two key trends that we believe are key building blocks for the future of customer care – analytics that drives insight, plus integrated multi-channel service.  We are not only tracking key trends, we are also investing in technology to deliver stronger customer experiences for our clients.

Any recent acquisitions to help you reach this goal?

Paul Colangelo: In early July, we announced an agreement to acquire Intervoice, Inc.This acquisition was driven by client demand for high-quality, integrated, relationship management solutions that combines both automated and agent services to drive more value from agency interactions, whether with citizens or government personnel.  Acquiring Intervoice allows us to compete more effectively as a single-source provider to the public sector, and serve agencies more cost-effectively.

How have you been expanding your analytics portfolio?

Paul Colangelo: We have been expanding our analytics portfolio since the 2004 acquisition of Finali to enhance our predictive modeling capabilities.  And just last year, we introduced a proprietary decisioning solution that not only synthesizes feedback from citizen interactions with agents or automation, it also can act on contextual historical interaction history to deliver an improved customer experience.  These solutions map effective use of multichannel solutions like speech and IVR, and improve efficiencies with customer service agent work.

A significant program that we deliver to the large independent federal agency mentioned above is a “voice of the citizen” program that monitors customer satisfaction.  Beyond measuring the customer’s pulse in all contact channels, Convergys programs are distinguished by the level of actionable data clients receive to improve service delivery.

Convergys has in-depth knowledge and experience of the customer care industry in the government sector. How do manage to stay so on top of trends?

Paul Colangelo: Convergys has driven improved business results for government agencies for nearly a decade. By focusing on the broader citizen experience, Convergys has developed the methodologies and means to increase customer satisfaction and greater overall agency effectiveness. The process is based on tapping into the vast information available through contact centers to collect, analyze, improve and monitor citizen-to-agency interactions.

For a large independent federal agency, we instituted our “voice of the citizen” program, integrating satisfaction and operations data across all contact channels and benchmarked against peer agencies.  During the first year, customer satisfaction results exceeded the prior six quarters; moreover, these results leveraged decisions that saved the agency millions in avoided expenditures.

You’ve said, “Convergys Relationship Management solutions are designed to help agencies improve efficiency and service quality as well as create measurable value during every interaction with citizens while effectively managing the cost of service.“ Can you name a few of your successes in this arena?

Paul Colangelo: We’ve had many successes in this arena in the public sector.  One large independent federal agency we’ve been working with for seven years has seen significant improvement in customer satisfaction through the use of intelligent call routing, automation, and call center agent workforce optimization while reducing costs to operate their contact centers.

Most recently, we implemented several call automation enhancements for this agency, including speech recognition and IVR tuning that delivered a 20% increase in automated call containment. Today, over 70% of the inbound calls are contained in the automated channel.  More importantly, over 60 million calls annually are being answered with high customer satisfaction ratings.

As with many clients, we are continuously innovating to improve the service our clients offer to their customers and employees.  For example, since the inception of service to the agency mentioned above, more than 40 recommendations made to the agency have been incorporated – all designed to improve the service citizens receive.

What new (or emerging technologies) can help governments maintain their citizen-centric missions?

Paul Colangelo: Just last November, Convergys introduced a new relationship management approach to help our clients improve relationships with their customers.  Basically, we integrate our consulting services, business analytics, and technology to drive greater value from interactions a client has with its customers and employees.

Convergys has formed a new Relationship Technology Management line of business to accelerate the development of technology-enabled solutions that improve the quality and value of interactions across live agent and self-care channels.  This group leverages the latest advanced technologies in speech automation and web-based self-care, enhanced with analytics to capture and analyze intelligence from the interactions. In early July, we also announced the acquisition of Intervoice, Inc. to further expand our offerings.

What key strengths do you look for when you consider partnering with a small business?

Paul Colangelo: Our capabilities assist federal, state and local government agencies.  Working across the full range of family assistance programs, Convergys has developed powerful tools to assist governments in delivering superior services.  In delivering these services, we leverage a broad range of partners that specialize in small business operations.

From streamlining social services eligibility and enrollment to providing HR administration and learning services to state employees, Convergys helps government agencies achieve new efficiencies, improve service quality and create measurable value—one interaction at a time.

Convergys has been voted a Fortune Most Admired Company for seven eight consecutive years. What are some best practices that have lead to this continued distinction?

Paul Colangelo: We’re very proud of the industry recognition by FORTUNE magazine.  We are also very proud of the dedicated team of over 75,000 employees around the world who are intently focused on serving our clients every day.  It’s this strong dedication and our deep knowledge in the industry that continues to distinguish our performance in the market. The U.S. General Services Administration recently named Convergys a preferred contact center solutions provider. Paul Colangelo, Convergys Vice President, Government Solutions, recently sat down with us to tell us how the company reached this milestone. Since 2001, Convergys has been serving a large independent federal agency with a broad range of agent and automated services. ”

We believe the GSA was looking for providers with proven track records,” says Colangelo. “Our 25 year customer care experience brings strong in-depth knowledge of what it takes to provide a valuable experience for our clients’ customers and employees to any agency.”

Interview with Paul Colangelo was conducted by JD Kathuria

Read more interviews here: http://blog.executivebiz.com/category/interviews/

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Tags: Convergys, Paul Conagelo, U.S. General Services Administration
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